There are no words to describe how absolutely busy our family is since Christmas ended. There have been hospital trips for me, for one of my children, endless doctor’s appoints for the other child, and all kinds of lifestyle adjustment to meet everyone’s needs. But that’s the life of a spoonie family with Ehlers Danlos family. It’s been one thing after another for every one of us. We also made the switch to homeschooling to better meet the emotional and physical needs of my girls while they each deal with their various health issues. The youngest is transitioning into pain management and disability devices. So when I tell you the…

So if you’ve been keeping up with my writing journey, then you already know I experienced my very first in-person pitch on Saturday. This was the first time I talked in detail about my story with anyone outside of the MFA program or my family, and I was convinced that I would crash and burn. But you know what happened?!? I absolutely crushed that pitch! My friends would most likely describe me as a confident person, which I find laughable at best. And trust me, I have the anxiety medications (with an ‘s’) to prove it. When I logged into the Teams waiting room and spoke one-on-one with Dean Witcover,…

This year, SNHU’s MFA program began offering a Pitch Weekend. While my novel isn’t perfectly polished, I am moving through my heavy revisions at a fantastic rate, and I feel confident and comfortable participating in this event. I’m not expecting much of anything to come from this event. There are some fantastic agents involved with the Pitch Weekend. I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity. But this will be my first time pitching anything, so I’m working on keeping my expectations realistic and valuing this time as a great way to learn and connect with an authority in the business side of the writing industry. With that being said, I…

This blog post is coming six days after my official conferral date for my Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. I can’t believe I’m typing that right now. I did it. I finished my thesis, turned it in, and I am finished with college for the rest of my life! It’s crazy to think that I wrote a book over this last year. I’ve had three surgeries during this time, and things have been a complete mess full of surgical complications, infections, and kidney stones. At one point after a surgery in late spring, I had a hole the size of a silver dollar open around a surgical site…

My Rating for A Twist of the Blade by S.M. Gaither This review might contain small spoilers Favorite Quotes: “When you were hanging from that bridge, I thought for a moment that you might let go. And that was the moment I realized…if you had let go, I would have too. I would have let go of any plans I had. I wouldn’t have cared about that mission the Rook God gave me, or about the consequences of falling myself. If you had fallen, then…” He breathed in deep, collecting himself. If you had fallen, then nothing else would have mattered.” The night air howled around them. She shivered, and he…

My Rating for The Song of the Marked by S.M. Gaither This review might contain small spoilers. Favorite Quotes: “He intrigued her. Which for some reason only made her want to stab him more.” “His grip was as effortlessly powerful as his stare; just a casual hold on her, and yet for some reason she felt as if walking away from it would prove incredibly difficult.” The Song of the Marked is my first 5-star fantasy romance read of the year. I could not put this book down. I was immediately dawn into the characters and their world. What Works Great Fantastic Characters. The characters have unique voices and personalities with…

This post is surreal. I can’t believe I’m at the point where I’m actively searching for beta readers!!! I’ve been working on this novel for a year by this point, and in two weeks time, the first draft and round of editing will be completed, making the novel reader for beta readers. I am beside myself with excitement. Erissa’s journey started as her very own, but along the way, Rhazien weaseled his way into the narrative, creating his own unique character arc and changing the trajectory of the story. And I can’t wait for everyone to explore Erissa and Rhazien’s journey! Have I mentioned I’m excited? “The Daughter of the…

Writing is hard and has challenges unique to every author, but this is especially true for disabled writers. Sitting for extended periods of time while hunched over a computer typing for hours or days at a time can wear the disabled writer down very quickly. At times, disabled writers might feel the need to choose between taking care of their health or grinding word count goals, which is why it is so important that the disabled writer creates an inclusive, adaptive writing atmosphere unique to their needs. I can’t speak for every writer with a disability, but as a disabled writer myself, I can share what I found works best…

I wish that I could say that my plans for writing on the beach every day actually happened, but they did not. Instead, we got slammed with one bad thing after another. From needing a new fridge to the sink breaking and Craig being injured at work, and there being a car accident, we were hit with all the things all at one time. To top it off, I found out that my MFA advisor had given me the wrong information for my final thesis course, which starts later this month. I was under the impression that I was completing and revising my novel during this course. But I’m actually…

I am excited to announce that after several requests from people, I am adding Beta reading as a new paid-for service. As much as I would like to continue providing free beta reading, it simply isn’t feasible. I take beta reading as seriously as I do my other editing service with multiple read throughs and detailed commenting on a variety of points, and that time spent dedicated to your writing has a value in my life, so I hope people understand this moving forward. You can find more detailed information with this link or feel free to reach out through Instagram or the contact section of the website if you…