Category: How To and Tips
Once Upon a Book Tour
When I was a baby writer (41 when my first book came out), the idea of a book tour was not something I ever thought I’d experience. No, I was just happy to sit in my jammies in the little cell…er, room…my husband banged out in the basement and try to write another book. But […]
On Being A Bookseller
When I was a little girl, I could not learn to read. My first-grade class was part of an experimental group that was learning to read by colors (I still remember that magenta was the “schwa” sound.) Apparently, I was not the only one for whom this was a complete failure. I have never met […]
Writing The Art Of Happy Moving
How to Make Moving a Happier Experience – Yes, For Real I never aspired to be a moving expert because, seriously, who would want to do that? Yet, my husband, Dan, and I moved ten times in eleven years. As much as I would like to pretend that we’re free spirits who go where the […]
Brooke Warner’s Write On Sisters! Excerpt
Brooke Warner, founder of Indie Publisher of the Year 2019 She Writes Press, shines a light on the ever-present obstacles women writers face in her new book Write On Sisters!: Voice, Courage, and Claiming Your Place at the Table (August 27, She Writes Press). Brooke draws upon research, anecdotes and her personal experiences in the book publishing industry […]
An Ode To Walking
One of the biggest challenges I’ve had to get to grips with since becoming a full-time author is how to fit physical activity into my life. When writing was a stolen pleasure – an hour or two in an evening – it was never a problem. But once I was given the opportunity I’d always […]
‘Attention’ Seeking: Where Does Inspiration Come From?
Authors are often asked a number of challenging questions. From “have you written anything I might be familiar with,” to “what is your book about” (um…how long have got?) and apart from honing our ‘elevator pitch’ skills, we must sometimes delve into the realms of the esoteric when asked, “where does your inspiration come from?” […]
Writing as Resistance: How Politics Shaped The Devil’s Revolver
By V.S. McGrath When I started dreaming up The Devil’s Revolver, sometime around 2010, all I wanted to do was tell a fun adventure story—a fantasy set in a world that wasn’t a stand-in for feudal-era Europe. At the time, I was playing the video game Red Dead Redemption and thought, why not the Wild […]
Researching Historical Fiction: Immersing Oneself in the Past
When I decided to write a story set in the 16th century, I knew that a lot of research lay ahead. It actually turned out to be a whole year of research. I studied monarchs and dates of wars, major events and conflicts, and of course the central subject of the book: witchcraft accusations. But […]
Making Peace with Your ‘One-Star’
Reviews are one of the many details no one seems to mention on the long and arduous journey to publication. I’m not talking trade reviews, which can be grand, tepid, or disappointing, but typically not down-in-the-gutter mean. I’m talking about individual reviews on Amazon and Goodreads that, depending on the word choice, can smack an […]
The Side Effects of Being an Author
I never planned to become an author. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing. So much so, I have published two novels, Grace & The Ghost and Angel’s Rebellion. But my initial dream, was to write something and simply get one book printed so I could place it casually on the footstool and adopt a […]
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