Janet Alcorn

New year, new plans. Resolutions, SMART goals, out with the bad habits, in with the good habits. Eat less, move more, meditate, write every day, hustle harder. If we’re lucky, that holds till maybe MLK Day, then it’s back to our usual behavior. Usually. I’ve never been much for resolutions, but I used to be all in on goal-setting and morning routines (example: my 2020 goals, which seem hilarious in hindsight). Don’t get me wrong–those are good things. But the last couple of years, dealing health issues and watching Long-Suffering Husband deal with ever more health issues, I have learned to be gentle with myself. So I have scaled back…

If the hordes of people at our local mall are any indication, it’s holiday season, so I’ll get into the spirit and write a post about gift-giving. Specifically, I’m going to write about the best gift I ever received as a writer. But first: This post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) blog hop. On the first Wednesday of every month, we IWSG-ers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are Tara Tyler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Liza, and Natalie Aguirre. Each month our fearless leader (Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh) gives us an optional question to answer. This month’s question is, As a writer, what was…

Today I’m going to introduce you to Karen McCoy, author of The Etiquette of Voles, a middle grade Victorian mystery, and a good friend from my Flagstaff days. And since we’ll be talking about middle grade fiction, I’ll share a little about the books that impacted me when I was a kid. But first: This post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) blog hop. On the first Wednesday of every month, we IWSG-ers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are PJ Colando, Pat Garcia, Kim Lajevardi, Melisa Maygrove, and Jean Davis. Each month our fearless leader (Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh) gives us an optional question…

Every year I take a look back to see what I did, and because I’m a blogger, I post my annual highlight reel for the world to see. Because my self-talk isn’t negative enough, I reviewed the goals I set in last year’s post. Yeah, that was humbling. But also–I did some big things in 2024 that were not on my annual goals list, so there’s that. Anyway, if you want to join me in my annual navel gazing, pull up a seat, ignore the lint, and let’s go. 2024 highlights: the big stuff I could make a long list of things I didn’t do in 2024–achieve my writing goals,…

It’s finally October! ‘Tis the season for pumpkin spice, hoodies and cozy blankets1, chilly mornings2, horror stories, and scaring the crap out of neighborhood children before giving them free candy. This year we’re busy unpacking, but by the time next Halloween3 rolls around, kids in this neighborhood are going to wet their pants even thinking about coming to our door. Don’t believe me? This is what we did to our yard the last time we lived in a neighborhood that contained children: At night we added an orange flickering light to the wood under the fake leg for that realistic roasting-human-flesh look. I’m pretty sure the 6-year-old across the street–who’s…

Greetings from Fresno, California! Your intrepid blogger has relocated from the Sonoran Desert to the San Joaquin Valley, trading 100+ degree temperatures for… more 100+ degree temperatures. Yeah. Anyway, I’m slowly settling into a new routine, and writing this month’s IWSG post is another step on that journey–writing again after a month of packing, cleaning, moving, learning a new place, starting a new job. It’s… a lot. But I’m still standing (or actually sitting–in my makeshift home office, typing out these words). For anyone who’s new here, this post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) blog hop. On the first Wednesday of every month, we IWSG-ers share…