Books & Beyond

Discover Hummingbird Moonrise by Sherri L. Dodd, a supernatural mystery filled with family secrets and a decades-old curse. Read a special book excerpt!

What have I been reading lately? Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone and Ninth House series, plus Janice Hardy's Plotting Your Novel. Here's what I thought!

Read an excerpt from When Women Talk Volume 3: Notes From the Future. Elle Mott shares a childhood Halloween memory in "My Journey From Nightfall to Sunrise."

Revising your first novel can mean starting over more than once. Here's what endless revisions, tough feedback, and learning to let go taught me about writing.

Writing about trauma can be challenging. Memoirist Deborah Svec-Carstens shares five strategies for exploring painful experiences without reliving them.

Discover the power of journaling for self-discovery, healing, and personal growth in this spotlight and excerpt from Journaling Power by Mari L. McCarthy.

Book review for writers: What Kristan Higgins' The Me I Used to Be can teach us about reveals about voice, friendship, and emotional stakes.

How do lifelong passions shape our writing? Marysue Moses follows Shakespeare from the stage to the page.

Sherri L. Dodd explores why writers can’t always leave their fictional worlds on the page.

Revisit Ray Bradbury’s short fiction classic “There Will Come Soft Rains” ... and explore the Sara Teasdale poem behind its title!

What does it take to turn real life into fiction? In this author interview, Haili Blassingame talks about revision, creative risk, writing outside the MFA path, and her novel, They All Fall in Love at the End.

Read excerpts from Being Pyotr Ilyich by Chris Nielsen, a spiritual memoir exploring creativity, identity, and the deeper threads of human experience.

Learn how story retellings breathe new life into old tales by reimagining perspective, setting, and theme in bold, unexpected ways with Guest Blogger Betsy Ellor!

Author Kim McCollum joins the blog to discuss how writers can create compelling characters inspired by real people. Learn how to observe, adapt, and transform real-life traits into fully realized fiction.

Just in time for Women's History Month, read powerful excerpts from Marie Conner: A Leading Lady by Elle Mott, a story of resilience, community, and one woman’s determination to lead.

What does it really mean to write for change? In this guest post, Nina Amir shares how intention, craft, and psychology work together on the page.

In todays' Short Fiction Friday post, a look at the SmokeLong Quarterly Award winners and how surreal worlds reveal emotional truths in flash fiction. Craft insights, takeaways, and a writing exercise!

Publishing a debut novel comes with extra hurdles... and rewards! Learn about the process from guest author Caitlin Forbes.

For this month’s craft book fiction writing post, I turned to Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet and found timeless lessons on necessity, patience, and solitude.

Ever wonder how a character in a story comes to be? Guest author Shirley Miller Kamada shares how her main character was born.