A new start

A while back I mentioned that I planned to move the reader focused part of this blog over to my new website, http://www.clroman.com. Well, I'm doing it. The first posts are up and I hope you come join the fun. Just click on the link below. In the future, I won't be posting reader focused …

Guest Post from Val Penny: Reasons to Write a Crime Novel

People like crime, at least in novels! Often, I meet dentists and bank managers with clever plot ideas, or nurses who read every crime novel they can lay their hands on. If I visit a writing group, there are always members keenly producing new murderous plots. Lawyers and convicts show equal enthusiasm for this genre. For …

A Fine Example of a Character Interview

One great way to introduce your characters to readers is a character interview. As with most things - showing is easier than telling - so for the most part I'm going to let the characters speak for themselves. However, there are a couple of things I'd like to point out first. Zach does a great …

Volunteering at the Florida Writers Conference: 2017

The writing life, they say, is a solitary adventure. You get up, hopefully you get some exercise and the obligatory cup of coffee. And then you write. Or revise, edit, illustrate, market or whatever else you need to do to keep your career afloat. All of these tend to be fairly solitary pursuits. But the …

Con-Crates to hold all your….stuff

As a writer/editor, I attend a fair number of conferences every year. And I take a LOT of crap er...umm... valuable, fun-stuff-that-is-definitely-not-crap with me to each one. Books, swag, agendas, banners, signage, and above all, chocolate, all of it has to make it to the con intact and unmelted. This necessitates a good number of …

Social Responsibility and the Art of the Pen

I am conflicted. One would think that for a novelist being conflicted would be a familiar, if not wholly desirable, state of affairs. But the truth is, I am not used to this feeling. I am a fairly forthright, take me or leave me, accept me for who I am (yes, that is a Rent …

Three Types of Professional Editing and Why You Need Them

If you've been in the writing game for more than a week you've probably heard the following advice: Have your manuscript professionally edited. It's good advice. The Ailment(s) Writers who edit their own work face the pitfall of brain/eye dysplasia. It works like this: Your brain knows what it meant to write. Your fingers did …

Author Interview with Tawdra Kandle

Today I am pleased to host one of my favorite romance authors, Tawdra Kandle. She and I met through Indie Book Fest (fabulous Fall reader/author event. You NEED to go!) and I love her books. Well, she has a new one coming out TODAY, so I asked her to tell us a little about her …

New Year, New Purpose

Well folks, it's that time again. New Year's Eve and time to look both ways. I've done a lot of that in the past few days, and for more of my thoughts on that, check here. Which brings me to what I want to talk to you about. The Brass Rag has been a blog …

Not-Black Friday

I know a lot of people love the Black Friday Sales. They wait all year for them, but I do not. I am not happy in crowds and find shopping fairly exhausting at the best of times. Black Friday is not my best of times. But, I'm not at all opposed to folks saving money. …

Thankful

  What am I most thankful for? I don't know that I can answer that question with any quantitative accuracy. Like anyone, I have challenges and disappointments, but when all the beads are counted, my string stretches unbelievably long. Enough so that the counting of my blessings is a humbling experience. One that leaves me shaking my …

After the Election: How I plan to move forward.

My emotions when I woke up Wednesday morning to the news of Mr. Trump's election, can be accurately described as a maelstrom. Disbelief. Anger. Fear. Worry. Sadness. And it has not gotten better over the course of the last week. Riots, horrifically cruel facebook posts, school yard bullies, college misogynists, and a host of other incidents and actions …

All Hallows Eve (aka: Halloween)

In honor of All Hallows Eve (or Halloween as the costumed creatures call it) and the imminent launch of Illusion, Book Three of the Rephaim series, I give you this sneak peak. Have fun tonight Spooksters, and don't take any suspect handshakes. A rumble sounded in the distance and Loki cast a nervous glance into …

End of Summer Blues

Well friends, it has arrived. The last, sweet taste of summer vacation is even now rolling around on my tongue, waiting to make its bitter-sweet way down my throat, and disappear forever. It might, even now, be the cause of a gentle rainstorm in my chest. Ahem. To recap for those of you who were …

Adventure Rag

I am going on an adventure. Next week I will board a plane with thirteen other intrepid individuals bound for Europe. The British Isles, to be precise. I will take the Harry Potter studio tour. We’re going to Canturbury. I get to see the BOOK OF KELLS. I get to VISIT STONEHENGE. I HAVE TICKETS …

Delete Philosophy

Recently my delete key stopped working. I don't know why. It just doesn't work any more. Until that happened, I never realized how often I use it. This turns out to be fortunate for my readers. Trust me. There's a lot of bad writing that y'all never see, thanks to the little delete key. I …

Lions and Tigers and Newsletters! Oh my!

Well, the tigers are back in their cages, the clowns have removed their makeup and the marching band is putting away their instruments as the street sweepers come along behind, cleaning up the glitter and confetti. The parade is over. Today we will announce our Rafflecopter winners and authors will begin sending out prizes. What …

Four Reasons You Should Follow the Indie Lights Blog Parade

I love a parade. I love the drum majors and the flag twirlers. I love the clowns, and the riding teams. Most of all, I love the floats! Watching the Tournament of Roses parade is the New Years day activity of choice around my house. It's a family tradition: breakfast and the parade, with coffee. …

Unintended Consequences

I’ve been away for a while due to unintended consequences. Now, before you start picturing handcuffs and steel bunkbeds, let me clarify. First there was a manuscript to beta read and another to edit. Then many hours had to go into pulling together the stories and final edits for an impending short-story collection (more about …

Absence Makes the Heart…

"The Experts" used to say that posting every day was the best way to engage readers and increase your following. But at the last conference I attended, Jason Brick told us that twice a week was more than sufficient. And according to John Locke (no, not the philosopher, and definitely not that weird character on "Lost." …

When Research hits the Real: Three Old Cures Made Current

Three old cures made current

(He)Art Rag

My mother is an artist. Her medium is cloth and her tools are pins and scissors, needles and thread and heart. My husband works in metal. Wheels and wrenches, wires, pliers, manuals and heart. One of our daughters uses paint and canvas, brushes, pastels, oils and heart. Our other daughter is a writer. She uses …

Zen Rag

Generally speaking, moments of Zen take one look at my life and run away screaming. They take considerable time and effort to track down, and even more effort to force them to hang around. But I need them, at least occasionally, to maintain my tenuous hold on even a modicum of sanity. So chase them …

Research

Yesterday, I went to Cassadaga, Florida to do research for my current WIP, which, due to some highly entertaining and totally unexpected inspiration, is set there. Suffice it to say, it was a fun and fascinating experience and I will likely do it again if the opportunity arises. But here's the real question: Do you have …

Five Steps to Marketing Success in 2018

I am not a naturally organized person. Left to my own devices, chores and most other forms of adulting would take a bus length back seat to writing, quilting and other types of creative endeavor. And I wouldn't mind. At. All. But the thing is, even if my husband were down for letting them slide, …