I've been so busy that I nearly missed this month's blog post. It seems that the pandemic is affecting different people different ways, and I'm one of those people who seems to be thriving while sheltering in place during this pandemic. I've finished two books and a play! The first draft of my third book in the Stillwaters Series, Someone Like Me, is finished and is now in the process of being edited. It seems like I've been writing this book forever.
My writing partner for the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mysteries, L. Barnett Evans, and I have been busy writing a new thriller that is very different then our usual work.. We've been working on this book since 2016 (can you believe it!) and we finally finished. We're in the editing stage now.
As for my playwriting, one of my One Act plays. won another play festival (my third in four years). It will be presented in Columbus, Ohio next year, that is if the pandemic is over. During April and May of this year I made sure that all of my books were a part of the Authors Giving Back sale at Smashwords.com. The sale was quire successful. Thank you to the many readers who purchased my books.
Friday, June 26, 2020
Saturday, May 2, 2020
AUTHORS GIVING BACK SALE CONTINUES!
The authors on Smashwords.com continue to respond to the shelter in place directive that citizens are being asked to follow, and we are extending the AUTHORS GIVE BACK sale that started in April. Titles continue to be offered at 60% off through May 31, 2020!
This means that all of my romance suspense titles in ebook format are only $1.20 on Smashwords. The title that launched my career as an author SIN, remains absolutely FREE during the entire month of May!
In addition, through May 2020, the hilarious novel, There's Something Wrong with Miss Zelda, one of the funniest titles in the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy book series that I write with my writing partner, L. Barnett Evans, is being offered FREE on Smashwords this month! All of the books in this series are also on sale. Don't miss out on this opportunity to read a good book.
Go to Smashwords.com. CLICK on one of my titles, and ENJOY!
Thursday, April 2, 2020
AUTHORS GIVE BACK SALE!
In these precarious times when nearly everyone in the country is sheltering in place to protect each other from the virus that has overtaken our country, the authors on Smashwords are responding. We are offering 60% off our titles during the AUTHORS GIVE BACK Sale through the month of April, 2020.
This means that all of my romance suspense titles in ebook format are only $1.20 on Smashwords. To kick the book reading off, the title that launched my career as an author SIN, is absolutely FREE during the entire month of April!
In addition, Whose Knife is it Anway? the latest titled in the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy book series that I write with my writing partner, L. Barnett Evans, is on sale as well! All of the books in this series are cheap this month, so don't miss out on the opportunity to read a good book.
Go to Smashwords.com. CLICK on one of my titles, and ENJOY!
Monday, March 2, 2020
SMASHWORDS READ AN EBOOK WEEK IS BACK!
The 11th Annual Read an Ebook Week Sale Kicked off Sunday, March 1 and runs through Saturday, March 7 on Smashwords.com.
My romantic suspense books will be on sale for 50% Off. These are only some of the titles on sales:
Sin
Sinful Intentions
Sweet Sacrifice
Secrets
Strangers
Shadows of Love
Go to Smaswords.com, use the Half Price Coupon and Enjoy the Read!
Thursday, February 27, 2020
A REWARDING MONTH FOR WRITING
I've been very busy this month and nearly missed writing this month's blog. I had my playwright hat on and was privileged to be one of the winners of the Ivoryton Playhouse Theatre's Women Playwrights Initiative for 2020. My One Act drama, 1200 MILES FROM JEROME, was given a staged reading at the Ivoryton Playhouse, located in Connecticut, and it was quite a success.
The play is set in 1942 during WW II. It is about a courageous teacher and members of an African American family who are transporting a young Japanese American boy who has escaped from an interment camp in Jerome, Arkansas to New York City where he can be shielded by relatives. Danger is lurking for the car's occupants every miles it will take to get there, and along the way a lot of truth is revealed.
Below is the link to the TV interview I gave while in Connecticut on a program titled "A CERTAIN AGE", with host Li Hayes. The interview was broadcast in Connecticut only, but it will tell you a lot about my career as a writer:
Also, here are some photos from the powerful play reading that was held at the Ivoryton Playhouse Theatre in Ivoryton, Connecticut. Everyone involved in putting on the Women Playwrights Initiative for 2020 did a wonderful job!
The Cast of 1200 MILES FROM JEROME
(l to r) Justine Hall, Brie Covington, Jacob Goodhart, Kathryn Markey (Director) Crystal Rhodes (playwright) Renee Sutherland and Denise Johnson
Director, Kathryn Markey in front of the Ivoryton Playhouse Theatre in Ivoryton, Connecticut
Monday, January 6, 2020
HELLO 2020!!
