I asked ChatGPT to generate a marketing image for Betrayal based on the description on the back of the book. This is the first image. I think it’s pretty darn good, even though Kai is blond and this guy isn’t. I don’t care about that for marketing images. I just want the right atmosphere and tone.Attempt …

I’ve been struggling lately to name some of the secondary characters who are appearing regularly in my current project. This isn’t unusual. I often take a long time to settle on a name. While writing one scene recently, the name Dahlia popped into my head. I wouldn’t have thought a flowery name would suit that character, …

In keeping with my unofficial year of learning, this month I’m attending the Inkers Con Digital Conference from July 20th – August 2nd. I attended this conference last year and found it very informative and well-run. What’s also great is that it runs two consecutive weekends. So I don’t have to miss presentations because of my …

Photo copyright 2024 by Vanessa Kier Those of you who have been following me for a while will recognize this general setup as the way I create a standing desk whenever I’m staying in a hotel. This time, I’m using quite a solid, large ice bucket as the base. It’s tall enough that I had …

It’s a good thing I work from home. And for a company that is three hours behind me in time.  Because this morning when I sat down to write, the muse wouldn’t let me go. I blew past my word count goal. I was having so much fun, I ended up writing twice as many words …

I just finished reading a book that failed to uphold the promise it made to me as a reader in the opening pages. Not only that, it failed to deliver what I consider a crucial experience in storytelling. The characters didn’t earn their happy ending. As writers, we often talk about what promise our first line and …