Tuesdays – Dahlia DeWinters

Special Features, Tuesdays, Uncategorized

Tales from the Bus Stop – One

I have three little ones ranging in age from 12 to 15, and lucky for me, they all attend the same school. Every morning, we all pile into the great minivan and cruise to the bus stop, where we have odd conversations. I enjoy those times, because it gives me real insight into what and how my kids are thinking and also gives me a change to spout off a thread of wisdom or two. Over the years, I’ve gathered quite a bit of stories, so let me share some with you here. I present to you….Tales from the Bus Stop. The Players Number 1 son: oldest son, 15 Daughter: 14 Littlest: 12 (also plays trumpet….important later). Story #1 Number 1 son: (terrible Russian accent) In Russia, road forks you. Daughter: That is the dumbest thing I ever heard. (Meanwhile, I’m laughing) No. 1 son: Do not dispute Mother… Continued

Blogging, Tuesdays

Old Characters Made New

Sometimes it’s okay to look back. I’m doing an author’s challenge on Instagram, and day 12 asked me about my protagonist. Now, I’m currently working on three stories, editing and updating them for publication. Not such bad work, especially since I’ve been living with these characters for a while. I do best with writing when I’m the most familiar with my characters, at least for a few months. I guess I’ll never be that writer who can pump out a new book every month, and I’m okay with that. I’m working with characters I’ve “known” since 2011-2012 For those of you who have read Second Chance Christmas, know that Naomi and Zach had a story before their Christmas story. Yep. They were the very first story that I submitted for publication. Unfortunately, it was rejected. I then wrote Kitty Wishes, and I never went back to the story. However, I

Movies--Books--Music--Television, Tuesdays, Uncategorized, Writing

The More You Know: the Magic of Why

I’ve been writing professionally for about seven years. The one thing I’ve noticed about my writing and my production of published books is that I’m a slow writer. Now, don’t take that to mean I put in a comma in the morning and remove it in the afternoon, no. It’s just that my stories come together very slowly. Sure, I may have an awesome idea for a book, but to be honest, it takes years for some books to come to fruition. I wrote my first published book, Kitty Wishes, in a week. It’s cute enough book, but it’s not satisfying to me. I feel I could have done a lot better. But hey, it was my first book and it was a learning process. Another of my books, Loving Among the Dead, was basically written in 2012, but fussed over and revamped until it was published in 2014. It

Tip Tuesdays, Uncategorized

Tip Tuesday: Be Yourself

Hey there! Glad you could join me again on the blog. You know how much I love my song titles, and Be Yourself by Patti really embodies what I’m feeling right now. Writing is a solitary experience, for the most part, which is why many of us turn to Facebook and other social media outlets to give us a little pick-me-up between the stretches of hard work we are putting in on our writing. And don’t be fooled by our whiny complaints and over-indulgence in coffee, wine, and journals. We love what we do, or else we wouldn’t do it. But, as with any industry, there are those who treat it simply as a business and not as personal expression. These are the authors who use ghostwriters and manage to churn out a new release every other week (or so it seems!). Meanwhile, I’m sitting here tip tapping away on

Tip Tuesdays, Tuesdays

Treat Your Art Like Guys Treat their D*cks

Whoooa! What’s going on? This post is primary addressed to writers, but is applicable for anyone who creates. Writers! Yes, I’m talking to you: Treat your Writing like Men treat their D*cks I’ve read so many self-deprecating writer speak that it ceases to be funny. “I’m not any good.” “I write crap.” “No one likes my work.” “Why am I doing this?” Stop the madness, because personally I’m sick of it. And don’t get all up on your high horses, “Humph. Who does Dahlia think she is?” Nope, don’t even go there because I used to feel the same way. Let’s take a look. Do you: Whimper and cringe as each word appears on the page, knowing deep in your writerly heart that there’s no way that word “apple” you just wrote, will past muster with the frowning, critical public? Weep at editor’s marks, not seeing them as a helpful

Blogging, Tip Tuesdays, Tuesdays, Writing

Tip Tuesday – Make it Work with One Notebook

For those of you who’ve seen me flitting about on social media, especially Instagram, then you know how much I love my journals and notebooks. It is truly an affliction. I can’t resist the call of a beautiful looking journal, knowing I can fill its blank pages with my genius thoughts. Once I get the journal home, it’s another story. The pages are so pretty and pristine, I am reluctant to sully them with my less than important. So, I put the date on the journal and place it on the shelf. It still looks pretty, but it’s unused. What happens next? Well, I get into an organizing frenzy. Since I see so many journals on the shelf, I pick one for story ideas, one for daily to do lists and one for note taking. Since they’re so disparate, I do need the three journals, right? After about a week,