We recently adopted our third rescue dog. Our first was Molly, a sweet three-year-old, twenty-pound chocolate terrier with the hunting prowess of a full-grown Labrador retriever. She came from the Miami Animal Shelter. Oh, how she loved to run! On occasion, we’d take her to an empty field near our home in South River, NJ, […]
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How Books Help You Ease Your Worry
Saying “no” to worry is not an easy feat. A Sage once observed that worry is almost impossible to avoid when we “live in a negative sea of human mental activity.” It’s true. Every day we’ve got millions of reasons to worry: “Will my career outlook improve?” “Will I finish my project?” “Will I make […]
Writer’s Corner: Pantser’s Guide to Plotting
I can’t tell you how many blogs and articles I’ve read about how “pantsers” need to become “plotters” to write a novel. Well, I disagree, and I agree all the same. Talk about sitting on the fence. But seriously, I see the benefits in sitting on the fence and effectively walking the line versus picking […]
The Story of My Settings
They say you should write what you know. Many of us writers start with something we know. Then we take it to the next level. For example, I doubt that J. K. Rowling has ever met a wizard (one could hope), but she’s been down on her luck, like her protagonist Harry. She may even […]
How Do I Pick The Books I Review?
My book reviews are not random. In fact, I get to choose from books sent to me by publishers, literary agents, librarians, publicists and booksellers and of course a few fellow authors who I’ve been fortunate to get to know. Additionally, I always select a few appealing ones off the bookshelves of bookstores I visit […]
150 Books In A Year—Don’t Try This At Home
I was looking over the list of books that I read recently and I was surprised to see that in the last month I’d read ten. So I thought if I averaged around this many each month that I probably should set a goal for myself next year. Why? Well my day job is all […]
Don’t Close The Book On Libraries
There’s nothing quite like visiting a library. There really isn’t. Everyone has chosen to be there because they share a common love for one thing—books. Sure there are a lot more community events and family or professional activities now offered at each one, but books are what really draws people in. Amidst those books are […]
Careers For Creatives?
Have you ever been told you should shy away from an industry because there is no future in it? More often than not, parents and caregivers have their child’s best interest at heart when they steer them from creative occupations and on to a more “stable” field. Or do they? It’s interesting how creative people […]
The Princess Who Loved Hot Chocolate
Sounds like the title of my next picture book. And maybe it is. Stay tuned. But let’s look at the logic of this statement. It really hits the target on just how many of us—real-life princesses and princes—love a good hot chocolate as a celebratory elixir. But as Simon Sinek would ask, “What’s Your Why?” […]
Confessions of a Wild Child
So you’re traveling, charging your e-reader when a book in the airport store catches your eye. That’s how I met Jackie Collins’ Confessions of a Wild Child. Oh sure. Who hasn’t heard of Jackie Collins, the best-selling, Beverly Hills author who’s been writing scandalous novels often based on the rich and famous in the same […]