Our followers know I retired on Friday, September 30, after 40 total years of public service. My last day was filled with heartfelt wishes from long-time associates and poignant memories of a building where I learned so much. The icing on the cake was the goodbye dinner with my team and their partners where weContinue reading “Gratitude”
Category Archives: Nostalgia
Road Not Taken
This week we chat about Robert Frost’s “Road Not Taken” (apologies to Mr. Frost for mangling the quote in the podcast). With CC and I being of a certain age, we have a better perspective of our interests and skills. What careers would we have picked had we the chance to do things over again?Continue reading “Road Not Taken”
Interesting Times
“May you live in interesting times.” JT’s awesome aunt says this is an ancient Chinese curse. The world has been living through them here in the 21st Century, but what does that mean for the writer who engages in historical fiction? We discuss the challenges facing authors who use real-life events in their books, includingContinue reading “Interesting Times”
HEA and HFN
We chat about our current WIP and whether we should do a “Happily Ever After” versus “Happy For Now” kind of ending. Readers want both, often at the same time, which can lead to “interesting” sequels. Spoilers: Star Wars, The Godfather, The Matrix, and The Mummy (Brenden Frasier version, obv). We also announce a bigContinue reading “HEA and HFN”
Summer Reading
We chat about our summer reading experiences from younger days, plus we talk about our current projects and our thoughts about “assigned reading.” You’ll learn more about the teenage CC and JT than you probably want to know, but, hey, listening is free! Also on the menu: updates on our writing projects, including the numbersContinue reading “Summer Reading”
Free Books This Week
Lots of free books this week to welcome “Starting Over in Las Vegas” to my library. It’s available for pre-sale now and will be delivered on Friday, July 1. These will be free from Tuesday, June 28 to Thursday, June 30: SOILV is the sequel to “Love & Death on I-80 West,” the first TucciContinue reading “Free Books This Week”
Ghosts and Books
In a very special Saturday episode of the Amateur Hour, CC and I chat about the real-life ghosts in our lives, the people we see in random places who look like loved ones and friends who’ve passed away. For that millisecond before we remember they’re gone, we can be hit with a ton of strongContinue reading “Ghosts and Books”
Purple Porkchops
Couples Therapy this week with incorporating our experiences and minefields into our writing, plus the most and least important parts of a relationship and how to use them to create tension. Have a listen and let us know what you think via our Contacts page. TIA! LYL!
Podcast: Mother’s Day Therapy
CC and I do online therapy in talking about our mothers and our upbringing, and we discuss how writers can use their parental relationships in their writing. Family-related triggers in this one. Have a listen and let us know what you think. TIA and LYL!
Podcast: FanFic
We take on passion and energy of Fan Fiction this week:-The history of fan fiction with a nod to the Bard, Dickens, and writers in the modern age.-The challenges and minefields about writing in the Internet Age.-And the strengths and weaknesses of being a FanFic writer. We recognize this is a sensitive subject for manyContinue reading “Podcast: FanFic”