Let’s get this out of the way: I’m not here to debate politics. It’s simply a fact that publishing is an ecosystem and that disruptions in the ecosystem affect all of us, whether you’re an aspiring author, a bestseller, an editor, an agent, or a publisher. With the new administration targeting DEI initiatives across the […]
Sylvia Mercedes makes her home in the idyllic North Carolina countryside with her handsome husband, numerous small children, and the feline duo affectionately known as The Fluffy Brothers. When she’s not writing she’s . . . okay, let’s be honest. When she’s not writing, she’s running around after her littles, cleaning up glitter, trying to […]
By: Dr. Gulshan Ara It was a small island in the middle of the Pacific OceanVacationing tourists came from afarColorful flood light painted the canvas of the moonlightFull moon in the sky and music in the air cast a magical spellSweet breeze reverberating with exotic music,Romancing couples dancing clutching each other to their bosomChildren playing […]
Wow, the last day of the challenge is upon us! How are you feeling? Are you tired? Energized? All of it at once? Trust me, I understand! Hopefully you learned something about yourself and your writing this month, whether you were diligent and wrote every day, only wrote one or two stories, or fell somewhere […]
In my new book, The Secrets of Flowers, the main character, Emma, is a young widow trying to make sense of her life after her husband’s death. Struggling to come to terms with her grief, she changes jobs, going to work as a florist in a garden center. A new start she thinks. But is overcoming grief […]
Poetry is not the first place many people turn to when discussing characters and character development. Most readers probably think of fiction and maybe creative nonfiction, but poetry? Probably not. Still, many of the oldest pieces of written literature were actually epic poems, including the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey. These poetic stories included […]
Gillian McAllister is the New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Wrong Place Wrong Time, Just Another Missing Person, Everything but the Truth, The Choice, The Good Sister, The Evidence Against You, How to Disappear, and the Richard & Judy Book Club pick That Night. She graduated with an English degree before […]
By: Richard LeDue Canned Corn Left on the Store ShelfGizzardedPure Loneliness Canned Corn Left on the Store Shelf I am a genius according to a websitebecause I had some of the characteristicsit listed, like messy handwriting,even though I’ve never eaten a burgerwith the president, and instead writepoems like this one,which inspire paper airplanesinstead of a […]
For today’s prompt, write about a puzzle. (Note: If your story gets flagged for review, be patient—we will be releasing comments every few hours throughout the weekdays of this challenge. Our system randomly flags comments for review, so just sit tight and wait for us to set it free! If you run into any other […]
By: Kenneth M. Kapp “Oh deer, deer, deer. I think they’re coming for us.” The man in the tall black hat dropped his teacup on the tree stump. The dormouse was alarmed and dropped his cup on the ground. Tugging at the cuff of the man’s pants, he squeaked, “What’s happening?” “I see, I see, […]
Book blurbs get a lot of flack, some of it deserved. Authors writing blurbs decry the expense of time and energy, authors and publishers fret over how to secure prestige endorsements, and at the end of the day, we all wonder if blurbs are even making a significant difference to the interest in or sales […]
By James Aitchison It’s hard to believe that the two men who wrote the best known, two-fisted, gun-slinging Western novels had such odd, even inappropriate names. One was named Pearl. The other, Clarence. They were born eleven years apart and their work dominated the popular book market and movies for decades. Born 31 January 1872, […]
