by Tasha Seegmiller About two years ago, my husband got the idea to start a cotton candy business. We bought a machine, played around with flavors and techniques and materials and during the local Fourth of July parade 2017, we opened for business.  Not quite two years later, and we are merging that in with […]

by Lisa Hall-Wilson Shame is one of the most powerful and underused emotions in a fiction-writer’s toolbox. Shame is pervasive and common, it’s ugly and hard to capture well. Readers cheer for characters who are relate-able. They cheer for characters who stand up to bullies, who stay and fight when they don’t have to. They […]

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy “Not enough conflict” is a phrase I’d wager most writers have heard at some point in their journeys. It’s a complicated term that encompasses more than just a single event in a book, yet we often use it as if a novel has one conflict. We also use it to mean […]

Colleen M. Story Should you spend the money to go to that writing conference? Pay for a professional edit on your book?  Invest in new computer equipment for your writing office?  Risk cutting back on work hours so you can write more? Making a decision can be frightening. What if you make the wrong one […]

Publishing a book is a big deal. But, as authors, you already know that it requires an investment not just in time, but in your money. From editing to book cover design and, of course, your marketing efforts, it’s important to you to maximize that investment. And it should be. And, as with all things, […]