Follow That Dream?

Fail-1Several months ago I had a dream. (Hah! I’ll bet you thought I was going to write about the dream of writing, in general.) Nope. This is about a real dream. I actually remember this one vividly – an unusual experience for me as that almost never happens. I knew from the start that this dream had within it the skeleton of a really interesting story, if I could only get it on paper. My last book had been sent on its way and I was ready to begin something new, something different from the trilogy that had occupied the last seven years of my life. Continue reading “Follow That Dream?”

What is a writer?

Just this morning, a blogger friend asked an interesting question – are all bloggers writers just because they write [something]?

I side-stepped the heart of the question by talking about how my blogging had improved my writing generally, but I’m not really satisfied with that answer. It was a cop-out, so I thought I’d throw the question out to all the minions – what is a writer?

Clearly, a writer has to write, but does a writer have to publish? I’ve been writing fiction for almost thirteen years, but for eleven of those years I never let anyone see what I was writing, and I certainly didn’t publish anything. Was I a writer during that decade and a bit? I know I didn’t feel like a writer, and I didn’t call myself one either. Continue reading “What is a writer?”

Crawdad Tenacity

OK, you’re probably looking at the title and wondering: what the heck do some stupid little crustaceans have to do with writing? Well, if they are living in your office, lots. Called by many names: crayfish, crawdads, and mud bugs; they are still a multi-legged creature that looks like a lobster that got tossed in a dryer and shrunk. Not much more than 3” long, they are tiny armed soldiers clambering around their rocky battle ground. And you’re still wondering what they have to do with writing? I’ll tell you.

The “mud bug” tank in my office.

Writers are like crawdads, we need to have a tough shell to handle the pressure, criticism, and general stigma of being an Indie author. No, most of us aren’t famous; but day after day we drone away on our keyboards creating masterpieces. It takes a tough shell to do what we do and keep our heads held high. From time to time crawdads molt their shells to grow; as writers this should signify growth in our profession. Taking the time to research and produce the best quality books we can. Growing by learning new skills such as marketing and branding (oh, that still sounds painful!) to help with our sales. Growth can be venturing into new genres or experimenting with non-fiction. Continue reading “Crawdad Tenacity”

Featured Author: Kim Hornsby

Kim was once a Maui scuba instructor by day and sang with her band in the hotels by night. She drove a sports car and led a charmed single life.

After meeting her Prince Charming in a Puerto Vallarta dream date contest, they moved stateside and twenty years later have a 16 year old soccer playing son and an eleven year old writer daughter. She resides in a big messy house with her family and two very disobedient dogs, overlooking a lake near Seattle.

Writing books about women having adventures is her dream job and she loves to hear from readers.

Continue reading “Featured Author: Kim Hornsby”