Apathy and Passion

It's election day and while I don't want to make this message about politics-too mean and nasty, I thought maybe a reminder about why we vote was a good topic for today. I promise you I'm not going to tell you which party you should vote for or who's the better candidate. Please, unless you've been on a remote island with no access to radio and TV, you've heard that song and pony show for over a year. Politics is like religion-your choice.

So why should you go vote today? Because we live in a democracy that depends on the people making the decision on how they want their government run. Maybe I'm naive, but my going to the polls and casting my vote, tells the government who I want running our government.

If people don't vote, then you let everyone else make the decision for you. Your voice is not heard and well, frankly, in my book, you have no right to complain about the government. Because "We the People" in our constitution is all of us and we create the government.

Blog: Amy Rogers-Is Writing a Novel Like Giving Birth?

I’ve been blessed with both of these experiences in my life and I do see some parallels. One important difference: my children were born with the temperaments God gave them.  The characters in my stories, however, are entirely within my power.  I can make them into whatever kind of person I want.


Amy Rogers


In my debut novel Petroplague, I used my God-like power to create a heroine I’d love to meet in real life. Christina Gonzalez has the two kinds of strength I admire most: strength of character and strength of intellect.  She’s smart (working on her PhD in microbiology at UCLA) and she knows the difference between right and wrong. The scientific work she’s doing—using bacteria to increase domestic energy production—is supposed to be a good thing.

Until an eco-terrorist sabotages her field test and a microbial monster is born.

In Petroplague, Christina’s creation mutates.  Her bacteria start to eat gasoline and turn it into vinegar.  They swiftly contaminate the fuel supply of Los Angeles, paralyzing the city and forcing a quarantine of the entire region.  At first Christina hides behind her youth and guilty feelings and lets her elders handle the situation--until she’s the only person left who has the power to save Western civilization.

Halloween Hauntings by Karilyn Bentley

Happy Halloween! I love this time of the year. While it's not my favorite holiday - that spot goes to Christmas - it is definitely up there in second place. What's not to love about leftover chocolate candy? We all know Halloween is a special time for kids - and some adults - to dress up and go around begging for treats, but do you know how the traditions started?

Halloween has its history in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-en). Samhain is a celebration of the end of harvest season and the upcoming winter. November 1st was their New Year's Day. October 31st was New Year's Eve for the ancient pagans and it was on this day that they believed the walls between the world of the living and the world of the dead thinned, allowing the deceased to come into the world of the living and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. A bonfire was part of the Samhain celebration.

WHO DOESN'T LOVE A GOOD SCARE? by Kathy Ivan

It's getting close to that time of year where we all love a good scare. It's become something of a ritual to scream on Halloween—the more bloodcurdling the better. Tales of terror have been passed down for millennia about ghouls, ghosts and goblins inhabiting the dark places, waiting and watching for the perfect opportunity to frighten the unsuspecting.

As kids who didn't sit around telling scary stories? Maybe it was around a campfire with other teens, darkness all about except for the flickering of the firelight and the deep, dark shadows surrounding you. Remember the one about the man with a hook? Tell me you didn't scream when it was being told and somebody tapped you on the shoulder. Maybe it was a slumber party, a sleep-over with your friends, sitting around in your PJ's, the lights dimmed and one person held the flashlight under their chin, telling a spooky ghost story.

Blog: Jillian Burns-Never Give Up! Never Surrender!

Never Give up! Never Surrender!

That quote from the movie Galaxy Quest has always stuck with me.

Like most people, I’ve had some adversities in my life to overcome. An abusive boyfriend, the loss of a baby, teenagers… (hey, don’t underestimate the heartache they can cause)

My mother used to say “Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.” That quote, from a popular song when she was a child, was her generation’s version of “Never Give up, Never Surrender.”

And sometimes we all have to choose, when we’ve been beaten down by life, whether we’re going to pick ourselves up and start over, or whether we will surrender.

Being a writer puts that choice to the test almost daily. Whether you’re published or pre-published, challenges are ready to knock us down. It could be a scathing rejection (or any rejection) from an editor or agent. It might be a scene you’re working on that’s just not coming out right, or it could just be life interfering with your writing time.

Blog: Vicki Batman-Why Can't We Go on Forever?

Discovering An Author, then... 

Many years ago, I'd browsed my local Half Price Books and picked up a book to read: Maeve Binchy's Light a Penny Candle.

I'd seen the movie, Circle of Friends, with Chris O'Donnell and Minnie Driver, and loved it. But HPB didn't have a copy of that one for sale. Instead, I picked up Light a Penny Candle, read the back cover blurb, and said, yeah, I could read this. The book was pretty hefty, too, but not intimidated. Since I'd devoured Gone With the Wind several times, I knew I could whiz through this one.

I went to a conference with Handsome and hadn't had much opportunity to read. When time to leave, we were standing outside of the resort's entryway, waiting for the airport shuttle. I had the tome cradled in my arm. A woman--obviously, a book lover--leaned over and said, "You'll love this book. It's a three hankie one."

Three hankie? Oh, dear. Was it too girly and weepy?

On the plane, I began the book and quickly, became engrossed. I found it to be thoroughly engaging. I totally immersed myself in the characters' lives, and when over, did need a tissue. That's rare.

Michelle Miles on: Swashbuckling Heroes

Swashbuckler: noun. A swaggering swordsman, soldier, or adventurer; daredevil.

I think the first time I heard the word “swashbuckling” I was nine and it was 1981. Yes, I’m once again referring to Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones, the famous archeologist. I like going back to my roots. What can I say?

I got to thinking about all the swashbuckling heroes that were in the movies. I think for the most part “swashbucklers” are associated with “pirates”. But then along came Indiana Jones, who redefined the word for us. Now our hero carried a whip and/or a gun. Sometimes he was from the future and sometimes from the past. Some were sea-faring and some were space-galloping. But no matter who he was, he was guaranteed to make our hearts flutter and our pulses race.

Let’s explore all those famous men who have swaggered with a sword, adventured with a whip, strutted with a laser gun, and served up rapier wit and razor-sharp sarcasm.