RSSCategory: On Writing

The May-December Affair in Novels: The Allure Versus the Perils

The May-December Affair in Novels: The Allure Versus the Perils

The May-December Affair in Novels: The Allure Versus the Perils By Cindy Fazzi Readers have always been fascinated by May-December relationships, judging by the wide appeal of novels like Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë) and Girl with a Pearl Earring (Tracy Chevalier). However, when the age gap is too huge, the relationship turns creepy, just like […]

July 3, 2019 | By | Reply More
From Kiddie Pool to the Big Wheel by Savannah Hendricks

From Kiddie Pool to the Big Wheel by Savannah Hendricks

Summer has arrived in Arizona, strong and heated. The morning hot beverage is now a sweaty glass of iced tea. I find this time of year has me reminiscing more than I do the week before New Years. My mind travels back to my bare wet feet smacking the concrete slab stretching the length of […]

July 2, 2019 | By | 5 Replies More
How the Idea of a Flower That Makes You Forget Grew Into a Novel

How the Idea of a Flower That Makes You Forget Grew Into a Novel

Plants are smart little creatures. We don’t generally think of them as creatures but in some ways, they are. They’re animate beings that know what they’re doing from day to day. They grow toward the light, they take in water, make their own food, communicate, and migrate. They’ve even learned how to adeptly procreate. Part […]

July 2, 2019 | By | Reply More
True Crime Book Dead in the Water – When Life Is More Terrifying Than Fiction

True Crime Book Dead in the Water – When Life Is More Terrifying Than Fiction

Matt Nixson of Mail on Sunday: “A real life page turner more intriguing than anything on Netflix. The gripping story of a woman who turned detective to track down her brother’s killer – nearly four decades after he was brutally murdered.” Ben Dirs, BBC News: “[A story] almost too mad to make up, too good […]

June 29, 2019 | By | Reply More
When Dark Became All The Light, I Knew

When Dark Became All The Light, I Knew

When Dark became all the light, I knew “Surely all art is the result of one’s having been in danger, of having gone through an experience all the way to the end, where no one can go any further. The further one goes, the more private, the more personal, the more singular an experience becomes, […]

June 27, 2019 | By | 1 Reply More
On Rewriting Real-Life Tragedy: Part II

On Rewriting Real-Life Tragedy: Part II

Write what you know. It’s every writer’s mantra, what we tell ourselves and each other. But what’s a suspense writer to do when she had an idyllic childhood? My father has never been arrested for murder. My husband has never disappeared without a trace. Up until recently, the parts of me that made it into […]

June 25, 2019 | By | 2 Replies More
How I Found a Publisher for My Short Story Collection

How I Found a Publisher for My Short Story Collection

By Yu-Han Chao, author of Sex & Taipei City Everybody says story collections don’t sell. “Editors don’t want story collections. Not unless you’re Stephen King.” Agents say, “I like your stories, but call me when you have a novel (translation: and not until you have a novel).” I grew up in Asia, where the short […]

June 23, 2019 | By | 1 Reply More
Reincarnated Lovers And Writing

Reincarnated Lovers And Writing

When I was a child, I used to dream of three things: to time-travel extensively, to wake up one day in medieval England transformed into a boy who served Richard Lionheart or to one day discover I could run so fast the ground blurred under my feet. The time-travel thing never happened. Neither did the […]

June 23, 2019 | By | Reply More
From Setbacks to Success: Finding My Story Again

From Setbacks to Success: Finding My Story Again

The conception of my new novel “The Allspice Bath” was easy. When the idea met paper, the words flowed and the story grew, kicking at times and, at other points, remaining calm as slow waves. Like the protagonist Adele Azar I, too, grew up having one foot in my Canadian culture and another in my […]

June 21, 2019 | By | Reply More
Interview With Marissa Stapley

Interview With Marissa Stapley

Marissa Stapley is the internationally bestselling author of three novels, which have been published around the world and translated into eight languages. We’re delighted to feature this interview with her on the publication day of THE LAST RESORT! THE LAST RESORT From bestselling author Marissa Stapley comes a gripping novel about marriage, loyalty, and the […]

June 18, 2019 | By | Reply More