Like most writers, I fantasize about being published. When I was writing my thesis for my MFA, I imagined getting a phone call. No, the phone call. I envisioned myself surrounded by family and friends—my phone would ring and it would be someone telling me my book was going to be on shelves. They would… Read more »
As an author of three published novels and over thirty short stories, several of them award-winners, I have acquired a sense of how to approach a writing project and finish it. I taught myself about writing fiction by learning from mistakes and the way I erred in my early years as a writer. I’m still… Read more »
Growing up, I was a shy kid who switched schools every year. Books became a safe haven for me. A place I could escape, where who I was and what I wanted most could be lived out through hopping into the lives of characters. It was a place where people like me could form friendships… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Traci Sorell and Carole Boston Weatherford. Traci is the author of the critically acclaimed book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma, where her tribe is located. Today we’re talking about her picture book Classified: The Secret… Read more »
Greetings, speculators! I imagine you wondering whether this is a science fictional article, or a fantastic one. It’s both. And yet it’s neither. I’ll explain more, shortly. I’m heading in a more personal direction this time. The past 18 months have been challenging for all of us. Pandemic life is not kind, to say the… Read more »
As much as I’ve always wanted to be a writer, I was also fascinated with the business of editing. As a little girl, I would write for hours and fill notebooks with stories of my own worlds. I was convinced I would grow up to be an author. Until one magical day, I stumbled across… Read more »
I love mysteries with animals as sleuths, so I was delighted to speak to debut author Codi Schneider about her book Cold Snap. It’s the first in a series about a cat named Bijou and her human Spencer Bonanno, who runs the Fox Burrow Pet Inn in their little town of Gray Birch in the… Read more »
After three months of back and forth on a book proposal for a book idea they pitched to me, their “no” was short and to the point: The marketing department doesn’t think you have a strong enough platform to sell books. I was devastated. I cried big, ugly toddler-sized tears for days. The bitterness lasted… Read more »
In June 2016, I was at a crossroads. I felt behind everyone I knew in terms of my career and life experience. I was sick with money worries, constantly anxious, and when I would glance ruefully at the dust on my writing desk, the specter of “real adult life” sounded a lot like my father…. Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Finola Austin. Finola Austin, also known as the Secret Victorianist on her award-winning blog, is an England-born, Northern Ireland-raised, Brooklyn-based historical novelist and lover of the 19th century. Her first novel, Bronte’s Mistress, was published in 2020. When she’s not writing novels or her blog, she works in… Read more »
