inkBLOT is finally here!

Our co-written suspense novel, inkBLOT is out! Nancy Naigle and I are excited that it's finally here! Written under our pen name, Johnson Naigle, this book is for young adults and anyone who enjoys a good suspense novel. In the book, Ronnie Wright is tired of being looked at as a geek. His virally successful website is making him money but the object of his attention, Chelsea Pressman, is what he really wants. Her interest lies in making a name for herself as a reporter. A series of crimes go down revolving around inkblot images. Who's the culprit? Ronnie or Chelsea? And where does this leave Tiffany, his good friend and co-worker? Read inkBLOT and find out! Join our street team to help give our bookmarks and other fun things. www.inkblotthenovel.com

On Being Inspired

How many of us have times when we think the Muse has left us? No matter how hard you try, the words just won’t come. Award winning multi-published author, Judi McCoy, author of Hounding the Pavement and other books in her dog walker mystery series advises us to keep trying. “No matter how silly the ideas are, something will lead to a good idea.”
What stimulates the Muse? A good glass of wine? The hammock in the back yard? Judi advises writers to meditate, listen to your favorite music, take a car ride, read a book that is in a genre other than the one you’re writing or record thoughts on a tape recorder. Go into the kitchen and cook something delicious.
The library is a good place to jumpstart the Muse too. And watching a movie will give you a wealth of thoughts as well. Many writers end a chapter at the end of a scene. Judi tells writers that it will make you want to return to the computer if you don’t end the chapter there.
Staying On Track

Along with keeping the Muse at your side, another issue in writing is whether or not you consider yourself an outliner or a “pantser.” Most of us know by now which category we fall under. You either generally outline and write by that, or you start writing and let it take you wherever it will. I confess to usually falling in the latter of the two types.
“If you don’t have some kind of an outline, you can write yourself into a corner,” says Judi. “At that point, some writers are tempted to quit the book they are on and start on another one. Don’t do that. Don’t give up on it. Keep writing. You can fix ‘crap’, but you can’t fix nothing. If you run into a wall and don’t know where to go next, mentally become one of your characters and he or she will tell you what to do next.”

Looking back over the last year...

Looking Back:
May 2011, Cover story, Tidewater Teacher, Teachers We Love, published Chesapeake, Virginia

May 16, Designed to Flourish magazine organizational meeting, Chesapeake, Virginia www.iflourishonline.com

Cover story- Divine Impressions

April 2011, Release of 4th poetry book, Poetic Dreamer

April 2011, Served on literary panel at 3rd Annual Paul D. Camp Community College’s Literary Festival, Suffolk, Virginia

February 2011, Romance writing talk at Virginia Wesleyan College, Professor Bill Ruehlmann’s class (3rd time doing this) Virginia Beach, Virginia

February 2011, Held Turn Your Journal into a Book Workshop ($25 fee) Chesapeake, Virginia

January 2011, Book signing at Shapin’ Up Conference at Point Harbor Church, Chesapeake, Virginia

November 2010, Chesapeake Romance Writers conference, Chesapeake, Virginia

November 2010, Cozy Corner bookstore, Virginia Beach, book signing and reading

November 1, 2010- guest blog at K. Dawn Byrd’s blog and book giveaway for Hot and Bothered by It

October 2010, Poetry, Prose and Pizza night, Russell Memorial Library, poetry reading

October 2010, 10-10-10 event at Olde Towne Art, Portsmouth, Virginia book signing and reading

September 2010, Books in the Park, reading and book signing (100 author event) Norfolk, Virginia

September 2010, Hampton Roads Writers Conference- reading and book signing Virginia Beach, Virginia

August 18, 2010 radio interview with Dr. Michael Cortson discussing Being Frank with Anne