Hey there! I've mentioned that my husband and I are renovating a house right now. It's been quite the project (one might say we bit off more than we could chew), but we're almost done! Which is great, because I'm ready to spend my summer evenings and weekends doing something besides sanding and painting. Oof. The house was built in 1912, and hasn't gotten much love over the century it's been around. As we've torn up floorboards and demolished ceilings and pulled out kitchen cabinets, I've...
13 days ago • 2 min read
Hey there! I've been thinking a lot lately about routine and how much it supports creative workflow. I'm a creature who thrives in habit, but craves novelty—which means I don't work well when I'm scattered, but it's tough to stick to a set schedule. I also tend to work in bursts, pouring my time into one project until I'm exhausted on it, then moving to the next. Which means that when I'm in a period of hyper-focus, other important things don't get done. How do you build a routine that...
27 days ago • 1 min read
Hey there! I'm currently on a research trip for Book 1 of my Danica Burns mystery series, and as I checked into the kinda remote Airbnb and started unpacking, I realized that the two books I was in the middle of reading both shared a theme: They were both thrillers about writers on research trips, staying alone in remote Airbnbs. *facepalm* The first is The Blackhouse by Carole Johnstone,* which is set on the Isle of Harris and Lewis in Scotland. It's about a girl who may or may not be...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey there! I'm going to make this short because my parents are visiting, but I've got two pieces of audiobook news I couldn't keep sitting on. First up, Diwa Reyes (who narrated From Earth and Bone) has finished the audio for After the Tide. It's amazing — their voice is just perfect for the story. I'll be adding it to the retailers eventually, but right now the only way to get it is through the Outsiders Kickstarter. It's available as an add-on for only $5. (And if you already backed the...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey there! It has been A Week, y'all. More accurately, it's been a couple of weeks, with no break between them to unwind. I spent a long weekend at Norwescon, the Pacific Northwest's biggest sci-fi convention—and it was a total blast. I always love this con, because it's got a bit of something for everyone. If you're a writer, you can find tons of programming about storytelling and the business of publishing. If you're a fan, you can meet local and big-name authors, and attend panels on...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey there! Just a quick note to tell you that the Kickstarter for Outsiders is officially live! I set a lower goal because I figured this short story collection wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea—but it funded within the first day. (Partly due to a couple lovely backers who commissioned custom-written stories.) So that's very exciting! Outsiders is a celebration of weirdness. It's about standing slightly skewed from the "normal" human experience. It's about being a little bit "other." It was...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hey there! Last week I promised you that I'd tell you the second big reason I started writing the Danica Burns series—and trust me, that's still coming. But I needed to take a quick detour, sorry. I promise it'll be worth it! I’ve been on a Murderbot binge over the last couple of months. (Did you see that the TV show will be out in May on Apple TV? Check out Murderbot's amazing helmet in the second article image!) I’ve been sneaking Murderbot novellas in between the thriller and mystery books...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Hey there! When I first started working on my new mystery/thriller series—the Danica Burns series—I had two goals. My first goal (which I want to talk about today) is to write books that take readers on journeys to some of my favorite places. I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest basically all of my life—I grew up in rural Washington State, and as an adult I’ve lived in Seattle, Idaho, and Portland. When my sister and I were kids, our parents loved to take us on road trips. We went camping...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Hey all! First up, I hope you have all been well and finding ways to stay creative amidst the ongoing chaos of life, the universe, and everything. My writing community is the thing that's been keeping me afloat lately—so thank you all for being a part of that. If you're looking for ways to get plugged in with other Author Alchemists, keep scrolling. But first—I have an announcement! I hinted in the last email that I was scheming up new ways to build community around education. Allow me to...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Hey there! Thanks to everyone who took advantage of my birthday sale last weekend — it was very fun packing up orders and shipping them out. I recently bought one of those thermal label printers and a bunch of fun bubble mailers, so I'm basically unstoppable. :) I'm gearing up for my first in-person conference of 2025 in April (Norwescon, our local PNW sci-fi/fantasy convention), and it occurred to me that I'm going to be traveling a LOT for conferences this year! Some are old faves, like...
3 months ago • 3 min read