The Fabulous Adventures of Astera: Writer/Actress for Hire

Into the great wide open, under the skies of blue...that Tom Petty chorus describes my life perfectly right now. Well, except for the fact that we're suffering from "June gloom" here in Dana Point, so the skies are more gray than blue. But you get the...

I just became a statistic. My boss laid me off today "due to the economy and lack of work." Let it also be noted for the record that lack of common business sense on the part of the business owner was a contributing factor in my layoff.
About two months ago, my boss signed a three-year lease for 2,000 square feet of office space. He spent $10,000 on new office furniture, about $6,000 on new computers, another $6,000 to have the computers networked and installed, and who knows how much...

I haven't been laid off--yet--but the situation seems grim, so the axe could fall at any time. I need a little cheering up, and this article from the L.A. Times inspired me to create me own list of why a part-time work schedule isn't so bad.
1. A part-time paycheck is better than no paycheck at all!...

Even though I have signed with a literary agent, rejection from other agents still stings. When I started sending out query letters, I didn't realize just how long it would take for agents to respond (if they responded at all). So, today, I received...