I took the last week off. I had a long list of items on my to-do list. I've been in this house for almost a year and haven't started any projects. I was decompressing with the changes in my life. I gave myself mercy and time. So, I took a staycation, planned a few outings, and plenty of projects. I tried four, and I failed at all four. During the weekend, I used a utility knife to pry my windows open. After the first window, it occurred to me that it would be harder than anti

Several years ago, I wrote a blog stating very clearly that Star Wars was an epic fantasy and not a science fiction movie. I still hold to that. This here below is a very light, not in-depth accounting of why I believe it. So, I hope you had a very happy May the Fourth. Here's to one of my all-time favorite movies and fantasy worlds.

There have been several instances of writer's block over the last sixteen years. My way to deal with it is to write around the spot I'm stuck on. I'll get back to that scene in the next draft. My latest writer's block issue is book five of The Nikki Page Mysteries. Rather than write around the problems, I put the book aside after my publicist suggested I might be over Nikki Page. While I love the character, the purpose she served in my life is no longer needed. I am ready for

Yes. You still need to create characters, places, and situations that are unique to that story. Or in my case, I wrote about the world I knew. A place I had lived for thirty years. Friends who read Nikki Page Mysteries recognized locations.

I was thrilled when I finally got into C2E2, comic con in Chicago. I had been trying for almost a decade. The confirmation came six months after Fan Expo rescinded my booth, three weeks before the comic con. I'm still salty about it but getting into C2E2 was awesome.

It started in 2008. Well, it really started in 1975 when I decided I wanted to be an author when I grew up. I didn't come up with the idea until I finished the Harry Potter series, after I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed multiple times. The idea grew slowly. It grew loudly. It grew fully. I daydreamed for two years, creating the characters and developing the world in which they live. It started with the magic. How would it work? Do they use wands, their hands, t

I've loved the mystery since I picked up my first Nancy Drew Mystery. You start with the problem, the theft, the murder, the wrongdoing, and dig away at the problem until you find the killer, the thief, the wrongdoer.

Honoring those who came before me.

I can't believe it's been so long since I last published a blog. It's been an incredible year of change and growth and lots of writing.

Screw it...though that's not what I actually said. Why now? One, I turned fifty-five, two I spent COVID reassessing my life, my choices,

I never have a preordained goal for the year. I don’t give the year names or themes. While I do have an overall goal for my life, I...

Are you there God Its me Margaret.

#writerslife #balance #yoga There's something about yoga. I'm reminded every time I step on my mat. Balance. Creating movement equally on...

#writerslife #writing #writersofinstagram My urban fantasy dreams take a back seat as I try to reinvent my writing career. To do it, I...

#writerslife #writing #death #life #motherhood #deathofachild Death She died twenty-four years ago. It doesn't matter why anymore. All...

#writerslife #writerscommunity #writingprocess #inmyhead Hi all. It's Sunday night. I didn't think I'd have much to say tonight. It's...

#confidence #writing #writerslife #urbanfantasyauthor #cozymysteryauthor I'm one of the lucky ones. I knew at seven years old, I wanted...

#Experience #Life #Journey #Being #UrbanFantasy #CozyMystery #Dream Our experiences are bits and pieces of our whole journey. Some are...

#promises #selfcare #urbanfantasyauthor #cozymysteryauthor #theyearofme I'm a mother, wife, and author. No, I'm an author, mother, and...

Words are everything. And with them you can say so much.