historical fiction writer, amateur photographer, retired computer guru and math geek
Whew! It's been quite a year! But now the Christmas tree is down and ready to recycle, the ornaments and stockings safely packed away until next December, and 2023 is nearly over. A year ago I learned that War Sonnets had received a bronze award from the Historical Fiction Company, the same organization that had … Continue reading 2023: The Year That Was
The phone rings early Sunday morning. It must be my dad—we often share answers to the Sunday Crossword.But today his voice shakes, his emotions barely in check. “Mom is worse.”I can almost hear his tears. Mom’s cancer is back. Just last month she’d assured us everything was as it should be and we believed her—until … Continue reading Saying Goodbye: A Memory
One of the most stressed "rules" of writing is that a prologue is a no-no. Agents hate them. Many readers wont even bother to read them because they think a prologue is a bunch of first-page exposition that contributes nothing to the story. Well, if you read War Sonnets don’t skip the prologue. Why? Every … Continue reading Prologue vs. Epilogue: What’s Your Opinion?
Bea Crenshaw shows up in the third installment of Brenda Marie Smith's Braving the Light Series. Thing is, Bea died in book one. But that doesn't stop her from being able to see what's been happening for the past two years. Bea can only observe, but somehow, her granddaughter, Maddie, knows she's there. Two years … Continue reading Book Review: “If the Sun Spares Us” by Brenda Marie Smith
Tomorrow's the day! My Blog Tour from Coffee Pot Book Club sets off for a week of website visits. Each site will feature a post promoting War Sonnets with a blurb, an excerpt from the book, and an author bio. (Links to each site are listed below the image.) If you haven't bought your copy … Continue reading War Sonnets Blog Tour
I remember the first time I heard it: Your first novel will never see the light of day. No matter how good you think it is, it’s probably not ready for prime time and it probably never will be. “Not my novel!” I thought. I was indignant. Downright upset. Crushed. How could this—my best work, … Continue reading Shelved: When your “best” just isn’t good enough
We took our annual vacation in the Adirondack Mountains the first week of September. This year we took a detour from our usual spot at Chimney Mountain and rented a lovely cottage on Lake Algonquin in Wells, New York. The lake is circled by Route 5 which makes for a nice 3.6-mile walk--something we did … Continue reading Snappers!
A lot has been happening since War Sonnets was launched on July 5th. In July I was honored to be a guest on the local TV show, Bridge Street. And in August I was a guest of the Cato, NY Rotary Club where I shared my writing journey. Would your group (library, rotary, etc) be … Continue reading “War Sonnets” Update
I was a pretty good student in high school. I loved math and science. I got high grades in English. But I hate, hate, HATED history class! Maybe it's because a lot of history involved memorizing dates, and I am not good at memorizing unless you draw me a picture or give me a mnemonic. … Continue reading Confessions of An Historical Fiction Author
Susannah Willey Writes 