How many times have we heard someone say that? How many times have we said that? I can ask because I’m sitting here with half a dozen novels started (as in years ago) and only two completed, one of which (the first one) needs a major overhaul. Speaking of years, they pass much too quickly. Children are born. They grow up, go to college, leave the nest. Jobs change, goals change, sometimes mates change or simply move on. Did we write that book? Grandparenthood brings new joys, and pending retirement comes with its own unique challenges. Time constraints ease—perhaps we can even call some days our own to do what we please.  Did we write that book? Many began their writing careers before the bloom of youth disappeared in a mist, never to be revisited. Others waited…or are still waiting. Is it someday yet? Let’s look at the advantages of writing after experiencing life’s roller-coaster ride—whether it’s our debut novel, a new release on our list of published works, or a story wr...

The approaching climax of 2012 brings a curious mixture of closures and beginnings. It’s hard to believe the year that just started is reaching its end. It’s even harder to fathom that the fears surrounding the beginning of the new millennium and potential ramifications for the world’s computers (which never happened) occurred thirteen years ago. Now we see 2013 on the horizon. Some believe the world will end prior to its arrival. Others struggle with financial woes that have plagued the economy and seem destined to continue into the coming year. Still others are making plans to forge ahead with new ideas and new hope. As this year closes and we reflect on its gifts and ponder the tenuous peace in Gaza and lack thereof on the terrorist front, we find ourselves looking ahead even as we peer over our shoulders at what we are leaving behind. Personally, I love working with writers, and I want to continue with Blood Red Pencil because of the wealth of information it brings to the wr...

Who do you admire? Who we choose to call our heroes may have great power over our lives, whether we know them personally or not. Do you remember who your first writer hero was? I do. Ever since I can remember I wanted to be a writer. I wrote plays, poems, stories, and even a newsletter for my family, which I subjected them to every Sunday night at the dinner table during the year I was nine. It seemed a miracle to me that color, excitement and action could bloom out of black lines on white paper. I still remember the Christmas when I was nine or ten and given Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I fell in love with its heroine, Jo March. She, too, wanted to be a writer, and her “scribbling” meant more to her than anything else. She wasn’t one of those namby-pamby, retiring, “good” girls – no, she was exciting, bold, tumultuous, a passionate rebel who had problems with anger and who rebelled against female restrictions. I strongly identified with her. Jo March was my first author men...