The Doha Diaries #1: One-Way Tickets and Indemnity Forms, Confiscated and Stripped

I’ve spent the last decade helping authors find the heart of their stories, acting as that voice on their shoulder between a messy first draft and a polished, ready-to-publish book. But lately, I’ve realized I’ve been ignoring a story of my own—one that’s been sitting on a dusty hard drive for nearly two decades. Okay, not dusty, it was in a drawer. I’m digging into my archives and treating my old journals with the same clinical yet caring eye I give my clients—this is terrifying. This will be a series of essays I’m calling "The Doha Diaries," where I’ll be sharing the raw, unvarnished, and very messy lessons of a year that broke me down and built me back up, all while showing you exactly how a publishing partner turns life’s chaos into a narrative that matters.

Settle in and buckle up, you’ll want your beverage of choice for this ride…

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Notes from Deanna's Desk #2: Better Late Than Never

A long, long time ago (no, this is not the beginning of a Star Wars movie. Hah!)… when I first started my Substack, I thought it would be fun to do a recap of what I shared each week or month called “Notes from Deanna’s desk” of which I did exactly one post. Life, work, etc. I have no excuse really, but despite good intentions, that fell by the wayside very quickly. The reality is that if I have deadlines and life intrudes the first thing to go is social media, and the next thing to go is trying to maintain any semblance of a schedule on my website. And then I decided to hop off the social media hamster wheel, and that was that.

What Deanna Read #115: March 2026

What is this? Two months of early What Deanna Read posts in a row? The reason? Today in Easter Sunday and I'm technically off work while Hubby recovers from knee surgery. It's been a lot of stress, wrapping up work deadlines, clearing the deck, etc., so I can focus on Hubby. Oddly, I thought I'd have a bit more downtime too, but nope. Lots of running around like a mad chook fetching and caring for Hubby. And Hubby has been wonderful. He's doing great and recovering well. It's still a slow-ish and long road, but his surgeon (if you ever need hip or knee work done, Dr Mac is your guy!) is AWESOME. Right, onto the books...

Here's what I read in the last month.

The Soul in the Machine vs. The Squeak of the Wicker Chair | A Perspective on the Progression and Importance of Writing Craft

For most of my career, I lived in a world built on logic gates and systems architecture. My daily rhythm was defined by the precision of project management. In that space, your first language isn’t prose; it’s the structured clarity of technical requirements. When you spend decades analyzing how machines process data, you develop a balanced neutrality toward technology. To me, a new piece of software isn’t a monster or a miracle. It is simply a tool—a calculator, a CAD program, or a more efficient way to map a workflow. So, when yet another scandal rocks the publishing industry, I like to take a moment or many to dissect it within the context of my role in this world. And this is where I've landed. Sit tight, it's one heck of a ride...

The Whirlwind, The Wins, and a Little Family Time | Q1 2026 Recap

Hello everyone!

Can we just talk about how 2026 has been an absolute ride already? I’m currently in a serious "clear the decks" mode because life is about to get a bit more personal. Hubby is headed in for knee surgery in just five days, so I’m prepping to be MIA for a bit. I’m taking the first week of April to focus entirely on his recovery (ice packs and TLC on deck!), and then I’ll be sliding back into my work seat during the second week of April.

What Deanna Read #114: February 2026

This is rather unheard of... if recent posts are any indication, but I'm doing my February reads early. Why? Because I'm a crispy fried little critter and my brain is toast. I've taken today "off" which means I'm not working on deadlines and am, instead, catching up on small errands, admin, emailing my team, and maybe, just maybe, I'll even get round to invoicing my clients. That's important right? But first, books... and you'll see from my dismal reading efforts, this was not a good reading month.

Here's what I read in the last month.