Advice to Aspiring Writers

A few of my favorite things I'm doing right now

I'm reading:

Fiction: The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet

The Unwilling is the story of Judah, a foundling born with a special gift and raised inside Highfall castle along with Gavin, the son and heir to Lord Elban’s vast empire. Judah and Gavin share an unnatural bond that is both the key to her survival…and possibly her undoing.

But outside the walls, in the starving, desperate city, a magus, a healer with his own secret power unlike anything Highfall has seen in years, is newly arrived from the provinces. He, too, has plans for the empire, and at the heart of those plans lies Judah… The girl who started life with no name and no history will soon uncover more to her story than she ever imagined.


Fiction: While We Were Watching Downton Abbey by Wendy Wax

When the concierge of The Alexander, a historic Atlanta apartment building, invites his fellow residents to join him for weekly screenings of Downton Abbey, four very different people find themselves connecting with the addictive drama, and—even more unexpectedly—with each other…

Audible: Sisters of Shadow and Light by Sara B. Larson

Zuhra and Inara have grown up in the Citadel of the Paladins, an abandoned fortress where legendary, magical warriors once lived before disappearing from the world--including their Paladin father the night Inara was born.

On that same night, a massive, magical hedge grew and imprisoned them within the citadel. Inara inherited their father's Paladin power; her eyes glow blue and she is able to make plants grow at unbelievable rates. 

For fifteen years they have lived, trapped in the citadel, with little contact from the outside world...until the day a stranger passes through the hedge, and everything changes.


Nonfiction: The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton

Anthony Ray Hinton was poor and black when he was convicted of two murders he hadn't committed. For the next three decades he was trapped in solitary confinement in a tiny cell on death row.
Eventually his case was taken up by the award-winning lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, who managed to have him exonerated, though it took 15 years for this to happen. How did Hinton cope with the mental and emotional torture of his situation, and emerge full of compassion and forgiveness? This is a story of hope and the resilience of the human spirit.

I'm watching:  Dolly Parton's Heartstrings

8 of singer/songwriter Dolly Parton's most famous songs are brought to life in 8 different episodes.

I'm writing/editing: Love in Greece

A romance set in Greece. I'm pantsing the last half so I can edit next month.


What about you? 
What are you reading? 
What are you watching? 
What are you working on?

A few of my favorite things I'm doing

I'm reading:

Fiction: The Light After the War by Anita Abriel 

It is 1946 when Vera Frankel and her best friend Edith Ban arrive in Naples. Refugees from Hungary, they managed to escape from a train headed for Auschwitz and spent the rest of the war hiding on an Austrian farm. Now, the two young women must start new lives abroad.

Fiction: While We Were Watching Downton Abbey by Wendy Wax

When the concierge of The Alexander, a historic Atlanta apartment building, invites his fellow residents to join him for weekly screenings of Downton Abbey, four very different people find themselves connecting with the addictive drama, and—even more unexpectedly—with each other…

Audible: The Grand Sophy by Georgette Hyer

When the redoubtable Sir Horace Stanton-Lacy is ordered to South America on business, he leaves his only daughter Sophia with his sister, Elizabeth Rivenhall, in Berkeley Square. Newly arrived from her tour of the Continent, Sophy invites herself into the circle of her relatives. When Lady Ombersley agrees to take in her young niece, no one expects Sophy, who sweeps in and immediately takes the ton by storm.


Nonfiction: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years.

I'm watching:  Firefly

My son gave me the complete set and I'm bingeing!

I'm writing/editing: Old-Fashioned Wishes

My contemp romance! I'm 3/4 of the way through.


What about you? 
What are you reading? 
What are you watching? 
What are you working on?

2020 goals --- What are yours?

I can't believe this year, 2019, is almost over. As I've looked back over the past twelve months, I've found I've done a lot of good, wished I had more time to do better and did some things I didn't know I would.

As I've worked on goals that I want to do in the coming year, 2020, I've first asked myself "What am I already doing?" and that has made a world of difference in how I perceive myself and accomplishments. Because I do have a ton of accomplishments! This is part of goal-making that I'm aren't great at and I'm going to change.

Another surprise discovery for me was learning how I work on goals. When I feel like I've failed or can't make a deadline, I tend to give up and move one, which is fine, but I think I've found a better way for me. TWEAK. Not to be confused with twerk.

I'm writing my goals in pencil and tweaking them as I make my way through 2020. That way, if my schedule changes, or I get sick (like I am right now!) or family dynamics cause a shift, I can tweak my goals to fit what I need. That way, I don't give up on my vision.

Speaking of vision...do you make a vision board?? I'm thinking about one this year.

This year I want to be a better friend, mother and sister through listening better (sounds easy, but I tend to get lazy so I'm thinking of reaching out with texts, one-on-one dates and calls)
This year I want to be in better shape through lifting weights and certain dietary restrictions (apparently, tomatoes hate me).
I'm going to read more nonfiction books (got over 70 suggestions on FB!). 
This year I want to have five novels ready to self pub.

I have three novels written; two need edits.
I have two novels half way written.
That makes FIVE!

We can do this! We can make our dreams come true!

What about you?
What have you discovered about yourself?

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HERE'S TO 2020!