writing Archives - Page 2 of 5 - From the Write Side

Are You a Word Warrior?

The arrival of May signals a change in the tempo of growing things. The garden beds warm, seeds germinate, the pond and prairie hum with exuberant life. A new set of goslings in the neighborhood delight with their fuzzy bodies as they follow their tribe across the lawns and into the water. While the young ones practice swimming, their parents, ever vigilant, remain on guard to protest the incursion of dogs off leash, eager to prove their hunting skills, or fend off hawks that swoop [...]

By irvinjgdm|2023-04-30T17:33:46+00:00April 30th, 2023|Blog|0 Comments

May Author of the Month: MOLLY MACRAE

Former librarian, bookstore manager, and current adventurer, Molly MacRae writes mysteries with a softer touch...and scrumptious food descriptions, books, and quirky characters. Upon meeting this author, one is struck by her warm, inviting personality, which mirrors the characters and the situations in her novels. Except for the murders, of course! ;) But the designation of COZY reminds the reader that the books will be heavy on the puzzle and light on the gore. A peak into MacRae's background reveals that she spent twenty years in [...]

By irvinjgdm|2023-05-01T02:45:18+00:00April 30th, 2023|Author of the Month|0 Comments

If It’s Spring, It’s Time to Clean…

Spring cleaning...a chore or a pleasure? A time to restore or a time to clear out the old nest and weave a new one? The birds frequenting my backyard have no trouble doing the work, but we humans often need a nudge. Over the past two months, I've evaluated the incredible accumulation of 'stuff' in our drawers and closets, weighing what I have to have and what I can live without. Only makes sense to do the same with the clutter of my writing life. [...]

By irvinjgdm|2023-03-31T17:26:34+00:00March 31st, 2023|Blog|0 Comments

JILLIAN DAVID

As a member of the Central Ohio Fiction Writers, I have attended a fantastic number of presentations by published authors, but none more fun, fascinating, and full of great tips than "Fast Drafting 101" by my delightful March author Jillian David, who lives, in her own words, "near the end of the Earth with her nut of a husband and her bossy cats." A rural physician in her real-world job, award-winning author Jillian David writes quickly (thus the idea of fast-drafting!), then slowly edits [...]

By irvinjgdm|2023-03-01T19:44:12+00:00March 1st, 2023|Author of the Month|0 Comments

Love Notes

Fab February is here, the shortest and, perhaps the dullest, of the calendar months. Except for the cultural touchstones that keep it interesting -- Valentine's Day, President's Day, National Heart Month, and the birthdays of those we hold dear. For writers like me, the month is an uninterrupted span of days to draft, revise, revisit, and polish existing work and to read and research for future endeavors. There is also, for football fans, the Super Bowl. Now, if my team isn't in it, I have [...]

By irvinjgdm|2023-01-31T17:50:35+00:00January 31st, 2023|Essays|0 Comments

C.J. BOX

I'm thrilled to welcome New York Times best-selling author and the writer inspiration for not one but two TV series C. J. BOX to my author nook. I met him at the PrimeCrime Writers Conference in Indianapolis in October of 2022 and was immediately taken by his gracious personality and his willingness to engage with the assembly of writers. Plus, I love a great western tale, and C.J. has crafted over thirty novels, which include the Joe Pickett and the Hoyt/Dewell series as well as [...]

By irvinjgdm|2023-01-31T18:02:19+00:00January 31st, 2023|Author of the Month|0 Comments

Author of the Month: DOYLE BURKE

I live in a small town outside of Dayton, Ohio, a city known for the Wright Brothers, a slew of VIP patents for things like cash registers and cars, and a fair amount of sensational murders. Enter Doyle Burke, a local resident who became a Dayton Police Officer in 1978, rose to the rank of Homicide Detective and remained on the job for 22 years. When Burke retired from Dayton P.D., he took a job as Chief Investigator for the Warren County Coroner where he [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-12-31T20:29:41+00:00December 31st, 2022|Author of the Month|0 Comments

December 2022 Author of the Month: JORDAN RILEY SWAN

Does the romance genre have room for male writers? Definitely, and this month's author -- Jordan Riley Swan -- is proof of that. Swan is the alter ego of Bernie Miller, a self-proclaimed 'wild word hunter' who also writes with a crew to produce romance novels as well as epic fantasy tomes. In addition to running successful business concerns and writing, Swan has served as president of the Central Ohio Fiction Writers organization. His interview provides a delightful glimpse into his world that includes dropping [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-11-30T18:21:53+00:00November 30th, 2022|Author of the Month|0 Comments

November 2022 Author of the Month: MARISA DILLON

Joining the Central Ohio Fiction Writers group has been a positive experience for me, a chance to meet and bond with other authors, learn from the monthly presentations, and expand my list of books to read. I also had the privilege of working on the COFW Ignite the Flame Contest with the lovely Marisa Dillon, whose marketing expertise coupled with her writing provided a new direction for my own work. Dillon's novels are historical romance fiction set in Scotland. Her interest in writing about faraway [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-10-31T17:39:55+00:00October 31st, 2022|Author of the Month|0 Comments

The Writer’s Way

Every season has a rhythm, an underlying purpose that drives the land and we who inhabit it. Take a moment to think about the rhythms you bring to each change, the cleaning and organizing, the planning and preparations. Just as the land scours itself in spring and fall, so do I. Just this week I finished the grand reorganization of my library, alphabetizing all the books shoved on top of the existing volumes and culling from the shelves those that wish to migrate to other [...]

By irvinjgdm|2022-10-12T20:44:28+00:00September 30th, 2022|Blog, Essays|0 Comments