Multi-tasking

Is there anything in life that doesn’t require multi-tasking skills of some sort or another? At any stage in life? Employers want workers who can juggle. Husbands, children, lovers, and readers expect you to be able to swivel from one thing to another. If readers like...

The Cruelest Enemy: Self-doubt

The best writing advice I ever got was watching the agony of a writer who couldn’t bring himself to write The End. As a result, he never finished anything and still remains in the ranks of the wannabes.  Oh, he had a million excuses, and at some point, we’ve all used...

I thought everyone could write if they just sat down and put their mind to it.  As my facility for words came easily to me, I never thought it was important. A facility for manipulating numbers was of consequence, after all, because I spent more than a score of years...

Why We Write What We Write

I write police procedurals in the  whodunit genre.  I like the cerebral quality of following the detective in an investigation. With a thriller you know soon who the evil villain is and his big stakes plan to take over the world. Then it’s all a race against the clock...

What Do I Want To Be Good At?

I see lots of women my age trundling craft supplies into the clubhouse:  lace making, quilting, scrapbooking, card creation. I pass by hearing them laughing and having a good time. I live in a tiny mountain village in the mountains a good bit north of the Los Angeles...