Why trust me? I’ve been working with writers to create their best stories since 2009. I’ve worked for agents on their slush piles, and I’ve taught writing at different levels for Writer’s Digest and Gotham Writers. I coached for Author Accelerator, and, I’ve just joined the faculty of Drexel University in their Low Res MFA in Creative Writing. In addition, I have written four novels and am now writing the fifth, which is coming out in 2021. Also? I’m a straight-talking sweetheart! So just email me and we can chat about your book. Now that I have your attention, watch out for T ..read more

What kind of lapsed blogger would I be if I didn’t post my deals here first? I may be a slacker but I’m polite. xo Amy ..read more

SUB TITLE: NOT WELL. I’m not sure this is what they meant by “doing the limbo” but there you have it. My proposal for Book 5 is off to my editor, two of writers have finished drafts of their novels, and I AM BORED. I can’t/won’t/shouldn’t dive into the novel I want to write without a commitment from my publisher. Too much work. Too much dedication. Too much emotion. I am super proud, like a writer-mama, of my writers who showed up, did the work, and got to type The End. But all of this at once? What was I thinking? Yes, TV is better than it’s ever been, and Hallmark is killing ..read more

The writing zone. I imagine it like one of those indoor trampoline parks (never been, my kids are adults) where it’s likely you get so much momentum going you JUST. CAN’T. STOP. That’s what happened to me yesterday — and to a lesser extent day. Hours pass. I’m stiff from sitting. The creative energy surges. Words bounce around in my brain and land on the page. Brand new words. It’s hard to start a new novel. Especially, for me, because the last time I started one it was 2016. I lived in a different state. I had a different life. I wrote most of The Last Bathing Beauty in my current ..read more

The cover for The Last Bathing Beauty exceeded my expectations, I finished my copyedits, and I visited my daughter in Chicago. You know what that means? I HAVE TIME FOR YOU! While I’m starting to write Book #5 and I’m awaiting my page proofs, I’m under no crazy, frantic deadlines — please take advantage of that because it ends. It always ends. I would like nothing more than to add to my roster of writers, so drop me a note with your questions or concerns and let’s see how we can work together. I don’t know about you but the more I have to do the more I get done. I’ve written 25 pages of ..read more

This cover captures the essence of my 1951 protagonist, eighteen-year-old Betty! You’ll also be treated to Betty at eighty-four, when everyone calls her Boop. She’s always this girl on the inside though! The Last Bathing Beauty will be crowned in April 2020. Watch the blog for ARC giveaways this Fall. Amy xo ..read more

Oh, I crack myself up. I didn’t go on vacation, but after three months of INSANE EDITING, I did hand in the final version of THE LAST BATHING BEAUTY to my editor. Can I get a high-five? I’m so pleased with this book and can’t wait for it to greet the world next April. Right now we’re in the cover and marketing stage and that’s exciting, as I wait for copy edits. I miss my characters, and it’s the first time this has happened to me. I’m eager to see where I messed up with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and the like. When you’ve read a manuscript seventy gazillion times, $hit gets ove ..read more

Can you believe it? WE HAVE A DAY! I started this blog in March 2011 because I couldn’t find like-minded writers anywhere. I didn’t see information on the interest that spoke to the kind of author I wanted to be, the kind of books I wanted to write. It didn’t exist, so I created it! Now there is an international organization WFWA and an acknowledgment of the genre in mainstream publishing. Of course the arguments ensue. What is WF? Why is there no men’s fiction genre? Why do we want a label that marginalizes us and our readers? To me, like I’ve always said, WF is a story in w ..read more

EDITED TO ADD: APPARENTLY I AM NOT WRITING ABOUT PASSIVE VOICE, AS IS NOTED IN THE COMMENTS. THIS IS WHAT WORKS FOR ME WHEN WRITING MY NOVELS. IF THIS TYPE OF HELP DOESN’T HELP YOU, THAT’S COOL. I HAVEN’T TAKEN AN ENGLISH CLASS FOR MORE THAN 35 YEARS. CHILL. EDITED AGAIN: I CHANGED THE TITLE SO AS NOT TO MISLEAD ANYONE WHO IS A PURIST. IN MY OWN HEAD, TO WRITE MY OWN NOVELS I REFER TO WHAT IS DESCRIBED BELOW AS PASSIVE VOICE. IF YOU DON’T, I DON’T CARE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY–MEANING YOU DON’T HAVE TO TAKE THE ADVICE I OFFER, YOU REALLY DON’T. I HOPE YOU ONLY DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU, THE W ..read more

Sometimes, I hear voices. Oh, c’mon, you probably do too. Sometimes my stories arrive in the form of a character who’s got something to say, and then it’s “easy” to determine POV. Point of View means not only who is telling your story, but through whose lens the story is revealed to the reader — and that has many implications, doesn’t it. Your reader can only see and know what the POV character knows, and while that may be a lot, it’s not going to be everything (unless you’re going with an all-knowing, omniscient POV). I believe the best thing to do if you’re unclear, is to notic ..read more