Well, friends, I'm pleased to report that instead of putting it off for most of 2019, I decided to tackle one of this year's toughest goals head-on: creating my author newsletter. Most people in the publishing world will tell you there are couple of things you have to have in today's digital age if you … Continue reading Create Your Own Newsletter with Mailchimp: The Basics
writing
‘Tis the Season for…
What jumped into your mind first? Harried holiday shoppers and annoyingly long lines? Endless renditions of Christmas songs on the radio? Overindulging on treats? Office parties and vacation days? Trying to squeeze one more activity into an already bulging schedule? It seems far too easy these days to let this special time of year devolve … Continue reading ‘Tis the Season for…
What I Learned From My First NaNoWriMo
Hear that whooshing sound? Kind of like an Amtrak train speeding through the countryside? That was the month of November hurtling past in a blaze of turkey and pumpkin pie-filled glory. November was also a month full of words--a little over 50,000, to be more precise--because wonder of wonders, I not only survived my first … Continue reading What I Learned From My First NaNoWriMo
Giving Thanks, Plus NaNo Updates
My daughter came home from Sunday school last week with a paper she was excited to share. "Mom," she said, "we talked about being thankful at church." Then she read me the questions on her sheet, plus her answers: Think about your closet. How many shirts do you have? Sixty. (Just a wee bit high...but she … Continue reading Giving Thanks, Plus NaNo Updates
To NaNo or Not to NaNo? That Is the Question.
If you've been in the writing world longer than a millisecond, you've probably heard of NaNoWriMo. For those of you who are readers and not writers, it's short for National Novel Writing Month. Essentially the goal is to write a short novel (50,000 words) in the month of November. That breaks down to writing about … Continue reading To NaNo or Not to NaNo? That Is the Question.
Cover Reveal for The Tank
Happy fall, dear friends! Can you believe 2018 is already nearly to its end? One of my goals for this past year was to publish something, and I'm so excited to let you all know that one of my short stories will be hitting Kindle Select later this month. As mentioned in my previous post, … Continue reading Cover Reveal for The Tank
9 Ways to Find Brilliant Story Ideas
Okay, true story. Tonight while I was sitting down to edit a short story, two weeks snuck up behind me and hit me in the back of the head. Ack, how could it be time for a new blog post again already? So, I'm kind of cheating. Here's an expanded version of a post I … Continue reading 9 Ways to Find Brilliant Story Ideas
How Twitter Changed My Mind About Social Media
For the record, I'm one of those weird people who doesn't really like technology. Don't get me wrong, I put it to use--I'm typing this blog post on a laptop. Often I stream music from my phone to a wireless Bose speaker using Spotify. I send emails, watch Netflix, do Google searches, let my kids … Continue reading How Twitter Changed My Mind About Social Media
Late Summer Reflections
August can be a rough month. The heat reaches its peak, and here in Michigan, where people tenaciously cling to the false belief that it doesn't get hot enough to need an air conditioner, we sweat. Humidity rolls in off the lake, bringing along intermittent rain showers that manage to miss our yard entirely. The … Continue reading Late Summer Reflections
Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Tips for Querying Literary Agents
One of the things I love about this blog is being able to share with you what I'm learning on my writing journey. Lately, I've been spending a lot of time reading up on how to query literary agents. As you might guess, thanks to my BFF Google, there's plenty to find on this topic. … Continue reading Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Tips for Querying Literary Agents
Kellie Michelle Parker 