Tag: Writing
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Maximize Book Success with Amazon Reviews
Come to think of it,are you relevant? This afternoon, a friend told me she had just finished reading Chick Stories. She related a story in her own life that was similar to one of mine. “One of the reasons I wrote the memoir,” I said, “was to encourage readers to connect with the adventures lived,…
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Engaging Readers: The Real Timeline Behind Writing a Book
Come to think of it, the clock starts ticking as soon as the reader is engaged. A reader recently asked me how long it took to write a book. According to Reedsy, a self-described “ecosystem for authors and publishing professionals,” it takes most authors between six months and a year to write a book (based…
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Write Where Writers Belong
Come to think of it, writing is both a personal journey and a shared experience. While many authors agree with Ernest Hemingway’s observation that “Writing, at its best, is a lonely life,” members of the Gulf Coast Writers Association may not concur with Papa’s conclusion. “Organizations for writers palliate the writer’s loneliness, but I doubt…
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What Does AI Say about You?
In my blog, What the Cats Are Reading, I recently featured Kacy Cooney’s cat Cameo reading Seeking Solace, in which the protagonist overcomes a history of domestic abuse. In the blog post, Cameo finds solace in her forever home after surviving her own rescue. In what Kacy thought was a simple Google search to find…
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HOUNDED Wins Gold in 2025 FAPA Contest
The 2025 Annual Florida Authors and Publishers Association (FAPA) President’s Book Awards recognized Hounded as a gold medal winner in the Middle-Grade (Children/Young Adult) Fiction Category. Hounded, a contemporary coming-of-age novel inspired by the legendary Irish warrior Cú Chulainn, is illustrated by William E. Green III. The FAPA President’s Book Awards Program recognizes book publishing…
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Got a Book Inside You?
What Are the Odds of Getting It Published? Writer and friend Deborah Garafano found the “Odds of Getting Published” by Dean Talbot an interesting read. Originally published on February 2, 2023, some of the statistics reported in the article may have changed, but the odds of an author getting his or her work traditionally published…
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Hounded into a Story
As published in the Gazette, a publication of the Gulf Coast Writers Association, January 2025 Imagine a Celtic Karate Kid in a Percy Jackson adventure. The result is Hounded, a contemporary coming-of-age novel inspired by the legendary Irish warrior, hero, and demigod Cú Chulainn [koo KULL-an]. Written for a middle-grade audience, Hounded tells the story…
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Between the Heat and the Bugs
First Place, Non-Fiction, Gulf Coast Writers Association 2024 Contest Attend the GCWA meeting September 21, at 10 a.m., EDT, via Zoom to hear me—and other finalists—read our award-winning entries. Click here on September 20 for Zoom link. Rather than slam the front door, I huff away from it, hoping that an evening walk will clear…
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Stick with the Winners
Writers write because we are driven. Other than fulfilling an inherent need, however, we also have goals. Maybe it’s to earn money, polish our craft, or share a story. Sometimes it’s to find other writers who get it, or simply to tell the world that we are writers. I’m a strong advocate of using writing…
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Ghosts of Clotheslines Past
You rarely know the last time you’ve done something for the last time. It’s only after you look back on it and say, oh, that was the last time. Like the last time you went roller skating. Or baked cookies with your grandmother. Or pinned sheets to a clothesline. The last time I did that…