by Debbie Wiley I miss attending book conventions. I’ve been lucky enough to attend quite a few in Orlando, Florida over the years, including Romantic Times (now known as the Booklovers Convention), RWA, and the Shameless Book Con. Memories of attending RT and RWA with my mom often pop in my head when reading certain authors because some of those authors are ones my mom introduced me to  their books when I was a teenager. Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz will always be loved by me not only for their books, but for the memories Mom and I are even now still making as we share a love for their writing.  Just this morning, Mom and I were chatting about the time she met Nora Roberts at RT. Her hands were shaking as she clenched a book in her hands hoping to meet Nora Roberts and get a signature- and she did, making a memory that lasts even now when she’s not as mobile and Covid has her stuck in her home most of the time. Books can tie us together in more ways than stories, but here are a few recent books from authors Mom and I have…

Back in November, I explained the concept of NaNoWriMo to my five-year-old daughter, who stared blankly at me for a moment and then declared, “I can do that!” and started drawing pictures on paper, begging me to staple them together, and then dictating the words to me. Readers, she has written no less than 50 short books about two characters named Stick and Pinecone (TM to come) in a little over two months. The best part is, however, after all of her dictation, as well as her growing comfort with reading and writing sentences on her own, she now writes her own books start to finish, and we are both so proud. Now, while I barely wrote 20,000 words during the month of November – and not very much since then – I can’t help but be inspired by my daughter’s tenacity, drive, and creativity. But cut to the recent events surrounding RWA, it’s questionable current and former leadership, the unfair takedown of Courtney Milan, and the countless writers who have come forward with their own unjust and malicious treatment by the organization, it’s HARD out here for aspiring authors to find the motivation to continue. And for marginalized writers…

Two weeks ago I was at the RWA conference in San Francisco where I gave a talk about writing for the YA market. For those of you who weren’t there, here’s the list – YA books stay on the shelves longer (by longer I mean longer than category romance which is my other outlet) Category books are gone in a month, but the last time I checked at my local Borders, all three of my books in the BFF series, MANDERLEY PREP, RICH GIRL and THE GUY NEXT DOOR were still on the shelves. Teens are loyal readers, if they like your book, they spread the word by texting, calling or whatever. Series are popular. Hook a teen reader and they’ll stick with you. YA books are short, around 50,000 words. You can write more books in a year than single titles. Writing for and hanging out with teens can keep you young. You can dig into your own past for material or use your kids or your neighbors. Deal a blow forever to the memory of those geeks, freaks, nerds, cheerleaders, jocks and goths who wouldn’t eat lunch with you, date you, or even speak to you in the…

My trip to California (and back to Texas) is over. On one hand I say thank goodness, on the other, I miss the cool air of Northern California. According to husband it was in the 100s while I was gone. It’s “cooled” down to just 100 since I’ve been home. Just call me “bringer of cool temps” LOL Gwen and I saw lots of the country on our twelve day adventure, and it’s a BIG country if you were in any doubt. Still many many miles of beautiful vistas, no houses or lights and awe-inspiring landscapes! It nourished my soul to be able to see it closer than 40,000 feet through a small dirty porthole. Our main objective on this trip was the annual Romance Writers of America convention in San Francisco. We arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon and spent the rest of day relaxing and getting ready to go-go-go. We closed down on Saturday night after FOUR JAM PACKED DAYS!!! I’m not sure how to cover it all, so I’ll just try to hit some of the highlights. Fresh Fiction staff – Sara, Gwen, Suan, Mindy, Faye, TanzeyOriginally uploaded by freshfiction Wednesday, July 30th. The Fresh Fiction…

Jeanne Stein and GwenOriginally uploaded by freshfiction Some people plan their vacations around non-business activities but for me, a conference is a reason to get out of town and explore just a wee bit. So, this last week of July is a doozy! Gwen and I are on a road trip from Dallas to Tulsa to San Francisco and back to Dallas. For some that is a reason to fly but I’ve never been able to see the deserts of the west except at 40,000 feet and I really wanted to explore the famous Route 66 before it completely disappears. So I convinced Gwen that a week in a car in the summer isn’t really that bad! The good news, we haven’t killed each other. So to our tale of exploration…first stop Tulsa and the Conestoga 12, Oklahoma’s largest literary science fiction and fantasy convention. The 2008 guest of honor was Diana Gabaldon. I’ve been a fan of Ms. Gabaldon since my favorite bookseller — Judy Oerke — suggested OUTLANDER in the late 80s. And when they still had two Gold Tickets left — dinner with Ms. Gabaldon — I couldn’t say no! Well, I could but it was a…