Writing Woes: Guilt

Like many writers, I have a tendency to procrastinate. Taking breaks from my writing hasn't been all bad. The extra time to rethink my story has resulted in improvements that I'm proud of. However, I thought I'd be done with my novel by now, and the more I procrastinate, the more that procrastination has become linked with something else: guilt.

A Win-Win-Win Situation

In Night Music, the demon Crowley obsesses about a threat to his well-being. He's convinced that Winston-Winslow, a private investigation firm usually abbreviated to Win-Win, is actually a front for the Men of Letters and that Henry Winslow is a cousin of the Winchester brothers. I'm flattered when readers ask if I'd planned Crowley's Win-Win-Win nightmare from the beginning. I wish I could say I was that farsighted but it was a case of sheer serendipity. The more I thought about it, though, the less convinced I became. Could supernatural forces have played a role? In my search to discover the truth, I decided to interview the creative genius behind the Caffrey Conversation AU, the one and only Penna Nomen.

Catspaws and Muddled Lyrics

We've all had them—the typos, the malaprops, the unintended innuendos which make us blush and want to crawl into a hole or convenient oven. No matter how often we reread our stories, the little demons manage to sneak in. They're treacherous fiends with the ability to be invisible to the writer but glaringly obvious to the reader. If you're extremely lucky, you have a writing partner like Penna to help ferret them out.

Happily Independent After

Recently I read a sample of a romance novel, and had an unexpected realization: I didn't want to read about the heroine falling in love with the hero. In fact, I didn't want to read about the hero at all.

Destination: Night Music

Night Music is set in 2005, shortly after Thanksgiving. Neal has returned to New York after having spent the holiday in France with Sara. See Cloister of Secrets for details.