RSSCategory: Contemporary Women Writers

Becoming a Writer: Calibrating the Work Against the Pleasure

Becoming a Writer: Calibrating the Work Against the Pleasure

I met Jacomena van Huizen Maybeck when I was thirty-three and she was seventy-seven. I’d hoped to rent her cottage, and found her tarring the roof, dressed in a halter top and shorts. I’d never met anyone like her. She knew how to throw a pot, wield an ax or a sickle, and make plum […]

June 29, 2021 | By | 1 Reply More
Love and Loss By Habiba Zaman

Love and Loss By Habiba Zaman

Love and loss are our greatest teachers in life. We learn what it means to care and act on that love as well as learning the extent to which we have cared by the intensity of the grief when the object of that love is lost. From childhood, we cling to comfort, shared experience, laughter, […]

June 28, 2021 | By | Reply More
 WILDFLOWER SEASON: Excerpt

 WILDFLOWER SEASON: Excerpt

WILDFLOWER SEASON She always followed the path of least resistance…until it leads her to a small town where she can follow her dreams. When Emma Cantrell’s marriage imploded, she learned a fast and painful lesson about trusting her heart. Then, on a visit to Magnolia, North Carolina, to see her brother, an elegant, if dilapidated, mansion […]

June 28, 2021 | By | Reply More
Let Us Look Elsewhere: Excerpt

Let Us Look Elsewhere: Excerpt

Mona Dash is the author of  A Roll of the Dice : a story of loss, love and genetics (Linen Press, 2019) winner of the Eyelands International Book Awards for memoir, and very recently, Let Us Look Elsewhere (Dahlia Books, June ’21).Her other published books are A Certain Way, Untamed Heart, and Dawn-drops. Her work has […]

June 27, 2021 | By | Reply More
Authors Interviewing Characters: Shawn Nocher

Authors Interviewing Characters: Shawn Nocher

Shawn Nocher’s compelling debut novel A HAND TO HOLD IN DEEP WATER (Blackstone; June 22, 2021; Hardcover) tells the story of Lacey and her stepfather Willy, who are deeply bruised by the mysterious disappearance of Lacey’s mother thirty years ago.  Reluctant to uncover their past that is brimming with unanswered questions, Lacey and Willy must now face a […]

June 22, 2021 | By | Reply More
You Know More Than You Think

You Know More Than You Think

“Write what you know,” especially for a rookie fiction writer, is more than sound advice; it’s almost tautological. When you pick up a debut novel, it’s a good bet that you’ll find the author has been inspired by people and places she knows and her own personal experiences and professional knowledge. Despite the occasional raised […]

June 22, 2021 | By | Reply More
Five Summer Reads to Nurture the Writer Within

Five Summer Reads to Nurture the Writer Within

By Kimberly Garrett Brown While most people are booking vacations and picking out swimsuits for the summer, I’m busy planning my summer reading list.  It started back when I was in high school. I begin to notice that most of the protagonists or narrators in the books I read often made references to classics. Since […]

June 21, 2021 | By | Reply More
Must-Read Suspense, Mystery And Thriller Novels By Women Of Colour

Must-Read Suspense, Mystery And Thriller Novels By Women Of Colour

Lauren Groff writes book reviews at Top Canadian Writers and Assignment Help Services, and is an editor at Essayroo. Nothing beats relaxing with a good book, whether you’re curled up in front of a roaring fire, or stretched out on the beach – and the ‘keep them guessing ‘til the end’ appeal of suspense, mystery […]

June 20, 2021 | By | Reply More
So, Is Writing Therapy?

So, Is Writing Therapy?

“Know thyself” is a tall order. Is it even possible to uncover—without outside help—what is blocked from conscious awareness? To my great surprise, writing a memoir did just that. I began the memoir almost a decade ago, and during the many years I worked on it, I experienced three epiphanies that completely reversed core beliefs […]

June 18, 2021 | By | Reply More
Fall from “Greatness”: My Experience of Anxiety & Panic Attacks, and Why I wrote Generation Panic

Fall from “Greatness”: My Experience of Anxiety & Panic Attacks, and Why I wrote Generation Panic

When I was in my 20’s, on the surface it seemed like I had it all together. A successful career as a Director managing three teams, earning good money, great family and friends and engaged to be married. However, behind the scenes I was really struggling. I was incredibly ambitious and driven, yet the reality […]

June 17, 2021 | By | Reply More