The Creative Edge: Where Creativity Meets Craft

Hi, hello, happy Friday, and welcome back to another week of random thoughts on life and books. I hope your week was fabulous. A quick bit of business—these posts are always free but for subscribers, so if you aren’t already, please join us! Well. It’s been quite a week over here at Substack. The powers that be made a unilateral decision to allow all writing on the platform, notes, posts, etc., to be put through an AI-detector called Panagram. A bunch of people cheered. The vast majority are aghast.

Hi, hello, happy Friday, and welcome back to another week of random thoughts on life and books. I hope your week was fabulous. A quick bit of business—these posts are always free but for subscribers, so if you aren’t already, please join us! It was a big writing week here. My writing coven had a 10,000 word day challenge on Tuesday. It was a crazy day, with everyone hitting record numbers. I was more than happy to stop at 5k, but it was only 3pm, and something kept me in the chair.

Hi, hello, happy Friday, and welcome back to another week of random thoughts on life and books. I’ve been off on sabbatical for a month, and while it was exactly the right thing to do, I missed you! Sabbatical did, and did not, go according to plan. The main goal was achieved: I took the book from 54k to 80k, and have a solid plan for where it’s headed now. I’m hoping to wrap a draft by the end of the month, then I should have time to edit it into a book.

Hi, hello, happy Friday, and welcome back to another week of random thoughts on life and books. It’s just me and Jordan and the bluejays this morning (yep, plural—our pal got himself a girly), enjoying one of the last humidity-free days of Nashville’s summer. Another week and it will be brutal, but it’s been perfect outdoor writing weather. And writing I have been. The 2027 book is shaping up at last, but summer is already leaking away.

Cardinals, Lip Butter, and Being Rocked By A Great Thriller Bonjour, happy Friday, and welcome back to another week of random thoughts on life and books. To whit: I’m beginning to think I am running a backyard garden for the island of misfit toys. I thought I’d start with an update on Mommy Cardinal and her new beau. We haven’t talked about them in a while, and I wanted to share because they’re bringing such joy.

When Is It Okay To Quit Reading A Book? Happy belated Friday! I’m having a well-deserved slow on-ramp this morning. I picked up a gf cinnamon scone from my favorite coffee shop yesterday, so enjoyed that with a nice cup of tea and read more of THE PIRATE QUEEN by Ariel Lawhon, which continues to be brilliant. I DNF’d a book this week. Like, closed and sent it back to the library early DNF’d. I don’t do that often.

J.T. Ellison on Taylor Jackson, Sequels, and a Book that Practically Wrote Itself Happy re-release day to my sophomore effort, 14! I was looking for something to share and discovered this old, unattributed Q&A that I think gives you an in-depth look into the writing of this book. It’s been pretty fun getting in the wayback machine to see all of these answers.

Welcome to another Friday! I hope your week has been wonderful. I’ve been reading a galley of Ashley Audrain’s newest, THE THINGS YOU’LL NEVER KNOW, this week. I am madly in love. It’s the kind of superb high-concept story masquerading as a quiet family drama that is elevated by a conceit that isn’t entirely new, but is executed flawlessly. Last week, I made the comment that I’ve forgotten how to write. This is a typical stage for me in every manuscript.

“Happy Friday, my friends. I hope your week has been uneventful. Mine has not, but this is life, right? I unfortunately had to cancel my trip to Thrillerfest because of a family emergency, and have spent the week at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, adding to my growing body of medical knowledge. My streak continues—no less than four doctors have asked if I’m in the field. I speak doctor. It is a missed calling, I think. I wanted to go to med school, but the cadavers held me up.

Welcome to another Friday, the last one of March. Yes, April is just around the corner. I, for one, am not at all ready. I would like to go back to January and do a reset to slow things down. Though I will admit, I have filled several planters, and things look awfully colorful and cheery outside. April brings a couple of traveling events, which I’m both excited for and worried about. (I mean, who wants to try and fly right now, am I right?) But the bigger issue is the old health.