In my Thursday 13 blog post titled Movie Lists Fun (Childhood Favorites, Comfort Movies, All-Time Favs), I shared lists of movies, including my all-time favorite movies. Next to several of those movie titles there had been an asterisk, indicating that those films had inspired/influenced me as a writer.  The Movies: Pitch Black  UltraViolet Matrix: Reloaded Van Helsing Gothika Once a month, I am going to highlight one of those movies and reveal how it inspired/influenced me. This month's movie is... UltraViolet How did it inspire me? 1) Her kick-ass fighting techniques. 2 ..read more

  This is another contribution to the Thursday 13 blog hop in which participants create a post with some kind of list of 13 things they want to share. The skies the limit. Last month, I shared the 13 most-viewed posts of all-time on my blog. It's always interesting to see which posts take off, and which posts don't. It's just like with other forms of social media. We may love a picture we share on Instagram, but because of the algorithms, that day's traffic, planet alignment, you name it, the post you love may not get any love. That's why I'm sharing 13 of my personal favorite b ..read more

  In my Thursday 13 blog post titled Movie Lists Fun (Childhood Favorites, Comfort Movies, All-Time Favs), I shared lists of movies, including my all-time favorite movies. Next to several of those movie titles there had been an asterisk, indicating that those films had inspired/influenced me as a writer.  The Movies: Pitch Black UltraViolet Matrix: Reloaded Van Helsing Gothika Once a month, I am going to highlight one of those movies and reveal how it inspired/influenced me. This month's movie is... PITCH BLACK How did it inspire me? Two words...his eyes. The male main char ..read more

I realized recently that I never talk about my works-in-progress on my blog. I want to change that! Usually, I share details about my WIPs in my museletter (aka newsletter) and on other forms of social media (Instagram and Facebook). But now I want to start doing that here, too. It may be repeated content (if you follow me elsewhere), but I'll try to find something different to share here, too. With that said, museletter subscribers will always get content first, like exclusive content months in advance or that I won't share elsewhere (until the book is published). For example: In the Ap ..read more

  This is another contribution to the Thursday 13 blog hop in which participants create a post with some kind of list of 13 things they want to share. The skies the limit. On my iPad, I found a few movies lists I started to compile last year, thinking I could maybe share them here on my blog or in my museletter (aka newsletter) for fun. Now I have the perfect excuse to finally share them. I have FOUR lists of 13 things for you today...since they're just movie titles. :) NOTE: So as to not repeat any movies, I only listed them once, although there is a lot of crossover from list to list ..read more

  ANNOUNCING IT FIRST HERE! I made the decision to make The Disaster Curse perma-free (with a slight catch that I have to periodically check it on Amazon because they like to revert free eBooks back to their original pricing now, unlike the good ole days when a book was perma-free indefinitely). NOTE: THE DISASTER CURSE (DISASTER CRIMES, 7) IS A SHORT STORY OF 23 PAGES THAT FOLLOWS A FIGHTING CHANCE (FT. THORN) AND WRAPS UP THE DISASTER CRIMES SERIES. Could you read The Disaster Curse without having read any of the previous stories? Well, I couldn't stop you. It could be a good way to ..read more

  During the A to Z challenge, Liz A. posted for a small blog hop called Thursday 13 in which participants create lists of 13 things to share. It could be anything. I love lists, so I thought I'd join in a couple of times this month for fun. MY BLOG'S TOP 13 POSTS OF ALL TIME: 1. Writing About: A Car Accident - 77.3K views 2. Writing About: A Kidnapping - 15.4K views 3. Writing About: A Wedding - 11.8K views 4. Writing About: Witches - 7.35K views 5. Writing About: A Plane Ride - 6.43K views 6. Protagonist vs Antagonist - 6.27K views 7. Ad Astra Interview / Olivia and Fio ..read more

  Theme: Grief Work and Healing Journey A couple of weeks after my mom passed away two friends took me on a tour through the Brevard Zoo, which was named the third best zoo in the nation last year. It was the perfect day, not too hot but actually started with a slight chill, so all the animals were happy and out and active, not hiding in the shade and conserving their energy because of the heat. Because of that, I was able to catch a lot of awesome videos. (You can see those in my V for Videos of Wildlife post.)  Here are some of my favorite snapshots from that trip. They make me s ..read more

  Theme: Grief Work and Healing Journey My dad and stepmom happened to be visiting when my mom passed away. When I went to their trailer to spend time with them, be around people, have a distraction, and get out of the house, we played two games—Yahtzee and Tri-Ominos. I had never played either game, so they had to tech me, but I quickly caught on and had fun. I was laughing and smiling and being competitive and had momentarily forgotten all about my grief and my mom. Playing games with your loved ones is a great way to feel connected to others, to bring a little happiness into your lif ..read more

  Theme: Grief Work and Healing Journey While going to Grief Share meetings, the discussions we had and the things people shared helped me a lot, especially when it came to certain thoughts that are extremely common that need to be altered. 1. My mom wasn't taken from me. It can often feel like our loved ones are taken from us. We'll even pray "Please, don't take [fill in with your loved one's name or title]." I know when my mom was first diagnosed that I had prayed, "Don't take her away from me." But I did not own my mom. None of us own our loved ones. Everything that we say is ours ..read more