My Writing Community is like a Japanese Puzzle Box

"You will discover an unexpected treasure." Japanese puzzle boxes are elegant wooden creations. They can be solved by a simple squeeze or through a dizzying array of pulls and pushes. The puzzle box originated in 19th century Japan and held a good luck charm on the inside (once you finally opened it). My online writing community, Wordsmith Studio, is like a puzzle box. Each pull and twist of a member's writing journey adds and enhances my own. For example: Twist one Khara House's … [Read more...]

Pen Names and Pseudonyms

"Versatility is one of your outstanding traits." One of my UCLA writing professors told me that it's wise to be established in one genre before branching out. Like the rebel I am, I've decided to publish a cozy book (confession: my previous book was categorized as multicultural women's fiction). My solution? Use a pen name. Pseudonyms help readers to easily figure out what genre they're buying. For example, J.K. Rowling first published her mysteries under the name of Robert Galbraith. … [Read more...]