Fear Not

Anyone who grew up when I did learned to love the Charlie Brown Christmas special. We talk about Charlie Brown trees at the lot, those poor things that are more stick than needles. We know all the words to “Christmas Time Is Here.” We know exactly how awful pink aluminum Christmas trees are, no matter what today’s fashionable magazines tell us is “on trend.” But the...
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Learning to Let Go

Trips to Daddy’s in Highlands have a pattern. The way up is the hated trip on I-75 through Georgia–the Interstate that seems like it’s been under construction since I was a kid. The way back involves an overnight stop in Clemson at my aunt and uncle’s house on Lake Keowee (Aunt Lou’s B&B, we call it), then a loop up and over Greenville, down through Clinton so...
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RWA National: The Courageous Writer: Power Through the Fear

Considering my last couple of years have been like a tunnel, this workshop really hit the spot. Aspiring author Fae Rowen, debut author Laura Drake, and NYT bestselling historical author Tessa Dare shared a passel of wisdom about the fears that crop up in all stages of the writing career, how to face them, and how to get past them so you can be productive. Here are some highlights: “There...
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RWA National: Doing It All Over Again: Writing Novels in a Series

New York Times bestselling authors Eloisa James and Sarah MacLean and their editor, Carrie Ferron of Avon, delivered a solid hour of  information for those of us planning a series of novels. Although the thought of planning a series, like James’s Desperate Duchesses, and MacLean’s Scoundrels, seems daunting, it becomes less so when you consider the following: CONNECTIONS: What is it...
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RWA National: New Adult: Young Adult Books “Grow Up”

Subtitled “Everything You Want to Know About the Hottest Genre in Publishing,” writers Jennifer L. Armentrout, Cora Carmack, and Molly McAdams, agents Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency and Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary, and Avon editor Tessa Woodward discussed the emergence of the New Adult subgenre. Here are some highlights from their talk: New Adult focuses on the...
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