Becky Flade, Author

Have you ever heard the old adage: WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW? Taken literally this would mean the end of fiction as we know it; and our judicial system would grind to a halt stymied with a plethora of libel suits. What a boring, gray dull world that would be. However, a writer should, less literally, write what she or he knows. [And I’m talking fiction here, ‘cause fiction is what I do. Well actually I’m a paralegal by trade, writer by wiring, so I guess I do both and the non-fiction pays better, but I don’t love it. I love the fiction. Let’s stick to that.]

Last week I handed my 11 year old daughter a copy of my category length paranormal romance, Fated Souls. Every few chapters I’d get a call or text, squealing with delight, or chastening me for having a favorite character do or say something she didn’t approve. Her enthusiasm brought the characters back to life for me and experiencing my story through her reactions was such a delight. Authors are observers by nature, but I think I was blessed with the rare opportunity to observe a world I created come to life for someone else. That's every writer's goal. She thanked me, gushing, when she’d finished. But I’m the one that owes her a debt of gratitude. Until March 1 st you can get FATED SOULS *on sale* at Amazon for $1.99 http://amzn.com/B00C9KNYWK ABOUT THE BOOK: Investigative journalist Maggie O’Connell went from hard hitting exposés to alien abductions in the blink of an eye, but she did it with style. Her next big lead takes her to northern Minnesota hot on the trail ...

Well I was going to review JD Robb’s last two books, Delusion in Death and Calculated in Death , because they were the last two books I read – both in hardback as I wanted, nee required, a break from my Kindle and my laptop. But for some reason it felt beyond arrogant to assume to write and then publish reviews of these books as though my opinion of them means anything. The reviews I’ve written previously have been requested of me and that, my friends, is quite different in my opinion than assuming to write an unsolicited review of someone else’s hard work. As a newly published author I look for new reviews regularly. I beg for them, I chew on my nails in anticipation of getting one; and when I do I analyze every word, even a positive one can send me into fits, but a negative one can send me spinning. But surely Nora Roberts/JD Robb wouldn’t lose any sleep over what I thought. Seriously? Who am I? I can just see it now. I post my lackluster review and Nora Roberts promptly signs i...