Category: On Writing
Seeking Magic in Wild Spaces for A Treason of Magic
By Melissa Marr Twenty years ago, when I sold my very first novel, Wicked Lovely, I made three decisions—go to Ireland, go to Scotland, and start college funds for my then 12- and 7-year-old kids. I’m sure I did practical things, too, but knowledge and wild landscape were my focus. Since then, I’ve written a […]
Hammer and Nail By Maida Korte
Venturing into the arena of construction was an easy decision for me. My love affair with interior design coincided with my belief that anything can be done if I just work hard enough. This idealism has driven me for most of my life, eventually taking an emotional toll that left me exhausted, nervous, with anxiety […]
Going over to the Dark Side: My Inspiration behind Writing a Psychological Thriller By Carol Snow
Recently, I re-read Rebecca, Daphne DuMaurier’s 1938 masterpiece of psychological suspense. The first time I encountered the novel, in my early teens, it captivated me, as all romantic stories did. Another “romance novel” I read around that time was Madame Bovary. I liked it, but not as much as Rebecca because there was no mystery […]
Authors Interviewing Characters: Nicole Conn
DESCENDING THIRDS In the high-stakes world of classical music, Alexandra von Triessen, a gifted but insecure pianist, navigates the cutthroat International Ketterling Piano Competition. Dazzled by the charming Sebastian D’Antonio, she finds herself drawn into a web of intrigue surrounding his enigmatic and estranged brother, Conrad. Just as Alexandra’s star begins to rise, a shocking […]
When Fear Keeps Us From the Truth by Rossana D’Antonio
When I wrote 26 Seconds: Grief and Blame in the Aftermath of Losing My Brother in a Plane Crash, I knew it would be a heavy book for some people to approach. The title alone carries the weight of what’s inside. It is a memoir born from the deepest heartbreak of my life — losing […]
When Reality Keeps Rewriting Your Fiction By Denise Fletcher
There’s a difficult balancing act in writing contemporary political crime fiction. The story must feel believable, but only just. The stakes need to sit right at the fringes of credibility without ever tipping over into the fanciful. The highs must be high. The lows low. The corruption must feel uncomfortable to read. And all the […]
The Story That Wouldn’t Let Go: Song of Belonging by Michelle St. Romain
I have loved books and writing for as long as I can remember. Books have been my constant companion and I’ve been writing in many forms since elementary school. At the age of 50, after decades of work in the nonprofit field, I decided that it was time to finally listen to the whispers from […]
Sheila Kimble-Haas on Writing Waiting for the Kick
The body in movement changes. Sometimes in small ways. Sometimes forever. My profession made movement inevitable. Midwife. Nurse practitioner. Humanitarian aid worker. I have landed in countries across Africa, on Native American reservations, in tiny towns throughout the American West, and north of the Arctic Circle. I have slept in mud huts, government housing, old […]
Judy Penz Sheluk: From Pink Slip to Published Author
Two things happened in the winter of 2003 that changed the course of my life. The first was learning my job was being eliminated. “Right-sizing the organization” was how the HR Manager referred to it, my manager nodding somberly, as if hearing the news for the first time. To be honest, I’d known it was […]
Remember My Name by Zelly Ruskin
Writing a book is hard. That’s the truth. Finishing it is a tremendous accomplishment. Fact. Taking that personal effort, the words you’ve created and taken great care to string together, and offering them to be viewed by the public? Terrifying. Glorious. Nerve-wracking. Exhausting. Still, we sit back down and subject ourselves to the process all […]
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