characterization

The release of A Flame Among the Stars went swimmingly, which is always a good thing. Reviews are popping up on Amazon and Goodreads, and they’re largely favorable. As of right this second, I don’t have any additional promotional events coming up, but that can always change! As the saying goes, however, there is no […]

Trope: Birds of a Feather Description: We’re all familiar with the Opposites Attract romance trope. Birds of a Feather is pretty much the opposite of Opposites Attract. (Oh ho ho, see what I did there.) Here, both characters in a relationship have similar personality traits and share common goals and interests. Birds of a Feather […]

(Parts of this were originally posted on June 6, 2013) Trope: Author Avatar Description: Not limited solely to books, the Author Avatar is a version of the creator of a work inserted into the work itself. This can work in a number of different ways. Sometimes the Author Avatar is the narrator, giving opinions on […]

Before we get to this installment of Trope-tastic Tuesdays, a quick announcement: the newsletter subscriber bonus is going to be changing in a few weeks, so if you haven’t already signed up and received your free copy of Sweet Escape, don’t miss your chance! You can use the form that’s over there on the sidebar, […]

Trope: Insecure Love Interest Description: Even if one character in a couple thinks their love interest is great, the love interest may not feel that way themselves. This could be one of the obstacles in the way of the pair getting together, or even continue after they’ve officially embarked on a romantic relationship with each […]

(Parts of this were originally posted on February 7, 2013) Trope: Hot Chick in a Badass Suit Description: No link to the trope this time, because apparently in the years since I wrote the original post, TV Tropes has decided a list of women suits isn’t trope-tastic enough. I still think it’s a valid way […]

My go-to answer for anyone who asks how lockdown in NY is going is “we’re hanging in there.” We’ve had our ups and downs, and I’m really not up for discussing the downs right now. I started playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses on the Switch…last week? Two weeks ago? Time has no meaning right now. […]

Fire Beyond the Frost is still doing well, I’m happy to report. It’s fun to see what other people have highlighted! So I did wind up starting a new project after all. And…I like it. It’s fast-paced, exciting, and…dare I say it…FUN! Okay, maybe the emotional impact of this one won’t be huge, but it’ll […]

Which skills am I referring to with this title – my writing skills, my decision making skills, or a little bit of both? Probably both. Both is almost always an accurate answer. So I finally got back to Sonata for Springtime, which I started over a year ago, and then life got in the way. […]

The first round of edits for Closing Montage is done. The nice part about it being such a short novella is there wasn’t a whole lot to be done there. Or, more importantly, there weren’t many moments that made me go “oh god, I’m such an idiot,” which might be a first. We might be […]

As my old series Trope-tastic Thursdays indicated, tropes are not a bad thing. We all use them, whether we’re aware of them or not. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say there are some tropes I like better than others, and some themes or character types keep popping up. I’m on Chapter 3 of […]

(almost nailed the rhyming title, but not quite) Lately, it seems that all of my creative-minded friends have been talking about what new project they want to embark on. I would say something poignant and poetic about it having to do with the time of year, with spring just around the corner, and everything waking […]