literature
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Review: Never Never by Brianna R. Shrum
Readers have been enchanted by the tale of Peter Pan for generations, sympathizing with the boy who didn’t want to grow up and the children who went on an adventure with him. Having read the book twice, it was exciting to find Never Never at the bookstore–because it sheds more light on the legendary Neverland.…
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Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
The Darkest Part of the Forest is a must-read for any faery tale lover, especially the tales where Fae are tricksters, inflicting chaos on unsuspecting humans. Fairfold is a little town located near a forest teeming with faeries; they live in tentative harmony, though the humans resort to superstition in order to avoid tricks. It’s…
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What the World Needs Now
Have you ever gotten an urge to write something from the bottom of your heart—only to be intimidated by some unnameable force insisting that you smooth the edges until it no longer sounds like you? That urge to fit in and not ruffle feathers…that urge to be like other people so you won’t draw attention……
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Review: The Earl of Brass by Kara Jorgensen
In The Earl of Brass we enter a well-imagined, satisfyingly dark Steampunk London where airships and corsets exist simultaneously. We follow two complex characters as their eyes are opened to the possibility of a different world. Eilian Sorrell doesn’t want to be an Earl. He wants to be an archaeologist, uncovering stories of cultures long…
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How to Participate in the Dissonance Paperback Giveaway
I’ve been looking forward to this–the first Dissonance paperback giveaway! On February 26, I’m choosing a person (they can be anywhere in the world!) who will receive a copy of Dissonance, but this isn’t a like-to-win situation. I have written four short stories based on what happened before Dissonance. They show four characters’ points of…
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What Professor Snape’s Death Tells us about Fiction
Your news feeds are full of Alan Rickman—pictures, quotes, and tributes. Perhaps you’re tired of it, which considering the volume of posts would be understandable, but allow me to explain what it means in my point of view. The Rickman post I’ve seen going around most is this: “Actors are agents of change. A film,…
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The 2015 Birthday Bookhaul
I mentioned that the fourteenth was my birthday (still feeling 22!) The festivities consisted of a trip to the bookstore, and that’s all I need to celebrate! Winterspell is the first one I’ve started reading! I’m actually slowing the process so it won’t end too quickly, because it’s bewitching. And that cover is gorgeous. But…
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Cover Reveal: Dissonance by Mariella Hunt
With Serenade finally undergoing revision, it was time to get the cover business taken care of–to have a pair of matching covers ready for the sequel’s release. The second edition of Dissonance features a girl who looks exactly like Allie, and lots of blue–which is all she will wear. She loves blue. Fifteen-year-old singer Allie Grant lives crippled…
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Guest Post: Should You Write to the Trends?
Visit today’s fantastic guest at her blog, StoryPort! If you ask writers, “Should you write to the trends?” you’ll receive vastly different responses, each delivered with passionate conviction. With such a variety of opinions, which should you listen to? What’s right for your novel? There are a lot of pros and cons to writing to…
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Wendy Higgins on the Challenge of Publication
I’m often asked if I get writer’s block and how I get past it. The first answer is yes. Absolutely, without a question, I get terrible bouts of writer’s block. I’m talking about fortified WALLS that go up in my mind. I have yet to come up with a foolproof way to get past these…
Mariella Hunt & the Tearoom 