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Hello! You’ll find posts here for readers, writers, and anyone interested in life. Check out the categories to the right for your favorite topics, or just start browsing. Sometimes I throw in a recipe or a poem, share my writer’s life, or tell you how I came up with one of your favorite characters. I’ll announce contests and share pics from events. Sometimes I delve into how to handle tough political, social or religious topics in your own books if you’re a writer, or share what I learn about the ever-evolving world of publishing. Whatever the topic, I promise to do my best not to waste your time. There’s enough clutter online without my adding to it.
I love to hear from readers, so feel free to comment on any post or write to me directly through the Contact page.
Editor, Oh Editor!
BTW I would like to make a disclaimer. Although I promise to do my best and not get sloppy, these posts are informal and spontaneous, and have never passed before an editor's eyes. Nor will they. I promise not to edit your replies, if you promise not to edit my...
Location…Location…
A great way to research a city your character is going to spend some time in, is to spend some time in it yourself. Nothing beats being there. But I can't always pick up and visit every location I want to use in my book, or spend months there. I usually can swing a...
Naming Your Characters
NAMING CHARACTERS is a skill set worth developing - AND it's a lot of fun! Have a nemesis from high school? Kill them off in the first chapter. Unrequited 1st grade crush? Give the love interest of your main character his name. And just think of the fun you can have...
June Gloom
I LOVE JUNE GLOOM! Perfect writing weather. A couple of weeks ago we had temps in the 90's, breaking 100 one day. Global warming, anyone? So glad we're back to our usual weather. There's something about an overcast day that stimulates the mind...
Research Trip to Portland
What a great trip! Portland is one of my favorite cities, so why not set my second book in the Logan McKenna series there? I'm hard at work on Logan Book 2 - here are a few pics that inspired and informed. Big cities have so much to offer a writer. Human drama...
Meet Logan McKenna … fiercely loyal, and impossibly inquisitive
At loose ends, and running out of money after buying a fixer upper on the coast, Logan McKenna decides to help out her best friend from high school, Thomas, a Native American artist, and his wife Lisa at their booth at the Otter Arts Festival, in the idyllic coastal...
Is This a Turning Point in Self-Publishing?
To anyone with an Internet connection and a love of literature, it’s obvious that self-publishing is the future of the book industry. Self-published titles are up 17 percent just since 2012 and a whopping 437 percent over 2008. Clearly (and much to the delight of...
About Valerie
A self-admitted book addict, Valerie was the kid with the flashlight under her pillow. A life of travel with exposure to many different cultures led to a pervasive interest in people, with degrees & teaching credentials in Cultural Anthropology & English. Logan McKenna Series
