In my first DDIW Chronicles podcast [link], I talked about how DDIW came to be. At the very beginning, I knew a few things about the story: there would be twin mystery novelists and there would be a death–and I had an idea of who would be the one to die.

So, the title, Death at the Double Inkwell isn’t a metaphor or some deep thought of the book; it literally arose because of the death and because the two main characters were twins (double) and writers (inkwell).

Sorry to disappoint those who thought I might be deeper than this. LOL Sometimes, I’m so not.

When LLP accepted my book for publication, there was a chance that the book wouldn’t be called DDIW. I can’t even remember the other suggestions, but I stuck with championing for Death at the Double Inkwell as the title even when my pubber said, “But there is more than one death in the book.”

And there was. LOL In a revision, I had added a few more corpses, this is true. But as I argued, there was one big death that moved the main characters through their storylines (though I have to shake my head now because what death is “little” – such the thoughts of a writer).

But of course, the title only tells part of the tale; there are still 80,000+ words that do a great job in visually showing how these twin mystery novelists must ban together and deal with the death (and the aftermath) that occ

Each of these men has an agenda when it comes to Jovan, and she has to figure out which ones mean to do her harm and which ones mean to help her out of the darkness she’s cast into.

Learn more about these man by picking up Death at the Double Inkwell.

It’s available NOW at Amazon.

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The first two weeks of writing, I wrote 10,347 words.

The last two weeks of writing, I wrote 5,280, nearly HALF. But that’s OK. I’m not beating myself over that.

For the 28-29 days I’ve been writing, I needed to cross through Friday having written 14,560-15,080 words. With my current 15,627, I beat that by 547, so I’m good.

SO, what has caused the slowing down of writing? Two things:

1) Real life – I’ve written a lot in the last week, nearly 20,000 words—but they were words for class/academic work projects. When you write that much, it’s hard to keep writing, and with my tendinitis, the ol’ hands and wrists were like, No mas.

2) Writing without an outline – I’m sorry. I LIVE for outlines, and I know now, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that I will never write another long project without an outline. Outlines gives me structure, order. They also give me freedom. I never follow them to the letter because you never know what will transpire during the writing process; however, with the outline, I feel free to move and question and explore. Without the outline, I flounder, and as a writer, I don’t like floundering. Soooooooooooooooooo, therefore, OUTLINE for me. LOL

It’s interesting. This book will be the second in the Double Inkwell mystery series, but I’m not sure it’s a mystery, yet. LOL Prologue? Screams mystery. Everything after that so far, not so much, and I think I’m beginning to see why. The first book was about a mystery within the main characters’ lives, so it was immediate. In this book, the mystery is not tangible to the characters’ lives, so we’re able to see more development of the characters’ lives and what’s going on within them and once the case goes “live”, then the main characters become more invested in solving the case–if ANY of that makes sense.

But I’m going to keep writing and then see what others say so that I can go back and rewrite. Working very hard in not letting the “What the hell is this I’m writing” thoughts crowd my mind and keep me from writing.

We’ll see how that goes.

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There have been many things to sidetrack me and my writing before the start of this journey, and I feared those things would keep me from writing. I think, in the end, writing kept me from being too sidetracked. Good ol’ writing. Always looking out for me.

The goal of this journey is to write an 80,000-word novel between now and November 25th. This comes to about 520 words a day, every day, until then. Including today, I should be coming to the table with a minimum of 7,800 words. I come to the table with a whopping 10,347 words!

I am beyond excited and happy for myself. To cross that first 10k mark is an exhilarating feeling.

Right now, because I didn’t have a fully-fleshed out outline, like I normally do, I’ve been fearing the writing is crap. Now, I do profess–and often–that writers should come to the page with editor off and realizing that the first draft will probably have a crap factor attached to it. This is a bit different. When I come to a writing project with an outline, there is a confidence that exudes from me because I have visualized the story for months, have edited in my mind too many times to count, and have a paper representation of that visualization. I know the writing will need to be tightened up, but I know also that the story is there. This go round, without the outline, I feel like I’m flailing a bit, and I so don’t like that. Once I finish this chapter I just started on, I will probably go back, read, organize what I have, see where I need to go with the next chapters, and move on.

