It’s back—my annual list of holiday gifts that any writer on your list will love! Writers can be hard to shop for, what with them being bleary-eyed and stuck in alternate realities most of the time. But never fear, my gigantic list of gift ideas will surely have just the thing for that hard-to-shop-for writer […]
writer's life
Sharing Experiences with Your Characters – On the RMFW Blog
In our writing, we often make our characters go through experiences we haven’t gone through ourselves, such as breaking a horse, picking a lock, riding in an ambulance, or frosting a wedding cake. It’s so easy to fall back on the internet and watch videos or read blog posts about how those experiences might feel. […]
Novel Writing: A Love Story
I’ve started writing a new novel, and we’re in the honeymoon phase together, my novel and I. I’m infatuated with this shiny new idea, digging into the research with wild abandon and gleefully exploring my new characters. It’s like starting any new relationship—I have thousands of questions for my characters to learn who they are […]
Teaching an Old Dog New French
Earlier this year, I decided to learn some travel-related French. Or, as we Francophiles like to say, “Arrgghh.” As a youngster, I took Introductory French 6 times. I was an Air Force brat and every time we’d move to a new school, they would be teaching an introductory language class that year, and somehow all […]
Sidewalk Inspiration – Strolling Library Way in NYC
In New York City, the natural urge is to look up. Up at the towering skyscrapers. Up at the cathedral spires. Up at the neon extravaganza of blazing signs in Times Square. But on a trip to NYC a few months ago, I found myself looking down. And my heart rose for it. I was […]
So an Author Is Coming to Your Book Club…
Many authors love to visit local book clubs, either in person or over Zoom or Skype. They enjoy meeting fellow book lovers and talking about their book, their writing process, and the research they did into their characters, settings, or stories. Inviting an author to visit your book club is a great opportunity to peek […]

