Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “On Writing”
Sarah asked: The one author who has impacted me the most?
I know I’ve answered my favorite writers, (Dee Henderson, my buddy Rachel Hauck, and many others) but as for the one that impacted me the most, it must have been Francine Rivers. When I read her Mark of the Lion series,
Denise asked: Did you base your coffee/bookstore/reading room in Happily Ever After on a real coffee/bookstore/reading room in MN or somwhere else? Your description of this place – you can almost smell the coffee brewing and imagine what book you could be reading while sipping your favorite coffee.
The Footstep of Heaven Bookstore and Coffee Shop lived in my imagination long long before it ever made it onto the pages of Happily Ever After.
Writers can’t live in a vacuum. Those stories of people who are hermits that live in seclusion and write these amazing literary novels? Okay, Really? Because I only have a select amount of ideas in my brain, and after I use those up, I gotta go somewhere for inspiration. Somewhere besides my messy office, or living room sofa.
Jackie W asked: How do you decide on what names to give your characters? And has any of your characters names turned out to cause problems for you afterwards?
A: I love naming my characters! It’s like having a child again, except I get to see what they’re like fully grown.
Crystal asked: Do your children ever give you ideas for story lines?
A: Oh, all the time! We are watching something together and they might ask a question – mom, what would happen if….and there I go with a story idea from the scenario they’ve asked. Not only that,
Susanna W asked: What made you become a writer?
A: I think a true writer can’t stop writing. They love words, and stories, and the way they sing together. I have been a story teller since my early days (just as my mother!) and have always loved a great tale.
Kathleen E. asked: What are your hobbies? And what subject do you enjoy teaching the most? Where would you like to travel to get inspiration for a new book?
A: I love to Read, of course!! At any given moment, I have a book in my purse, a stack of books by my bed,
Claudia R asked: Was it real difficult getting your foot into publishing?
A: The publishing world can be extremely difficult break in to – it can seem as times as if there might be an invisible wall…however, it’s not as difficult as one might think.
It’s all about perspective.
Erika W asked: How do you come up with such a wide range of characters? Journalists, Cowboys, party-ers and missionaries are just a few and they are all so different. What makes you think of them?
A: Oh, my favorite thing is to learn about people and their occupations. I love to discover their challenges and defeats,
Niki asked: When do you write and where? Do you get up a few hours early? Late at night? In the middle of the day? All of the above? Do you have an office? Sit at the kitchen table? Out on the porch?
I admit that I have to have different writing spaces depending on the mood that I’m in.
