Hey there happy reader!

Well, we’re in it now. The dog days of summer. And if you’re like me, it’s the worst time of year.

I hate the heat and humidity that August brings. 

It’s like I’m stepping into a sauna as soon as I leave my garage. The sun is too hot, too bright, and not appealing; even a trip to the beach feels like a chore.

I end up sitting inside in the air conditioning behind my computer screen, cooking up story ideas, novels, and dreaming about pumpkin spice lattes!

Oh wait! That’s not a bad thing!

On one particularly hot day last week, as I was hard at work on my new novel, “The 48 Hour Rule,” a frosty beverage in hand, wearing my skimpiest summer dress, I had an “aha” moment.

This book wasn’t a standalone after all.

It was the first book in a new series!

Welcome to “The Brooklyn Bridge” series!

If you recall, the first book is about Brianna and Jack. After a fateful meeting in a coffeeshop one morning, their romance blossoms and they are well on their way to a happily ever after.

But wait! Jack has two roommates.

One is his stunt double who loves a challenge. His rival stunt actor is a woman who believes that she can do any trick he can, but better! As they try to outdo one another, a spark is ignited that cannot be ignored.

The other is a fellow actor who is filming a movie where he portrays a single dad. When he meets the child playing his baby, he falls for the little boy’s mother. She’s widowed and trying to survive raising an infant on her own. That book is up next!

Interested? I hope so!

I truly never expected to write another romance series, but this idea just won’t leave me alone. 

I’ll keep you posted on my progress as I navigate another book bible and this series’ intermingled characters. Fun times ahead!

I’m off next week to attend a wedding on the west coast, so there won’t be a newsletter. But once I’m back home, I’ll fill you in on all the ins and outs of writing a series. It’s not for the weak at heart…

Hey there happy reader!

I am so lucky to have one of the writers who I met on my trip to Guatemala stopping in New York to visit with me on her way to Kenya…

We’re spending some time catching up on each other’s lives and I’m helping her learn how to upload a manuscript to Amazon. 

I spent ten years as an indie writer, so I’m well versed in this process. While it seems daunting at first – choosing royalty rates and securing foreign rights – it’s really straight forward.

But what’s changed since I began my publishing journey is that today, Amazon asks this all-important question: “Was AI used in the creation of this manuscript?”

If the answer is yes, you need to check a box. 

If you check that box, Amazon will put a disclaimer on your copyright page disclosing this information. And don’t try to get around it because Amazon’s AI bots read every upload and spit out work that they think is questionable. Big brother is definitely watching…

Currently, an “author” is allowed to publish up to ten AI generated manuscripts PER DAY! 

And I’m not referring to writers that use ChatGPT or Claude to do research. I’m talking about having the computer WRITE THE DAMN BOOK!!! Ugh.

These AI generated books are crowding the marketplace. 

And they’re making it impossible for new authors to get a literary agent or have their work read by a traditional publisher.

I can promise you that I will never allow AI to tell my stories. I would rather stumble over every word before I enter a tag line and have my computer write the book for me. What fun is that, anyway??

I’ll get off my soapbox now… but thanks for letting me rant for a bit. 

I think I’ll head into my office and get back to my work-in-progress, “The 48 Hour Rule.” At least within those pages I can control most of what happens next…

Hey there happy reader!

I’m taking a break from writing another research-heavy historical novel and instead am working on a contemporary romance set right now in New York City.

Instead of spending hours in the library (yup, that’s right. I’m old-school that way!) I’m using a bit of a different process to create this work. I’m lucky enough to live near the setting of this novel, so I’m putting myself right in the middle of it all…

My new book, “The Forty-Eight Hour Rule,” takes place in trendy Brooklyn Heights. 

In case you’re not familiar with the neighborhood, it sits on the East River and has a lovely promenade where on a nice day, you’ll find tons of people outdoors taking a stroll.

This tony neighborhood is filled with coffee houses, high-end boutiques, and townhouses, many of them now divided into apartments.

While it is expensive to live there, its proximity to lower Manhattan makes it highly desirable for those who work in the financial district, a short subway ride away.

(My character’s apartment building)

My female protagonist is a speech therapist at a private school there, and she lives close enough to her job to be able to walk to work – an important detail because she is claustrophobic and won’t ride the subway. Her claustrophobia is well-earned, a trait that is revealed over the course of the story, but that’s information for another day…

Right now, to get myself in the proper mindset for writing a book about a thirty-something living and working in this city, I’m using music to help me understand my character.

I listen to these songs in my car or while I’m cooking dinner. It truly helps to put me in the mind of a much younger woman, one who is trying to find her footing in an ever-confusing world.

Interested in listening along? Here it is:

Every writer I know has a process, and that process matters. 

I find that expanding my horizons – whether it’s listening to music or looking at a painting or sculpture, helps to broaden my mind and think differently about what I’m putting on the page.

Sometimes we need to draw our energy from other areas of art; it often ignites the necessary spark that we can then to bring back to our own work.

What do you do to push the limits of your own imagination? Where do you get your creative ideas from? Whatever your outlet – gardening, knitting, or firing up the kiln – how do you put your mind in motion?