by Bethany Maines As the release date for my newest mystery (An UnseenCurrent) approaches (April 28th – ahhhhhhh!!!) I find myself once again pondering the cruel irony of nature that crafts writers to be introspective sorts and then pits them against a task to which they are monumentally unsuited. That is to say: marketing. The […]
by Bethany Maines There’s a hashtag on Twitter for people who are writing – #amwriting. An innocuous hashtag for tracking other writers, but sometimes… it can be just a little bit smug. And given the nature of writers I was wondering if we could have a more honest hashtag? #amsurfingtheweb #amwatchingcatvideos #amdoinganythingbutwriting Right now I’m […]
by Bethany Maines One of the most common question a writer gets asked is “Where do your ideas come from?” Once my brother made me lay on his floor so he could tape outlines of me all over his bedroom carpet as though his room had been the site of a mass murder; we found […]
By Bethany Maines I read Marjorie Brody’s post yesterday “Passion Knows NoGenre” with interest. Marjorie was discussing that she hates being tied to one particular genre, but that the general industry wisdom is to do exactly that – stick to one thing! I love Marjorie’s rebellious flare, but the topic also tied into something I’ve […]
by Bethany Maines I’ve been thinking about feminism lately – what people think about women and what they think is “good” for women. Perhaps it’s because with the birth of my daughter I’m startled by how genderized every child’s toy has become. Or perhaps it’s the kerfluffle over Fifty Shades of Gray. “She’s a poor role […]
by Bethany Maines I’m monumentally bad at dates. The Christmas after I got married my mother-in-law got a new pair of sneakers and she said, “Oh, I wish I’d had these on XX of some-month-Bethany-doesn’t remember.” And I said, “Really? What happened on that date?” And they all stared at me because it turned out […]
by Bethany Maines I had to laugh when I read Debra Goldstein’s post yesterday about football being “only a game”. I live in Washington State, which, in case you’re living in a hole, is home of the Seahawks, contenders the upcoming football high-holy day – the Super Bowl. Although, even when living in a hole, […]
Bulletproof Mascara Villain: Val Robinson I was kept awake last night by Nikki who is flirting with her ex-boyfriend. This is a problem that I know Nikki is love with her current boyfriend – Z’ev. Why is she behaving this way? What could drive her into the arms of another man? How do you explain […]
by Bethany Maines ‘Tis the day before Christmas and all through the house all the adults were panicking because… apparently, that’s what adults do? I swear when I was a kid there was not this much holiday panic. Did my parents just have it more together? I remember the cleaning freak-out of throwing everything in […]
by Bethany Maines I was talking to a librarian the other day and she laughed when I said I thought librarians were like drug dealers. But they really are! They even target the little kids! Get them hooked on the picture books, next thing you know the kids are applying for library cards and mainlining […]