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I love quotes. There are some quotes that I use when I meditate. There are some quotes I post throughout my office as inspiration. And all these quotes, to some extent, help me to understand me--my emotions, hurts, pains, happiness--and make me better. My most favorite quote is one that, literally, fits in EVERY SITUATION IMAGINABLE, and it comes from the late great tennis player and humanitarian, Arthur Ashe: In both a professional and personal manner, this quote wedges in and lifts me from the muck--whether that muck is not writing or living in our current world. image by pexels through pixabay SUD in the Professional For this example, I will use writing, specifically, writing this blog post. Start where you are . I'm in a space of insecurity. I don't know if I can be effective as a writer. If I want to be. If anyone would even care if I was. Lately (and by lately, I mean a really long time), I haven't had the energy or care to write--not in any sig...

Find all the details about Maryann Miller's books at her website .

Marketing experts have cautioned writers to be careful about being too political in writing blogs or in social media posts. The concern is that by stating opinions about social issues we might turn off some of the people who will then decide to never buy one of our books because they disagree with us on a particular issue. One of my friends, Tim Hallinan, decided after the election of 2016 that he would not hold back. He was so dismayed that somebody as unqualified to be a president as Donald Trump was actually elected, that he, Tim, would speak out when he saw wrongdoing or abuse of power. He knew people would disagree with things he posts on Facebook. He knew that people might decide not to buy his books because of what he posts on Facebook. And Tim has been okay with that. For a long time I've not heeded the advice of those marketing people either. I want to. I try to. I need to build a readership not drive people away because I say something that sticks in their craw. Bu...

Visit Elle at her website or on Facebook for all the details and how to buy her latest children's book, The Convoluted Key !

Staring out the dining room window as the sunset sent orange and scarlet fingers across the horizon, Esther Hasbrook sighed. She ignored the laptop sitting in front of her on the long oak table. After months of being confined to home by the pandemic sweeping the world, she had trouble resurrecting the creativity that had kept her writing for decades. How was she ever going to meet the deadline for her column in the Seasoned Citizens Gazette , the weekly journal she published for her neighbors in the senior mobile home park? The words simply refused to come.  Her gaze wandered to her prize cherry tree. Asher had planted it on their wedding day. Cherry pie had been his favorite, and they shared a home-baked one every year on their anniversary. This year would be a little different because Asher had slipped away in his sleep in the wee morning hours fifty-five years and one day after their wedding. In three days she would celebrate her first anniversary without him. Those d...

With life on hold, I have had endless hours to catch up on my To Be Read pile. Quite a few of the Fantasy YA novels are about dystopian societies. As I read and listened to the daily news, a few things came to mind about story building a dystopian novel. 1. Dystopian novels often minimize or ignore the range of responses from people. As I watch the arguments over quarantine, masks, and social distancing play out, it is obvious there are more than two sides to the characters dealing with the overall story problem. There are bands of resistance that want different things. 2. I am not certain that the level of dread and panic is presented enough in books. There is a lemming effect too, where people herd and move in different directions as a pod. How do your characters deal with their panic? What soothes them? What traumatizes them? 3. Stakes are crucial to every story, but should be the highest alert level in a dystopian thriller. 4. There are shades of gray. Even well-meaning b...