Sidhe Viewpoint, west of Loch Ness, Scotland Earlier today, I did a thing. I finished the first draft of 'Sword & Soul'. I typed the words 'The End', saved the file, and sent it to my beta readers. The 'Heroes of Avoch' series is done. Now, yes, there's a lot of editing and revising to … Continue reading Typing ‘The End’ after 2 years

One thing I've been working on is finding the small things around me every day that make me happy. I'm not talking big stuff. The simple moments of joy that bring a smile to my face even if no one else cares. Part of that is doing certain things every morning. My anxiety finds comfort … Continue reading Simple joys

I am beyond thrilled to bring you this news. I am under contract with Creative James Media for the entire 'Heroes of Avoch' trilogy!!!! 'Scales & Stingers' (book 1) - will release in March, 2023. 'Shield & Scepter' (book 2) will release in March, 2024. 'Sword & Soul' (book 3) will release in October, 2024. … Continue reading Coming in 2023 – The Heroes of Avoch!!!!

A week or so ago, as I was digging through my purse, I found the small plastic holder I had for business cards. There was a problem: they had my old pen name, and outdated information about my website, email, etc on them. Took a deep breath, tossed them into the recycle bin, and went … Continue reading New pen name means new cards!

Trail to Fairy Glen, Black Isle, Scotland I have hope today. You'd think that'd be a normal thing in a person's life. I like to think I have hope for us as a society, a nation, and a world on a daily basis. Events over the last two years have tested that hope. There's only … Continue reading Daring to dream

Yesterday was a strange day. I can tell my meds are working, because any other day when I felt like I did would've meant a downward spiral was speeding up. Instead, I stayed at a level that wasn't bad. I wasn't particularly motivated, but I still did get some writing done. That took a bit … Continue reading A tiny bud of happiness

Sidhe viewpoint, west of Loch Ness, Scotland When you've always dealt with something, you really don't think of it as a problem. You just deal with it, find a way, and keep going with life. I've discovered over the last decade or so that a number of things I thought were normal weren't. They were … Continue reading Knowing is half the battle

Loch Ness, Scotland There's this thing that happens on Twitter. A couple times a year, writers use specific hashtags to participate in what's called a PitMad. On this day, agents and publishers look at tweets with the hashtag and, if they like the author's pitch for their complete book, they like it. That's an invitation … Continue reading The unending optimism of the writer’s mind

Downtown Inverness, Scotland, and the River Ness I'm still around. It's been a few weeks since I last wrote a post. Things have been busy, or I wasn't sure what to write here. I started on anti-depressants, for one. They seem to be working. The few times I felt I was sliding down stopped after … Continue reading The box on the shelf

As of this morning, I'm no longer represented by Denise Barone. The choice was mine. I made it back in November, emailed her in December. She is an amazing woman, who knows romance like the back of her hand. She taught me a lot about writing, and what it means to have an agent. She's … Continue reading Inhale….exhale…repeat