publishing

ABANDONED

on August 14, 2018

We’re not supposed to have favorites. Like, kids. I’m a mom and I’m not supposed to have a favorite kid. And I don’t. I might have a favorite kid on one day, and then another day it’s another kid. Maybe the kid who makes me coffee in the middle of the day because he notices I’m dragging, or the one who calls me just to say hello, or the one who plops down on my office couch and spontaneously tells me about his day without me having to drag it out of him … yeah, sometimes I have a favorite,… Read More


Allison Brennan August!

on August 7, 2017

Criminal Element is celebrating “Allison Brennan August” — LOL. I cracked up when I saw the plan, but I’m really excited because my Maxine Revere/Lucy Kincaid crossover SHATTERED will be out on August 22 and leading up to it, Criminal Elements is reviewing all 12 of the Lucy Kincaid books, the 3 Max Revere books, and all their respective novellas. And today I have a guest blog! The end of last week and all weekend I was writing blogs and articles for different websites and my publisher. All things that need to be done … but isn’t actually writing. I… Read More


Think your book is ready to publish? Maybe not.

on April 6, 2017

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 Plus, as I re-read the history behind my first (unpublished) book, it reminded me not only of how far I have come since 2002 when I decided to commit myself to a writing career, but how far I’ve come in the last two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


Why I’m Leaving RWA

on March 2, 2017

This blog is for my writer friends. I went back and forth for two weeks about whether to publish this blog. I could leave quietly, and that would be that … but change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. I don’t know if my exit survey will be taken seriously or even understood. Maybe I didn’t explain myself well enough. So I’m posting this blog. I care about RWA and the organization and people who have championed romance for so many years. I just don’t have the energy to try and fix what is so seriously broken. Maybe others will. My prayers go… Read More


My First Writing Retreat

on February 14, 2017

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


Notes and Thoughts about SHATTERED

on January 17, 2017

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


Be the Best You Can Be

on August 11, 2015

Be the best you can be … the slogan sounds trite because we repeat it often enough, but when you really think about it, it’s deeper than most people think. Too often, we try to be the best. The best writer, the best mother, the best spouse, the best teacher, the best gamer. The pressure we put on ourselves to compete for the “best” slot is unbelievable. Or maybe that’s just me. I doubt it. I think we all put that pressure on ourselves at different time in our lives, or for different things in our life. Sometimes, I need… Read More


I Quit!!

on January 15, 2015

Ten years ago today was my last day working for the California State Legislature. Make no mistake, I used to love my job in the Legislature. I went in as a 22 year old idealist thinking I could affect change. Thirteen years later, I was cynical and bitchy. There are a lot of reasons for that, which I can’t get into without getting political. But even though I worked full-time in the Capitol, I still wrote. Because I loved writing. I’d been doing it my entire life, it seemed, but without a purpose or goal. It took me years before… Read More


Two Weeks and Counting …

on March 11, 2014

In two weeks NOTORIOUS will be available. March 25 is the big day. I am very excited and nervous and scared. Most of you who read my blog know about my history. I have 21 mass market originals, numerous short stories and novellas, and 2 original indie novellas. But NOTORIOUS is my first hardcover. Everything has been different. Even the writing.


Courage

on January 31, 2013

It takes courage to try anything new. The fear of failure, the fear of change, the fear that if you show part of your true self to a stranger that they’ll stomp all over you. I know many writers who fear sending their work into the world. They fear rejection, they fear success, they fear criticism. They fear a lot — and let their work sit on their computer or under their bed and keep writing and keep filing until they’re so full of fear they’ll never share their writing. Source: piccsy.com via Allison on Pinterest It’s not just writers… Read More