Category: On Writing

EXCERPT FROM The Full Catastrophe: All I Ever Wanted, Everything I Feared by Casey Mulligan Walsh
THE FULL CATASTROPHE: ALL I EVER WANTED, EVERYTHING I FEARED, Casey Mulligan Walsh Casey needs a family of her own: the joys and the sorrows, people who love her, and a place she belongs-what Zorba the Greek called “the full catastrophe”-and she’s determined to make it happen. Adrift in the world after losing her father […]

The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe by Marlene L. Daut : Excerpt
The essential biography of the controversial revolutionary and only king of Haiti. Henry Christophe (1767 – 1820) is one of the most richly complex figures in the history of the Americas, and was, in his time, popular and famous the world over. In The First and Last King of Haiti, a brilliant, award-winning Yale scholar unravels the still […]

Author Interviewing Characters: Author Maggie Anton Interviews Shifra
THE MIDWIVES’ ESCAPE After years of archaeological research and biblical studies, award-winning author Maggie Anton has created a historical novel filled with adventure, warfare, and romance, that is true to both Torah and to history. The Bible contains many extraordinary stories of a sometimes benevolent, sometimes vengeful deity, who guides the Israelites out of slavery, […]

Authors Interviewing Characters Gemma Tizzard, speaking to Grace O’Connell from Grace of the Empire State.
A daring young woman takes her brother’s place to risk her life in New York City. A breathtaking historical novel full of heart and hope, family and friendship, and the sacrifices we make for love… As the Great Depression bites, show dancer Grace’s Irish immigrant family can’t afford the rising rents, nor the medicine that her […]

The Inspiration for Unruly Human Hearts
How my advocacy for women’s rights and gender equality inspired my debut novel Unruly Human Hearts I first became interested in exploring the Beecher-Tilton scandal of the Reconstruction era while teaching a graduate class on US history at the University of Puerto Rico. At first, my students didn’t seem too interested in the 1875 trial […]

Rosie Radcliffe: On Writing
I’m the debut author of Frankie & Dot, and although this should be irrelevant I’m also 70 years old, a wheelchair user with severe inflammatory arthritis, a retired Church of England priest who gets bored easily, a lifelong feminist, and generally gobby old(er) lady. While these things are true I refuse to let any of […]

Authors Interviewing Characters: Elaine Neil Orr
Elaine Neil Orr, interviewing Isabel Hammond from Dancing Woman, Blair, 2025 DANCING WOMAN Elaine Neil Orr, born in Nigeria to expat parents, brings us an indelible portrait of a young female artist, torn between two men and two cultures, struggling to find her passion and her purpose. It’s 1963 and Isabel Hammond is an expat […]

Where I Get My Ideas From
Catherine Hokin Most of the conversations I have as a writer revolve around ideas. People ask me where mine come from, they share that they have one of their own, or they ask the dreaded question I’m always afraid might actually be part curse: “aren’t you worried they might run out?” I’m not surprised at […]

Finding the Words: The Challenges of Writing a Memoir on Motherhood and Autism
By Jennifer Celeste Briggs Writing Watching Sarah Rise and getting it ready for publication felt almost as big and intimidating as running my Sarah-Rise program felt in my early days of getting it off the ground. I wanted to document and share the momentous thing that we had done to help Sarah, but I struggled […]

My Writing Process by Susan Ostrov
I understand why people who enjoy writing, and perhaps dream of publication, would benefit from writing groups, or writing seminars taught by professionals. Group members read each other’s work, give feedback and suggestions, and hopefully bestow praise that encourages and inspires, while writing seminars are meant to instruct would-be authors in the craft. This is […]
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