Tag: Life in Florida
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Writer’s Shop Talk: The Morning After…on Finishing ‘Reunion: Coda’
Late Morning, Thursday, April 3, 2025, Miami, Florida “Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy,…
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Writer’s Shop Talk: Ending My ‘First-Time Novelist’ Journey with One Last Scene for ‘Reunion: Coda’
Midday, Tuesday, April 2, 2025, Miami, Florida “Finish the book. The world is full of first chapters.” – Julia Quinn Upon returning from my usual midday break, I will sit down in front of my computer, stare at the blank page on my Word app, and type the opening line to Scene Four in Reunion:…
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Completing My First Novel: A Journey of Passion
Midday/Early Afternoon, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, Miami, Florida “Write what you love, and love what you write. You are your first audience, and if you don’t love it, why should anyone else?” – Caroline Linden I’m almost finished. It’s been 754 days since I embarked on writing Reunion: Coda. Not on a mere whim, but…
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Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…About Finally Becoming a Three-Percenter
Late Morning, Monday, March 31, 2025, Miami, Florida “According to The Synergy Whisperer, ninety-seven percent of people who start to write a book NEVER finish it. In simpler terms, out of every 1,000 people who start a book, only thirty actually complete it.” – Zoe Wynns, Six Reasons Why Authors Don’t Finish Their Book and…
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A Writer’s Sunday Musings
Late Morning/Midday, Sunday, March 30, 2025, Miami, Florida “Write the book you want to read but can’t find.” – Ilona Andrews With the first scene of Reunion: Coda’s Chapter 30 written and included in the main manuscript, and the final scene safely tucked away in a separate document, I estimate that if all goes well,…
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Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…. of Unexpected Breakthroughs
Midday, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, Miami, Florida “We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.” ― Jimmy Neil Smith Yesterday was one of those strange yoyo workdays that started off badly but ended unexpectedly triumphant. A cloudy morning in South Florida turned…
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Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…: About Dreams, Detours, and the Art of Not F*ing Up Your Finale
Early Afternoon, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, Miami, Florida The goal, I suppose, any fiction writer has, no matter what your subject, is to hit the human heart and the tear ducts and the nape of the neck and to make a person feel something about the characters are going through and to experience the moral…
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Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…: Hesitation, Regret, and the Power of Unspoken Words
As I continue to work on Reunion: Coda, I wanted to share with you a brief excerpt from the novel’s Prologue. Serving as the connecting tissue between Reunion: A Story (Book One of the Reunion Duology) and this new installment, the Prologue revisits some of the key plot threads from the earlier story while propelling…
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Dear Reader, Let Me Tell You a Story…: Where Memories, Music, and Fiction Cross Paths
The Winter Concert: A Glimpse into ‘Reunion: Coda’ In various chapters of Reunion: Coda, I’ve sought to weave together echoes of my past and the vibrant, emotional textures of high school life. This particular excerpt comes from “The Winter Concert,” a chapter based on my memories of South Miami Senior High School in the early…
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A Sunday Interlude: Reflections on Storytelling, Creativity, and the Journey of ‘Reunion: Coda’
‘ Afternoon, Sunday, March 23, 2025, Miami, Florida “Storytelling is among the oldest forms of communication. Storytelling is the commonality of all human beings, in all places, in all times.” ― Rives Collins Since today is Sunday—traditionally a day of rest—I’ll set aside my manuscript for Reunion: Coda. I devoted enough time to it yesterday,…
A Certain Point of View, Too 