Novelista

  As the year comes to a close, I don’t want to reflect—only look forward.  However, how do we know where we’re going, if we don’t know where we’ve been? My personal journey this year has been difficult, and, at times, downright dark.  With all that has happened, I feel as though I have weathered this storm rather well.  I am in a better place as I head into the new year. I have been working through early drafts of my new detective novel.  Polishing makes every draft better than the last.  I even have the outline and beginnings of a second detective novel. The sixth book of the World In-between fantasy series stalled.  However, lately, Berty and Silvia have been rewriting parts and pulling me into a different direction than I originally planned.  And, I like where it’s going to go.  It might get a new title. My plans are to continue devoting time to my writing.  I will not be taking any new editing or beta reading projects for the time b...

Handwritten manuscripts of seven novels I’m excited to announce that a first draft is almost complete. And, it’s all because I returned to handwriting my manuscript. There was a point where I couldn’t hold a pen. The doctor confirmed my suspicion: Carpal Tunnel.  I started writing seriously (as in, hey, I’m going to write a book) in roughly 2005. I wrote with pencil on lined paper. That’s what I had at the time. Then, I transitioned to pen and blank computer paper because ink is easier to see than graphite.  At first, I wrote rather large with decent spacing between each line. Then, my writing got smaller. Words crowded the page. Pens sacrificed their ink quickly. I started using whatever pen I had in arm’s reach. Sometimes, those pens were cheap stick pens. They cramped my hand.  Until late 2016, I wrote prolifically. Novels, short stories, flash fiction, articles for others. With the exception of these blog posts, all those were handwritten first.  Al...

The World In-between Series (Fantasy) The portal fantasy series chronicles the adventures of Berty Chase—a modern man who discovers he belongs in the magical world, then both his worlds collide as he fights for everyone and everything he loves. Book 1: The World In-between – Berty joins the battle for magic and changes his life forever Book 2: The Bow of the Moon – To stop a covert society from finding a long lost magical item, Berty must find it first and hold on to it Book 3: The Secrets of the Sages – As magical secrets threaten to unravel the Empire, Berty’s magical and mundane worlds collide Book 4: Whispers – Berty scrambles to find a way to save the Empire Book 5: Hope – Berty’s niece defends her place in the magical world Book 6: Coming Soon Companion Story: The Dragonlands – The history of the Dragons Companion Story: Yuletide Magic – Before Berty entered the portal, a young girl made a wish Where Pirates Go to Die (Space Opera) ...

Cats don't understand how distancing works Many of us in the US are going into our second week of quarantine / social distancing.  Places we normally go aren’t open.  And you can only binge so much streaming movies and tv.  What else is there to do?  As someone who normally spends her time socially distancing, I have a few suggestions. 1. Read Books Of course, this will be my number one.  My local library, although physically closed, still has their online lending of ebooks available.  Check your local library system for similar programs. Baen Books has a free library . Smashwords is offering discounts on ebooks via their Author Gives Back program. And, all my ebooks are free on Smashwords through 30 April 2020.  Use coupon code NK58T 2. Play Video Games Use this time to start a new game or finish old games.  Spend countless hours on games like Skyrim doing favor quests so you can become Thane of each hold or picking ...

Daddy and Me I lost my father last week to a cascade of medical complications over the past four months.  I feel as though I’ve just gotten off a too fast, yet too long roller coaster—wobbly, shaken on the inside, and numb. My daddy had this way about him.  Gentle, good, and kind.  He relished the little things like ricotta nestled in his plate of rigatoni, a dog wanting petting from him, or sitting on the porch during the rain. We would talk about stuff, big plans, little plans, it didn’t matter.  He made it all feel important and gave his advice.  We’d cook together, clean together, do projects together.  My husband and I would take him to local festivals and shops and wherever.  We enjoyed his enjoyment—his celebration of life. He instilled that same celebration of the important things in me.  I know that when I take the time to savor a type of candy we both favored that a part of him will survive and be with me.  Right...