Changes... New things, beginnings and endings. They're all around us. A new school year, summer flowers coming to the end of their blooming cycle, the Solar Eclipse on Monday, August 21st, the animal kingdom preparing for autumn and winter.
     I've been working on internal changes...learning to let go of old things to make room for the new. Not an easy task, but a very necessary one. I'm guilty of allowing things to pile up, and I hold onto them, and put them in boxes in the very back, dark recesses of my inner closet. When I do let go, there is such freedom in the cleansing!
     Speaking of cleaning and changes...the website has a new look! I hope you take time to look around, sign up for my quarterly newsletter, and leave me your thoughts in the comments section.  
     Thank you for visiting. I appreciate your support and encouragement and value your opinions, suggestions for what you'd like to see in my website, as well as new book ideas! :D   

     Recently, I read a post from an author friend after she'd attended a writing conference. She stated that she "learned" everything she'd done up to this point was wrong.  She's a best selling author on both USA and NYT lists, her books are a wonderful combination of strong characters and great storylines.
       Why other people think (regardless of who they are) they have the right to tell us how to think, what to say, what to do, how to write... it mystifies me.
          Yes, there is protocol to writing... good grammar and punctuation, strong opening sentences and believable characters. The most important is an error-free manuscript.
            My take on this...
       A writer is an individual expressionist. If 3 writers had the same subject, each would pen something in a different way. It isn't about being a recipe or a cookie cutter author. Rather, it is telling your stories in a manner that allows you to stand in your truth and integrity. Mechanics are always the same...good grammar, sentence structure, and strong characters. The rest of the story is your beautiful imagination woven into a blanket of words that puts a smile on a reader's face. Be you! Don't be Nora or Jill or Kristan or anyone else (they are awesome writers, but they are not YOU.) Write and stand in your truth. Don't be afraid to write outside of your comfort zone or in a different genre. It pushes us to be better, more well-rounded writers.