Soul Connection

  What was your question? Was I supposed to ask a specific question? You were waiting for my answer. Are you trying to make me crazy? Trying? Are we on different pages? Anything is possible, but I don’t believe we are. You are different than others, in the unique sense of different. Are you finally …

Bleeding Heart

Art by Michal Boubin. today you destroyed me; my laughter ceased. i felt the pain driven deep within my heart, as you lashed out against me in a furious rage. i stood before you rendered powerless, struck by your ardent emotional outburst. your words, like daggers - were stabbing, were slashing; tearing violently through my …

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

  It may appear to many that I have abandoned my blog since my last blog of May 5, 2016; however, while things beyond my control have usurped my life for the last year and a half, I did not quit, which is why I did not remove my blog. I did, however, take a …

Writing Outside The Box

Most of us, as writers, get stuck “inside the box.” Jamie Lee Wallace (@suddenlyjamie) tells us in her blog, “There is no “always” or “never” in writing. There are some basic common sense guidelines, but, other than that, I don’t give the “shoulds” and “musts” of writing much credence. What works for someone else might work for you, or it might not. And, as the masters will tell you, even the most widely touted rules are made (once you have the chops) to be broken.”

We should ask ourselves if we are stuck “inside the box” and as Jamie suggests in her blog, “…step outside that box – outside your comfort zone and into the place where the magic happens?”

Jamie’s blog is by far one of the best blogs for writers, by a writer, that I have read. Do yourself a favor and take the time to read Jamie’s entire blog.

Happy writing!

Live to Write - Write to Live

“Think outside the box” has always been one of the phrases I love to hate. In my agency days, it was something that echoed up and down the corridors, usually tripping lightly off the tongue of some overpaid creative director-type who couldn’t come up with a more helpful way to articulate his “vision.” The writers and designers would cringe in unison and wonder exactly what the hell they were supposed to do. Most of the time, they weren’t even aware they were in a box, never mind understanding how to get out of it.

Still, getting “outside the box” does have some validity in the world of marketing if you think of the box as the “shoulds” of marketing.

The myth of “best practices”

I have some bad news: there is no silver bullet, no 100% guaranteed roadmap, no one-size-fits-all solution. I also have some good news: there is no…

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Weekend Edition: Writing The Hard Stuff

Yesterday, I was reading the blogs that I follow, and I came to Jamie's "Live to Write-Write to Live" blog titled Writing the Hard Stuff, and I found myself gulping Jamie's every word. It was a slap upside my head while simultaneously stirring up so much emotion I had buried deep in my heart. I …

Writing Groups: Yea or Nay?

Allison asks an excellent question in her blog post; okay, there are two questions, not one. Do you belong to a writers group? Do you like it? I know there are many opinions out there - some are pro writing groups and others are anti-writing groups. Let's give Allison some honest feedback, both the good …

In Loving Memory of My Aunt Veronica Lynn Parker July 5, 1954 – July 18, 2014

A year ago today, my Aunt Veronica (Ronnie) Lynn Parker passed away from colon cancer after cancer spread to her lungs and her liver. She had just turned 60 on July 5th. My Aunt Veronica’s sister, my Aunt Dana, was in the hospital when my Aunt Veronica passed. Aunt Dana had Stage IV lung cancer; …

Racial Hate Unites the Holy City of Charleston, SC

The photo of the “Charleston Strong” print shown above is the work of April Knight. All profits from each print sale were given directly to the families of the Emanuel AME Church shooting victims. As the nation knows by now, on June 17th, 21-year-old Caucasian Dylann Storm Roof, from Columbia, South Carolina walked into the …

Thunderclap Campaign

Writers supporting writers. I’m in, are you? If not, please get in and support the group of international authors who came together in aid of WE ARE MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT to write this book, “You’re Not Alone – An Indie Author Anthology ” of short stories with the theme being relationships.

I don’t know anyone who has not been touched by cancer. Last July, I lost two Aunts (sisters) six days apart, both to cancer. What better way, whether writer or reader to get involved and have the opportunity to help others?

The Quill Pen Writes

Hi Everyone!

There is currently a Thunderclap Campaign #thunderclap running to help boost the anthology presence around the world… I wonder if you would help us to reach our goal of 100 supporters? We’re at 84 and it won’t cost you anything but a few minutes of your time. The link you need is here:

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/28028-you-re-not-alone?locale=en

This will take you to the thunderclap campaign. Simply follow this campaign, then share via your Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr accounts in order to add your social reach to the total gained so far (716,000). That’s it, painless.

Your support will generate more exposure for the brilliant collection of 28 stories from indie authors around the world, that have been compiled into an anthology entitled You’re Not Alone. You can also follow our progress as we head towards launch day on 11th July or you can pre-order a kindle copy here:

All monies raised in the sale…

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