Posts By: MJ Pullen

M.J. Pullen is a distracted writer and the mom of two boys in Roswell, Georgia, where she is absolutely late for something important right now. Her books include quirky romantic comedies and playful women's fiction. She blogs erratically with writing advice, random observations, and reflections on raising very loud kids and dogs. Join her Distracted Readers newsletter list for updates, free content, giveaways and more.

My Kind of Relaxing

posted on 08/03/2019

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This is a version of a post from the Distracted Readers’ Facebook group. We’d love for you to join us there. We picked up our 10 year-old from camp on Thursday, and with the littler guy at Grandma’s, Hubs and I took the opportunity for a little adult time in Asheville, NC. It wasn’t anything […]

Don’t Hold Your Breath! (The Evil Sentence)

posted on 07/19/2019

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Have you heard of “the evil sentence”? Have you ever caught yourself using it in your writing?? A friend of mine shared this thread on A Reader of Fictions with me a few years ago, and the evil sentence–in which a character releases a breath he/she did not realize they’d been holding–has been stuck with […]

The Plot-Character-Emotion Cycle

posted on 06/28/2019

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When you’re writing a story, which comes first: the plot or the characters? This is a classic chicken-and-egg conundrum many new writers (and veterans) face as they’re crafting a story. Should the character’s personality, background and decision-making drive the plot? Or does the action of the story make the character who she is? The short […]

20+ Beach Reads to Take Your Mind Off Your Thighs

posted on 06/04/2019

Happy Summer! Welcome to the season of mosquitos, rampant body insecurity, hot asphalt, sunscreen in your eyes, and sand in… places we don’t want to talk about. Oh, summer… I still love you! I’m celebrating this joyous season by helping you stuff your Kindle or other favorite eReader with so many books, your family and […]

Just for June – The Marriage Pact for 99¢

posted on 06/02/2019

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It’s here! Time to load up the bags, the car and your e-reader for the hot summer days. As always, I’m here to help! Summer Checklist Beach ball for the kids (popped on hot asphalt of the parking lot) Cheap sunglasses (buried in the sand) Super-bright nail polish (spilled onto center console – now forever […]

Sugar Street: Game of Thrones, Suburban Style

posted on 05/06/2019

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What if Sugar Mills were in Westeros? Are you obsessed with Game of Thrones? It’s hard to avoid these days, as we’re over halfway through the final season of HBO’s adaptation. It seems like everyone is talking about GOT. Even me! Personally, I came to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire several […]

Video: World Book Day 2019 + Giveaway!

posted on 04/23/2019

Check out the video with my World Book Day giveaway, and your healing thoughts are appreciated as I undergo surgery today. I’m so excited to be giving away a signed paperback copy of all three Marriage Pact trilogy books! (U.S. only for paperback — international entrants can win a digital version) Three easy ways to […]

The Phantom Oscar Party Menu

posted on 02/24/2019

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Sadly, our annual Oscar party tradition just wasn’t in the cards for this year. Lots of other things happening, and we only managed to see three of the Best Picture Noms: Black Panther, BlacKKKlansman, and The Favourite; which is sort of pathetic when you consider Roma is on Netflix. (We did better on the Animated […]

Whatever you call it, make it a good one…

posted on 02/14/2019

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Those of you who have been with me for a while know that my hubs is an anti-Valentine’s guy (it’s a conspiracy by Hallmark and the flower industry, yadda yadda…). While I see his point, the holiday doesn’t bother me much anymore. I mean, most of what I write are love stories in some form […]

My Word for 2019

posted on 01/04/2019

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I love this idea of picking your Word for the Year. A talisman. A reminder. At the very least, a Facebook post. And I’ve been so inspired by my friends who are picking things like “courage” and “kindness” and “confidence.” Those things have been on my list lately, too, and I could easily have chosen […]