For self-published authors, marketing is not easy. We need to sell the vision—the story, the characters, the world—we put so much of our heart and soul into with a very limited budget. Authors with greater resources can afford to buy advertising, but most of us don’t have that luxury. So, we have to market to the audience most readily available […]
I read Archer by Mira Jeffreys almost a year ago and the story is still with me. I meant to write a review at the time, but I’m glad I waited, because it gave me a chance to realize just how powerful its story is. Archer follows Lena and Janine, two childhood friends who haven’t spoken in over two decades. […]
A phrase I often heard from high school and college writing teachers was: “Remember your audience.” When writing a story, an article, an essay, an advertisement, or anything else, a writer needs to think about who their intended audience is. It affects word choice, tone, content, and many other aspects of the work. As readers, we should use a similar […]
How would you react if superheroes were real, carrying out battles with villains in your city on a daily basis? For Meg Sawyer, it’s not like the comic books. Meg isn’t blinded by feelings of hero worship and gratitude. In fact, Meg is annoyed. The superheroes aren’t very observant of their surroundings and the average citizens are the ones who […]
Do you read October books? Even before the weather gets cooler, I can feel fall coming. With that feeling comes a strong desire to read ghost stories—stories that tingle my spine and chill my bones. I want something to get me into the Halloween spirit. Back in college, when I spent a lot of time at Barnes & Noble and […]
Originally Published October 2017 Have you ever read a book and thought, “It was good, but I wish this part had been different”? (This, of course, is not the same as, “How could the author do that?!” as you’re throwing the book across the room.) Maybe the two main characters fall in love with each other, but you feel that […]
As a teenager, I wasn’t really interested in fantasy stories. I read two or three Anne McCaffrey books in junior high because one was required for my English class, but I soon became bored with them. I also remember reading and enjoying The Hobbit, but not enough to read The Lord of the Rings. When my oldest sister, Jessika, would […]
For as long as I can remember, I have been a reader. I think I’ve always been in love with words. Books are a way for me to escape my ordinary life, but I’ve also realized that I use them as a way to learn about people—their personalities, their cultures, their origins. A famous line from the film Shadowlands says: […]
Originally Published December 2017 My faithful readers will know that Sense & Sensibility was the first of Jane Austen’s books that I read. For a long time it was my favorite book. I think that’s because, in many ways, I am like Elinor. I could identify with her desire to take care of her family, making sure that, no matter […]
Originally Published October 2017 I discovered Jane Austen during my sophomore year of high school, but not because of assigned readings in English class. In high school I had a crush on Hugh Grant and was excited to see him interviewed on a morning news show. He was promoting Sense & Sensibility. I had never heard of the book or […]