Authors Interviewing Characters: Sarah Beth Durst About THE LIES AMONG US A haunting novel about sisterhood and grief, where difficult truths must contend with the corrosive power of unchecked lies. After her mother dies, Hannah doesn’t know how to exist without her. Literally. In fact, Hannah’s not even certain that she does exist. No one […]
Signpost #1 Since we don’t drive yet, we walk everywhere. We meet in parks, or in front of the candy store, and we walk all over town. We walk along the edge of the highway when necessary; we cut through backyards when it can save time. There is no complication or weather event that can […]
By Beth Uznis Johnson Who remembers 2012? Major news that year: the shooting death of a Black teenager named Trayvon Martin, a hurricane named Sandy that flooded the East Coast, and a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary that took the lives of 18 schoolchildren and 9 adults. It was the literary year of Gone […]
Authors Interviewing Characters: Sarah Beth Durst About THE LIES AMONG US A haunting novel about sisterhood and grief, where difficult truths must contend with the corrosive power of unchecked lies. After her mother dies, Hannah doesn’t know how to exist without her. Literally. In fact, Hannah’s not even certain that she does exist. No one […]
Signpost #1 Since we don’t drive yet, we walk everywhere. We meet in parks, or in front of the candy store, and we walk all over town. We walk along the edge of the highway when necessary; we cut through backyards when it can save time. There is no complication or weather event that can […]
By Beth Uznis Johnson Who remembers 2012? Major news that year: the shooting death of a Black teenager named Trayvon Martin, a hurricane named Sandy that flooded the East Coast, and a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary that took the lives of 18 schoolchildren and 9 adults. It was the literary year of Gone […]
The Female Perspective in Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction) By Vanessa Lee I personally only heard of the genre “Cli-Fi” (Climate Fiction) recently, and ironically it was after I wrote my debut novel, High Rise, which, as I have since found out, sits squarely inside it. High Rise as my chosen title has a double meaning; it […]
We are delighted to feature this excerpt from BEWARE THE TALL GRASS by Ellen Birkett Morris! BEWARE THE TALL GRASS Beware the Tall Grass weaves the stories of the Sloans, a modern family grappling with their young son Charlie’s troubling memories of a past life as a soldier in Vietnam, and Thomas Boone, a young man […]
Something Wonderful: The Ripple Effects of Publishing a Novel From the time I was a child, I’ve had a notebook in front of me and a pen in my hand. The first time I thought about publishing a novel was in high school when I wrote my first full-length story of about two-hundred pages. When […]
The best way to write realistic dialogue? Become a champion eavesdropper. Dialogue should flow from the page. Here are my three must dos. Listen to everybody, all the time and everywhere. Concentrate on voice and tone. Take in the rhythm of real life conversation. Bestselling Irish author, Maeve Binchy freely admitted that she was a […]
“If We Are Being Honest” stands as more than a book; it’s a profound reflection of my journey towards breaking free from the suffocating grip of perfectionism and embracing authenticity. Through its pages, I share the raw, unfiltered truth of my experiences as a woman and mother navigating the complexities of modern life. From early […]
Laughing About it One Day By Courtney Deane Ask most of today’s top comedians – Ricky Gervais, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock – and they’ll tell you no topic is off limits. That’s there’s no such thing as “you can’t say that” or “that’s not funny.” In fact, one could argue they’ve made entire careers (or […]
The journey from self-published to traditionally published author by AJ Campbell I often get asked why I decided to self-publish my books. It all started in the summer of 2019 when I attended the Winchester Writers’ Festival, submitting the first three chapters and a synopsis of my debut novel Leave Well Alone to four literary […]
THE JINN DAUGHTER A stunning debut novel and an impressive feat of storytelling that pulls together mythology, magic, and ancient legend in the gripping story of a mother’s struggle to save her only daughter Nadine is a jinn tasked with one job: telling the stories of the dead. She rises every morning to gather pomegranate […]
