The Perfect Metaphor I recently remembered a story my mom likes to tell from when I was little. We were with family at a hotel pool, and I was the youngest of the group of cousins there. The others, including my older sister, were big enough and good enough swimmers to go in the deep end, and they spent most of their time there. I was…an okay swimmer. My parents had insisted I take swim lessons. “Because so much of the earth is covered with water,” I remember my mom explaining, “you don’t want it to be a true emergency for you to just fall in.” But my desire to…
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A Belated Happy Birthday to My Latest Novel
I’ve been waiting forever to give this update: I’ve finished another book! That’s right, Novel No. 2 is a wrap. It still has to go through editing, which is slated to happen this month, but the writing of the manuscript is done. Actually, it was done around mid-April, but I still haven’t emotionally processed it. Story of my life, it seems. So, without further ado… Introducing: The Mysteriarch of Magnolia. Detective Ernest Cubbedge is called in to find a missing girl. The catch? The old southern patriarch who says she is missing from his house has lived alone for the past five years, and the men of the village have…
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Author Update: In the Last Leg of Book Two
No, it’s not a sequel. Just the next book by yours truly. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let Me Reintroduce Myself Hi! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve given you a glimpse behind the curtain to my writing workshop (or rather desk. It’s a desk.) so come on in. I have a lot to update you on, and I’m super excited about it! (Yes, in spite of that bummer of a last article I wrote. Honesty is important, but that one was a tough admission. Read it here.) Meet the New Baby Okay, so it’s not quite ready yet, but I’m in the last chapters! This one…
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An Unexpected Hurdle: Book Postpartum Depression
I made you. I love you. I made you because I love you. So why is it so hard for me to interact with you? Hitting that phase of adult life where most of my friends are getting married and having babies has introduced me to the concept of postpartum depression. And though I’m a single person with no children, hearing about what it’s like to experience postpartum depression made my ears perk up because it sounded so familiar. But not with a baby. With a book. It’s been over a year since the publication and release of my first book. It hasn’t felt at all the way I expected…
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Angels Strange and Beautiful Cover Reveal
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present your first glimpse of the cover art for my debut novel, Angels Strange and Beautiful, courtesy of Abbey Konzen!
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The Big Question: Why Self Publish?
What do you think when you hear the words “self publishing”? It’s okay, you can be honest here, if only with yourself. If you’re like many people, your first thought might have been, “Were they not good enough to get published traditionally?” Like it or not, self publishing has had quite a stigma attached, and while its image is improving, there are still negative connotations to fight through, not to mention a major lack of knowledge on the subject. That’s why I thought I would take a few minutes to talk about what led me to the decision to self publish and let you in on the questions I asked…
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BIG NEWS: All Systems Go
My friends, my readers, and my supporters, It is with the deepest joy and wildest excitement that I announce that my debut novel is complete with a title and ready to begin the countdown to its launch! (Eek!) Read on to learn about my book, grab a sneak peek of the story behind it, and find out when you can buy your copy. About the book Angels Strange and Beautiful is a historical novel set in New England between the 1600s and 1700s. In the first half, a more or less innocent stalker follows the love story of Faith and Theophilus in a once-sleepy little village that is suddenly plagued…
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The Consuming Dream
I have been given a unique gift. I know that. This beautiful world of dreams which keeps my head ever in the clouds and peering at the world from weird angles is a joy and a delight to me. I cannot imagine a life without it. Why would I live if not to live this way? However, I feel upon my heart an immense burden. Yes, all artists feel the one of striving for perfection and inevitably falling short. I’ve come to appreciate this constant challenge as a friendly adversary who is always forcing me to be better. It is like a tough but trusted critic who stands behind those…
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Something’s Different!
Notice some changes? That's right, I've chosen my new (and hopefully final) author name! Read on to find out why I chose Fiametta.
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At the Crossroads
Hello, my delightful people! I want to give you an update because so much has happened. The past four months have felt like slogging through mud by the hour, feeling like I never get anything done and am constantly moving in slow motion. But looking back, the progress I’ve made makes me want to jump up and down. I think I will. (Yes, I actually did.) So here’s the scoop, my lovely first readers: publication is on the horizon. That is to say, I’m close enough to my on-ramp that I can hear the traffic. It’s been a long, weird, windy path. If you’ve ever undertaken a long-term project, you…