by Danielle Scruton | Oct 11, 2023 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
The bartender calls me Picabo, but that’s not my name. It started two years ago when I first began frequenting the Bright Eyes Bar & Grille. I sat myself down at the bar, ordered a rusty nail and pulled out the novel I’d been reading at the time. Impressed by my...
by Danielle Scruton | Sep 18, 2023 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
From my WIP… Manfred fell into bed with an ungraceful thud. His neighbour’s words were heavy in his head. Be better. That’s how you’ll win her back. But there were some things he simply didn’t know how to fix. He took out his phone to look at her last message...
by Danielle | Aug 14, 2023 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
The world feels different these days. There’s a rawness, an openness, a nowhere-to-hideness to everything, and it seems overwhelming. Just last night, Robert started to tell me something that our provincial government had done, and I had to say, “I don’t have room for...
by Danielle Scruton | Jul 17, 2023 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
(Read the story and keep scrolling for a sweet offer!) On Leaving Evergreens whooshed by her as she drove. Peppered between them were trees shedding leaves of burnt red and orange. Her 2001 Acura was packed to the gills. The air was just cool enough to crack the...
by Danielle | Jul 6, 2023 | Blog Post |
And I use the term ‘we’ loosely because my eyes have really been opened as far as the differences in tastes when it comes to romance novels. I’ve been naive. Romance is an enormous genre and its fans are stupendously loyal, discerning and demanding....
by Danielle | Jun 13, 2023 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
Celebrating 12 years of abstinence from bulimia today ❤️ This is the first year where I feel like a completely different person than who I was then—as if the mere thought of that level of self-harm is foreign to me now. I am here for a life of softness. For the past...
by Danielle | May 15, 2023 | Blog Post |
Every compelling story needs a villain the reader loves to hate. He or she is the antagonist—the driving force behind the plot, the character who creates conflict and makes the hero’s journey meaningful. Without a villain, a novel can feel flat and...
by Danielle | Apr 6, 2023 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
Revising your novel is an essential part of the writing process. It’s also one of the most important steps because it helps you make sure that your story flows logically and makes sense to readers. To revise means to look at what you’ve written so far,...
by Danielle | Mar 28, 2023 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
“Are we covering up the tattoos?” called the young woman from the dressing room. Her friend, the bride-to-be, scoffed in reply. “We would never cover up Mama Jade and Raven Sky.” She turned to me. “Her ancestors,” she whispered with...
by Danielle Scruton | Mar 27, 2023 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
From my WIP… Lily had always been the one to direct their days. That was, perhaps, the biggest adjustment that he had to make when she passed. How to fill the time that she had so capably plotted out for him all those years? He loved routine and...
by Danielle | Feb 28, 2023 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
At precisely 7:55, I begin to close up the gallery. For the past eight hours, I have had one customer (an elderly woman asking to use our washroom) and one phone call (wrong number). This has got to be the least successful art gallery in Canada. But why do I even...
by Danielle | Jan 12, 2023 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
I gathered her hair in my hands and attempted the braid she requested. My daughter, now nine years old, was keenly aware of her appearance and valued it. She was particular about colours (bright) about pants (tight) and about jewelry (never too much). To me, this...
