When I do book signings, people ask me how I became a writer. It's a perfectly good question to ask, but I guess I never thought about how I became a writer until someone asked me that question. I don't think anyone just becomes a writer. I think they were always a writer in some way. The writing bug has always been inside of me. I was a musician and a songwriter for many years writing song lyrics and poetry. Also, since the age of four, I have been an avid reader. Then I started writing short stories. After taking a Creative Writing class and joining a Writer's Group, I decided to tackle a novel.

The best advice a teacher gave me was to write all the time. Even if it is just keeping a journal. This helps you to find your "writing voice" which is a very important part of being a writer. And write from your soul.

Happy writing!

I am writing a sequel to my first novel and I want it to stand alone. There really isn't any helpful advice on how to accomplish this. At least I haven't found any. So I am working my way through this myself. I think there should be some reference as to what happened before, and some background on the characters in case people have not read the first book. This is a tricky process that's for sure. Once I am finished I will have a professional edit the ms. They should be able to point out if I have missed anything. I hope! But I want to make sure it is right before I even have an editor look at it. It is a slow, tedious process. I love writing! I really do.

My eBay store

I just had a book signing at Hastings Books & Music in Lake Havasu City. It was very successful! December is a good month to do a book signing because people are out looking for Christmas gifts. And don't underestimate the power of the autograph. I am also selling a lot of signed copies on eBay. I have added the link to my eBay store in case anyone wants to check it out.

I also make wall crosses out of driftwood, using crystals, stones and shells to decorate them. On some I burn in Southwest designs or Runes. These crosses are also sold in my eBay store.

On editing my second book: I am looking for sections that need to be rewritten so they "show" instead of "tell" what is going on. I have a bad habit of telling too much when I am in a hurry to write about something. It is better to show what is going on through the eyes of the character, using the five senses. I have spotted one section so far that really bothers me so I am working on that one. My other bad habit is overusing certain words. Overusing words can be distracting to the reader, so it is better not to do this. Use different variations of the word instead so it isn't so obvious.

Happy writing!