My Turn for a Give-Away!

My story, Christmas Reunion, is included in RJ Scott's Christmas anthology, Christmas Delights.  You can get your free copy here.  There are some amazing stories included, from both established authors and new authors (like me!).

My story is about two childhood friends who are reunited in adulthood:

Eric hadn’t looked forward to Christmas so much in a long time. After living away from his family for several years, he was excited to be moving back home in time to spend the holidays with them. A surprise from his past turns an already amazing Christmas into one that he’ll never forget.


I love young romance that stands the test of time, and that was my inspiration for the story.  I already have an idea to expand on their story that I'm looking forward to sharing with you.  If you've already read Christmas Reunion I'd love to hear what you thought of it, and as my Christmas gift to you, if you comment on this post you'll be entered in a drawing to win a $10 Amazon gift card! NOW CLOSED

Don't forget that RJ Scott is hosting a whole month of prizes at her blog.  She's giving away some amazing gifts, so be sure to visit her site each to to be entered to win!  And if you haven't, be sure to check out her incredible catalog of work.

Merry Christmas!

All About Writing

My ideas for writing come from all over: a song, a performance, a picture, something someone says in passing.  The idea usually starts with a situation, but occasionally a character shows up first.

When I'm first developing a story, I usually prefer it to be quiet, but once I'm into it (have a basic outline and list of characters), I often work better with some background noise.  That could be either music or t.v.  If it's t.v. it has to be something that I've seen before, so that I don't get too caught up in it.  If it's music, it's typically folk/rock like Matt Nathanson or Frank Turner.

When I start a story I usually brainstorm on paper, coming up with locations, characters, themes, and other details that could be key to the story.  After I have all of that narrowed down I come up with character profiles.  I try to have an actual, physical piece of paper for each character that I can easily refer back to as needed.  I've also started using Trello and Pinterest.  Both can be accessed on my laptop, iPad, and phone, which makes it easy to add ideas if something hits me when I'm in the middle of grocery shopping (Trello especially).

I don't plan the entire story out before I start writing.  In fact, many times I have no idea how things will end (though I can't imagine writing anything other than a happily ever after).  I get the basics down and just start to write.  I supposed that might change if I ever decide to do a series, but even then I'm not sure I could work that way.  I find that too much planning limits my creativity, and I find myself trying to fit things in that I thought might be necessary, but in actuality are not.

 I like the process of writing, of bringing something to life from nothing.  Hopefully, other people will enjoy the result.

A Little About AJ

My story, Christmas Reunion, in Christmas Delights Anthology from Love Lane Books is my first published work, which is both thrilling and terrifying.  It's an honor to be included with such a vast array of talented authors.

It's Here!

Details Here

I am so excited to be a part of this!  Visit the link above to get your free copy of the anthology, and to learn about the fantastic giveaways from Love Lane Books during the month of December!  You can also find more details here.