Category: On Writing
The Story Behind The Boy From Dublin by Bronwyn Brennan
In my childhood home, at the very back of the garden, there used to be an oak tree that towered taller than all the other trees in its company. At the base of this oak tree, there was a small hollow, maybe the size of a child’s hand. And every summer, as the cicadas would […]
Knowing Your Audience: How to Write for #BookTok
By Kait Ballenger Character skits. Aesthetic videos. Shelf trophies and…masked men? #Booktok can be a confusing crowd for those unfamiliar with it. But in a publishing climate where influencers reign supreme and book sales are increasingly fueled by social media virality, what’s an author to do? The answer lies in knowing your audience. First, let […]
Authors Interviewing Characters: Mary Robinette Kowal
Mary Robinette Kowal returns to Mars in this latest entry to the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Lady Astronaut series. “Kowal masters both science and historical accuracy in this alternate history adventure.”—Andy Weir, author of The Martian, on The Calculating Stars An instant USA Today bestseller! Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, D.C.—triggering an extinction-level global warming event—Earth’s survivors […]
Cousin Stories by Jessica Levine
Cousin Stories My female cousins were sister substitutes and best friends for me growing up as an only child, and I’ve always been fascinated by cousin relationships both in reality and the arts. There are probably tragic novels about cousins and even more tragic Ph.D. dissertations about them, but the tales that come to my […]
FIRES BURNING UNDERGROUND, Nancy McCabe EXCERPT
FIRES BURNING UNDERGROUND It’s Anny’s first day of middle school and, after years of being homeschooled, her first day of public school ever. In art, Larissa asks what kind of ESP is her favorite: telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, or telekinesis? Tracy asks how she identifies: gay, straight, bi, asexual, pan, trans, or confused? And thus kicks […]
Heidi Siefkas Shines a Light on Resilience with Look Up—Global Stories of Resilience
After surviving a life-altering accident in 2010, author and speaker Heidi Siefkas adopted a two-word mantra that helped her rebuild her life—Look Up. It became her compass for navigating loss, recovery, and personal transformation. Now, more than a decade later, that simple phrase has evolved into a global movement, culminating in the release of her […]
Authors Interviewing Characters: Jody Paschal
GROOMED Set during the early days of the global pandemic and at the height of the #MeToo movement, GROOMED follows Myles “Mylo” Gunn, a middle-aged man on the cusp of his 50th birthday. With little more than an endless news cycle of global horror and his thoughts to mark the passing days, Mylo finds himself […]
Creating Space for Stories, Self-Care, and Second Acts – Henlit Central
By Carolyn Clarke When I launched Henlit Central, I had one core mission: to create a vibrant, authentic space where women over 40 could connect through stories that reflect who we are at this beautiful and often overlooked stage of life. “Henlit,” short for “hen lit,” may sound cheeky, but it represents a powerful shift. […]
Do Women Grieve Differently from Men? An Author’s Perspective
By Lisa C. Taylor When I worked in the field of counseling, I encountered both parents and children who were grieving. During the eight years it took me to complete The Shape of What Remains, I immersed myself in research about the grieving process. I do not claim to be an expert but what I […]
A Memoir from a Grieving Therapist by Sally McQuillen
by Sally McQuillen I began writing to my son Christopher twenty-one days after he died at the age of twenty-one in an accident. I wrote to connect with him. I wrote to let him know how I was feeling after he left his beautiful body and went somewhere I wasn’t yet sure existed. Most of […]
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