Dear Baby, I can hear you groaning at this whole letter thing. You’re probably rolling your eyes and shrugging it off as either dumb or embarrassing. But I’m hoping on some level, you secretly love it. As a writer, my mind goes places I sometimes wish it didn’t. But...

Fiction/Thriller The Silent Patient By Alex Michaelides pp. 336 Celadon Books $14.79 There’s so much I want to say about this book, but then I’d be giving away spoilers. The basic plot centers around the eponymous character, Alicia Berenson, who after being charged with killing her husband is committed...

Nonfiction The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America By Erik Larson 447 pp. Vintage $20.50 Years ago you wouldn’t have caught me reading a nonfiction book unless it was assigned as homework. Admittedly, it’s still not my favorite genre. Like...

Fiction Neverwhere By Neil Gaiman 400 pp. Harper Collins $8.99 This is the second Neil Gaiman book I read this year. The first, Ocean at the End of the Lane, was for book club. I read Neverwhere after listening to Neil Gaiman’s MasterClass course. I picked this one up...

Treat yourself and your goals like a good friend, and show up. ...

We hear a lot about pantsers and plotters, so much so you’d think those are the only two approaches to writing. Every writer needs to figure out the writing process that will work for them. It doesn’t have to be the same as their favorite writer. Mine isn’t. Last...

Fiction The Ocen at the End of the Lane By Neil Gaiman 256 pp. William Morrow $11.38 Memories are malleable. For the most part, they live in the recesses of our mind and come out at odd times. Sometimes they peek out their head and other times they make...

Count mountain climbing off my bucket list. Nonfiction Into Thin Air By Jon Krakauer 293 pp. Villard $14.60 There’s something innately ‘cool’ about mountain climbing. I’m not sure if it’s the gear, the brands, the people (both real and fictional), or the mountains themselves. Maybe all of the above;...

As you write, look through each of your character's eyes. Look for their character motivation, but also for their beliefs and ways these can cross paths in a way that forces your character to make a decision that puts their goal in danger. ...

The Good Working from home has definite perks. I usually work at an office about a half hour drive away. Today, I got a text saying that the power was out. It was perfect timing, I still had on my yoga pants. Who doesn’t dream about wearing yoga pants...