For me, social media is just one more way to chat about writing and books - and keep in touch

I was reading a few funny blog posts the other day from writers who were getting a little frustrated with social media.

They didn't want to blog or tweet or Skype or sell - they just wanted to write. And while their comments were funny, they were serious.

I could relate. While most of the time, I'm very enthusiastic about blogging and tweeting, sometimes my inspiration just flags. And I'm an extrovert - I can't imagine how difficult it is for an introvert.

So I try not to think of it as a chore. I just think of it as chatting. To me, it's all about meeting people. Maybe new readers. Or other authors. Or even other moms, or friends I've lost touch with over the years.

I've met some great people since I've gone online, and I know if I keep plugging away, I'll likely meet more.

Writing can be a lonely business. It's good to know you have friends out there.

That's what keeps me going. One post, one tweet, one page at a time.

Author Tonya Kappes shares the secrets of her success (and all that energy, too)

I'm a big fan of Tonya Kappes. This prolific self-published author is a high-energy dynamo; her novels regularly hit the Amazon bestsellers' list within the first eight hours of being published. And she's got a lot of them:  Carpe Bead 'Em, Bead of Doubt, Splitsville.com, Happy New Life and Never Tell Your Dreams are just a few.

She's funny and whip-smart, so I thought it would be fun to do a little 5-question interview with her: Did I mention she's a good sport?


1. Have you been a writer all your life?

I was a writing late bloomer and didn't start writing until my late 30s. I've always been a reader but it wasn't until my husband picked up a book I was reading, read the first couple of pages and told me that I could write that I became a writer. That was all it took. Someone else believing in me.  I still have a day job. I graduated from the University of Kentucky with an elementary education degree with a minor in family therapy. I went back to get my master's from Northern Kentucky University. Every day I work with children birth to three as an early intervention therapist.

2. You're known for your energy and enthusiasm. What motivates you?

Living and helping people. In my day job, I help children and their families. I believe in everyone. Sometimes, one person needs a cheerleader to get them motivated to write that next word or finish off the book. It only takes a positive word.

3. Where do you get your ideas?

Everywhere and anywhere! I love to read crazy headlines and put a mystery spin on them. Once I get an idea, I walk around and talk out loud to see what story will pop out of my mouth.

4. There's a lot of discussion today on traditonal vs. indie publishing. Your thoughts?

I'm a hybrid writer. I'm self-published, small press published, and I have an agent who is about to start shopping a mystery series. I believe writers can travel every road to publication. Try everything - and I mean everything - and then decide what's right for you. (p.s. Tonya has more thoughts on this topic - and they're worthy of a blog post all their own. So they'll get one).

5. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Writing and enjoying my family with a smile on my face.

For more information on Tonya, check out tonyakappes.blogspot.com

Ripped from the headlines: Find a few story ideas from your local newspaper

Reporters often get a bad rap. They're nosy, after all. They ask a lot of questions, many of which folks don't necessarily want to answer.

But I'm a big fan of reporters. And even though I'm not a journalist anymore, I'm still addicted to reading the paper and watching the news. Now, I know, I know - not a lot of people pay attention to the news or read a paper anymore. That's a damn shame for a variety of reasons. But simply for the discussion of fiction writing, it's interesting to note there are tons of story ideas there.

See, lately, I've been trying to think of a good idea for a new series - something fresh, something fun, something completely different with a brand-new protagonist.

Well, I found my answer - in the local newspaper. I don't live in a particularly glamorous city, and there tends to be plenty of crime and corruption reported in my local paper. A local school board member was indicted for a scam that the local reporters uncovered. I started thinking ... what if ... what if ... what if ....

I couldn't stop thinking about it. Pretty soon, I was scribbling enthusiastically in a notebook on my lunch hour with my local investigative team to thank.

After all, the truth might be stranger than fiction, but that doesn't mean I can't take a few cues from it.

Riddle me this: How is indie publishing like Weight Watchers?

After I had my first baby, I joined Weight Watchers. And it's a perfectly good weight-loss program. But like any other program, you tend to look at your numbers.

That's what made me think of it the other morning, when I sleepily logged on to Pubit.com, just like I do every morning to check on my book sales. But this morning, I stopped myself.

Again, I thought, I was becoming obsessed by my numbers. Again, I thought, I was missing the point.

