Author Archive: Jennifer S. Alderson
Researching Settings from the Comfort of Your Home
By Jennifer S. Alderson A well-described setting can elevate your novel and help transport the reader into the story. Incorporating the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes one would experience in a specific place is easier than you may think, even if you can’t travel to the settings you want to describe. Because let’s face it, […]
How Reviews Helped Strengthen My Future Novels
By Jennifer S. Alderson “What are your novels about?” I imagine this is the question writers are asked most often. I write mysteries and thrillers so until recently my standard reply was a quick description of the puzzle that must be solved and the quest my series’ main character must undergo to save those she […]
Your Books Are Not Your Babies
Your Books Are Not Your Babies – And Why Thinking They Are Can Hurt Your Chances Of Success One of the biggest challenges I have faced since becoming a published author is distancing myself emotionally from my books. Don’t get me wrong; I am extremely proud of all of my novels – five and counting! […]
When Fiction is Perceived as Fact
My latest novel, Rituals of the Dead, came to be because I wanted to write a mystery about an Asmat bis pole. Considering the Asmat live in the Indonesian province of Papua, the setting for my historical mystery was easily decided. The premise was simple: my protagonist – an art history student in present-day Amsterdam […]
How Archival Research Added Texture To My Novel
Let me make this clear from the start: I love the smell and feel of archival documents, those yellowing bits of paper and crumbling photographs that rustle ever so slightly when extracted from their manila envelopes. There’s something magical about scouring through meters of racks, drawers and file folders until you find an interesting or […]
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