Interview with Paula from No More Empty Spaces, D. J. Green’s debut novel, coming out on April 9, 2024. DJG: Hi Paula, Would you mind talking with me today? I think the world needs to hear a bit more from you. Paula: Sure, I’m happy to chat (chuckles), but I’m not sure about the world […]
About THE MONSTROUS MISSES MAI A determined young woman in 1950s Los Angeles walks a darker city than she ever imagined in a spellbinding novel about the power to make dreams come true―whatever the sacrifice. Los Angeles brims with opportunity in 1959―though not for aspiring fashion designer Cordelia Mai Yin, the first-generation child of Vietnamese […]
Authors Interviewing characters: JN Welsh About IN TUNE A tour manager determined to revitalize her career. The client she can’t stop thinking about. Workplace romance hits the road in this enemies-to-lovers romance from JN Welsh. Luke Anderson needs a manager—fast. His last one quit, leaving his tour and his future in jeopardy. Now instead of […]
Alycat and the Sunday Scaries “Bourque’s entertaining and captivating story brilliantly showcases the importance of having supportive friends who encourage and uplift each other through life’s ups and downs. Their teamwork, kindness, and positive attitudes are not only admirable but also inspiring.” — The Children’s Book Review It’s Sunday, the day before the school week […]
Why is Book Marketing So Damn Hard? I offer a marketing mastermind for writers, called 12 weeks to Book Launch Success. In this group program, I guide novelists and memoir writers to develop a successful launch plan for their book. (If this sounds interesting, more details at the end!) Before developing my program, I interviewed […]
Things I wish I’d known about book marketing: A few specific tips for the author who wants to sell books as well as write them! (1) When people ask me how I found my agent, I tell them about Publishers Marketplace https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/. This is an enormous database that lists (nearly) every book deal, as well […]
I was at a low. I’d just broken up with my literary agent after three years, and it felt as if my publishing dreams would never come true. I couldn’t sleep. I was cranky. When The Secret by Rhonda Byrne was published in 2006, I didn’t read it but at 2am one night the Netflix […]
By Anju Gattani They say cats have nine lives but life doesn’t offer a second chance, at least not in the world of publishing. One book gets one release date, your baby’s out in the world and there’s no turning back. Now, what if I told you that’s not true. Would you believe me? What […]
I thought my romcom writing career would last forever. I didn’t make much money on my first book, She Sins at Midnight, during its debut year. But I knew going in that would probably be the case. Sales wouldn’t go gangbusters until my second book, The Reinvention of Mimi Finnegan. Which is exactly what happened. […]
Here’s why. You slump, shrink, curl down in your seat, never stand up straight. As if an arrow might pick you off. Not an arrow, a bullet. Not a bullet, a blow. Not a blow, words. Not words, looks. Here’s why. You’re a freak. Four inches in one year? Your father’s colleague says he keeps […]
He wanted you to have this. It was written with exaggerated clarity on a scrap of paper, as if the author was unsure of the reader’s grasp of English. The torn paper, rather than a proper card, another signal from the sender. It was signed Elaine, with a rounded, buxom capital E. On the padded […]
Elaine Walsh Barrington revs up her white BMW and reverses the car out of the double garage behind the house. “I really don’t mind getting a taxi to the station again,” Lorna, her younger sister, says from the passenger seat. “You didn’t have to leave your New Years Day open house like this.” The clenched […]
She’s a woman who discards anything which causes sorrow or blocks her path. A man she cares for does both, and she leaves him. She takes only what she really values, an old set of books, a few china plates of her mother’s, an abstract painting she’d found in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She abhors […]
This is an account of what it was like to be nine years old and on the receiving end of the bombing power of a well-armed enemy. Like millions in London we were evacuated at the start of the war. My father went to Harpenden with the insurance company he worked for, two days before […]
Q&A with Literary Agent ERIN NIUMATA Folio Literary Management, VP and Literary Agent Erin Niumata has been in publishing for over three decades. She started as an editorial assistant at Simon and Schuster in the Touchstone/Fireside division for several years; then moved over to Harper Collins as an editor, and then she went to Avalon […]
