2022- The Year of Civility

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Instead, I focus on one aspect of life I’d like to nurture and grow. I choose a catchphrase that embodies the concept and creates a common theme. If you’re into jumping down rabbit holes, here is a rundown of the past. Last year, I named 2021 “The Year of Resilience” out of a fierce, … Read More

Creatively Standing Alone

Over the years, I’ve discovered most creatives feel like a round peg in a world of square holes. We’re the ones that chase rabbits in meetings trying to improve systems that have been in place for years. We’re the outliers who are challenged by the idea of a “status quo.”  We’d rather fail trying to be extraordinary than succeed in … Read More

The Power of Purging

If you follow me on social media, you may have noticed a post or two about my newsletter trials and tribulations. Long story short, I didn’t send newsletters during the pandemic, and because of that, most of my followers had become “inactive.” When I overrode those protocols to reach out to readers on the original list, my mail service sent … Read More

Legislating Integrity

Selfishness has gripped this nation in a way never seen before, and “news” shows use fear-mongering and misinformation to create alternative realities for our most intellectually vulnerable. Straw man, false equivalence fallacies, and conspiracy theories have muddied the communication waters, making it almost impossible to keep our communities informed and safe. The willfully ignorant hate facts that contradict their beliefs. … Read More

Beacons in the Storm

Covid-19 has swept across the globe, its destructive wave affecting every aspect of our lives.  To complicate matters, facts are buried under a pile of opinions, misinformation, manipulation, and downright lies, which leads to nothing but a deafening roar of white noise, confusion, and fear. Panic ensues, which is never a good thing. Panicked people make stupid decisions, like hoarding … Read More

A Writer’s Guide to Self-Care

It’s no secret that creatives are more at risk for depression, but for writers, it can be especially tough. Our craft is a solitary endeavor, spending hours in front of a keyboard. For those prone to feelings of loneliness, the isolation, the lack of sunlight and human interaction that writing often brings, can plunge them into the dark waters of … Read More

Running a Lean Mean Marketing Machine

I did a post on Facebook’s latest changes regarding groups and pages last month, but even authors that had prepared for the switch were shell shocked at the results, both in sales and in reader interaction. Algorithms have destroyed any hope of reaching new readers without paying for an ad or running a sponsored post. My friend LK Griffie has been saying for … Read More

IPA–It’s Not Just for Beer

This past week, I was discussing with a marketing friend about not having enough time in the day to do everything that needs to be done and still find time to write. She suggested I start thinking in terms of IPA. Now, living in a state where there are more barrels of bourbon than people, I know a thing or … Read More

Outside My Comfort Zone

I was raised in an era where photos were taken with an honest-to-God camera, film and all. Filters were for furnaces, family videos were only for rich people, a brand was for putting on cows, and selfies sounded like something that should be done in the privacy of your own room. It’s not that I’m reaching the octogenarian stage of … Read More

Five Things Successful Authors Do

This past decade has seen a ton of changes in the bookish world. Technology assured indie authors had a voice at the table, and Amazon turned the publishing industry on its ear. We saw the end of great brick-and-mortar stores while digital books rose at unprecedented rates. Gone were the gatekeepers of old, and in their place a new paradigm. … Read More