Tag: featured
Of Sweet Spots and Near Misses
Of Sweet Spots and Near Misses From the time I started reading chapter books in elementary school, I have loved stories that go on for days. I knew I wanted to write them. The trouble was, I couldn’t think of any stories that were long enough to fill a book. I could think of intriguing […]
PJ McIlVaine in Conversation with her A GOOD MAN Protagonist, Brooks Anderson
About A GOOD MAN Decades after a brutal childhood trauma, a famous novelist finds his life shattered once again, in this unsettling psychological mystery thriller. After years of turmoil, Brooks Anderson is sober and has a stable life with his wife and two kids. He should be enjoying life, but the persistent nightmares and sleepwalking […]
The Birth of a Book Cover
The Birth of a Book Cover Books are written in isolation, but their covers are born in community, at least in my experience. Here’s the story of how I birthed the cover for LOUISE AND VINCENT. Great artist that Vincent van Gogh was, he’d been a terribly lonely man. When I read in his biography […]
The Inspiration for Sideline Confidential By Brooke Bentley
I was standing on the periphery of a conference room in downtown Indianapolis watching reporters joust microphones in front of the next hyped NFL prospect. It was 2009, and at this time the NFL strictly limited media access to the Scouting Combine. The room was primarily filled with long-time print reporters, a small contingent of […]
How to Kick-Start Your Memoir and Find Your Voice by Jennifer Cramer-Miller
How to Kick-Start Your Memoir and Find Your Voice Jennifer Cramer-Miller When I started writing my memoir, Incurable Optimist: Living with Illness and Chronic Hope, my story felt like a mountain of clay. How would I carve it into a meaningful sculpture? A daunting task. I knew where the story began. Decades earlier, I had […]
Your Reader Needs You to Dive Deep By Melanie Dickerson
Your Reader Needs You to Dive Deep By Melanie Dickerson As a writer, don’t save anything, don’t pull any punches, and don’t protect yourself or hold back your emotions. If you want your reader to remember your book, to fall in love with your story and your characters, you must leave everything on the page. […]
Crafting Characters Who Make Your Readers Care By Shannon Hollinger
Crafting Characters Who Make Your Readers Care By Shannon Hollinger Think of a book that made you care, that had you so invested in the outcome that you wanted to cry or shout or throw things when events didn’t go the right way. When you think of that book, what is it that you remember? The […]
Conscious Writing: Confessions and Tips from a Supposed Accountability Expert
Conscious Writing: Confessions and Tips from a Supposed Accountability Expert Writing is hard. And if you believe the adage, what is most personal is most universal, then I imagine many of you also find writing can be hell. The truth is, writing my book, Conscious Accountability, was a hot mess. So, when I was invited […]
Authors Interviewing Characters: Barbara Conrey
My Secret to Keep When Maggie Bryan works up the nerve to tell her parents she’s pregnant, they immediately disown her. Later that night, her boyfriend is killed. In desperation, she turns to her brother, Sam. Against his wife’s wishes, Sam brings Maggie to his home in rural Pennsylvania. While Maggie awaits the birth of […]
Would You Ask My Husband That? by Kathleen Whyman
Would You Ask My Husband That? She’s wearing the pants in the family. And washing everyone else’s as well. Kathleen Whyman describes the inspiration behind her new book and how she hopes it’ll ignite some interesting conversations at the dinner table ‘Will worked very hard. I wasn’t trying to belittle that. But he could, because […]
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