What I am learning about this different process is that sometimes, you might just have to switch up what always works for you, and when you do, that means you need to find ways to be comfortable in that new writing situation to get some good writing done. Without a full outline, my “being comfortable” is writing a few chapters, going back to read and make sure it makes sense to me before moving on.

Before I cross the 15k mark, however, I do foresee me sitting down and outlining the rest of the story. It’s just what I do.

For now, I will revel in crossing the 10k and be ready to write my 520 words tomorrow!

Oh, and just in case you didn’t know. This book is the second in a series I hope to write called the Double Inkwell Mysteries. The first book in that series is already out, Death at the Double Inkwell, and you can read/listen to excerpts, read commentaries about the book, and get the link to buy your own copy of the book here on my site through this [LINK].

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Cordell Anderson is the love of Jovan’s life. The two met in college, and Cordell was quick to pursue her and make her his wife. He’s the founder and CEO of Anderson Technologies, a thriving technology company…or is it? So many secrets surround Cordell it’s hard to figure out just who he truly is. And as the story moves on, so many of those secrets are revealed that it takes Jovan’s memories of the good times for us to see that he wasn’t always an ass.

Timothy Anderson is Cordell’s younger brother. He and Cordell get compared to one another all the time–in looks alone. Their lives are as different as sun and moon. Whereas Cordell is a take charge, get what he wants when he wants it kind of man, Timothy is quiet, reserved, timid. He has collected some demons over the years, and in the past, he has used harmful means to eradicate those demons. He’s now trying to be on the up and up and make his life right, but a tragedy soon unravels his progress and his life.

Jimmy Devane is an associate of Cordell’s, which would be fine if he wasn’t A) an “associate” of a lot of Cordell’s competitors and B) an absolute slime ball. His allegiance is to the thing or the person that can get him the most money, damn the consequences.

Detective Ian Davenport is “the” man of the pack. He’s strong, confident, caring, and determined to right wrongs and put wrongdoers where they belong: in prison. When tragedy strikes Jovan’s life, Ian is quickly immersed into both Jovan’s and Cheyenne’s lives, much to Cheyenne’s chagrin. And despite the fact that he needs to be impartial to solve the case, Ian quickly finds himself drawn to the twins…one in particular.

Mark Brockman is a do-gooder, but when it comes to dealing with a serious situation in his life, he decides to “do him” instead of handling the situation, which leads to consequences he’s not prepared to handle. When his world is turned upside down, he finds comfort in the most unlikeliest place.

Each of these men has an agenda when it comes to Jovan, and she has to figure out which ones mean to do her harm and which ones mean to help her out of the darkness she’s cast into.

Learn more about these man by picking up Death at the Double Inkwell.

It’s available NOW at Amazon.

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I really think that saying is beside every great woman is a great sister who always comes with the straight, no chaser advice, warm hugs, and a ready-to-take-on-all-challengers stance when things get a little sticky.

Every woman can recall at least that one sister—from birth or from another mother—who has been there to listen to her frustrations over a relationship, her aggravation over a job, her devastation over a loss, and her infuriation over being done wrong. And she can recall that sister railing with her over her man and then getting real to show her where she went wrong. She can recall the friend telling her to look for another job, to find something that will make her happy and keep her living well. She can recall sistergirl sharing tissues with her as they both cry over the emptiness she feels at having lost someone. She can recall sistergirl saying, “OK, where’s my Vaseline and sneakers?” when it time to crack a skull or two open on her behalf.

There are a plethora of self-help books written about how women can find the man of their dreams and keep him, but we often forget about the importance of having a great sisterfriend, that woman who can see you bare, ugly truths, lies, secrets, and all, and who will still stand beside you, like a trooper, helping you to grow into the strong woman you are destined to be. There are many components to a person, and a romantic relationship can satisfy many of those components; however, nothing can replace the relationship of sisterhood and how it, too, can feed your soul.