When I was at Weight Watchers, I wasn't concerned about making friends or learning smart nutrition or doing any of the good things they teach you to do. No, I wasn't exactly a poster child. I just wanted to weigh in. I only wanted the gratification of seeing the numbers on the scale. I wasn't really learning anything - I knew I'd likely pig out at Taco Bell after weigh-in. And then I'd start all over. But only because of the numbers.

It took me awhile to figure out what I was doing wrong - and to finally not let that scale rule my life.

And I wondered the other morning if I was doing the exact thing again - only this time with my publishing numbers. Was I even having fun with my writing anymore? Or was I letting those numbers get the upper hand?

Sure, I want to make sales - what published author doesn't? But first and foremost, I write to write. That's what I need to focus on, and that, I told myself, is what I will. I'll check my numbers, of course. But I'll try not to obsess.

I'll write.

And afterwards, maybe I'll head out for a little treat - just a little one, mind you -  at Taco Bell.

E-books vs. traditional: Can't we all just get along?

I had thoroughly enjoyed reading the article on Yahoo that offered up images and descriptions of some of the best bookstores in America. I had even taken notes on a few I wanted to visit - Tattered Covers in Denver and Baldwin's Book Barn in West Chester, Penn.

I just wasn't prepared for one of the reader comments posted underneath it.

"I look at the photos of these beautiful bookstores," someone posted anonymously. "And then I look at all these people on their Kindles. I think, "What a bunch of a$#holes."

Oh, dear. I have a Kindle. I like my Kindle.  Was I just a big  ...well, you know?

But, you know,  I love bookstores, too. In fact, I can’t resist books – I have hundreds of them in my house.

Then I thought of my brother. He's a smart guy, but he's not normally a recreational reader. However, since he got an iPad for Christmas, he's been devouring books while he's away on travel. So, e-books have their benefits, too.

They’re wonderful for their convenience and their price. And they’re drawing in new readers.

But I can't savor the beauty of Tasha Tudor's illustrations on an e-book. And there's something satisfying, something solid, about holding a book in my hand.

I sell my own book in e-format because it's affordable and it just makes sense.  But when I can afford it, I'd like to publish a paperback companion.

So does anybody have to be the a$#hole here? Can't we all just get along?

When life imitates art - and brings a funnel cloud too close for comfort

Yesterday morning, I was a few minutes late for work. I couldn't help it - Linnette McAfee was trying to outrun a tornado and it was bearing down on her, fast and furious. I couldn't just leave her there by the side of the road ... she was scared to death.

I was, of course, sitting in my car, engrossed in an audio book. This time, it was 74 Seaside Avenue, a book from the series by Debbie Macomber that follows the daily lives of the citizens of the fictional town of Cedar Cove, Wash.

But by yesterday afternoon, I was looking nervously out my window at the all-too-real dark clouds in the sky of southeastern Michigan. They were thick, gray and forboding, and I drove home with a lead foot, trying to beat the oncoming storm.

I couldn't help thinking of Linnette.

I made it home safe and sound - just about the time the storm hit and the radio announcer informed me those clouds had twisted into a tornado that was wreaking havoc in a tiny town about 30 miles away from my house.

Sometimes life imitates art ... and it's a little too close for comfort.

Story idea? Check. Laptop? Check. Self-Confidence? Um . . .

I remember back in the day, when I worked at a newspaper, sitting at my desk and grumbling to a fellow reporter.

I had this idea for a book, I told her, but I wasn't sure I would write it. It probably wouldn't ever get published, I said. I didn't have any big-shot connections; I didn't have any money. I didn't know anybody in publishing.  And really, what else could I do?

It was a solid idea - a newsroom murder mystery - but the odds were stacked against me. I wasn't sure I'd even try.

My colleague - her name was Kathleen - looked at me intently with her big blue eyes. She had amazing eyes, beautiful eyes, the kind of eyes described in romance novels. I wondered often if her sources were taken in by the guileless look of those eyes. Kathleen was actually sharp as a tack; her reporting tactics were fearless.

"Oh, I don't know," she told me then. "I think if you've written something of quality, there's always a way to get the word out. You just have to believe."

This was years ago - before e-readers, before Amazon, even before blogs. But she was right. Writers were still crafting queries, still creating chapbooks, still selling poetry from the trunks of their cars. If they believed in what they wrote, they were absolutely relentless about spreading their words.

That's the key, isn't it? To believe, to keep the faith? But that's so hard sometimes. It's much easier to sit, to grumble about the other guy getting all the breaks and wait for that sweet publishing deal to simply land in your lap.

It won't. You have to make it happen. Kathleen knew that, way back then. Me? I'm just a slow learner.