My former writing coach client's two books weren't new. Far from it. Dr. Surender R. Neravetla, MD, FACS--director of cardiac surgery at Ohio's Springfield Regional Medical--published Salt Kills in 2012 and Salt: Black America's Silent Killer in 2014. During that...
Is this the year you’re going to realize your book-writing dreams and get your book started? Finished? Revised? Published? Let’s make that happen! First, however, you’re going to have to get out of your own way. Since how we undermine ourselves changes depending on...
Inspiration often comes when we least expect it. So does the validation of one's assumptions. One of my pet theories is that writers don't just pop into life fully equipped with the ability to realize their propensity for the written word. I've worked with enough...
When it comes to plagiarizing, "I didn't mean to" is not a defense. So you need to make sure you take all precautions in order to avoid unintentionally pilfering somebody else's verbiage. That's easier said than done. By definition, working on a research-based book...
To shape your memoir and create a memoir outline, you have to start by asking yourself a simple question. Why am I writing this? Your answer will help pinpoint the focus of your memoir. That, in turn, will help you figure out what belongs and what might work better in...
Too many writers think of description or using detail as a string of adjectives. Wrong. It's all about using detail that brings your characters and settings to life. Barbara Kingsolver didn't just depend on her imagination to come up with the details that would...
This whole COVID experience challenges us all on a daily basis. It has also provided some of us with the opportunity to examine and reprioritize our lives. This creative transformation can show up in all kinds of ways. Of course, some things have stayed the same. I...
Tomorrow marks the fortieth anniversary of a historic class-action lawsuit’s consent decree spearheaded by an LAPD police sergeant named Fanchon Blake, with little to no help from anyone. Her fight for female equality would help end institutionalized sexual and racial...
Shhh! It's won't be official for another eight days, but Busting the Brass Ceiling: How One Heroic Female Cop Changed the Face of Policing is already available on Amazon. The back cover copy reads: Fanchon Blake didn’t understand what she was getting into when she...
My new book, Busting the Brass Ceiling: How One Heroic Female Cop Changed the Face of Policing, is just about to be published. I’m looking for five people to review it. Busting the Brass Ceiling isn't just the story of how my co-author Fanchon Blake wound up having to...
