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...
by Danielle | Dec 31, 2022 | Blog Post |
Excerpt from The Sweetwood Series, Book 2 Back at the hotel, Jacob headed straight for the shower knowing it was the only way to ensure his mother would leave him alone. Minutes later though, she was knocking at the door. “Darlin’? Jacob, honey, it’s your mother.” He...
by Danielle | Dec 30, 2022 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
Because some days, we don’t know where we want to go; we just know we’re not ready to go home. I always landed at her doorstep. She was everyone I had ever known and all of those whom I still had yet to meet. She had eyes that knew, with irises that were...
by Danielle | Dec 20, 2022 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
I told her I felt better. A week-long, nasty cold had finally abated. “Thank goodness,” she replied. “With all the work we (as women, as mothers) have in December, it’s a very good thing.” Yes, December means ‘more’: more...
by Danielle Scruton | Dec 8, 2022 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
I don’t have a podcast episode this week—too much going on!—but I didn’t want to miss my weekly target. So, here is a short story I wrote in 2018. Yes, I’m divorced. And yes, I have friends and family who are divorced. This is not based on any one person’s experience....
by Danielle | Nov 30, 2022 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
I know how this goes, and yet I fall for it every time. I fall for the drama, the who’s right and who’s wrong of it all. It’s so easy to get caught up in the noise and distraction. You just want attention. You don’t want my heart…. This...
by Danielle | Nov 17, 2022 | Blog Post, Podcast Episode |
It’s cold, but the wind has died down, so I decide to walk. I stick to the salty sidewalks and avoid ice patches. I want to reach out to my brother, Wes, so I take my phone out and send him a quick text: I did it. I went out, met strangers, and I survived! He...
