Posts: General

Collections Can Both Inform and Inspire Viewers

I recently discovered how collections can inform and inspire viewers. After a delightful lunch at the Saratoga Grill in Hillsborough, NC, my husband and I visited the nearby Orange County Museum. We hadn't expected to find such an intriguing place. The sign out front of the entrance proclaimed, Treasure Hunters, Orange County Collectors. The museum held a kaleidoscope of collections. After we entered the museum, we browsed through the different exhibits and discovered how collections… Read More

How Settings Reveal Emotions

Settings can do more than describe surroundings. They can also reveal a character's reaction to that environment. As a writer uses descriptive words in a scene, he can indicate emotions such as love, fear, depression, joy, or indifference. Check out the way in which an author uses setting to reveal emotion, a character's mood, or his outlook on life. Same subject with opposite viewpoints Probably, you know the illustration of the glass. In this example,… Read More

How Writers Change Gears to Create New Books

After I finished the sixth book in my Ella's America series, I declared the series complete. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the characters out of my head. Thoughts of them swirled around in my mind. They had lived there a long time, and I knew how they would react in any situation. I knew their likes and dislikes and their personality quirks. How do writers change gears and write about new characters? What steps help them… Read More

The Latest Book Signing

The book signing for "Ella Travels the Erie Canal", last Saturday, October 29th, created some excitement. It took place at the Cocoon Gallery, 221 N. Salem Street in Apex, NC. This shop features the works of local artisans, and I had the privilege of interacting with the customers. A number of them lived in the Great Lakes area and were surprised to learn about my new historical fiction series. These stories take place in a… Read More