Writing Process

  • Know the End

    In a Romance Book, the end is the happily ever after. Love changes the characters. It makes them grow, individually and together. Love conquers all. I actually believe that’s true. Love can conquer all, or make it all bearable. Photo by Marin Tulard on Unsplash It’s the “all” love must conquer that I’ve been struggling…

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  • The Power of Words

    And the limitation of words I believe words have power. “The word is mightier than the sword.” (BTW: The Assyrian sage, Ahigar, said it this way. Edward Bulwer-Lytton rephrased it as, “the pen in mightier than the sword in his 1839 play, Richelieu: Or the Conspiracy). (And yes, I am that much of a nerd…

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  • Those Action Scenes

    In Romance Novels I have strong adventure elements in most of my Regency Romance Novels. For the first part of the regency era, it’s the French Revolution. Then it’s the Napoleonic War. My characters are affected, and often they are involved in the fight. So, while there are some lovely romantic moments and a few…

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  • Romance With Words

    Or confessions of a Word Nerd When my son, Tristan, was in High School, he and some of his friends on his Lacrosse team had a “game.” They used a scale from 1 to 6 to rate each other’s word usage. If one of the boys used an unfamiliar or seldom used word, the other…

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  • Romance, And Anxiety

    To be brutally honest And perhaps a little philosophical Is it possible to be passionately involved in an endeavor and also be calm? Can you challenge yourself to do something new, to strive, to improve, to learn, to risk, but also be tranquil in your soul? Should you expect that? Maybe if what you’re passionate…

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  • Writing To Avoid Writing

    I could do laundry, but why when there is romance tumbling around in my brain? Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash You know how it feels when have to do something important or necessary? Sometimes that thing is difficult or distasteful. Not always though. Sometimes you actually want to do that thing, but you feel…

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  • Quills Writer’s Conference

    Constantly working to improve my writing I love writing. I love my characters and telling their stories. I even love the struggle, the days when I just hit a wall, the worry, the reworking. It is all part of the process. At least for me. I don’t think writing is something that you ever master.…

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  • My Writing Mission, Part 2

    Love Is The Key I wrote last time and tried to capture what I want you to experience as you read my work. And I tried to describe what I want my writing experience to be. With that in mind, I want you to know these things. What you’ll find in my stories What you…

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  • Humor in Romance

    We fall in love, and everything is wonderful. But let’s be honest, the world intrudes. Sometimes things get hard. But we still have that hope that love can endure? Or as Shakespeare wrote: . . . Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no,…

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  • Three New Romances In the Month of November

    Writing Romance–Fast I tried something new and challenging in my Romance Writing life in November (Challenging myself is becoming a theme). You probably have never heard of Nanowrimo, but for the last few years, I’ve been wanting to try it. Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. This world-wide event is held every November–Yes, I’m…

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