Launch Day! I’m so excited that today is the launch for my second historical novel, The Map Colorist! Tomorrow it will be three years since the...
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Ana’s Top 5 PLW Q&A blogs
Way back in December 2019 when we launched our PLW website, I started a weekly PLW Q&A post. I thought it’d be a good way for the historical...
New Release: Betrayal of Trust
On July 30, 3023, my latest novel, Betrayal of Trust, was released. This book contains the story that started me on my journey to authorhood...
What I Learned About Being a Writer From My Mother Who Was an Artist
There’s a voice in the back of my head, whispering, encouraging, imploring me. It sounds very like my mother, who spent her life sandwiching...
New Release: The River Remembers
Today (June 27, 2023) marks the publication of my sixth novel. Sixth novel!? It still surprises me when people say, "Oh, you're a prolific writer!"...
Q & A What is the Spark that Prompted Your Book
The world of historical fiction is full of amazing, interesting, and fascinating stories. I often wonder what sparks authors to write the stories...
Goal-Conflict-Disaster. Reaction-Dilemma-Decision. Repeat-Repeat-Repeat.
Wowza! During this merry month of May, my fellow Paper Lantern Writers C.V. Lee, Kathryn Pritchett, Jonathan Posner, and Edie Cay have shared their...
Obliged to be Industrious
I grew up as a musician in a household of musicians. My father was the conductor of a summer county band--think of any extremely wholesome outside...
5 Quotes that Add Up to Writing Success
While waiting to board a recent flight to LA, I heard a man tell his companion that “ninety-eight percent of success is just showing up.” Eighty...
Quotes as Turning Points
Back in my young mother years, I was watching a talk show and a guest commented that ‘at 40 her life was over.’ What I believe she meant was that...
And Sometimes…What’s Hidden Stays Hidden
Instead of writing about some hidden history that I’ve uncovered, today I’m going to share something historic that I’ve kept hidden. Long ago when...
Writing A Second Book
Writing changed my life. Then publishing changed my life in more ways. I’m about to become a two-book Mama, I mean author. I loved watching my...
On a Pedestal
“YOU CAN’T KNOCK A WOMAN OFF A PEDESTAL SHE BUILT HERSELF.” I don’t know who first said those words, but they are affirming.Throughout history, the...
So Many Firsts—Including My First Book Launch
When writing a first novel, there are a lot of firsts. Every novel has a first chapter, a first sentence, a first paragraph. Little did I know how...
Holiday Food Traditions… (with recipes)
Living alone with minimal family, one tends to create one’s own traditions, but in my case, a few food traditions have emerged along the way that...
Dear Author… Thank You!
Writers become writers because they were first readers. Readers who got lost in someone else’s story and subsequently found their vocation. Today, a...
A Little Green Monster, Thirty Years Later
Back in 2005, I graduated from a Masters of Fine Arts program that focused on short stories. I read short stories, I wrote short stories, I...
Luminous Istanbul: City of Dreams
Hagia Sophia, Salvator Barki/Getty Images Whenever friends returned from a trip to Istanbul—whether spending a week or a month—they always said, “We...
Where Murder Is As Commonplace As Suppertime
Panning for gold, 1850. I love history (obviously), and most of my work stems from a specific tidbit I’ve found in my regular reading. While...
Q&A: Childhood Hiding Spots to Read
As we approach summer, it’s fun to remember the places we once stole away to in order to immerse ourselves in a good book. For this month’s Q&A,...
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