Brilliant

Big Screen/Your Scene

Big Screen/Your Scene

Craft Tips and Techniques from Today’s Blockbusters

A Tale Of Two Villians: "The Dark Knight"

I love Batman. I don’t know why—maybe it’s the cool gadgets, but my fascination started with “Holy Toledo, Batman,” in the fifth grade as I watched Adam West run around in his blue pajamas. Even then, the villains scared me—the Penguin and Catwoman . . . but no one was worse than the Joker. And through the years, he’s only gotten scarier—first through Jack Nickolson’s portrayal in the 1989 version of Batman, and most recently the late Heath Ledger’s amazing performance.

Author By Night

Half After Midnight

Author by night sounds so wonderfully simple. But add to it author by morning, holiday vacation, sick day, lunch break, or nap time, and things can get complicated.

When my children were young, I started writing during nap times at my home day care. I cared for six preschoolers and was in desperate need of escape, so while they slept, I managed to carve out an hour and a half each day to step out of my world and into another. If I had known then that twenty years later I could still only count on the same amount of unbroken time....

Short Stories

Beyond the pale moonlight lurked a malignant blackness threatening to consume everything—even Toni’s father. Toni knew her father feared nothing more than the dark. She prayed she could help him face it.

Toni stared at the doctor without really seeing him, trying to comprehend his words, hoping she’d misunderstood.

“. . . basically just medical jargon,” he said, pausing to meet Toni’s eyes. “The bottom line is your father is going blind.”

Lamplight blazed, glinting off cups raised in toast to the upcoming wedding. Yet through the blur of music and conversation and laughter, all Daymonde could think about was the tall, shapely woman seated just down the table from him.

And now, hours later, still she haunted him. The pulsing throb of insect song filled the warm summer night, and overhead all three moons floated in a sea of stars. Daymonde snorted as he strolled alone through the royal gardens. Did the moons herald some auspicious event besides marking the eve of his wedding?

For six months he’d prepared for the event, supported Fiona as s

Making A Scene

WRITING EFFECTIVE PROLOGUES—Part III

n Parts I and II, we covered general principles for writing effective prologues. Although I warned to be cautious in using prologues, a number of my novels do include them. When did I write them and why?

All four books in my Hidden Faces series include prologues. This series is written in the first person POV of Annie Kingston, a forensic artist. All its prologues were written in third person from another ...

Write Real

ABCs Of Conference Attendance

• Amazing memory for names: Work on remembering names now, so that when you’re at the conference, you’ll remember the names of people you meet. When you receive a card from someone, jot something on the back that will jar your memory about that person. Then follow up later.

• Business cards: First, be professional, starting with a photo. Then put it on your professionally printed cards (do not print them...

For Writers

Okay, yeah, big surprise—I’m writing about “passion”! Why, you ask, other than the fact that I’m a hormonal Baby Boomer? Well, because it’s important—in my relationship with God, with my family and friends, and in my writing.

Okay, I’ll admit it—there are times when my passion for my husband may wane a bit. Especially over his inability to sink a dirty T-shirt...