Yes, it's fun to root for the good guy, but even more intriguing if the bad guy isn't all that bad. How often do you read a book or watch a movie, and feel sorry for the bad guy? The answer could be more often than not. Evil happens for a reason. Sometimes the why is apparent, sometimes you need to dig for a motive. One reason might be how a person is brought up by parents or lack of parents. An early in life tragedy, a recent one, or a combination of factors might play a part in changing a person's character. Even ultra-sensitivity to a perceived slight might be all it takes. Whatever the case, a writer needs to weave the motive(s) into the story line, so the reader will understand why a crime is committed. In Two Wrongs , my perma-free book for kindle and other ereaders, being accused and sentenced for a murder he didn't commit is powerful enough motive for my antagonist, Kevin, to cross over to the dark side once he's freed from prison. If I wove the ...

Christmas hype often overshadows Thanksgiving, but it shouldn't. Around Thanksgiving, I can't help but be grateful for my many blessings, chief of which are the gift of life, the gift of love, and the gift of country. I've also received another gift, one that sees me through hard times and give me joy. That is the gift of writing. My earliest recollections are of my father driving me and my brothers to the library, where we'd take out stacks of books to bring home and devour.  As I grew older, I dreamed of being a writer, but that's all it was, just a dream. I had no idea how to follow through, or even if I could. That all changed one evening when I attended a presentation at my local library, There, various members of the Chicago-North Romance Writers of America chapter shared how and why they wrote. Though they came from various walks of life, and seemed like normal, everyday people, they'd managed to write books,and many of these women had actually g...

Today, I'd like to share some secrets for getting noticed in your genre. First, it's a step in the right direction to write a great book. However, these days that's not enough. Amidst the vast competition, somehow your gem must stand out and get noticed. Genre strategy is one way to do that. Here are some secrets to achieve that: Be specific. Narrow down your genre . For example, don't just say you've written a romance. The romance genre contains tons of categories. To help potential readers discover your romance buried amongst others, include another category, such as contemporary, historical, paranormal, Young Adult, etc. To further guide readers to your book, you can narrow the field by including an extra category to the first two, such as a  sweet contemporary romance, a Christian historical romance, an erotic paranormal romance. You get the drift. Amazon, for example, provides tons of romance categories from which to choose. I chose the r...

At my age, I often get hit by nostalgia. I remember the way things used to be. That can be good or bad, depending on my mood and what triggers a memory. I miss the people who are no longer with me. I remember past events, sometimes with joy, other times with sadness. Also, I remember when printed books were the norm and e-books were a fledgeling child, struggling to gain recognition. When my first two books, the mystery, Two Wrongs and romantic comedy, Girl of My Dreams , came out in e-book and print form through the publisher, Hard Shell Word Factory, I hardly paid much attention to the e-book editions. The major consensus of the reading public was a real book had to be on paper, which readers could smell and feel, and delight in seeing the cover and turning the pages. Well, in the past few years, that attitude has significantly changed. Multitudes of readers have gravitated toward e-books, instead of the printed format, and their numbers appear to be growing. E-books do ha...