by Karen Smith | Oct 20, 2021 | Blog
A country song by mother-and-daughter duet Naomi and Wynona Judd, “Why Not Me?”, features a woman wanting to know why the man she loves prefers another woman. In other words, what’s wrong with her that makes her unworthy of his attention and...
by Karen Smith | Oct 6, 2021 | Blog
Like genres (and sub-genres), certain tropes in fiction literature go through cycles of rising and ebbing popularity. Because “my” genre is romance, I’ll focus on those plot devices which I find tired and in dire need of abandonment in that...
by Karen Smith | Sep 21, 2021 | Blog
I field a lot of questions from new and aspiring writers who get the jitters when they finish their drafts and think it’s time to release their debut novels to the world. They stutter to a halt and wonder what to do next. Will people like their books? How will...
by Karen Smith | Aug 31, 2021 | Blog
Lockdowns, WFH, and other measures taken to isolate people and keep them from interacting with others (including job loss) afforded some folks the time to do what they said they always wanted to do: writing a book. In doing so, those people discovered two...
by Karen Smith | Aug 24, 2021 | Blog
When reviewing potential gigs, I have to choose between applying for writing gigs and editing gigs. Although both involve playing with words, they require different mindsets and skill sets. Frankly, this year has not been good for writing, especially for writing...
by Karen Smith | Aug 17, 2021 | Blog
The closer I get to retirement age, the more I think I ought to reduce my workload. Then I find myself with a day or two not scheduled to the max and spend my time hunting for new gigs and submitting bids for work. I’m a glutton for punishment, obviously.Steady...
