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."

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

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

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

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.

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.

In todays' Short Fiction Friday post, a look at how short fiction can teach valuable fiction writing lessons for all genres with Slumming by Ottessa Moshfegh!

In this month's craft book lessons post, I'm sharing craft book fiction writing lessons from Lisa Cron’s Story Genius, with insights on emotion, misbelief, scene cards, and keeping a draft on track.

Book review for writers: What Mia Sheridan’s All the Little Raindrops reveals about suspense writing, from atmosphere and trauma to emotional stakes.

In this month’s craft book lessons, I dive into John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story and share insights for fiction writing on character, conflict, and theme.

Book review for writers: What Kimberly Lee's Have You Seen Him reveals about suspense writing, from characters and pacing to building deeper stakes!

If you're an animal lover, check out my book review of Barbara Barth's Sleeping with Dogs: A Poetic Memoir!

Check out my review of Shape Up by Cliff Beach. I talk about the content as well as what writers can borrow from Cliff's writing techniques!

My book review of Nancy Christie's The Language of Love & Other Stories through the lens of reading like a writer.

Detailed review of the dystopian novel 'No Life But Immortality' by Liudmila Brus as I dive into reading like a writer...

Wonder what makes a great story great? I'm sharing some ideas on crafting a story that lingers.

What I learned about the power of voice from 'Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow' by Faïa Guène.

I'm revisiting a old fiction favorite, We the Animals, and taking away some new writing lessons that you can use in your stories.