Tag: featured
Need some Writing Motivation? Try Spinning. No. Really.
I’m a writer, but sometimes I trade my sweatpants for padded Lycra shorts, switch out my mug of tea for a water bottle, shed my Joan Didion seriousness and blast Pitbull in the spin room. I bark into my microphone for riders on stationary bikes to “Go! Grab it! Dig in!” I correct form and […]
What Running a Bookshop Taught Me About Writing
What Running a Bookshop Taught Me About Writing By Natalie Jenner Four years ago, I realized my lifelong dream of opening a small bookshop near the shore of Lake Ontario, in an idyllic and vibrant downtown community. For someone who had long ago given up trying to get published, yet still craved a way to […]
Seven Things I’ve Learned In My First Six Months Of Being A Full-Time Writer
I’ve been a writer for a long time. I tried to write novels on and off in my twenties, and returned to it when I discovered the joys of writing historical fiction in my forties. I was fortunate to have six historical novels published by the big 5 from 2005-2012. When my publishing career went […]
Writing While Mother
I am writing this sitting at the dining room table. Just a few yards away my two oldest kids, aged seven and four, are watching a movie in the living room. Even though the volume is down relatively low, the superhero sound effects keep distracting me; even more distracting is my son, who keeps padding […]
Why Coaching Helps my Writing Life
I’ve always loved the process of coaching – how quickly clients can see the benefits, how action-focused it is, and how certain results are surprising. I trained as a Life Coach fifteen years ago, and for the last few years have been working solely with writers as a writing coach and tutor. Being a life-long […]
Writing And Researching: On Wilder Seas
Nikki Marmery is the author of On Wilder Seas, a historical novel inspired by the true story of Maria, the woman who sailed on the Golden Hind during Francis Drake’s circumnavigation voyage in 1579. I first read about Maria in a popular history book, seven years ago. Though details about her life are scarce, she […]
It’s the Right Time for Love at the Border
When I heard that my company was for sale, it was the worst possible news. I was head of Human Resources which meant that we wouldn’t be hiring anyone or initiating any new projects. What was I going to DO for the next year or so that I knew it would take to ready the […]
The Stories That Make Us: Finding Your Voice by Virginia Kantra
I’ve been thinking a lot about retellings. What we remember about beloved classics isn’t only the original text, but how we felt the first time we fell into the story. I will always hear Huckleberry Finn read aloud in my mother’s voice from the summer shadows. The Last Unicorn is scented with dust and Lysol […]
Creating an Audible Book
A few years ago, I created an Audible book for my debut novel, Walking with Elephants. I had a few reasons to embark on that project as an author/narrator. Foremost, I thought it would be fun, and secondly it was a legacy for my grandchildren after I’ve passed—to be able to hear my voice. I undertook […]
The Longest Legs in Literature? Thirty Years to a Debut Novel
by Linda Hurcombe I cannot claim with candour that writing was my one and only childhood aspiration, and a school incident when I was six might well have discouraged a less persistent child. Miss Petrie, my first grade teacher, asked us to write a poem about our favourite animal; mine is a sharply etched memory: […]
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