Old South Pittsburg Hospital, South Pittsburg, Tennessee - Photo by Heather Dobson One of my most favorite places to investigate is Old South Pittsburg Hospital in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. Yes, I know, you're looking at the name of that town and thinking, "Shouldn't there be an 'h' at the end of that?" I also used... Continue Reading →
Editor Extraordinaire, Wayne South Smith
My editor, Wayne, and my neighbor and colleague, Sheryl Parbhoo, at my inaugural book signing! I started writing Memoirs of a Future Ghost in November, 2016. Just four short months later, I had written 25,000 words and declared it done. It was basically 25 blog posts of 1,000-words each with no continuity or cohesion. Not... Continue Reading →
Give it a month, maybe two
*Dusting off the old WordPress Dashboard.* *A cacophony of coughs ensue.* *Swiffer duster just isn't cutting it.* *Gets out leaf blower.* There! That's better! Did you notice? I updated the banner photo! And my social media connections! And my Gravatar profile... You don't care, do you? I get it. Because what you've really been waiting... Continue Reading →
Investigating the Paranormal – Book Excerpt
Whenever I tell people that I'm a paranormal investigator, initial responses vary between, "Ohmygosh! Can I go with you on an investigation?!?" and "Wow. Yeah. All the nopes." People are always a mix of curious and terrified and I want my book, Memoirs of a Future Ghost to be bridge between those two emotions. I wanted... Continue Reading →
Occupation? Author.
Recently, I found myself filling out a form. Side note: Honestly, adulthood seems to be a never-ending line of visits to the grocery store, the doctor, the gas station, the pharmacy, school activities, and filling out forms. None of it is fun. I wish, instead, that adulthood could be a never-ending succession of chocolate, visits... Continue Reading →
Faker
My favorite poet is Maya Angelou. The day she died, I was devastated because I knew I would never again hear her voice or read new poems she had been inspired to write. Our backgrounds, our skin colors, our ages, were so vastly different. There couldn't have been two more opposite people in the world... Continue Reading →
Query Letters Abound
Well, I've gone and done it. I've sent out the first six query letters to five literary agents and one publisher. I like to imagine that my computer is currently acting like the post owls from JK Rowling's Harry Potter series and that, in approximately four to eight weeks, my inbox will look like the... Continue Reading →
Inspiration
I am a huge believer in the portability of a notebook. I absolutely love my MacBook Pro. It's my second one in 12 years and I enjoy having the option of sitting at my desk with a traditional monitor and keyboard set up or traveling to wherever I want and writing elsewhere. In just my... Continue Reading →
My first book
When I first started writing, it was tedious and difficult. I couldn't decide what to write and every word I put to paper sounded idiotic. I created outlines, character bibles, and printed out research. I couldn't decide on a story line or a theme. Finally, one afternoon in November, 2016, my brain whispered Write what you... Continue Reading →