Mr. Darcy’s Proposal author Susan Mason Milks
I’d planned on making this another 3 Quick Questions post, but as I learned more about debut author Susan Mason Milks and her new release MR DARCY’S PROPOSAL, I knew I couldn’t stop at three. Jayne Ann Krentz first brought her to my attention on her Facebook page and when I discovered Susan was a Jane Austen fan like myself (Ms. Austen was a big influence on THE DAUGHTERS OF WINSTON BARNETT) I had to talk to her. Enjoy! About the book Mr. Darcy’s Proposal Available in both print and eBook formats! This retelling of Pride and Prejudice asks “what if” events prevented Fitzwilliam Darcy from proposing to Elizabeth Bennet that…
The Dairyman and the Gentleman
It was a rainy day in Seattle when I first saw him. I’d planned on reading that day, but my aunt’s dog had chewed up one of my favorite books and I was in a rather foul mood. So I turned on the TV and a man walking with a lame horse appeared on the screen. He was talking to me about his town of Anatevka and the traditions there. Soon I got to meet his wife Golda and his five daughters: Tzeitel, Hodel, Chava, Sphrintze and Bielke. I watched the movie Fiddler on the Roof transfixed. I was ten, but I knew these people. I knew this man. I…
Artists are Weird, but Writers are Crazy: Tortoise versus Hare
Please note that this series is written in fun. If you don’t like hints of sarcasm and hyperbole don’t read this series. If you find the title offensive, don’t read this series. However, if you understand that this is a great time to be a writer of fiction and feel like a lone happy person in a tsunami of fear, read on. In a previous post I described how many writers have been brainwashed into thinking that the pace in which they produce their work matters. Today I’ll talk about a different type of pace: Sales! Many writers have been brainwashed into thinking that fast sales mean a book is…
Worry Revisited
In celebration of Shel Silverstein’s newest release Every Thing On It I thought I’d take out and dust off this poem I wrote back in 2006. It was inspired by Silverstein’s Whatif poem. I wrote it early in my career and made some tweaks to update it a bit, but overall not much has changed. I called it Worry because that’s something that writers do well. Worry: A Writer’s Whatif Before I sit down at my desk My heart starts racing in my chest Some whatifs begin to dance in my ears And their questions reveal all my fears: Whatif I can’t finish my next book? Whatif no…
Artists are Weird, but Writers are Crazy: Ready–Fire–Aim!
Please note that this series is written in fun. If you don’t like hints of sarcasm and hyperbole don’t read this. If you find the title offensive, don’t read this. However, if you understand that this is a great time to be a writer of fiction and feel like a lone happy person in a tsunami of fear, read on. Are you sitting on the fence about an idea you want to pursue? Then this post is for you. I recently had a conversation with a fellow writer that went something like this: “Hey Dara, I’ve got a great idea for a new book.” (Precedes to tell me the idea)…