Tag: featured
What Triggers Stories?
By Laura Treacy Bentley Irish poet, Michael Longley, said: “I don’t know where poems come from, but I want to go there.” I, too, want to find this magical place, and I feel the inspiration for stories as well as poetry is all around us. We just need to look for it. My trips to […]
STILL MESMERIZED BY THE TUDORS? MAYBE IT’S THE WOMEN
By Martha Jean Johnson The Tudors are trending, which is saying something for an English family that ruled five hundred years ago. Today, their lives fascinate all kinds of writers—in publishing, theater, film, and TV. And audiences are responding enthusiastically. For example: Philippa Gregory, Alison Weir, and Elizabeth Fremantle have crafted a slew of popular […]
The Marmite on the Bookshelf
(or, how to use a good/bad review) By Stephanie Bretherton Don’t buy my book. Seriously, there’s a 50-50 chance, at least, that you will hate it. Does that sound like the worst kind of marketing? It’s inspired by a hugely successful advertising campaign in the UK many years ago, out of which a popular expression […]
May-December Affairs, Gay-Straight Friendships, and Just a Touch of ESP
By Diane Wald I’ve never thought of myself as a writer who revisits particular themes, but recently I received a postcard from an old friend that caused me to reconsider. “I love your new novel,” she said. “It gave me a whole new perspective on your older man/younger woman theme.” Huh. And then I realized: […]
BEACH HOUSE RULES by Kristy Woodson Harvey: Excerpt
“Southern bestselling sensation” (Katie Couric Media) Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with a delightfully moving new novel about a mother-daughter duo learning to lean on their community of women—and each other—after their world is turned upside down. When Charlotte Sitterly’s husband is arrested for a white-collar crime, she and her daughter Iris are locked out of […]
On Writing Intersections by Karen F. Uhlmann
Years ago, I fainted, for no apparent reason, at a holiday party. One minute I was standing. and the next, I was on the floor. It was embarrassing and worrying. The next day, I was checked out by my internist, and there was nothing wrong with me. The fainting was a mystery, and there was […]
Mental Illness Is a Family Affair
Mental Illness Is a Family Affair There’s no doubt that when someone has mental health challenges, it’s the hardest on that individual. However, it does also have a marked impact on those around them. And as much as a person with mental illness needs support, so do the people close to them who see their […]
My Journey as a Poet: Yewande Adenike Akinse
In 2009, I found myself standing at the threshold of a new chapter, a first-year student at the University of Lagos, Nigeria where the air was thick with the scent of possibility. It was here, amidst the vibrant chaos of campus life, that I first dipped my toes into the vast ocean of poetry. I […]
Child of Light, Jesi Bender: Excerpt
Child of Light Jesi Bender Thirteen-year-old Ambrétte Memenon has lived her entire life estranged from her wealthy mother, career-minded father, and older brother Modeste. After a series of financial failures, the family is forced to reunite in rural upstate NY in the Spring of 1896. Together in the new house but basically strangers, the family […]
The Healing Power of Romance Novels, And How Writing One Has Healed Me
There’s a kind of magic that happens when you crack open the pages of a romance novel. The world shifts. Suddenly, possibility blooms where there was once doubt. You find yourself tangled in stories of second chances, of guarded hearts slowly unlocking, of broken pieces mending in the light of unconditional love. For so many […]
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