Here we are in the first year of a new decade, and I welcome it with open arms! Last year was so fantastic for me creatively that I'm giddy with excitement to see what 2020 will bring. My goal to finish the first draft of Someone Like Them by the end of 2019 was achieved. I finished the final draft on December 31st, New Years Eve. While other people were partying fervently, I was writing feverishly. Such is the life of a writer. It's not all wine and roses.
I look forward to going through Someone Like Them again, to fine tune it. I like my character, Wanda Carson. She is a 50 year old grandmother who she is living a dream that can only be imagined by others. Unfortunately, she discovers that all that glitters is not gold.
Someone Like Them should be released by this fall, if not sooner. Meanwhile, I'm also working on a new Two Act play. My latest One Act Play, 1200 Miles from Jerome, which won the 2020 Women Playwrights Initiative, sponsored by the Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut, will enjoy a staged reading early this year. I'm also writing another mystery novel with L. Barnett Evans, my talented co-author of the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mystery series. It looks like 2020 will be as creatively satisfying as 2019. I sure hope so. Meanwhile, Happy New Year!
I look forward to going through Someone Like Them again, to fine tune it. I like my character, Wanda Carson. She is a 50 year old grandmother who she is living a dream that can only be imagined by others. Unfortunately, she discovers that all that glitters is not gold.
Someone Like Them should be released by this fall, if not sooner. Meanwhile, I'm also working on a new Two Act play. My latest One Act Play, 1200 Miles from Jerome, which won the 2020 Women Playwrights Initiative, sponsored by the Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut, will enjoy a staged reading early this year. I'm also writing another mystery novel with L. Barnett Evans, my talented co-author of the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mystery series. It looks like 2020 will be as creatively satisfying as 2019. I sure hope so. Meanwhile, Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
2019 - THE YEAR OF ALL YEARS!
I can't account for other people, but I am one who is grateful for every year of my life, and the majority of them have been good ones. Fortunately, I pursued my passion for writing, never limiting myself, and I have been richly rewarded. I've done it all, books, plays, TV scripts, articles. You name it, I've tried it. As we come to the end of 2019, I look back and recognize that this year has been one of the most creatively rewarding that I've ever had. Financial rewards are always welcomed, but when one is an artist and receives recognition for ones art that's a feeling that is difficult to describe. The word elation is the only one I can think of at the moment.
The year 2019 opened with my Two Act play, The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin, winning a national playwriting contest, The American Theatre's 21st Century Voices New Play Festival. I spent a weekend in January in St. Petersburg, Florida where a staged reading of the play was presented, and it received an excellent reception. The next few months saw the re-release of one my romantic suspense novels, Singing a Song, and the writing of the third book in my Stillwaters Series, Someone Like Them (which it seems like I've been working on forever). I acquired a drama agent in the fall, presenting me with the opportunity to have my plays presented in more theatres, and a shot at having my work acquired for TV--one of my major goals.
I attended severalwriting workshops. My writing partner and I won scholarships to attend an artist conference. We gave presentations on writing to two college classes, and a visit with one my favorite book clubs was quite a treat. To top it off at the end of this year I won a second national playwriting contest! My One Act Play, 1200 Miles from Jerome, won the 2020 Women Playwrights Initiative, sponsored by the Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut. I'm looking forward to that staged reading.
Recently, the year was further topped off with my having been presented with a Creative Arts Fellowship by the Indiana Arts Council. What an honor it is to be recognized and appreciated for my art. With this fellowship I can travel to anywhere in the world I want. I'm still tingling from the excitement.
Yes, 2019 was quite a year! I can't wait until 2020.
The year 2019 opened with my Two Act play, The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin, winning a national playwriting contest, The American Theatre's 21st Century Voices New Play Festival. I spent a weekend in January in St. Petersburg, Florida where a staged reading of the play was presented, and it received an excellent reception. The next few months saw the re-release of one my romantic suspense novels, Singing a Song, and the writing of the third book in my Stillwaters Series, Someone Like Them (which it seems like I've been working on forever). I acquired a drama agent in the fall, presenting me with the opportunity to have my plays presented in more theatres, and a shot at having my work acquired for TV--one of my major goals.
I attended severalwriting workshops. My writing partner and I won scholarships to attend an artist conference. We gave presentations on writing to two college classes, and a visit with one my favorite book clubs was quite a treat. To top it off at the end of this year I won a second national playwriting contest! My One Act Play, 1200 Miles from Jerome, won the 2020 Women Playwrights Initiative, sponsored by the Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut. I'm looking forward to that staged reading.
Recently, the year was further topped off with my having been presented with a Creative Arts Fellowship by the Indiana Arts Council. What an honor it is to be recognized and appreciated for my art. With this fellowship I can travel to anywhere in the world I want. I'm still tingling from the excitement.
Yes, 2019 was quite a year! I can't wait until 2020.
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