Category: A Writer’s Journey

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2025 was a Big Step Forward

Presenting at online conferences and for various organizations. Running writing workshops. Publishing a novel. And being named one of ten New Voices of Aotearoa.

There is no doubt about it: 2025 has been a massive year for me, with a huge step forward within my writing career. But there were also massive steps forward within my physical and mental wellbeing too. And here's hoping that 2026 sees the momentum continue.

It's that time of year again, when I look back at the year just been and celebrate my successes.

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The Inner Critic… Will they win?

Editing... Just when I thought I had finished with this manuscript, there it is again. The revisions go on, and on, and on, and on... Did I mention that they go on and on?

When you're writing, it's the inner critic that whispers sweet little nothings about self-doubt that just won't go away. If you're anything like me, you type so fast that sometimes your brain struggles to keep up; the spelling goes out the window and the autocorrect monster just gobbles up that carefully chosen word... without you noticing!

But the editor in me can't just let a new piece of writing go unchecked. I always go back and reread what I had written after a break (even a break as short as a toilet break). I see the punctuation errors, the grammar flaws, and the faults in the writing itself. I struggle in a big way to shut off the editor brain long enough to actually do any writing.

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Death of the Author (Literary Term Explained)

I don't remember where I first heard the term, but I had encountered an entire conversation on one of my social media channels about the death of the author. It turns out that it's a term that refers back to an essay from 1967. In that essay, entitled The Death of the Author, Roland Barthes postulated the idea that at some point (after publication), a story takes on a life of its own, separate from the writer's intentions.

The idea makes sense when you think about it, because readers will add their own context and meaning to things based on their personal experiences. However, the essay has been debated for many long years about how much an author's intent should be incorporated into literary discussions about the meanings behind a written work.

In today's post, I want to take a look at this death-of-the-author idea, pointing out how I'm watching my own death unfold before my eyes… and my novel is still a newly-published work.

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Two people shaking hands, with one arm extending out from a laptop screen. The laptop sits on a wooden table alongside a smartphone, notebook, pen, and coffee cup.

Finding an Editor for ‘The Eagle Order’

Normally, I'm the one sending out quotes and commenting on prospective clients' work, trying to showcase what I can do. However, for the first time in a long time, I was on the other side of the search for an editor. And I will gladly admit that it highlighted a few things that were a bit concerning about my sector of the publishing industry.

In today's post, I want to describe the process that I went through to find an editor for my own work, explaining how I was able to weed through the noise, and how I came to my final decision.

I feel this post will be insightful for writers and editors alike.

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Promotional banner for "Dancing in the Purple Rain" by Judy L. Mohr. The background shows a dark, rainy, neon-lit futuristic city with lightning in the sky and two large holographic Queen of Hearts figures on opposite sides. In the foreground on the right is the book cover, featuring a person in a purple hooded coat standing in the rain. Bold yellow text across the center reads: “JOIN THE RAIN DANCE…” Above it, smaller text says: “BEING SPECIAL CAN MAKE YOU A TARGET.”

Dancing in the Purple Rain: The idea origins (and opening scene)

Inspiration for a story can come from anywhere. A random conversation can spark an idea. Or a news article. Or the scene outside the office window.

The idea for the opening scene in Dancing in the Purple Rain came from a report of an internet challenge hoax that scared me as a parent. And my writer brain just wouldn't let go of it, even though I knew it was a hoax. My writer brain did what it does best: It took that seed of an idea and asked the famous "What if…?"

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