Hi. Here goes my first blog post. Yike! I have been thinking about what to write first, so instead, I will leap in. Heart Braids to me are the things that keep you keeping on. For me that's: writing, art, and metaphysics. What about you?

I read the Sisters In Crime blog and wanted to do their answers.

'Which authors have inspired you?'
Richard Bach, Louisa May Alcott (I wanted to write more on her story when I was young), and a whole list of favorites. See the list.

'Which male authors write great female characters? Which female authors write great male characters?'
I am enjoying Mike Shepard's Kris Longknife series. I enjoyed Mercedes Lackey's male characters. I enjoyed Bujold's Miles character. I don't usually check one way or another--just am I enjoying the way the character is portrayed.

'If someone said, "Nothing against female writers, but I enjoy male writers," how would you respond?'
More like what is your issue with it?

'What's the best part of the writing process for you? What's the most challenging?'

I enjoy all parts of the outlining, writing, and editing till I get the detail, tweaking edit that involves last check research, checking maps, dates, and time (as in, how many days did I get in that week???)

'Do you listen to music while you write?'
No.

'What books are on your nightstand right now?'

One of mine to edit. One of mine that I need to read to continue the series. A couple of Mike Shepard's Kris Longknife series. A couple metaphysical books I'm not ready to read yet. I don't have many books on hand, I read too fast!

'If you were to mentor a new writer, what would you tell her about the writing business?'

Read books, read writers books, write, write, write, gather encouraging quotes. I just had someone say to me, "I started a zombie story." Zombie stories aren't even on my list anywhere to read, but I say, "Go for it." I encourage anyone to do what they love best and makes them feel good about themselves.

Now, after getting to the end of the questions, they tell me I didn't need to answer them all...

links to 2 of my favorite people's blogs to read:
Janet Hardy,  Fiction University/ The Other Side of the Story
Elizabeth Spann Craig blog

Oh, well, I don't know how to do links here yet.
Merry Day, Sara