I love to travel, and I love to evoke a sense of place in my novels. Either I go out into the world by setting foot outside my door. Or I let the world come to me, primarily through books. Note: This blog is an update of a post from... read more
Relationship arcs have been on my mind since last week. My post on Opposites Attract got me started. I had just finished The Austen Playbook: An Opposites Attract Romance by Lucy Parker. The fact that the relationship arc of the story found its way into the subtitle interested me. Such... read more
After finishing the trilogy London Celebrities by Lucy Parker, I picked up another by her, namely The Austen Playbook. This one announces in the title that it is An Opposites Attract Romance. I decided to ruminate on the category. First image to come to mind: Danny and Sandy from Grease.... read more
Heather Graham is a highly successful New York Times bestselling author of over 200 novels and novellas. Her work crosses many genres: romance, thriller, mystery, horror, paranormal. She lives in Miami and was the guest speaker at the Florida Romance Writers monthly meeting this past Saturday. She spoke from a... read more
Hotness. It’s currently a thing in romance novels. Has been for a while. So what I’m saying here isn’t new. It’s rather that the story I’m reading at the moment has prompted some thinking. Hotness: No Escalation I’m talking about stories that start: Boom. First page. Sometimes the first paragraph.... read more
As a pantser (meaning: I write by the seat of my pants), I like to discover my characters as I write. I love to get them up and running and interacting. Hearing their thoughts, listening to their dialogues. That’s great … for a first draft. However, the revision process requires... read more
One of the most basic aspects of any story is character motivation. In any given scene. Throughout the story. Character Motivation Character motivation is based on needs. The title image offers the possibilities. Psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed this five-tier pyramid in 1943 in a paper entitled “A Theory of Human... read more
My Love in the City trilogy is now available on your preferred e-book platforms. The trilogy contains two previously published books: DeMarco’s Cafe and Love After All. The third one, The Hard Bargain, is new. Love in the City: The Hard Bargain Carla Pereira is an actress who needs a... read more
You want your characters to face realistic obstacles. You want them to encounter challenges and meet adversity. These obstacles create the conflict you need for your story to progress. Since I write mainly romance, the central conflict will always be between the hero and heroine. They will have different motivations... read more
My latest release, The Hard Bargain, is now available on your preferred e-book platforms. I love the cover. Both crisp and dreamy. It is part of my Love and the City trilogy. The Hard Bargain: The Story The Hard Bargain a modern-day marriage of convenience story. Marriage of convenience stories... read more
