The Move

Sleeping on the kitchen floor was not an everyday occurrence. Most eight year olds would have considered it an adventure, but not me. We had just moved away from Cedar Hill—a small town in Texas on the outskirts of Dallas. I enjoyed my school, had tons of friends to play with and life was great . . . until we moved.Laughing, loud enough to wake me, echoed around the tiny kitchen of the single-wide trailer home. Opening my eyes shouldn’t have been a scary thing to do, but as soon as I did my body shook with fear. Three curious coyotes stood with...

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What To Blog About?

Recently I've been considering what my blogs should be about. I want mine to stand out and not be something redundant.So I asked myself, "What do I know that no one else does?"And the crazy inside of me responded with, "Me."There you have it. My blog is going to be my life story in bits and pieces--don't worry, I'll spare you the boring stuff. I'll try to update once a week with a new snippet of information and I'll try to keep everything in order while continuing to post about other things as well (good books, my publishing venture, my current...

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Tears Again?

I don't cry! I repeat. I. Don't. Cry.So explain to me why I keep reading books that make me cry. Am I depressed? No! Am I emotional? Uhh . . . no! Am I losing my mind? Well, maybe! ;-)Okay, so maybe I'm just reading better books. That was definitely the case last night. My very good friend and teacher and crit partner--I hope you don't mind me calling you that, Sarah--allowed me to beta read her short story.Her writing is so full of emotion, so full of beautiful imagery and is FLAWLESS. She has a way of telling a story that will rip your heart...

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My First Submission

Well guys, the time has finally come. Submissions.I've spent days and nights clicking on the keyboard, waited hours for beta readers' opinions, chewed at my lips reading over my crit partner's reviews, but all of the stress will be worth it someday--in a lot of cases it already is.Reading and writing have always been passions of mine, but I've never given writing this much time of day . . . and now there's no end in sight. With Wilde's Fire complete, Wilde's Army in progress, and Wilde's Meadow in my mind, I have plenty to occupy my time. On the...

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How to Make Me Cry

As an author--still unpublished, yes; have to finish that synopsis first, but that's beside the point--I find it difficult to look at books the way I used to. I have always devoured novels, picking them up and finishing them in one sitting, but ever since I started writing and learning the tricks/tips of the trade all I seem to notice are the errors.There are, however, books that I don't find any errors in, that I love from start to finish, that make me depressed and ecstatic all at the same time. My most recent reading--Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater--is...

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A Productive Mother's Day

I started this day out reading until two in the morning. What better way to make for a really long day? I knew I was setting myself up for failure because a certain sweet little eleven month old enjoys waking up with a huge toothy grin sometime around oh . . . six-thirty.To my surprise I never heard her familiar squeals or the subsequent dog barking that usually follows. I was vaguely aware when my husband brought her into our bed and she hit me in the head a few times with her bottle, but then she was gone and I was back asleep.The next time I...

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Ideas from Unusual Places

I love writing. It amazes me how simple conversations or everyday things in nature can spark creative moments and make me think "That would make an excellent story". This morning on my ride to work--as many know is very long--I plotted out the idea for another book in my head. Now, to find the time to write it. I assigned it a number...so it will eventually make it to the pages--or screen, however you wish to look at ...

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Wilde's Fire - Blurb

For those unfamiliar with my writing--which is almost everyone--I thought I'd share my first book's blurb with you. Hope you enjoy.“There is no pain in this death, only peace, knowing I am going to die with the one I love the most.” -- Katriona Wilde Katriona Wilde has never wondered what it would feel like to have everything she’s ever known and loved ripped away, but she is about to find out. When she inadvertently leads her sister and best friend through a portal into a world she’s dreamed of for six years, she finds herself faced with more...

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Who Am I?

One doesn't wake up and say "Today I'm going to be an author" no, that would be silly. One might wake up and say "Today I'm going to be a writer", but even that is not as easy as it sounds.Seriously, folks, I think I've been a writer my entire life. I remember when I was in third grade I wrote a short story and read it aloud to my class. I was proud of my work and ready to share it with the world.I cannot remember what that story was about, but nothing much has changed. The stories are a little longer and the writing consumes most of my imaginary...

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