“Velvet Coffin”
September 20, 2026
Violet Burgandy awoke one morning to find that everything in her house had inexplicably
turned black overnight. … More “Velvet Coffin”
Ghosts and Orchids
July 6, 2023
My debut novel Ghosts and Orchids is out! I am extremely humbled by all of your love and support. It is both terrifying and thrilling to pour your heart and soul into your art and then send it out into the world. She’s not perfect, but she’s mine (and I hope you’ll like her). Filled … More Ghosts and Orchids
Chasing Phantoms
June 10, 2021
It was uncomplicated and obvious: sit and write. But she could not. Not with the kids, and the dishes, and the emails, and the days that required all of the mental fortitude and focus she could mine from within the depths of her weary being. She was always buzzing with the undercurrent of restless energy … More Chasing Phantoms
Currently Querying
May 16, 2020
Pared down to my essence, I am a tortured writer. A fairly social observer of the world who awakes in the night trying to capture that je ne sais quoi when a dream or fleeting memory brings all the pieces into place and the veil of life is lifted, if only for a millisecond. Everything … More Currently Querying
Do Not Fear the Chaotic Page
April 25, 2020
Do not fear the messy page, rife with cross-throughs and edits. Those smudges and X’s are like the billowy green algae visible just beneath the surface of the water, evidence of the life lurking beneath. Inception, growth, death, and new life all entwined in the microcosm of the page. Rich, full. No, do not fear … More Do Not Fear the Chaotic Page
Giving Birth (to a Baby and a Book)
May 9, 2018
Tomorrow at approximately 2:00 pm we will meet our daughter- quite a surreal concept. After an adorable march of eleven baby boys in a row, she will be the first girl grandchild for my in-laws in twenty-five years and the first ever girl for my parents. That’s a lot of pressure to put on one … More Giving Birth (to a Baby and a Book)
Unspoken Hardships & Aspirations: The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao
August 25, 2017
Set in 1940’s Rio de Janeiro, Martha Batalha’s The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao follows a brilliant and passionate woman through her days of preparing food, tending to children, and altogether being overlooked and underappreciated. With a successful banker for a husband, she need only tend to the house and her offspring, passing her days with … More Unspoken Hardships & Aspirations: The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao
The Complex Nature of Truth: The Heirs by Susan Rieger
August 20, 2017
To children, their parents are just that- individuals who live to serve their offspring with benevolent transparency. At some point, as we get older we are able to peer beyond the veil a bit and accept the fact that our mothers and fathers had lives and goings on completely independent of us. The level … More The Complex Nature of Truth: The Heirs by Susan Rieger
Thank Your Teachers
August 9, 2017
Originally posted on bookworm_shawn:
As you sit anxiously (not eagerly) watching the days of summer vacation dwindle away to nothing, thank your teachers. I know you have yet to meet them, or if by chance you have met them, to interact with them in any real way yet, but thank them nonetheless. You may not…
Pitfalls of a Part-time Writer
July 29, 2017
(My beloved Paperblanks journal! Get it here: http://amzn.to/2v7JoOw ) It sounds great in theory. Sketch out your plot, draft at your leisure, and slowly but steadily create what will one day become your first published novel. You have other sources of revenue so writing is your passion, not your livelihood, but therein lies the problem. You … More Pitfalls of a Part-time Writer
bookworm_shawn 