Release Date!

Eeeeee! I’m so excited to post this update! My editor and the publisher loved the updates I made to the contemporary parts of On Home and so they took it to a meeting with sales reps from the distributor. These are the people who sell the books to bookstores. The sales reps also loved the contemporary story…

What I Read: 2019

I made reading a priority again in 2019, and I'm so glad I did. I read 42 full length books and I know they've helped me become a better writer! Here's what I read at a glance: Mr. & Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel How to Tell Toledo From the Night Sky by Lydia Netzer…

North Central West Virginia Punk Scene of the Early 2000s

This piece was written for a proposed anthology on punk in Appalachia. When that project didn't happen, its organizer asked for submissions for a zine instead. Since the zine cut a large chunk from my piece without consulting with me, and the result omitted important information and conclusions, I've published it in its entirety here.…

The 2019 Writer’s Reading Challenge

It's that time of the year when reading challenges are popping up on lots of blogs. There are so many great ones and I especially love the emphasis I'm seeing on underrepresented voices. As someone who's gotten more serious about my writing in the last year, I've realized that this means getting more serious about…

Sneak Peek: Aspirant and the ESCAPE! Anthology

Pre-orders of the Writing Bloc anthology are officially available now! As a treat, I'm offering my readers a sneak peek of my story, "Aspirant." Let me know what you think and make sure to reserve your copy before the price goes up January 1!   "Sister Trái đất thơm, will you create the Facebook page…

ESCAPE! Anthology Cover Reveal and ARC Giveaway

The Writing Bloc short story anthology is almost here! Twenty authors have come together to challenge the norms of indie publishing. We've worked together to write, edit, and design a fantastic collection that features science fiction, fantasy, Westerns, and contemporary fiction. The anthology's theme is "Escape" and founder Michael Haase says, "As readers, we open books…

Take the Money! Graciously Accepting Payment for your Art or Creative Services

On Thursday, I spoke at a NaNoWriMo kickoff event hosted by the wonderful nonprofit, Inlandia Institute. People seemed to enjoy the workshop and I met some nice people! Afterward, I was surprised and humbled when Inlandia presented me with an honorarium. As a former board member of the organization, I guess I knew in the back…

So You’re a NaNoWriMo Revision Rebel?

Though you've likely heard of NaNoWriMo, you may not know about NaNo Rebels. These are writers who participate in the month-long writing marathon, but don't follow the rules. They may write essays or nonfiction instead of novels, they may set a word count other than 50,000. They may work on more than one project at…

An Editing Pep Talk

I'm writing this because I need it. The Internet is full of writing pep talks, largely due to NaNoWriMo. There are plenty of posts about just getting the words out, not thinking about quality, and suppressing your inner editor. There are inspirational diatribes about how you can worry about editing later, essays about the merits…

There Might Be More Than One Vomit Draft (And Other Lessons From Editing A Book)

I am about to embark on the 5th draft of my novel. Before beginning this process, I don't think this statement would have necessarily surprised me, but I didn't fully understand it either. "Of course you go through several drafts," I may have thought. "You find new mistakes each time." What I didn't realize yet…