Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing E.J. Wenstrom E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. Her award-winning fantasy series Chronicles of the Third Realm War (City Owl Press) features a peculiar mashup… Read more »
What our characters eat depends on when and where they lived, their position in society, and, to some extent, what they were doing. So getting the food details right is one way we can fully immerse readers in our story. In the space of this article, I can’t begin to cover global evolution of foodstuffs… Read more »
Way back in 2009, five major events deeply altered me. In April, my beloved grandmother died. Six weeks later, I married my now-husband. Over the following summer, my husband lost a grandmother on one side and a grandfather on the other. And the following fall, my husband and I bought our first home. While two… Read more »
There are over six million Kindle books published on Amazon. Only a small percentage will be bestsellers. As an author, it’s up to you to make your book stand out. Sure, marketing and branding help you sell more books, but the best way to sell books is to write the best one possible. In this… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Curdella Forbes. Curdella is a Jamaican writer who lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, and teaches at Howard University. Her latest novel, A Tall History of Sugar, has been praised by BuzzFeed, Essence, Bookish, The Rumpus, Electric Lit, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, SyFy, and… Read more »
Have you read the new romantic comedy that flew off the shelves and sold out on its release day? It features a protagonist with multiple sclerosis attempting to find the love of her life. She needed a confidence boost and received hilarious dating advice from her friends and MS support group. It seems the biggest… Read more »
When it comes to working with literary themes in your writing, it’s not enough to identify or study them. It’s also crucial to practice incorporating themes logically and thoughtfully into your work. We did this last year with a series of writing and brainstorming exercises for the theme of family. Today, we’ll do this again… Read more »
If you’re an anxious writer, you can rest assured that sooner or later the anxiety you struggle with will seep into your work. Everything from your writing style to your tone, voice, and perspective can become tainted with tension and unease, discomfort and discouragement. If you find that you’re nodding your head in agreement, here… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Claire Waller. Claire is a secondary school teacher who works with teenagers with mental health issues. She has had two adult horror novels (Predator X, Nine Eyes) published by Australian indie publisher, Severed Press. FUGLY is her first YA novel. Claire lives with her… Read more »
Web Editor’s Note: Hey there Word Nerds! I am SO excited to introduce Sara Farmer, our newest columnist, and her column, From Cozies to Cold-Blooded. She’ll be talking about all things mystery, suspense, thrillers and more! For her first article, she’ll be discussing the lesser-known and absolutely fascinating thrillers of Louisa May Alcott. — Bess… Read more »
