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Staying Focused with the Flora App
The Flora app was one of my favorite productivity tools before the pandemic. After a year of use, it’s now my favorite tool to help me track my time and stay focused in other ways, too. And now I’m using it to help me navigate the increasingly foggier days in self-isolation. I started using the Flora app back when I was still in college. I was looking for a free alternative to the super popular Forest app, and Flora drew my eye with its focus on flowers over trees. Not to mention that it had the same functionality, more or less, and it had overall positive reviews on the app…
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A Yearly Writing Schedule I Just Might Follow
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Supporting Indie Creators During Coronavirus
Maybe supporting indie creators during coronavirus is only at the back of your mind. Maybe you can’t even think about it because you’re trying to balance a thousand other things—homeschooling your kids, working from home, balancing your literal or figurative checkbook, or whatever obstacles the new world order has you facing. Money is tight, and tensions are high. That’s understandable. That’s to be expected, in fact, which is why the majority of my suggestions here will be completely free to you, but will mean the world (or, in some cases, a little extra money) to the indie creators you love. (And I say indie creators because I tried to keep…
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Read the First Chapter of IN BARCELONA WITH YOU
My novelette In Barcelona With You is now available for pre-order on Amazon! I couldn’t be more thrilled to have my first solo publication out in the world. (Well, sort of!) It’s been a journey, people. I debated pushing back this day so many times. At one point, I even—briefly!—considered scrapping the project altogether. But I didn’t. My friends wouldn’t let me, and ultimately, I wouldn’t let me. I’ve been sitting on the sidelines of the publishing game for too long! It’s time for me to play! To celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m making the first chapter of In Barcelona With You available to read for free, for everyone, right…
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Writing Around Disney World 2020: Epcot Festival of the Arts
Being a Disney Cast Member comes with many, many perks. Among them is access to the theme parks for most of the year. In 2020, I’m making the most of this privilege by organizing writing retreats for myself around the Walt Disney World Resort. Just a couple of days before Christmas, I visited the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays, and I fashioned for myself one of my all-time favorite Disney trips I’ve ever had. This particular outing was something of a gift to myself. I knew I wouldn’t be able to visit and celebrate the season with my family, what with work and all, and my boyfriend had already…
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Why I Write Historical Fiction
You may recognize the painting. It’s Ferdinand Keller’s Scheherazade and Sultan Schariar. You will almost certainly recognize the story—or, rather, stories—behind the subjects of the work. When people ask me why I originally picked this image to wallpaper all over my website, I ask if they’ve seen the 1992 Disney animated classic Aladdin. Most of the time, the answer is yes. Even if it isn’t, I’ll sing the first few lyrics from one of the Genie’s songs and watch their eyes light up with recognition. The second line in “Friend Like Me” from Disney’s Aladdin alludes to one of the most well-known frame narratives ever. It revolves around a young…
