by hollandrae | Jun 15, 2020 | Characters, Heroes, Heroines, Industry, Musings, Regency, Romance Novels, Women, Women's Rights, Writing
Yes, I’m defending romance novels again. But it’s a little different this time, I swear! (I hope.) See, recently I’ve been coercing my new neighbor into reading romance novels. She’s been alive for more than three decades and she’s never enjoyed a single romance novel...
by hollandrae | Feb 27, 2020 | Editing, Industry, Inspiration, Musings, My Books, Writing
Being a writer is hard. That’s what they tell you when you’re ten years old and write an essay on what you want to be when you grow up. You should have a backup plan. That’s what they tell you when you pursue writing as a career and you realize you’re going to be...
by hollandrae | Feb 17, 2020 | Characters, Heroes, Heroines, Inspiration, Musings, My Books, Romance Novels, Writing
I figured out what was wrong with my work in progress. After three revisions, rewrites and new drafts, the answer was so simple I’m surprised I didn’t accidentally walk into it face first. There was no internal conflict. Simple. Stupidly simple. See, it’s surprisingly...
by hollandrae | Feb 13, 2020 | Inspiration, Musings, My Books, Regency, Writing
It’s not always easy to judge success as a writer. Sure, if your name pops up on the best sellers list or if you get a major motion picture deal or six-figure check, that’s definitely going to count as success. But what about the freelance writer with a string of...
by hollandrae | Aug 14, 2019 | Characters, Industry, Inspiration, Musings, My Books, Regency, Romance Novels, RWA, Women, Women's Rights, Writing
My family thinks what I do is pretty cool. They’re supportive, proud, and genuinely interested in how stories get made, how they get sold, and what, exactly, I will be doing next. That doesn’t mean they always understand it, though. Last week, we went away with the...
by hollandrae | Aug 1, 2019 | Editing, Industry, Inspiration, Intersectional Feminism, My Books, Reading, Research, Romance Novels, RWA, Writing
As a general rule, writing is a solitary sport. We communicate with our editors via notes in the margins and chat with our reads on social media, but most of our days are spent scribbling alone, coming up with ideas in the quiet space of an afternoon when the cat is...