Mariposa's Musings

I'm visiting Jennifer Jakes ' blog today. Hope to see you there!

I'm chatting about Howl today at Romance Under Moonlight . Don't you love that title? Steph Burkhart was a guest on Saturday Shifters last week and she graciously invited me to visit her blog. Hope to see you there!

MARIPOSA: I'd like to welcome author Stephanie Burkhart to the blog. Tell me a little about yourself. How long have you been writing? STEPH: Thanks for having me here today, Mariposa. Growing up I was a young girl in the 1970's hooked on the Electric Company. Nothing beat visiting my grandmother's house in the spring and hanging out with the lilacs. I grew up in New Hampshire and when I turned 18 I decided I wanted a great adventure and joined the Army. I served a total of 11 years and 7 in Germany with the Military Police. Now, I'm settled in California with my husband of 19 years and I've been a 911 dispatcher for LAPD for 11 years. I got into seriously writing when I left the military in 1997. My first book, written under my pen name SG Cardin, was called "Destination: Berlin. It was set in Germany in 1988 and is a sweet romance. It's been well received, but lacks sales I think because the setting has a military backdrop. That was in 2001. I worked...

I had the pleasure of meeting C.R. Moss in person at the TWRP's Writer's Retreat last year. She's from Vegas, I'm from Reno and we met in Bandera, TX. Go figure. I'm visiting her blog today and chatting about Howl . Hope to see you there.

This is my 4 th year attending the TMCC Writer’s Conference and I’m always amazed at what the conference delivers for the price ($99) and this year was no exception. Like many community colleges, TMCC has been hit hard by the economy, the fact that the college ran the conference with its highest attendance ever is a miracle. Writer and KUNR Broadcaster, David Stipech, opened with a discussion on the writer’s journey. He noted a couple of key points to a writer’s reality check. · Do you know what you want out of writing? · Are your setbacks motivating you or stopping you? “No” should be a street sign not a stop sign. I especially liked his comment that it is okay to feel frustration-people without ambition seldom feel frustrated. Editor for Writer’s Digest books, Chuck Sambuchino advised writers to approach markets and agents that are small, new or local. He urged writers write to articles for magazines and local papers to establish cre...

Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win! Please join me in welcoming Susan Hanniford Crowley. Tell me about yourself. How long have you been writing? I’m married and have grown children. I have a dog named Pete and two cats Bella and Buffy. I’ve been writing since I was eight years old, published a poem in a local newspaper when I was 16, and in 1989 published my first novella “Ladyknight.” I was in science fiction and fantasy for a long time, until a friend brought it to my attention that I should write romance. When I started reading paranormal romance, I completely fell in love with the genre. I’ve been published in romance since 2009. What advice do you have for aspiring writers? Read a lot. Be bold. Attend a writer’s conference put on by a chapter of the Romance Writers of America, because the practical educational benefit is astounding. Their workshops are not only for romance writers. If you’ve in Connecticut, register for Fiction Fest (May 1...

I was fortunate to meet Marie when she hosted an amazing shifter's tour last October and I'm thrilled to have her chat about Wolf! Hi Mariposa, How nice to be here! I’ve been off in my own little world, writing away (not to mention busy with everyday life like digging out from the plethora of snow). So thanks for having me and remembering my furry friends in Wolf! Marie How did the inspiration for this work come to you? I have always loved shape shifters, and I think wolves are absolutely gorgeous creatures so the two just seemed to come together. As far as where my ideas come from – your guess is as good as mine. But I love the freedom that comes with a shifter character, human at heart, but the instincts of an animal. Kind of the best of both worlds, don’t you think? Inspiration is an amazing thing. Fuel for my imagination can come from anywhere and I generally don’t have a clue where my ideas come from. How do you balance your day-to-day commitments with your wr...