From Our Blog
The Ins, the Outs, and the Uh-Ohs of a Series: Writing Connected Books
Early in my writing career, I took a lot of world-building workshops. At the time, I was writing contemporary romances set in quirky small towns, so I would carefully build and populate my world. Then, I would turn in the manuscript and start all over again. It took years before I thought, “Wait … what if I stayed in one fictional place and explored more of its stories before moving on?”
Part o…
Leaving the World Behind: Writing Retreats
Writing retreats offer a chance to work in peace and restore creativity
Sometimes we need to escape our everyday lives and become a hermit for a time to meet that pesky deadline or work out a plot point. Or maybe visit with like-minded souls to remind ourselves why we write and to recharge our creativity.
That’s where writers’ retreats come in, hence the name.
Writing retreats run the gamut. Th…
What’s in a Book Title? A Rose By Any Other Name
In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare writes this line from Juliet to Romeo:
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.
Likewise, authors sometimes wish readers would judge our books purely based on prose, character, and plot. But let’s face it, readers are often swayed by an eye-catching book cover or a clever title.
The reality is that there are mil…
Magical Literature: The Current Popularity of Witches in Novels
It’s October, where the onset of fall, Halloween, and the alleged thinning of the veil between the living and dead initiates interests in ghosts, sorcery, and witches. But in the last few years, there’s been a proliferation of witches in literature, including romance, cozy mystery, science fiction, and urban fantasy, among others—and not just at Halloween. It’s a current trend that’s created a …
Pondering the Pursuit of an MFA? Consider the Pros, the Cons, and the Worth of Your Why
When Black & Published podcast host and author Nikesha Elise Williams queried 12 agents in November of 2022 with her latest manuscript, The Seven Daughters of Dupree, she told herself that if she didn’t receive representation, she would pursue earning an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree.
She had plenty of options to choose from; there are 256 low- and full-residency MFA programs across the …
Yay for YA! A Look at Young Adult Fiction
“Teenagers. Everything is so apocalyptic.” —Kami Garcia
Author Kami Garcia hit the nail on the dramatic head with that line from her novel Beautiful Creatures. We can all relate to it because each of us was a teenager once. Our teen selves still live inside us. The proof? How much we tend to like the music from our teenage years (still love Bon Jovi) and how often we share memes that fit our sp…