One cool spot when you need a getaway is WeekiWachee, where the mermaids smile and wear no scuba gear. Even a fast look at this quirky spot, a piece of Florida history, can be entertaining: https://weekiwachee.com/about-us/history/ Vacations are health-promoting. And that’s what stories are for too, really: a health-promoting vacation. If you can fly to Paris to meet your friends [...]

Indie publishing your book: It's not so easy, but it works and it's worth doing. That's my message this month: that indie-publishing is a known pathway and you can do it. Because I've just published a fourth book, the pain of publication is still fresh. I'm not going to tell anyone it's so easy you can do it from your [...]

It seems to be true: you never outgrow your need for escapes. That’s what stories are for.  Now of course if you can hire a yacht, fly to Greece, or visit Machu Picchu this weekend, those would be OK too. If not, stories make great escapes— inexpensive and always convenient. Reminder: The Emperor’s Golden Carp and Other Stories has released, [...]

Here's one thing you have to try, if you never have done it: take fiction writing out for a date sometime and see what happens. Even if you're not a fiction writer. Even if you think you're not a writer at all. You can just sit down and start writing. No editing or plotting or fussing at first; just tell [...]

Starting something new is never easy. But artists, musicians, and creators of all types have to do it daily. Some people say to me, "How can you do that? I'd wander off and clean my house or watch TV instead." Well, it's the bane as well as the blessing of being in a creative field that you are often faced [...]