Barbara Custer June 10, 2019 6 Comments

PWC 2019: Day One

Day One of #PWC2019 was everything I thought it would be and much more. I took classes with Shirley Hailstock, Jonathan Maberry, and Brian McKinley. I’d like to share some highlights from the conference. Shirley discusses the types of plots, protagonists, and villains and recommends avoiding superhuman qualities unless I’m prepared to put them in […]

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Barbara Custer March 23, 2019 2 Comments

The Website Changes Begin!

“Oh, Barbara!” purred a voice coming from a Mylar balloon tree. “Barbara!” I looked up from the submission I was reading. “Yes?” “You’re contracting several books and making promotion plans,” my Mylar balloon said. “Isn’t it high time you cleaned up your website?” Aw, geez, why did they have to bring that up? “I will, […]

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Barbara Custer December 12, 2018 0 Comments

A Mylar Balloon in your Home …

A Mylar balloon in your home is worth two at the store. Why moon over the balloons on display if you’ve already got a thriving one in the house? Sometimes, the store balloons are either too pricey or not for sale at all. Better to go with the sure thing. That was my conclusion when […]

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Barbara Custer November 13, 2018 2 Comments

Life Got in the Way

Well, here we are in mid-November, and my Mylar balloons reminded me that I hadn’t blogged since the October Frights promo. The promo went well, and I settled into a routine with Night to Dawn, working from noon to 8:00 p.m. most days, with weekends off. I started some work on the website, cutting expenses […]

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Barbara Custer October 14, 2018 6 Comments

Oldie but Goodie Writing Techniques

Lately, the sequel for Steel Rose and When Blood Reigns has been haunting me. Okay, I’ll confess, I used the pantser style for writing this book. I tried to outline—actually summarized chapters but then found myself lapsing into writing scenes, and I couldn’t work from an outline. The balloon lady in me wants to work […]

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Barbara Custer October 12, 2018 7 Comments

Editors Have Wounds, Too

In June 2018, Author Kelly Simmons gave a talk on characterization at the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference. She listed the traits that a sympathetic character should have: desire, spunk, resilience, foolishness, disbelief, and wounds. That last stuck with me in particular as I worked on my material. Fast forward six months later, I went through the […]

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