Category: On Writing
Where Reality Meets Inspiration: The Queen of the Valley
Where Reality Meets Inspiration: The Queen of the Valley The question people ask me the most in interviews is what inspires my novels. The answer is not so straightforward since most of my stories are a compilation of different things: historical events, family memories, photographs, things I read, and my own imagination, of course. My […]
AFTERSHOCK by Zhang Ling: Excerpt
Born in China, Zhang Ling moved to Canada in 1986 and in the mid-1990s began to write and publish fiction in Chinese while working as a clinical audiologist in Toronto. Zhang became a literary sensation when her novella, AFTERSHOCK, was made into China’s first IMAX movie in 2010. Directed by China’s most cinematic genius, Feng […]
Not a Cheerful Topic: Writing as if It Matters
Not a Cheerful Topic: Writing as if It Matters By Leah Rampy “It’s not really a cheerful topic,” my friend ventured as she zeroed in on my book title. “No,” I thought to myself. “It’s not intended to be.” In fact, I wrote Earth and Soul: Reconnecting amid Climate Chaos because I am deeply concerned about […]
How Herbs Inform My Writing
Plants and their uses have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. As a child, my maternal grandmother helped me harvest spearmint sprigs for an iced tea garnish from her mini-garden along the house’s foundation, showing me which stalks should be cut, and which should be left. I delighted […]
THE SECRET LIFE OF A PUBLISHING COMPANY
THE SECRET LIFE OF A PUBLISHING COMPANY A short introduction to Inkspot Publishing Inkspot Publishing is an indie micro publisher founded in 2022. We released five titles in 2023 and are due to release four more in 2024. Our bag is commercial literary fiction, but one of our 2024 releases will be The Neglected Samurai […]
Authors Interviewing Characters: Kathleen Collins
About the book: Study in Hysteria In the middle of 1974, Flora is privileged and middle-aged in a liberation-hued America, and she feels both compelled by and left out of the women’s movement. She is burdened by psychic conflict, a domineering and philandering husband, a distant daughter, a secret foray into psychotherapy, and a clandestine […]
Reading With Rochelle Weinstein: January
Hello Readers & Friends, That was a loooong January, but we had plenty of time for some great reads. It was also my birthday month, which I share with the hubster (his is the day before mine). By the time we get to my birthday, we’re all birthday-ed out. What’s your idea of the perfect […]
THE ME LIST by Julee Balko, Excerpt
THE ME LIST “Balko’s writing is pure magic and it’s a must-read for today’s divided world.” –J.D. Greyson, founder of Move Me Poetry Ziplining despite being scared of heights. Learning yoga when you’re afraid of downward anything. Facing your strained relationship with your mother. When Olivia writes a ME List, she picks 10 things to get […]
The Story Behind The Healing Train
The Story Behind The Healing Train After battling breast cancer, I began working on the novel I had started before I got sick. But the words wouldn’t come no matter how hard I tried, so I set it aside in favor of getting more rest. As I lay in bed, thinking about all that occurred […]
Kimberly Garrett Brown: Letter to Langston Hughes
Dear Langston, It’s February 1st, and I’m thinking of you. Today, you would be 123 years old. It’s not a particularly significant marker, but this day never passes without me feeling the need to celebrate your significance as a Black poet. Most years, I let the feeling pass without doing anything. But this year, it […]
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