WRITING WITHOUT A NET

  One of the most commonly asked questions of writers is "What is your process?" I'm never quite sure what is meant by this, and I've given all kinds of answers.  But after a lot of deliberation, I think it means: Tell me how you write a novel in 1000 words or less.  So, okay.  Here it is: Ready, Set, Go I don't work from an outline, but I never start a book without knowing four things: 1)The title. To me, the title represents the message, or theme, I'm writing about. A Flash of Shadow was delayed several weeks because, even though I knew the story, I did not know the title.  Once it finally came to me, everything else fell into place.  By contrast, Undefeatable   was actually set in the previous book, Dead Man's Trail , when Raine Stockton said, "They are smarter than us, more determined than us, and they have nothing to lose. They are virtually undefeatable."  Who could resist that segue into a sequel? 2)The opening scene. Sometimes I actuall...

PRE-ORDER UNDEFEATABLE: A BUCK LAWSON MYSTERY HERE  I love it when characters take on a life of their own, making their own decisions, creating their own dialogue, and surprising me by taking my carefully planned and plotted storyline in an entirely new direction.  I also hate it.  Sometimes trying to keep up with independent-minded characters is like herding cats (or puppies, as the case may be!)-- not as much fun as it sounds. This was certainly the case with Patrick Henry Jessup, who first appeared in the Raine Stockton Mystery Dead Man's Trail . That book, I'll admit, was floundering dangerously toward the precipice of predictability when I realized it desperately needed another point of view character. Jessup was  supposed to appear sporadically throughout the book, stalk and murder a few non-essential personnel, get caught and never be heard from again. But Jessup was no ordinary serial killer.  He was an ethical hunter, a survivalist and caretaker of the ...

  In my opinion, no writer writes well without reading obsessively. Even though I confess I feel guilty if I ever sit down in the middle of the day to read a book ( Why aren't you writing? my conscience screams at me) reading is, in fact, a part of my job. It only follows that this time of year, when publishers release their fall lists, is my favorite.  Here are some of the upcoming releases I am most looking forward to: ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW by Eileen Goudge  September 24 I had the very great privilege of reading the draft of this novel and loved it!  The rich cast of  female characters and the devoted friendship they develop are the stuff of great women's fiction.  Not to mention there's a dog to die for!  Coming September 24, but available for preorder at an amazing price right now. HERE ONE MOMENT  by Liane Moriarty  September 10 Liane Moriarty, like Jodie Picoult, is one of those authors who likes to ask existential questions and then ...

  Pre-order for Kindle  here   Available in paperback and hardcover May 30 Audio coming in July  Despite the fact that I write about an adventurous search and rescue team, one of the things Raine Stockton and I do  not  have in common is an enthusiasm for wilderness camping.  Regular camping, yes.  Glamping, even more.  But as I have famously said, if I ever find myself alone in the middle of the woods the only thing I'll be searching for is the nearest Holiday Inn.   After reading  Dead Man's Trail , you may feel the same. Like most writers, I know a little bit about almost everything, but wilderness survival is not my forte.  (If you need to know how to house train a puppy, though, I'm your girl!) For the rich wilderness background against which  Dead Man's Trail  is set, I had to do a little research.  Some of the things I discovered were just common sense, some I already knew simply from growing up in th...

 Now available from Amazon here Available for Nook here Audio coming soon!    With today’s launch of UNSTOPPABLE: A BUCK LAWSON MYSTERY   (Book #2), I have just published my 22 nd mystery.   For those who are counting (and I’m not; I had to look it up) this is my 115 th   (or possibly 120 th ; sources vary) published novel. To coin a phrase: Boy, am I tired. I am now actively writing three mystery series: The Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series, The Dogleg Island Mystery Series, and the Blood River Mystery Series.   I also have two women’s fiction series still in print and actively attracting readers: The Ladybug Farm series, and The Hummingbird House Series.   Whenever I announce the publication of a novel from one of the series, I get a slew of e-mails asking when the next book in another series is coming out. When’s the next Flash book?   Will there be any more Ladybug Farm books?   What happened to The Hummingbird House? Do...

 Can AI write a better novel than a human?  There's only one way to find out: ask it!  So I did, and this is what my Chat GTP app replied: In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has made tremendous strides in the fields of robotics, healthcare, finance, and more. But could AI ever outdo humans when it comes to creative endeavors like writing a novel? It’s a question that has been debated for years, and one that has no clear answer. On the one hand, AI algorithms can be incredibly powerful and efficient when it comes to processing data and creating models. AI can easily crunch through large amounts of data to recognize patterns, generate predictions, and make decisions. This means that AI could potentially be used to generate stories, characters, and plotlines that are more complex and interesting than those created by humans. On the other hand, AI still lacks the creative spark that humans possess. AI algorithms can generate stories and dialogue, but they canno...