It was a typical Sunday afternoon. I was tying up the last bag of garbage to put in the alley dumpster before pick-up Monday morning. Unlocking the alley gate sent the dogs into their usual frenzy —  you see, being Jack Russell’s they own every piece of real-estate within the immediate 20 miles of where they live. The alley was of particular interest because, when opened, the dumpster lid can be seen over the fence … hence, the frenetic effort to claim that as their own once again. As usual gardener services had driven up the alley and dumped all sorts of debris everywhere. Though illegal, there aren’t cameras to catch them so it’s cheaper to disobey dumping laws than...

There's lots of information being put out there for authors about advertising and promotion. Some advocate mortgaging your last dollar to advertise on Amazon, others suggest social media, while others take the time to promote locally and often.  I'm an advocate of all in moderation, but for the past several years, my friend and fellow author Hayley Rose and I, have hit every local street fair, book event, and author event we could possibly attend within a 200 miles radius. We reached thousands of people and have a solid base of repeat customers as well as new.  Homeschoolers would bring their workbooks to show me what they had accomplished and parents would tell me what great things their kids had...

I’m not a big fan of what some call ‘writers block.’ Typically it’s an excuse not to write at all.  If you’re going to make authorship a career then treat it like any other. Write. Not when you feel like it, not when the spirit moves you, not every other day or when you get the laundry done. Be disciplined and write. That being said, I know what it’s like to come to a dead end on a book or other writing project and need to step back. In those cases I write something else. Sometimes it’s a blog, a book review, I work on another project, or even write a letter to a relative or friend. Not a FB...

Here's the scoop on how to help and support an author. All six of these suggestions are great ways to help an author succeed! Even doing one of them is more helpful than you realize. So if you know an author, or enjoy the work they do give them so help! You may be supporting the next #1 bestseller! 

The good side of getting things wrong is that it enhances rather than detracts from learning. It’s how we challenge our children to learn to do things differently. Learning from mistakes helps develop wisdom and good judgment.