Sometimes the Brain Helps

Water

My arms rhythmically move, pulling me through the water in a steady, smooth glide. In the back of my head, I'm counting, "One, two, breathe. One, two, breathe." But at the forefront of my mind, I'm a steel dragon covered in soot and rust and hiding beneath a dumpster while three street boys search for… Continue reading Sometimes the Brain Helps

Sneak Peek into Mystery of the Golden Shells

Mystery of the Golden Shells publishes this coming Monday, so I figured a short excerpt of the story might be fun. Admittedly, I had a difficult time choosing this excerpt! With the various trails the story can take depending on a reader's choices, it's hard to pick a section that's not going to give something away or… Continue reading Sneak Peek into Mystery of the Golden Shells

The Finer Details

I learn something new every single time I put a book together. You'd think I'd reach a point where the process is routine, but so far there's always some little detail that's just waiting to surprise me. As I've said before, I try to share each time I learn something because without others sharing their knowledge,… Continue reading The Finer Details

Never Enough Thanks

Last year I titled this post Never a Solo Project. I waxed on about how important editors are and how valuable it is to find an editor you enjoy working with and who understands your vision for a book. None of that has changed. In fact, every time I work with an editor on a… Continue reading Never Enough Thanks

Mystery of the Golden Shells Cover Reveal!

Mystery of the Golden Shells Cover

Look! Look! I have a cover for Mystery of the Golden Shells! Sorry, didn't mean to shout. I'm just super excited to finally be sharing stuff about the book. There's a moment in book publication where you reach the summit and the rest feels like a downhill slope. That moment for me tends to be when I… Continue reading Mystery of the Golden Shells Cover Reveal!

Stretching My Comfort Zone

I was told a while ago that I should start doing author panels at conventions. Umm, what? Me, in front of a bunch of people. That sounds terrible. The closest I've come so far is doing a short author reading at an outside event. I was terrified for just that brief exposure. However, the thought… Continue reading Stretching My Comfort Zone

This Crazy Beautiful World

Trees

I grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where the dry heat in the summer brings out the sharp smell of pines and juniper and the snows in winter can stack up in feet and not just inches. Where sometimes it snows on the Fourth of July and lightning travels miles to strike a… Continue reading This Crazy Beautiful World

Sometimes It Gets Edited Out

Shell on Sand - Golden Shells Inspiration

Last week I posted about That Question. It’s one of the questions authors seem to get a lot. It goes something like this: “Where do you find your inspiration?” As many of you probably know, I’m working on a new adventure book to publish this August/September time frame. It originally started as a shorter adventure… Continue reading Sometimes It Gets Edited Out