Permission for the Dismissed Creative

Permission for the Dismissed Creative

Yes. The answer is yes. I give you permission to be creative. If you’re looking for a sign, this is it.  I grew up a few hours’ drive from cozy PEI, the crags and cliffs of Newfoundland, and the bustle and hustle of Halifax, Nova Scotia. People from this part of the world pride themselves… Read more »

Genre Gateway Books for Kids

Genre Gateway Books for Kids

I’ve stated before that I’m a voracious reader. My love of books was definitely inherited from my mom, I mean, I pretty much grew up in a library, but it was my third grade teacher, Mrs. Janovik who allowed that love to blossom. While the rest of my class was running around at recess or… Read more »

Leisure Learning: Filled with Love Edition

Leisure Learning: Filled with Love Edition

This post is filled with love and packed with things that I either couldn’t wait to share with you or ones that you can utilize for learning over the next several years. If you would like to see similar content (3 short things, that are often educational but not limited to literature), sign up for… Read more »

Advocacy of Queer Storytelling and Memoir

Advocacy of Queer Storytelling and Memoir

On the eve of Justin Torres’s new release, Blackouts (coming October 10, 2023, from Farrar, Straus and Giroux), I’m reminded of his first novel, We the Animals, and what a powerful advocate it is for queer storytelling and for the creative memoir and (auto)biographical novel genres. Justin Torres’ We the Animals (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2011)… Read more »

The Messy Middle: Iowa Book Bans

Welcome back to The Messy Middle, where we focus on crafting complex characters and building dynamic worlds that connect with readers from marginalized communities. In a previous post, The Messy Middle: Cultural Content Fender Benders, we explored a framework for responding to readers’ concerns about representations in our writing. In this post, we will continue… Read more »

Spicy Romance: Fancy Boys and Ghost Girls

Spicy Romance: Fancy Boys and Ghost Girls

A couple of years ago, deep into my journey for spicy romances that don’t center heterosexual relationships, I stumbled upon what I hold up as the gold standard of romance: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, published in 2021. I loved it. I read it first on my Kindle as a library book, then went… Read more »

Leisure Learning: September 2023: Spooky Edition

Leisure Learning: September 2023: Spooky Edition

Word nerds, thank you for joining me in what is my most favorite post of the year: Leisure Learning: Spooky Edition. This month, readers can peruse Mary Shelley’s (actual!!) Frankenstein notebooks, become unmoored by art inspired by Poe, and hopefully, add one of the best darkly academic podcasts to a playlist or two.  Since we… Read more »

Essential Essay Collections

Essential Essay Collections

I can’t encircle the trunk with my arms or see the top. Douglas Fir trees are like that. 500-year old giants, they stretch straight to the sky, snag clouds, and create their own weather. The bark smells of cinnamon and moisture, and if I am not careful, it will leave a scratch or two on… Read more »

Plot Twisting Techniques for Horror and Thriller Novels

Plot Twisting Techniques for Horror and Thriller Novels

Well-crafted plot twists have the power to leave readers breathless, reeling with shock and excitement, their impact lingering long after the story’s been read. And nowhere are they more important than in horror and thriller fiction. Keeping our genre readers guessing and on the edge of their seats is absolutely crucial to our success. A… Read more »

Cozy to Cold-Blooded: Puzzle Mysteries

Cozy to Cold-Blooded: Puzzle Mysteries

I find it very difficult to name a favorite type of mystery, but it just might be puzzle mysteries. They scratch a cognitive itch. Solving them, whether in a book, an app, or a video game, feels so satisfying. Plus, they’re just fun.  In the past, some leveled the criticism that puzzle mysteries lacked in… Read more »