Three years ago, I was a freelance writer with an extremely long Word document chilling on my hard drive. Today, those 98,000 words mark my shift from aspiring writer to fiction author: The Lost Night is coming out from Crown. My novel is a thriller about a woman uncovering the dark truths surrounding her best […]
A few days ago I did an interview and one of the questions was did I think having an agent was crucial in this business. The answer for me was a huge, resounding yes. My agent is Carly Watters at P.S. Literary Agency, and I literally wouldn’t be where I am now without her patient […]
A Twenty-Five-Question Interview Published as a Five Part Series Part One Part Two | Hosted by MM Finck | | Anonymously Answered By Agented Authors* with Varying Publishing Career Durations and Successes from Debut to Bestselling and Represented by Multiple Literary Agencies of Varying Sizes | QUESTION ELEVEN Historically, how many story ideas do you […]
A Twenty-Five-Question Interview Published as a Five Part Series. Read Part One HERE | Hosted by MM Finck | | Anonymously Answered By Agented Authors* with Varying Publishing Career Durations and Successes from Debut to Bestselling and Represented by Multiple Literary Agencies of Varying Sizes | QUESTION SIX Did your first agented manuscript sell? If […]
On Writing Lost in Ibiza I have always had a complex relationship with writing. Philip Roth put it very succinctly. “Writing isn’t hard work, it’s a nightmare.” Lost in Ibiza is my 3rd novel and it took me many years to complete. My husband, a television producer, strongly advised me not to discuss the inordinate […]
MAKE MINE A MARQUESS He lost everything. Now he’s come to take it all back—along with her—in this entrancing romance that’s ideal for fans of Sophie Jordan and Eloisa James Everyone thought that the Marquess of Landon was lost at sea. Instead, Robert Kirkian defied all the odds and survived. Now he’s returned to London to […]
What Happens Next? by Sarah (S.E.) Reichert When asked how my last year had gone, I had to pause and think about it. I’d accomplished strange and long-awaited things. So much had been packed in, that I could scarcely separate the months. “It was a whirlwind,” I said. “I’m not exactly sure what happened, but […]
Unsung Heroes and Heroines of the Home Front: Working in Air Raid Precautions by Susanna Bavin ‘Put that light out!’ Most of us instantly associate those words with life on the home front during the Second World War. Many of us probably picture Warden Hodges from Dad’s Army. Yes, the ARP wardens did patrol the […]
All You’ll See Is Sky: Resetting a Marriage on an Adventure Through Africa Despite having everything she could ask for, Janet Wilson couldn’t shake a sense of emptiness in her life—or her desire to return to the continent of her birth. After much back-and-forth, she and her husband reached an agreement: they would embark on […]
Land Marks, A Novel by Maryann Lesert Book Summary: Tired of watching Michigan’s forests devastated by fracking as leaders refuse to act on climate change, four eco-minded students, a few seasoned activists, and some wildly creative locals stand together to say, “No more!” In the river-crossed north woods of Michigan, Kate, Brett, Sonya, and Mark, […]
How Family and Regional History Shaped the Narrative for Warrior on the Mound By Sandra W. Headen The inspiration for my historical middle grade novel, Warrior on the Mound, started with adoration for my maternal grandfather, Arthur Moore. He was a sharecropper, a jack of all trades, superintendent of Sunday School at the church his […]
The Path to Publishing Can Be Anything but Dull! By Diane Bator I found my previous publisher through an agent I was introduced to by one of the agent’s readers. We happened to be in a critique group together and I asked her to read my book and give me some feedback. I had no […]
Crones and Queens: Inspiration for When the Ocean Flies I’ve written in other places about the ways in which finding my biological parents inspired and influenced the writing of When the Ocean Flies. I’m an adoptee from what’s known as the Baby Scoop Era—post World War II to the early 1970s—during which time millions of […]
UNNIE by Yun-Yun Throughout my childhood, school assignments frequently probed into our aspirations for future professions. Almost mechanically, I would list two options: teacher and writer. However, these choices were made without much fervor. At the time, my understanding of the professional world was limited, and my career aspirations were merely reflections of my childhood […]
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