Ramblings of an eccentric fangirl

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Writing a Cozy Mystery: Tips and Resources To Help

Writing a Cozy Mystery: Tips and Resources To Help

A lot of what I write as a ghostwriter has been romance. I sort of expected that going in, as romance is one of the highest selling genres of all time. But I’ve also made a good chunk of change ghostwriting cozy mysteries as well. For those of you who haven’t read one, it’s pretty much the same as a regular mystery, just slapped with a PG or PG-13 sticker. Gore is kept to a minimum, no onscreen…

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Slow Writing--And Why Its Not a Bad Thing

Slow Writing–And Why Its Not a Bad Thing

If you are able to spin out elaborate stories full of rich world building, deep characters, and good continuity in weeks or months, you are among a small, lucky minority.

If that’s you, then congratulations on all that talent. I certainly do envy you the timing and consistency you are able to manage. So often when you churn out quick work we’re forced to sacrifice something in the meantime. Its…

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Tips For Writing While Pregnant

Tips For Writing While Pregnant

I’m not sure if I’ve announced on this blog that I am currently expecting a baby. Versus what, I’m not sure. A lizard? The point is that I am about four weeks out from delivery and have wanted to write this post for awhile, but didn’t want to be presumptuous, assuming this baby was going to arrive. After a miscarriage I felt a little gun shy and didn’t want to jinx myself somehow.

But there’s a…

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Jumping on the #Cockygate scandal late, sorry.

Jumping on the #Cockygate scandal late, sorry.

So sorry that I’m just talking about this, but things have been crazy. I’ve had a lot of deadlines due lately, and just got done with my 29 week ultrasound yesterday (Everything is normal with baby boy, so I’m glad about that.)

For those joining the bandwagon late like me, I’ll give you a little bit of background info on what’s going on before I jump into the problems I have with Cockygate.…

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Fantasy Lover Review: Chapter Five

Fantasy Lover Review: Chapter Five

We start the chapter off with Grace being inattentive during work. For all the good she’s doing, she should have just taken the day off or called in sick the way Julian suggested. Of course, we’re supposed to still believe that Grace is the epitome of professionalism after all this. DON’T MAKE ME SUE: 15 Then we get a brief exchange that’s supposed to be humorous, but I just can’t find it that…

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Recommended Titles: Thunderhead

I’m back with another Recommended Titles. I don’t get to do that much recreational reading anymore, around a job, family, and whatnot. But I’ve made an exception for a few series, carving out time to read or listen to them when I can. Thunderhead is one such title I’ve done this for. Much like the first book in this series, Thunderhead engaged me from page one. It kept the momentum going from the…

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Recommended Titles: The Dresden Files

Recommended Titles: The Dresden Files

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I cannot emphasize enough how much I love the Dresden Files. My love for this series has spurred me to construct cosplay for it, and write fanfic (something I don’t do for any old series. Anymore.) I daydream about this series and I cannot wait until the newest short story anthology Brief Cases will be out this summer. For those who don’t know, the series…

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Fantasy Lover Review: Chapter Four

Fantasy Lover Review: Chapter Four

Warning: One image in this review is NSFW. So we left off last chapter with Grace basically telling us the premise of the whole book. One man did her wrong, so all guys suck. But even more surprising than her words was the amount of bitterness he heard in Grace’s voice. She must have been badly used in the past. No wonder she was skittish of him. Badly used? She lost her virginity to a douche.…

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Fantasy Lover Review: Chapter 3

Fantasy Lover Review: Chapter 3

Warning: Some allusions to rape/dub-con in this chapter as well as some crude language and discussions of sex. So Grace reacts reasonably to the appearance of a naked man in her living room and screams. She tries to run away and trips over the couch cushions she’d placed on the ground while she and Selena ate. She reaches for the wine bottle to defend herself and he immobilizes her. Now at this…

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Fantasy Lover: Chapter Two Review

Fantasy Lover: Chapter Two Review

Warning: One image in this post is not safe for work. Just so you don’t get surprised by it. Hours later, Grace sighed as she opened the door to her two-story bungalow and stepped into her polished foyer.  Starting the chapter up with a nitpick. This sentence is incredibly awkward, and could have been fixed with some minor tweaks by her editor. The easiest fix would be “Grace sighed as she opened…

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Fantasy Lover Review: Chapter One

Fantasy Lover Review: Chapter One

Okay, we’re back to Fantasy Lover with chapter one, in which we meet our intrepid heroine, Grace Alexander. Grace is a sex therapist, but despite listening to the sexual woes of her patients for the majority of her professional life, Grace gets flustered when her friend Selena mentions that she needs to get laid. That’s pretty much the chapter. I’m not kidding. Almost nothing else happens. We…

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Fantasy Lover Review: Prologue

Fantasy Lover Review: Prologue

The prologue to Fantasy Lover is pretty short but hoo boy is it filled with a lot of horse hockey. Fasten your seat belts boys and girls, it’s gonna be a cringey ride. The author doesn’t get around to naming our Gary Stu until the very end of the prologue, so I’ll spare you the slog. Our main historical hottie this book is named Julian of Macedon. An Ancient Greek Legend Possessed of supreme…

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Introduction and Counts

Alright, I’ve obtained a copy if the first book in the Dark Hunters Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon: Fantasy Lover.  I’ll preface the reviews I do of Kenyon’s work by saying that I think she has some genuine talent and that I wish that these books lived up to their full potential. Unlike the Anita Blake series, which makes me growl and grind my teeth in frustration, I can sometimes see why people like…

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An Invitation to Indie Writers

An Invitation to Indie Writers

I’m not really sure what this is, so I’m just going to put it out there. If there are any indie writers out there who would like me review their books, I’d be happy to do so. Now I’m not going to spend an outrageous amount of money for your book. I’ve got to keep the purse strings tight for now, but I will pay ten or less for a copy. I will give honest reviews. If I liked it, I will say so. If I…

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Sporking Update: The Dark Hunters Series

Sporking Update: The Dark Hunters Series

Since I didn’t get anyone commenting or recommending which I do, I have decided I’ll spork the Dark Hunters Series instead of Anita Blake. I have mocked both in the privacy of my own home, or to my husband, but decided that Dark Hunters was going to take priority. Why? Well because I have actually seen several good sites that have picked apart reasons why the Anita Blake Series is bad. I intend…

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Blogger's Guilty Pleasure: Fireblood Dragon Series

Blogger’s Guilty Pleasure: Fireblood Dragon Series

The Fireblood Dragon Series is totally a guilty pleasure read for me. I recommend it for lovers of romance, but I think of it as mostly a potato chip book, as my mother calls them. It’s a light, entertaining read you  can finish off in a day. There’s nothing super challenging in these books, but there’s nothing very offensive in them either. I actually bought this book as an assignment for my…

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Recommended Titles: Scythe

Some spoilers ahead. I’m a little late on this one, I’ll admit. In the past year or so, reading has not been super high on my priority list, for reasons I’ve discussed in my update post last October. I’m not going to be giving hot takes on every new book that comes out. Between ghostwriting and trying to raise a family, I just don’t have enough time to do the weekly read through and critical…

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