I deleted two chapters today and I feel good. Okay, not great, but good. No writer likes to delete their words. We want to think that everything we write is amazing when we write it and worth reading … but it’s not. I’ve never been afraid to slash and burn, but too many writers I’ve talked to are scared to death. They either think they’re amateurs who don’t know what they’re doing if they have to cut something, or they think they’re idiots who can’t write. Or — worse — they think everything they write is brilliant and if readers or… Read More

Yes, I’m being tongue-in-cheek with my title because I’m writing today about adjectives and adverbs. On Twitter, the fabulous Manda Collins — a historical romance writer who I know and love — posted something that at first made me laugh, then made me cringe. Under the caption “This is terrible advice” she posted a screenshot of, well, some terrible advice. I’ve removed the advice-givers name — partly because I don’t think anyone should be personally attacked for their opinion (and I don’t want her to get hate mail!) but also partly because she removed the post. However, because I have… Read More

First, before we get to our irregularly scheduled program, great news! SHATTERED is #67 on the USA Today bestseller list. via GIPHY If you haven’t bought SHATTERED yet, why not? Because it’s a hardcover? Get thee to a library! Or you can wait until May 1, 2018 when it’ll be out in mass market paperback. 🙂 SHATTERED is where Maxine Revere is forced to work with Lucy Kincaid to solve three very cold cases — the murder of three young boys — which began with the death of Lucy’s nephew, Justin Stanton. It’s the book my long-time readers have wanted… Read More

Well, that sounds pessimistic! Truly, I’m jumping up and down for joy (well, sagging tired in my chair) because I’m DONE with BREAKING POINT. I sent the draft off to my editor at the same time I lamented my miserable process. I love my muse, but she’s a total bitch. It took me more than two full months to write the first 85,000 words of BREAKING POINT. And 3 days to write the last 25,000+ words. I have had some 10K+ days, but they are few and far between and NEVER two in a row. In fact, usually when I… Read More

This blog was originally published two years ago today at the Kill Zone, and the link popped up in my facebook feed. It’s not only as relevant as it was two years ago, but perhaps more so as the glut of self-published books has increased. Plus, as I re-read the history behind my first (unpublished) book, it reminded me not only of how far I have come since 2002 when I decided to commit myself to a writing career, but how far I’ve come in the last two years … and how far I still need to go. I’ve been… Read More

My first book THE PREY was released on December 27, 2005 and my 30th book, MAKE THEM PAY, will be released on March 7th … only 3 short weeks away. I can write anywhere, by necessity, but I’ve never been on a writer’s retreat before … (You can click through to MAKE THEM PAY for all the pre-order links and whatnot!) Before I sold my first book, I worked full time in the California State Legislature. And, I had kids. At first three … then four … and then five. Before I sold, I wrote at night after the kids… Read More

This weekend, I finished editing my copy edits for SHATTERED, the 4th Maxine Revere cold case mystery (on sale 8.22.17.) I received them on Monday the 9th, but didn’t sit down to work on them until Thursday … and finished them in three days. Trust me when I say I never get through copy edits so quickly. I was worried, so I spent Sunday and Monday morning going through them a second time because for certain I had missed something. I made a few more tweaks, but in the end, I’m very, very happy with this book and will be… Read More

I’m not talking about Frankenstein or Catcher in the Rye, I’m talking about MY old books — books I wrote years ago and am now re-reading. Cringe. I have three side projects going right now. Yeah, I know. But I’m waiting on line edits for COMPULSION and what else do I do? Clean? Ha! The first is taking my first six books and digitally publishing outside of the North American market. I paid to have them scanned (because I don’t have the original edited files anymore — wonder how THAT happened!) and am proofreading them primarily for scanning and formatting… Read More

One of my writing loops, which has both aspiring and published authors, had a recent thread about editing. Some of the writers had lamented that words and sentences had been added by their editor and they were appalled. I suppose I would be, too, if there was no reason for the change. One of the common themes I’ve heard from those who plan to self-publish is that they don’t want an editor to mess with their book. To me, a good editor doesn’t mess with the story. They make the story as strong as it can be. I’m working on… Read More

Last night I had a headache, so I put my head down for just a few minutes … and woke up hours later. So I apologize for being late with the blog this morning. Trust me. You wouldn’t have wanted me to write it last night at 1 am when I stumbled in from my office to my bed. It would have looked something like this: ;a;o9734jknd aie odf0- dfkl2;j 9OedfmSKJF lh,. I returned from Thrillerfest Sunday night after a fabulous week in New York City. I didn’t get to do everything I wanted — I’d said that this year… Read More