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

I love a good action movie, and more than just for the adrenaline rush. I use action movies as guides to choreograph action scenes in my books. For example, ARROW. Okay, backtrack a minute … ARROW is one of those shows I really didn’t like when I started watching it, but I was compelled to watch. It’s really a rather simple show on the surface — billionaire presumed dead returns home after five years a changed man. He becomes a vigilante to avenge his father’s murder and rescue his city from the clutches of evil. It’s a quasi-super hero show,… Read More

First, I apologize for being late with the blog this morning. I had it on my calendar to write it last night, but then ended up watching BONES with my son and daughter and promptly forgot. Even though the writers totally screwed up season 6, the payoff was worth it. I’d give it an A-. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, though! I’m just pleased that Season 9 of BONES is almost as good as the first five seasons. As everyone who reads this blog regularly knows, television is my addiction. I love it, I think the writing… Read More

I had a great idea for this blog, then promptly forgot it. It’s like that tickle in the back of your brain, that you know you know something, but you can’t remember what it is. Like a person’s name. Or an appointment you remembered that you forgot, but you can’t remember any details. So I started a different blog. I was going to write about mean reviewers, the kind who anonymously post bad reviews that are full of snark and personal slights instead of insight into why they didn’t like the book. But then I thought, why give those vipers… Read More

Wake Me Up When It’s All Over By Pamela Callow I must admit, Avicii’s Wake Me Up is my favourite song this week. Not only do I love the upbeat melody, and the raw soul in Aloe Blacc’s voice, but the lyrics resonate with me. The message – that we keep our eyes closed until we are older because we need to believe in our dreams – is one that I think works on so many levels.

Wake Me Up When It’s All Over By Pamela Callow I must admit, Avicii’s Wake Me Up is my favourite song this week. Not only do I love the upbeat melody, and the raw soul in Aloe Blacc’s voice, but the lyrics resonate with me. The message – that we keep our eyes closed until we are older because we need to believe in our dreams – is one that I think works on so many levels.

First off … from Angie Fox’s guest blog last week we have a winner! Anne! Please email me (Allison) with your contact information and which book of Angie’s you want and I’ll forward her the information. Thank you! My mom, who helps me out with Quickbooks and organizing and mailings, is out of town and will be back Wednesday, so all pending giveaways will be mailed later this week. I think there’s only one … Now, many of you may have already heard that Laura Griffin and I indie published a book together. CRASH AND BURN is really two connected… Read More

This week I’ve been staying up late writing and last night crashed at 9:30 … and totally forgot my blog. It’s one of this “catch up” days which I needed, but inevitable, things fall through the cracks … like remembering this was MY Thursday to post. Thing is … I have nothing to say. I’m going to New Zealand next week to keynote the New Zealand Romance Writers conference (yes, I’m very, very excited!) … I’m also presenting a workshop and doing other things for the conference, so I’ve been planning and preparing and shopping … and my mind isn’t… Read More

I’ve been a fan of Lisa Gardner since I read THE THIRD VICTIM in 2001. THE THIRD VICTIM wasn’t Lisa’s first book, but it was the first book of hers that I read. I became a life-long fan and Lisa Gardner is one of the few authors I consistently buy (in hardcover!) and read. But there’s another reason why THE THIRD VICTIM is close to my heart: it was one of the books that inspired me to write.

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