Adventures N Writing

Nikki Sands was like every other aspiring actress—waiting tables between jobs. But Nikki had taken serving wines to heart. She knew enough to impress Napa Valley’s golden boy, Derek Malveaux, who offered her a job at his vineyard. And though Nikki may have left her dreams of stardom behind, the world of wine is ripe with intrigue—and the seeds of sleuthing are planted… Nikki has just set foot on Napa Valley’s rich soil when she realizes her new job may not be as safe as she thought. First off, Derek Malveaux is disconcertingly sexy. Second, his top winemaker is dead in the bushes outside Nikki’s cottage. It doesn’t take a connoisseur of foul play to know something’s taken a terrible turn… Murder Uncorked was where it all began for me as far as becoming a published author. It wasn't the beginning for me as a writer. I'd been writing manuscripts for a dozen years at the point that I came up with the idea for this mystery series. Nikki Sands is still one of my all time favor...

Finally getting to the fifth "P" in my five "p's" to publishing...(in reality, I've found that they work for pretty much any goal you want to achieve). The first four "P's" were 1. Purpose 2. Passion 3. Perseverance 4. Patience...and now Peace. What do I mean by having peace when working toward a goal? It's similar in some ways as to having patience. We tend to have to be patient to see our goals come to fruition. After all, it is the journey not the destination where we find a lot of joy. However, the difference in having patience versus peace along the way is that patience obviously implies waiting. Peace on the other hand is a sense within ourselves. When I've written a book and have made the decision that it's ready to be sent off to my agent, editor or out into the world, I have to sit back and realize that I have to be comfortable with that decision. It's important that I conclude I've done my best work, I'm ha...

The fourth "P" on this path to what is a pretty simplistic path to achievement (but sometimes simplicity is the best approach) is patience. Again--it's not up to me to decide how someone reaches their goals. I'm just expressing my opinion and what has worked for me...in particularly in the area of my writing. So, patience..., this one of all of the "P's," might be the hardest to master for some. We live in a society of "NOW"--Fast food, binge watching, the availability to download books on a whim, online shopping, access to all sorts of things that interest us can be found immediately in the "google culture," etc. Therefore, waiting for anything can be difficult at best and tormenting at worst. I think it'll become increasingly difficult for younger generations to accept and process that patience is really a virtue. I do believe (again, my opinion) that good things come to those who wait and to take that a step further, I believ...

The third "P." If you've been following the blog over the past few weeks, you know I've been going back over my 5 "P" belief system. It's pretty basic and simple. It's truly what I have found in the past to guide me on the journey to achieving my goals and dreams. If you didn't read the first two "P's"...read them.😉 The first is purpose and the second is passion...and now onto persistence. The achievement of goals and dreams don't always tend to come easily. At times, they do, but for the most part they are a work in progress. Reaching them and having an achievement is satisfying and elating at the same time. However, it's the journey in getting there that causes that end result of what I think of as "happiness." Without the twists and turns and even bumps along the way in seeing your dreams and goals manifest, I'm not certain that the feelings of achievement would be all that great. That's why I think y...

Hi Readers & Friends, Last post I wrote a bit about purpose and what that means to me. Hopefully, it got those of you who read it thinking about your own purpose. Today, I want to add to it and write about passion. The first big talk I ever gave to writers occurred at the Southern California Writer's Conference in San Diego several years ago. Not only was I really nervous to give a talk in front of my peers, but I also hoped what I spoke about would truly resonate with the audience whether or not they continued with their writing path or went a different route. I thought long and hard about what I wanted my message to be. What it came down to is my ideology on what it takes to be a good writer and in reality what it takes to really be good and achieve at anything in life. I call it the "Five P's." The first was obviously...PURPOSE. Have you discovered what your purpose really is? We all have one. We have this life to live here and I truly believe no one was ...

Dear Readers/Friends, It's been awhile since I've written on the blog but all of that is changing! In fact, it's been awhile since I actually finished a book and put one out...that's about to change, too. Life sometimes gets in the way and can even derail us of our purpose and unfortunately I am guilty of allowing this to happen with myself. And, when I really take a moment and reflect on what I just wrote above...the word that hits me is "allowing." I allowed myself to be derailed by difficult circumstance that took me down a bit of a rabbit hole. It happens to a lot of us in life (derailment from our purpose or passion), but it doesn't need to define us and the good news is that we can crawl out of the hole at any time. What defines me in part is "WRITER." I lost sight of that and I blamed my health, publishing, algorithms, Amazon, losing my dad, my divorce and on and on. Guess what? It was all BS! It's on me! As a writer being one of m...

Have you read The Dead Celeb? If you haven't here are the first two chapters for you to enjoy over the weekend. I have something exciting coming Monday for you. If you've read it and lpved it, share with your friends! Have a wonderful weekend. Cheers, Michele CHAPTER ONE MY NAME IS EVIE PRESTON and I hang out with dead rock stars. Oh, and the occasional dead movie star or two. I’ve learned quite a bit about those who live on the other side over the past few months. For instance, they aren’t all ghostly and transparent. Oh no. The ones I see are almost always in full- color and 3-D except when they exert, ah … certain energies. Then they go a bit hazy. Oh, and they prefer to be called spirits. Yeah, I know … I sound completely insane. Like, “commit me” insane. But honestly, I am not crazy. Believe me, the first time I saw Bob Marley in my place (well, technically not my place, but I’ll get to that) in the Hollywood Hills, getting high and singing “Buffalo ...