Barbara V Evers

"Pool goat!" More times than not, my granddaughter will make this announcement or, "No pool goat," on the way to school each morning. It's become a tradition. What is a pool goat? We pass a house on the way to the middle school that has an aboveground pool in the backyard. This pool must be dry because the goat is often in the pool. I'm trusting her observation here, because the house is close to an intersection, so I often don't think to look. I did look yesterday. I saw something on the pool ladder, but I didn't have time to register it as the aforementioned goat. Last week, she informed me there are two goats. Often they are in the pool or on the ladder. Although this would be a great prank to pull on me, the frequency of her announcement and the fact I saw a goat in the driveway one day, supports her claim. Not only does she notice it, but it turns out her best friend knew exactly what she meant the other day when she said something about the poo

I finally got a chance to visit the new giraffe calf at the Greenville Zoo. She arrived on March 19, but between illness and weather and work and kids it took 7 weeks before I had a chance to visit with her and her lovely parents, Autumn and Miles. I chuckled at the man in the ticket booth when I arrived. "Just you?" he asked with a note of surprise in his voice. "Yes." I didn't add that I was headed straight to the giraffes, do not stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200. I bypassed all of the other lovely animals and hordes of school children, praying that the time of my arrival might keep the school group numbers down. It was after 11 am, so most schools are wrapping up and heading to the park for lunch by that time on a zoo field trip. Except for a few stragglers, that was the case. Groups came and went, but I remained. I watched the giraffes and, of course, talked to them for a little over an hour. After awhile, I noticed one other person hanging out by h

This week's post should have been a recap of a great weekend at AtomaCon in N. Charleston, SC. Unfortunately, my allergies turned into something contagious. Even though the doctor put me on antibiotics, I felt it unwise to attend. I don't always respond well to the one-and-only antibiotic I can take, so I needed to proceed with caution. This decision, although the right one, was very hard to make. AtomaCon is a small science fiction/fantasy/horror con (con), and it's a special one that offers a lot of great fun and panels. Instead, I stayed home, bundled up on the couch and watched my friends' Facebook posts about the con. It looks like everyone had a fantastic time. Next year, I hope to be back!  Occasionally, people ask me why I attend cons as an author guest. There are so many answers to that question! As a fantasy author, nothing beats meeting people who enjoy the genre . Yes, authors hope to sell their books at cons. I won't deny that, but I really enjoy chatt

Lots of updates, so this is a catch-all kind of post. To Begin With Happy May the 4th Be With You Day! Change in Con Schedule Welp, I had planned to head to AtomaCon in North Charleston, SC tomorrow, BUT . . . I've come down with something. Nothing serious, but I won't be spreading any germs for the healthy attendees to pick up! I'm disappointed, to say the least. The Watchers are Back in EBOOK! The Watchers of Moniah trilogy is now available as ebooks at most of your favorite ebooks vendors. To celebrate, the prices have been discounted, so I hope you'll jump on that before the sale ends. Find the books here: The Watchers of Moniah The Watchers in Exile The Watchers at War Most Recent Blog Series Post I've posted the eighth and last post to the Don't Let Errors Ruin Your Submission series. This post is a VERY important one for writers. I take a look at active voice and unnecessary words. Find the post here . Two Recent Interviews I had the honor of appearing on

  Welcome to the 8th and FINAL post of my Don't Let Errors Ruin Your Submission series! You might think your manuscript's fascinating story potential should rise above any typos and poor grammar, but the truth is agents and publishers receive an onslaught of submissions. They give most of these submissions a few seconds before deciding whether to pass or keep reading. That means any red flags can prompt a rejection. Poor grammar can be a red flag! I say "can" because there will always be the exception to the rule. Counting on being the exception to the rule is NOT a good idea. You need to clean up your submission. Don't let errors ruin your submission's chances! This week, we're taking a look at Rules 10 & 11 which look at active voice and unnecessary words. I'm combining these two because when you use passive voice instead of active voice, you often have unnecessary words. 10. Use the active voice unless you specifically need to use the passive.