RSSCategory: Contemporary Women Writers

Why I Ended Up Writing What I Knew

Why I Ended Up Writing What I Knew

They say a writer writes best about what they know, and I have followed this dictum in my second novel, Wyld Dreamers. It’s broadly based on the years I lived in the English countryside in the 1970s. Milking cows, baking bread and hay-making, I fell in love with it all and became what some people […]

October 4, 2018 | By | Reply More
From Writing Blogs to Books and Beyond

From Writing Blogs to Books and Beyond

Once, when I pitched my Filipino food cookbook idea to an editor of a big-time publishing company, he curtly cut me off and arrogantly said “You’re a niche market. Ethnic food is a hard sell.” I felt awful and humiliated. I felt unworthy and unsure of myself. It hurt like hell to be rejected. But […]

October 3, 2018 | By | Reply More
When The Men Were Gone

When The Men Were Gone

Author Marjorie Herrera Lewis’ debut novel is a beautiful story of Tylene Wilson, a Texas high school football coach in 1944. Telling Tylene’s story was result of the author’s own experiences. Marjorie Herrera Lewis feels she could not have told Tylene’s story had she not known what it was like covering college and professional football […]

October 2, 2018 | By | Reply More
The Power Of Music In Writing

The Power Of Music In Writing

Most writers passionately declare that they either Do or Do Not listen to music when they write—the issue is about as divisive as plotters vs. pantsers or people who like pineapple on pizza vs. those who don’t. If you’ve never tried writing with music or fall into that Do Not camp, I’m here to encourage […]

October 2, 2018 | By | Reply More
The Book of Ceremony: Shamanic Wisdom for Invoking the Sacred in Everyday Life

The Book of Ceremony: Shamanic Wisdom for Invoking the Sacred in Everyday Life

I have been passionate about teaching people in our modern day world about the power of bringing ceremony into our lives to restore our connection to the divine within and the power of the universe.  Performing ceremonies has been a core practice in shamanism for tens of thousands of years. Ceremony helps us navigate the […]

October 1, 2018 | By | Reply More
3 Common Plotting Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Novel

3 Common Plotting Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Novel

After plotting, writing, and selling over fifteen novels and teaching thousands of other authors how to plot their own novels, I’ve seen (and made) several plotting mistakes that can quickly cause a story to fall flat. These are fairly common mistakes that countless authors make. But fortunately, they’re also mistakes that are easily fixable.    […]

September 30, 2018 | By | 3 Replies More
Being Silenced and Breaking Free

Being Silenced and Breaking Free

As a memoir coach, I have come to realize that my therapy background, as a family and child therapist for nearly forty years, is something I draw on over and over again when I work with memoirists. Over the years I’ve learned a great deal about human passions, suffering, and courage from people I see […]

September 30, 2018 | By | 1 Reply More
How Dedicating A Whole Year To Write About Happiness Changed My Life

How Dedicating A Whole Year To Write About Happiness Changed My Life

How dedicating a whole year to write about happiness changed my life, turned into a book, and is changing lives as we speak. Hi, My name is Jacqueline Pirtle. I am an energy healer, mindfulness and happiness coach, and author of the best-selling book 365 Days of Happiness. I help people pull their whole being […]

September 29, 2018 | By | 1 Reply More
What Remains: Tanya Marquardt

What Remains: Tanya Marquardt

Tanya Marquardt is an award-winning playwright based in Brooklyn, author of the newly released memoir, STRAY: Memoir of a Runaway (published by Little A, Amazon’s literary and non-fiction imprint on September 1). Tanya’s story was recently featured in The Huffington Post and CBC, and her book has received early praise from Publishers Weekly. Told with […]

September 28, 2018 | By | Reply More
Lose The Plot

Lose The Plot

I find it funny how the words ‘plotting’ and ‘downfall’ are so often to be found in the same sentence, because in my writing career, I often feel that it’s plotting – out of all the many elements of fiction-writing – that really is my nemesis.   I HATE plotting. I just can’t do it, […]

September 26, 2018 | By | Reply More