We know there are professions that come with a level of fear attached. Firefighters, cops, military personnel—these folks are doing jobs that put their lives on the line all the time. Overcoming and channeling their fears is part of their training. But a writer? What are we afraid of? Paper cuts? Power failures? Losing files? Hardly life-threatening. However, there are still things that frighten writers. Fear? Maybe not. But darn powerful insecurities. Our job is a constant battle with these insecurities. For example, I just sent my newest manuscript, Deadly Bones (a sequel to Deadly Secrets ) to my editor. Although I sent her the cleanest copy possible, it's not her finding typos that scares me. It's sitting on pins and needles until I get the manuscript back. Or worse, the fear that I'll get an email from her saying, "What were you thinking with this book? I'm not going to waste my time editing it." Or, you get edits back, and they...

Don't Stumble over the Humble Apostrophe This month's post is about something very basic—but when we're busy writing, sometimes even the basics become stumbling blocks. We were driving onto the highway the other day, and our local BBQ joint (note, in our town there are only 3 choices for food: the Irish pub, the BBQ joint, or the sandwich shop) had just put out a new sign: "Breakfast Burrito's Served All Day." I cringe at how common that mistake is. I know I'm guilty of the occasional typo because my fingers don't always listen to my brain, but I do know the rule. Mr. Holtby in high school English drilled it in. Deep. And although I hope most people here know the rules, too, I figured it might be worth a reminder, in case anyone wants to sell burritos all day. An Apostrophe Has Two Uses 1. It shows possession. Something belongs to someone or something.    The man's hat. The dog's leash. My biggest trouble-spot with this is dealing w...