Survival Kit for Writers Who Don’t Write Right

Just Write It

Can you survive in publishing genre fiction if you don’t outline, if you go AWOL from character interviews, if you go cross-eyed at color-keyed plot charts, and if you would rather clean a sewer than write a synopsis?

Whether you’re indie, traditional or hybrid, the answer is yes. A veteran bestselling author shares how she’s survived and thrived through 50 books and 30 years in publishing.

USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn, who has taught writing from Australia to Washington, D.C., presents practical, proven and hard-won tips and tools for those who don’t write “right.”

Nonfiction by Patricia McLinn

Word Watch: A Writer's Guide to the Slippery, Sneaky and Otherwise Tricky.

“Word Watch does for the common man or woman what Theodore Bernstein's The Careful Writer does for the scholarly intellectual. Far more extensive than Bernstein, having been created over the course of years, it's a valuable reference and a good read rolled into one.” – 5-star review

“Keep it handy on your desk. Take it along for casual browsing … Read four or five entries a day to give your brain a good workout -- and your spirit a good laugh.” – 5-star review

"A Fun Frolic Through the English Language" – review headline

Fiction/Mystery by Patricia McLinn

Caught Dead in Wyoming series

Sign Off

Left Hanging

Shoot First

Last Ditch

Look Live

Back Story

Cold Open

Hot Roll

"While the mystery itself is twisty-turny and thoroughly engaging, it's the smart and witty writing that I loved the best." -- Diane Chamberlain, New York Times bestselling author

"Colorful characters, intriguing, intelligent mystery, plus the state of Wyoming leaping off every page." -- Emilie Richards, USA Today bestselling author

Secret Sleuth series

Death on the Diversion

Death on Torrid Ave.

Death on Beguiling Way

Mystery with romance

Proof of Innocence

Price of Innocence

Ride the River: Rodeo Knights

Fiction/Contemporary Romance

Wyoming Wildflowers series

Wyoming Wildflowers: The Beginning (prequel)

Almost a Bride

Match Made in Wyoming

My Heart Remembers

-- A New World (prequel to Jack’s Heart)

Jack’s Heart

-- Rodeo Nights

Where Love Lives

A Cowboy Wedding

Other Romance Series

The Wedding Series

Marry Me

Seasons in a Small Town

Bardville, Wyoming

A Place Called Home

Fiction/Western Historicals

Widow Woman

To Love a Cowboy

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn is the author of more than 50 published books, including Word Watch: A Writer's Guide to the Slippery, Sneaky and Otherwise Tricky. Her fiction titles include mysteries, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, historical romance and women’s fiction. They have topped bestseller lists and won numerous awards. McLinn also is host of the Authors Love Readers podcast.

McLinn wanted to be a novelist not long after she learned to read. She received a BA in English Composition from Northwestern University, adding a master's in journalism from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism in her fourth year.

McLinn became a sportswriter at a time when women doing that were rare, starting at the Rockford (Ill.) Register-Star and becoming assistant sports editor at the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer before moving on a 20-year career at The Washington Post.

A past president of the indie authors’ group Novelists Inc., she has taught writing courses and spoken about writing and the publishing business from Melbourne, Australia, to Washington, D.C., including being a guest speaker at the Smithsonian Institution.

Now living in northern Kentucky, McLinn loves to hear from readers through her website, Facebook and Twitter.