Well. Not so new. It’s the same resolution as last year. Finish my WIP. I don’t think I’m lacking motivation. I think I’m just slow. I’m marinating…turning the characters over in my mind until I know them well. Until I know what they want to do. Until they are real. To me. Unfortunately, this process […]

August 7, 2012 Some titles are wistful and subtle like Gone With the Wind while others are a bullet straight to the heart like Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes. But no matter which angle they take, titles are a large part of a consumer’s first impression and can make the difference between a sale or re-shelving. No wonder that coming up with

July 25, 2012 I suppose that we writers are not renowned for having thick skin. We write after all. We don’t push through crowds to get to the front and speak to masses, we don’t generally grace the stage or airwaves. No, most of us would rather hunker down in our favorite spot with our beverage of

July 19, 2012 As some of you may know, I’ve been in the process of launching a series of writing classes for children…a uniquely underserved group with huge potential for creativity! It all began this past year with my own children as I noticed my daughter beginning to write stories and illustrations on scraps of

May 10, 2012 Because I’m a mom, I see everything in relation to my kids. My hubby asks: “What’s for dinner?”  I think: “What will little Johnny eat?”  A friend asks: “What are you doing this weekend?” I scroll through my mental calendar of the kids’ sports and birthday parties. Virtually everything that goes through

May 1, 2012 Inspiration. It’s what makes artists paint and musicians compose. It’s what drives educators to teach and dancers to perform. And at the end of the day, inspiration is what makes authors out of ordinary writers. For me personally, inspiration is what carries me from the initial heady enthusiasm I feel on page one of a new

April 24, 2012 You may notice a change on my blog…then again you may not. After much internal debating, I have decided to change the name I use for my blog from my formal given name to the nickname that I have been called ever since I can recall. I’ve never really used my given name…ever. Not

April 24, 2012 Hi. My name is Josie and I’m a reality TV junkie. Ok. I said it. The first step toward recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? For years now I’ve tuned in and followed the Bachelor from lonely lost soul to giddy, hopeless romantic. I’ve followed stressed out designers on Project

April 16, 2012 I am in that no man’s land between finishing a piece of work and looking for a publisher. You know how it is…you spend a year (or more) pouring the creative contents of your mind onto paper and then months proofing it for spelling and grammar. And then, at last…finally…it is done.