on January 4, 2024
Yes, it’s true. On February 2, 1990, I got The Call. HarperCollins wanted to buy my first book, a historical romance, CANDLE IN THE WINDOW. The time was 3:30pm. This is an Event Worth Celebrating, so let me share Some Thoughts About Writing. Warning — this is Serious. (Christina waits for the dust from… Read More
on March 5, 2021
I’m here to kick ass and take names…and I broke my pencil.—Motto of all ass-kicking heroines Women love an ass-kicking heroine. Our favorite heroine faces off with vicious villains, brings justice to the oppressed, and on the side deals with the difficult life situations like pre-pubescent daughters and overflowing toilets. She’s you and me…on a… Read More
on May 23, 2019
Many readers ask how did I get the idea for the Lost Hearts series… There are so many contemporary ideas to be found! On the internet, on television, and in real life. JUST THE WAY YOU ARE is the first of a three part series, and the idea sprang to life when I heard about… Read More
on May 20, 2016
The best writing advice I give is very succinct. Put your butt into the chair and write. There’s no substitute for experience. But since I’m seldom without something to say (ask my husband), I wrote up a random series of: CHRISTINA DODD’S WRITING TIPS About Characters: Plot is important. Characters are more important. Readers must… Read More
on February 27, 2016
We talk to our computers, our dogs, our cats and our fictional characters. We’re not so good with real people. The opportunity to use funny-sounding words thrills us. Words like akimbo, catawampus, gobsmacked. When someone says something witty or wise, we remember and someday it will reappear in a manuscript. Authors collect names: people names,… Read More
on February 8, 2016
February 2, 2024 is the thirty-fourth anniversary of the day I got The Call that my first book had been purchased by a very astute editor. The time was 3:30 pm, not that I noticed. (I’m kidding. I definitely noticed.) On March 7, 2023, my 60th full-length suspense, EVERY SINGLE SECRET, will be published in… Read More
on October 14, 2015
Do you want to write a book? Then you need to know the one, really important (and guilty) secret that will help you get published. Brace yourself. Here it comes … You need to read. A lot. I was appalled when I read this statistic: Stat: Eighty percent of Americans want to write a book, but… Read More
on November 20, 2014
I was once asked to write a chapter for HOW TO WRITE A ROMANCE, the book Romance Writers of America published in conjunction with Writer’s Digest. As a subject for me, they suggested Selling A Book Can Change Your Life. I burst into laughter. I called my published friends. I read them the subject. Each… Read More
on August 8, 2014
A lot of you know (if you’ve read my bio or heard me speak) that before I was published I spent ten years writing and not-writing and making excuses and writing badly and very slowly and not-writing some more and whining and writing for six years on a really awful, long, dreadful historical, then on… Read More
on June 4, 2014
Writers and readers often ask me my method of writing a book. And I always say with great assurance, “It depends.” You’d think I know the best way to write. I’ve completed sixty-three full-length books — that includes the two that I wrote that weren’t published, my newest suspense thriller, EVERY SINGLE SECRET and the next… Read More
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