Just posted a short story on my web site.
Check it out at http://www. nicholerbennett. com/tarotcardmurders. html

Blessings!
Nichole

Well, at the first draft is.

At a local writer's retreat yesterday, I had multiple, uninterrupted (read: "no dogs to let outside, no children to feed, no husband to ask if he could get me anything") hours to write. And write I did.

Ghost Mountain is now finished. Done. Complete. Well, the first draft is. Now for edits and the new task of finding either a publisher or agent.

I'm so excited I could spit!

Check out Frightening Journeys this week when we discuss research.

http://paranormalwriters.blogspot.com

Blessings,
Nichole

Join five struggling paranormal mystery writers on the journey to publication. Our blog starts Monday (Halloween week, how appropriate!) at http://paranormalwriters.blogspot.com/. Join us!

I really had planned to blog here regularly. Doesn't seem to be working. Oh well, lots of plans don't work the way we want them to, right? At least I haven't totally forgotten this blog. Every two months is better than only once ever!



The weather is getting cooler, and school will be starting here in just a few weeks. That means I'll have more time to write, but also that NaNoWriMo is quickly approaching. And I'm stuck between two great plots!



While I'm still working on… Continue

It's one thing to write about terrible events in some fictional character's lives. It's another thing to live through an event like that in your own.



Let me explain.



Tuesday, April 1, started off like any other day. Here in the Beautiful Black Hills, we'd had some snow (not unusual for late March, early April) and the roads were a little slick. Since it was April Fool's Day, I started it off by telling the kid she didn't have school. Got her hopes up, just to say "April… Continue

I’m getting better.



Actually, those three words are a pretty big deal.



After my not-so-pleasant critique experience, I’m bouncing back with my writing. That’s not to say the word count on my WIP has increased dramatically, but it HAS increased. I’ve also joined a mystery writers critique group and have found that to be very beneficial. Of course, that could be due to the fact that people actually offer suggestions there, not just “I don’t like this”… Continue

I spent the last hour or so on a "blog tour" searching for inspiration for today's post. I didn't find any. For the record, I like blogs. I have three myself -- one for family and friends, one

spiritual, and this one. Each of mine gets added to fairly regularly.

Since I didn't know what to write about here, I thought I'd read some of blogs I've bookmarked and maybe be inspired by a topic there. I went through the writing blogs -- also called "blogs by authors" --

and…

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I have a great amount of respect for authors who can crank out numerous books a year. Lori Armstrong is one of them.

Lori is a mom, a wife, member of the local writers group, and a published author. In TWO genres, even! She has multiple books coming out each year. And she's a damn good writer. I admire the fact that she can do all that, even

though I've seen her a little stressed over multiple deadlines.

But what really makes Lori stand out (in my opinion) is that…

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Am I, or am I not, an author? Am I a writer? This week, I didn't think so.

I got my critique back and it was less than stellar. I didn't expect the reviewer to tell me how wonderful I was -- although that would have been nice -- but there was very little the reviewer claimed

to like. Even in the section of the critique called "Strengths."

Ouch. And it was marked up in red pen. Double ouch. And the

reviewer's handwriting leaves much to be desired so it takes…

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One of the Sisters In Crime lists I'm on spent the past week or so discussing one-word resolutions. There were some great ones: accept, persevere, achieve, finish, push, read. The list goes on.

I didn't post mine because I wasn't sure I could limit myself to one word. But the more I think about it, the more I think my resolution

for 2008 will be to write. To write in this blog (and on my actual web site) once a week. To write in my personal blog and myspace account

once a…

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I'm not sure I'll make the NaNo goal this year. Real life stuff seems

to be blocking my fictional life, but I have written more than 2,000

words and the month is still young, so there's time.



My real goal this month, though, is to submit the first 50 pages of Ghost Mountain to be critiqued (the deadline for that is Nov. 15) and to write a

synopsis of the story. I want to look for publishers by the first of

the year. Of course, I still have to finish it, but… Continue

My husband has ringworm.

Ok, not really, but that’s what he’s claiming.

Let me explain.



My husband and I are very different. He’s a country boy and I’m a city

girl. His ideas of necessities include bullets, beef, and beans. My

list is more practical and includes haircuts, oil changes, and trips to

the bookstore.

My husband is a “we’ll make it work” kind of guy and I’m a “if I can’t

do it right the first time, what’s the point” kind…

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Madeline L'Engle passed away Sept. 6 at the age of 88. She had been ill and ultimately died in a hospice.

I've never been lucky enough to meet her, but she influenced me in ways she'll never know. "A Wrinkle In Time" was the first fantasy book I

ever read. It opened my eyes to another world — literally and

figuratively. I understood Meg in a way I don't think I'd ever

understood another character. Imagine my delight when I found out

there were MORE books I could…

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Ya know, all the authors I’ve ever spoken to (or heard from) say the same thing. Each and every one of them NEEDS to write. It is some primal urge they have.

Well, I have it, too. I need to write. I like to write. I want to write.

I wish I kept my blog more up-to-date. I have a personal one that I’m only slightly better at keeping up-to-date. Not that it would be difficult to post more than I do here.

What I’d like, though, is to find other paranormal mystery authors —…

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and it is.

You would think that someone who really desires to make her living writing about murders would realize that, wouldn't you? But no. It takes a slap in the face to realize it.

I found out this week that author Susan Smily has an extremely aggressive breast cancer. I met Susan and her writing partner, Honora, at Mayhem and hit it off with both ladies. This is one of those things

that reminds me not to take any day for granted.

Keep Susan and Honora in your…

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I'm sitting here checking e-mail and reading the blogs of my friends (and some "famous" authors who I wish were my friends!) and wondering if blogs really work. I don't know.



One of my friends is a mystery writer under one name and an erotic romance author under another. She blogs under her mystery name regularly and was able to guest blog under the other name. How do you do that? Does it help sales? Does it just keep you from the WIP you should be writing?



In my pre-author… Continue

Like a bad penny, I am back.



First, let me tell you, Mayhem in the Midlands was AWESOME! I learned so much from the panels I attended.

Some were funny (sorry, but with titles like "Vampires have feelings

too: making fantasy characters work in a realistic world" how could

they not be?) and some were just plain informative (like "Central

Casting: Where do characters come from?"). I took probably fifteen or

twenty pages of notes in the two days.



I met… Continue