“I loved that book. I really felt like I could not relate to the characters one bit.” Said no one ever. Writing real characters is an essential feature of a story that moves readers and pulls at their heart strings. Yet it’s one of the most misunderstood elements of fiction. Ranking right up there with... Continue Reading →
A quick humorous post for this lovely Tuesday to brighten your day. I know this is supposed to be just a funny meme ... but this is seriously my new favourite writing tip! It really works 🙂 Cheers, Veronica
As most of us scribblers out there know (scribblers - I love that term for writers … courtesy of Stephen King, as an aside) the publishing industry has changed. Whether you’re a self-published author or you’ve landed a traditional publishing contract, marketing, to a large degree (if not entirely) is in your hands. Twitter, Facebook,... Continue Reading →
In an earlier blog post I announced that I was taking a second crack at my first novel, Bride of Dunloch. After nearly three years since it was first released, I’ve learned a lot, I’ve gained a following and I’ve gained a publisher. I’d like to turn my Highland Loyalties trilogy (of which Bride of... Continue Reading →
In an earlier post, I wrote about the value of the underdog. I talked about the fact that, in so many romance novels, the hero and heroine are both unbelievably attractive, and are both unbelievably attracted to each other within the first few chapters (keyword here is unbelievable). Too often this leads to a boring... Continue Reading →
As a book reviewer with Coffee Time Romance and More, I read a lot of romance books. In so doing, I have the opportunity to see the classic themes that we all know and adore of our love stories, written over and again, in different ways and from different angles. No matter how overdone a particular... Continue Reading →
My latest post on my Tidbits for History Writers series is about staircases. Featured on the Victorian Home episode of Hidden Killers, hosted by Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb (which is where this phenomenon was brought to my attention), the stairs were a deadly feature of homes past. Yeah, yeah, Veronica. Everybody knows that ... The reason I've... Continue Reading →
I have written before about how to work historical detail into your historical fiction. It’s one of my favourite subjects, in fact. I love those sparkling, seldom known tidbits that make a book both educational and fun. So I’ve decided to write about them in a series of posts. I hope you like them as... Continue Reading →
We’ve all heard it before: if you want to improve your writing, you have to read. Read everything, read in abundance. Read, read, read. It makes sense, of course. To develop your skill as a writer, you need to expose yourself to as great a variety of writing as you possibly can. Books in your... Continue Reading →
I won’t lie: the historical romance sub-genre is not an easy one. Not only do you have to craft your characters, develop your plot and write a manuscript of anywhere from 50 to 80 thousand words, you also have to do your research on the historical elements. Working history into your novels is a two-pronged... Continue Reading →
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