Jovan Parham-Anderson from Death at the Double Inkwell [Amazon] has a sister like that: her twin, Cheyenne.

These two may look alike, but their personalities are polar opposites. Whereas Jovan is often quiet, reflective, and quick to find fault with herself, Cheyenne is loud, opinionated, and always ready to put blame on the right person.

Despite their differences, the two connect in powerful ways when the other steps up to be there for her sister.

When Jovan thinks her husband Cordell is having an affair, who does she run to? Cheyenne

When Jovan suffers an unimaginable tragedy, who does she run to? Cheyenne

When Cheyenne’s temper places her in harm’s way, who comes to protect her? Jovan

When Cheyenne catches feelings for someone who seems to be her arch-nemesis, who does she spill the beans to? Jovan

Even when Jovan’s and Cheyenne’s lives are put in danger, they rely on one another to make it through.

As betrayals and lies surface and threaten to drown them and the twins find themselves in peril, will relying on their sisterhood see them through?

You’ll have to read Death at the Double Inkwell to find out.

It’s available NOW at Amazon.

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This podcast features the first couple pages of chapter two. If you haven’t bought the book yet, this excerpt will surely pique your interest!

You can check out the podcast through my one-stop DDIW shop here on my site [link].

You can also order YOUR copy of DDIW through Amazon [link].

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You can check out the podcast through my one-stop DDIW shop here on my site [link]. Definitely consider ordering YOUR copy of DDIW through Amazon.com [link].

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Not only is my mystery, DEATH AT THE DOUBLE INKWELL a featured title for June at Myst Noir [LINK] (mysteries written by African-Americans and/or featuring African-American sleuths), but also I sit down for an interview with Myst Noir founder, author Angela Henry to talk about DDIW and writing. Come check out the interview [HERE].

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And you know where you can get it?  Under the mistletoe.

Yep, that’s right, Under the Mistletoe, my Christmas-themed romance e-story!

About the Story:  Anxiety builds in world-class publicist Lita Gregory as she heads home to spend the Christmas holidays with her mother.  In the four years since she’s left home, she’s been back all of four times.  Since her beloved father died a year ago, she’s wanted to go home even less. Lita barely has time to take part in her and mother’s time-honored Christmas tradition – singing The Temptation’s “Silent Night” when she receives a major shock:  her mother’s new fiancé, David. She then runs into Eric Thomas,  the man she was destined to marry after graduating college – before she found him in bed with another woman. Will she continue to dwell in the past? Or can the holiday spirit bring her a new lease on life and love?

The story is currently available for $1.95 through Lady Leo Publishing, and LLP carries Under the Mistletoe in the following formats:  Kindle, PDF, Microsoft E-Reader, and Mobipocket!

You can buy for any of these formats at this link [here], and you can also learn about my LLP titles, Connections and Got Til It’s Gone!

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My currently publisher, LADY LEO PUBLISHING, is showcasing an interview with me!  Below is an excerpt.

LLP: How do you come up with your characters?
SB: Pieces of my characters come from me.  Typically, something happens in my world or the world of someone I love that sticks with me, that picks with me, and I have to write that situation out.  When that happens, I take pieces of me that are connected with that situation and start the process of developing the main character.  From there, I branch out and develop those characters that are necessary to get through that story.  Many times, pieces of loved ones (and not so loved ones) are used to develop these characters.

LLP: Are the characters based on real life situations?
SB: Sometimes, yes.  I’ve never written a 100% real story; however, many of my characters are composites of people I know, and many of the situations are snatches from real life situations.

LLP: What excites you most about being a writer?
SB: The spinning of a new story.  When I get a new idea, nothing excites me more. I can barely sleep, and my biggest concern is outlining the story so that I can jump in and play with my characters.

To read the rest of the interview, be sure to head to [Lady Leo Publishing] now!

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