Pick up a Pen! by Holly Bush (with a giveaway)
I’ve been writing for about thirty years on and off and before that I wrote a little for pleasure in high school and college when I wasn’t writing papers for classes. I’ve written some long stories, like my new historical romance For Her Honor, a few essays on mostly political subjects, and an occasional family story or recollection. I have found writing to be rewarding and as much a part of my life as friends and family.
I’ve talked to lots of writers over the years, some who wrote lengthy pieces and were trying to get published, and many, many more who wrote memoirs or short stories, and universally all have said how satisfying writing can be. There are days, quite a few sometimes, when I want to break my laptop into a million pieces when I’m in the middle of writing a novel and I just can’t see what the next scene is, or I’ve been away from writing […]
Once upon a time there was a romance novelist who blithely signed up to retell Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
I find when I’m too familiar with something, I forget to see the beauty in familiarity. Growing up on the rez, the huge, beautiful lake surrounding the community where I swam or ice-skated as a child was familiar. 
Life is definitely getting harder. The news is more terrible everyday: children are killing children, Mother Nature is angry and more and more people are suffering. Sometimes just getting through the day is difficult.
I was messaging with a reader on Twitter the other day, and she used a phrase that I found delightful—and that has been stuck in my head ever since: prickly presenting. (Shout out to @EisReading!)
Which of these sounds more romantic to you—the lights of Times Square or the starry skies of Yosemite? The sounds of an orchestra or of a rushing waterfall? Truffles or s’mores?
My career as a writer didn’t begin like most authors. I wish I could say I wanted to become a writer since I was five years old. Or that I wrote my first book at the age of ten. Or that I have several books under my belt. The reality is, I am embarrassed to say I didn’t even like to read recreationally until I was out of college. I picked up my first novel by accident as I scanned the small bookrack at a convenience store while I waited in line to pay for my bag of potato chips. Map of Bones by James Rollins sparked my love of reading. Something about the cover caught my eye. Once I flipped open the first page, I was in love. The rest is history. I’ve been an avid reader ever since.