I’m thrilled to welcome Liv Rancourt back to my blog in this installment of Pen to Pen, a series of guest posts by authors about all aspects of writing. Here, she talks about plotting versus pantsing—that is, do you plan your story ahead of time, or discover what will happen as you write? … Read more
I got to visit one of my favorite exhibits at one of my favorite museums this week: Bone Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. And what better to focus on this trip than the baculum, aka the penis bone, an actual bone that appears in the penises of many actual animals—just not in humans. … Read more
I don’t have kids, but I do know a lot of kids, and J.V. Speyer’s guest column for this week’s Pen to Pen feature had me laughing in recognition. Whether you’re a parent or simply have trouble explaining your job to loved ones of any age, this post is sure to strike a chord. It also provides some great ideas for melding career and family life. Read on! … Read more
Just like it takes practice to get good at sex, it also takes practice to get good at writing about it. Award-winning romance author Elizabeth Lister is here to pass on what she’s learned and to help you draw from your own experiences when writing about this crucial part of a character’s story. … Read more
For this week’s Pen to Pen Column, Liv Rancourt has stopped by to talk about the ins and outs of researching historical romances. The process is fresh in her mind, as she’s just released Aqua Follies, a gay romance set in the water ballet scene of 1950s Seattle. You didn’t know there was a Seattle water ballet scene? That’s not all her book covers, and keeping track of the historical trivia was quite the task. She has some great advice for digging up the details that movies and history books might not tell you. … Read more