Author Archive: Jennifer S. Alderson

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Researching Settings from the Comfort of Your Home

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, […]

April 4, 2020 | By | 2 Replies More
How Reviews Helped Strengthen My Future Novels

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 […]

June 3, 2019 | By | 1 Reply More
Your Books Are Not Your Babies

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! […]

April 8, 2019 | By | 6 Replies More
When Fiction is Perceived as Fact

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 […]

March 16, 2018 | By | 2 Replies More
How Archival Research Added Texture To My Novel

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 […]

December 21, 2016 | By | 7 Replies More