• "Why shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense." Mark Twain
    Artwork,  General Thoughts,  Novels (my writing updates)

    How much truth is in my fiction?

    Writing what I knew as a teenager I loved reading when I was a kid, and I began writing as a teenager. The results of my early efforts were 7 handwritten “finished” novels, several poems (many of which are terrible), numerous essays, one random index card with a great idea, a notebook of not-so-great ideas, and a handful of false starts for a story that will never work. My finished stories were fabrications with a bit of what I wanted mixed in. For example, I gave all my main female characters a love interest because I wanted a boyfriend so badly as a teen. Along with the fiction was a…

  • General Thoughts,  Novels (my writing updates)

    About my novels

    It’s been a while since I’ve written about my four published novels, so I thought I would share some information about them as well as some reviews from Amazon and Goodreads. Reviews are super important for authors, especially independent ones. Reviews help other readers take a chance on an unknown author.   The four novels below are available at Dog Ear Books in Russellville, Arkansas, and on my Amazon.com Author Page.   About Caroline’s Lighthouse: What really happened at Bettencourt Estate? In the mid-1800s, Caroline Marshall was forced to accept the marriage proposal of an attorney from a neighboring town. However, Caroline was in love with Thomas Cooper, the caretaker…

  • Snoopy's Night Idea
    General Thoughts,  Novels (my writing updates),  Poetry

    Finding Inspiration

    A question writers (and other types of artists) often get is “Where do you find your inspiration?” I honestly get mine from everywhere. My family. My friends. My coworkers. My surroundings. My travels. My experiences. My fears. My doubts. My successes. You get the picture? As far as inspiration goes, everything you consume is material. Movies you watch, novels you read, music you hear, conversations you overhear, the human emotions and actions you witness. You can create a story for the situations you encounter. Why is the man screaming at the store clerk? Well, maybe his father just died, and he’s having trouble dealing with it. Why is the woman…