by Blythe Daniel @BlytheDaniel Have you noticed it? Have you seen the shuffle to the side when more than one person is in the same space? We don’t really even get to ask, “How are you”?   I see a lot of masks but not a lot of smiles. I…

by Rhonda Rhea @RhondaRhea I’m not going to lie, I allowed my kids to make a few bad hair decisions as they were growing up. I did it for two reasons. 1) I knew I would be able to show them the pictures years later and tease them mercilessly, and 2)…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills I have my favorite fiction writing books, and I’m sure you do too. The following are my go-to resources. One or more may be yours too. Suggested Resources The Emotion Thesaurus Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi The Emotional Wound Thesaurus Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi The…

by Tamela Hancock Murray@Tamela_Murray Recently, my assistant had a conversation with an author who did not send a complete proposal. The author was referred to our guidelines and gently reminded that we needed more material in order to make an evaluation. But instead of saying “thank you” for the guidance, the author…

by Lucinda Secrest McDowell @LucindaSMcDowel “Is this the author Lucinda Secrest McDowell?” came the lovely southern voice at the other end of the phone. I had been tempted not to answer. In my daily ritual of decompressing after a busy day at high school, I was sitting on the porch,…

by Sandy Kirby Quandt @SandyKQuandt On January 16, 2008, I submitted an article which told the events of the evening my 10-month-old son stopped breathing in the back of an ambulance. I believed the magazine I submitted to was a perfect fit. I received a nice rejection letter telling me…