Before I even graduated from college, I knew that the Loire Valley chateaux were my “dream vacation.” Any time someone asked me where I most wanted to go in world, I’d say “French ‘Chateaux country.’” Keep in mind, this was years before I started writing about the people who lived, worked, and viciously stabbed one
<em>Category</em> Behind the scenes
I covered the rest of day 1 of my trip to France in the last post. To catch you up, I’m still on day one because the second half of the day I went wandering on my own to Notre Dame. This wouldn’t have gotten much of a mention, but two days after we flew
I linked news of this controversy in my newsletter, but as I dug further, I knew I had to write a blog post about it. I’m still working on my blogging about my own trip to Close Lucé, but I’d like to think that this counts as “unusual circumstances.” Full disclosure: during my graduate school
Researching and getting ready for this trip has consumed me since November. Not only was it a MUCH needed vacation, it was my first research trip to France since I started writing historical fiction. Some visits, like to Chateau de Blois and Chateau de Chenonceau, were practically pilgrimages to me. We couldn’t afford to go
Story Origin is offering ten free historical fiction stories this May. From now until May 30th, you can download the stories. I’m offering my own short story, Safe in My Arms, in the bundle. If you already have it, you still have several other offerings to download. You can visit the page here, starting May
If you’ve decided to try your hand a writing historical fiction, great! It’s been the best job that I’ve ever had, even better than the time we got free pizza at Snappy Tomato back in college. It’s not an overnight success story, no matter what non-writers will tell you. It will take you a while
I wanted to give you all a quick update on what’s been going on in my life. My Mother and I were involved in a car accident three days ago. We’re thankful that we both were able to walk away from it. I think that a combination of luck and the four weeks of yoga
I’ve been ensconced in the editing cave for a couple of months now. The Valois Mistress is my first full-length novel and I’m still in the process of learning how to get it right. Once I finish fiddling with the edits, I get to send it to my editor. I’ve published a series of novellas
This month, I finally broke down and bought Scrivener for editing The Valois Mistress. To be honest, I still hadn’t found out how to edit a 4 page scene from a 133 page manuscript without losing my mind to a copy and paste nightmare. Editing novellas and short stories has been one thing, a full
I’m headed cross-country to Hawaii today. Should be back just before Christmas Eve. If you don’t see me after then, I’m trapped in the Newark airport.