Writing
Balancing Family & Creativity: Night Writing Benefits
Balancing Family, Work, and Creative Life
When my family moved to a new city this summer, we learned the after-school program for my kids had already closed applications back in April. By July, we were too late. That left us juggling new routines, with my son in Transitional Kindergarten (TK) for just three hours each morning—then home for the rest of the day.
Why I Buy the Book and the Audiobook: How I Read with ADHD
Reading has never been easy for me. As someone with ADHD, my attention can drift fast, and focusing on pages of text—no matter how gripping—can feel like trying to hold water in my hands. I also read slowly. That’s not a flaw—it’s just how my brain processes words. But I still love stories. I still want to learn, to escape, to grow. So I found a way that works for me, even if it seems a little unconventional: I buy the audiobook and the digital or physical copy.
The Quiet Hustle: What It Really Feels Like to Market Your Own Book
The hardest part about being an author? Walking the tightrope between “please buy my book” and “I swear I’m not begging.” It’s a delicate dance—trying to share something you’re proud of without sounding desperate, hoping it lands with the right people without shouting into the void.
Recovering, Reading, and Revising
A few weeks ago, I was hospitalized for appendicitis and sepsis. The infection was so severe that they put me on a long course of antibiotics, and I’m hopefully having surgery soon to remove my appendix. But even now, I still don’t feel great. My side hurts, and some nights, it’s impossible to get comfortable.
Slowing Down, but Not Stopping
When you’re weak, tired, and not feeling like yourself, you have to listen to your body and do what you can with the energy you have. For me, that means reading. And thankfully, that’s something I can still do. I’ve been rereading my published books—not just because I love them, but because we’ve updated the covers and are tweaking the copy. If you’re with a small press like I am, you often have more flexibility to make small fixes post-publication. If you’re with a big traditional publisher, that’s a lot harder—but if you ever get the chance to refine your work, take it.
Publishing Gatekeepers Are Not Fortune Tellers—They Get It Wrong All the Time
The Illusion of Predicting a Bestseller
I don’t care what anyone says—no publisher, big or small, can guarantee who will be a bestseller. They get it wrong all the time. Sometimes it’s instinct, sometimes it’s a lucky guess, and sometimes they just think they know—but the truth? Readers decide.
The publishing industry likes to act as if it has a crystal ball, as if acquisitions editors and agents possess some supernatural ability to determine what will sell and what won’t. But they don’t.
Writing With Hope 