Wordsmith Pages

When only the highest quality of make-believe will do

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
I recently joined the Red Adept Review staff and will no longer be posting full reviews on this website. For current reviews, you can go to the Red Adept site. You'll find a list of reviews (with links) on my Wordpress blog and can access the reviews I've written through Amazon or my Book Blogs page.

For interesting articles on writing, self-editing, and the current chaos in the publishing world, visit my Wordpress blog.

Recent blog posts include "Pride and Prejudice: Should Self-Published Authors Go on Your Automatic 'Do-Not-Buy' List?" "What Is an Editor?" "Are Indie Authors Doomed to End Up in the Dustbin of History?" "The New 'Sensation Novel'," "Top Ten Self-Editing Mistakes," and "POV (point of view) Shifts."

This summer I had the honor of being a judge for the Global eBook Awards, with over 1000 entries in dozens of fiction and nonfiction categories, and I was fortunate enough to discover many talented indie authors to add to my "must read" list.

Kohl Trimbell, a Verona Press correspondent, wrote an amazing article about how Homegrown Muse came to be written, including a brief biography that actually makes sense of my development as a writer.

Homegrown Muse is now available in paperback from CreateSpace, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble for under $10.00, as a large-print paperback for $18.95, or as an e-book for $2.99 at several online outlets, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes Store, Goodreads, and Smashwords! Download and read it immediately on your Kindle, Nook, or other epub reader or on an iPad or other notebook/tablet, computer, or smartphone. For excerpts, download a free sample or check out my Goodreads Author Page.

Five-star review from Kenetha Stanton: "I really enjoyed watching the character development in this book." (. . . see more)

Five-star review from Gail Allen: "Really loved this book! Highly recommend it."

Five-star review from Rebecca Hagan: "I would recommend this book to anyone. I really enjoyed it." (. . . see more)

Four-star review from Bonnie Humbarger Lamer: "a wonderful, well-written book that had me captivated from the start" (. . . see more)

Four-star review from Cheryl M-M (a U.K. reader): "an entertaining read" and "scenes from this book actually made me groan or gasp, either with sheer amazement or in utter disbelief" (. . . see more)

I thoroughly enjoyed my first virtual reading at the Spinning Wheel Cafe on May 11, 2011. Excerpts, questions for the author, and reader comments are available on eight pages of the Amazon discussion forum:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

A recent online interview with the author can be found on Albert Robbins's Free Book Reviews site.

Free-spirited Lyssa Smith sees her life thrown into chaos when she unwittingly exposes a plot devised by Tank Turnbull, a powerful land developer in the Phoenix area. But doing the right thing comes at a price, as Turnbull and his conspirators seek to save themselves by destroying her reputation, ruining her career, and exposing her secrets. With her carefully constructed life crumbling around her, Lyssa seizes the opportunity to salvage her dreams by forging an unlikely alliance with Dane Callicott.

Still grappling with the failure of his latest venture, the unconventional Highline Resort, Dane is presented with another maverick proposition, but he’ll need Lyssa’s help to carry it off. Should Dane listen to his muse and risk his family’s fortune on another visionary project, or will he return to the safe but unsustainable practices of his father?

Shackled by family expectations, battered by a series of betrayals, and blinded by impossible choices, Dane and Lyssa might very well bulldoze over their one chance for happiness—unless together they can blaze a new trail forward.

Check out this great review on Susan's Kindle Samples: "What a delight this sample was! I immediately bought the book when I finished it and can’t wait to read it. The author has a beautiful way with words and her descriptions are rich and evocative . . ."

Click here for excerpts

Ephemera cover
Recent reviews:

This site is a work in progress as I navigate the perilous sea of electronic publishing to get my novels, short stories, and poems into the hands of readers.

My writing provides an alternative to the standard fare available through mass-market publishers, with unique characters (many of them older), fewer and less overt sexual encounters, and minimal foul language, gore, and violence.

I believe novels should reveal truths about the human condition: sometimes provocative, sometimes frightening, sometimes uplifting. But never simple.

For more good reads by self-published and other indie authors, refer to my Listmania list on Amazon, my Goodreads and Amazon reviews and my Book Blogs page.

Comments from editors on my writing:

“. . . beautifully written . . .” (Claire Zion, New American Library)

“. . . clear, well paced and enjoyable to read . . .” (Natasha Panza, Tor/Forge)

“She’s created a cohesive, dramatic world here, and does a fine job of reminding us of the timeless human frailties underlying these exotic characters.” (Abby Zidle, Bantam Dell)

For a look at my most recent work, see the prologue for Swallowing the Sun, volume 1 of Tales of the Watermasters, or check out the Witch Tales under the Short Stories section of this website.