Publishing a Series through Kickstarter- a Guest Post by Jonathon Mast

My three children are voracious readers. While I love seeing their excitement as they immerse themselves in imaginary adventures and mysteries, the speed with which they read makes it hard to keep them in fresh books! That’s one reason why I was fascinated when my friend, author Jonathon Mast, told me about his plan to…

Anne Who? Three Reasons For Using a Pen Name

I first wrote and published this post in 2019. Three years and two published novels later, I'm still happy with my choice to use a pseudonym, though I DO think it's more fun to call it a "secret identity." -Anne It's confession time. I've been leading a double life. It's true. I go about my…

When Does the Research End?

Photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash I recently got into a social media conversation with a historical fiction writer who is just starting out. He mentioned that he enjoyed research—enjoyed it so much, in fact, that he was having a hard time knowing when to stop. He asked me how I know when my research is done. My…

The Challenges of Writing That Second Book

Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com Or third, or I suppose now I'm starting on a fourth... I first published this post after releasing my first novel in 2019. Since then, I completed the second book that I was writing about and released it as Where Shall I Flee? in November of 2021. Now I'm working…

An Interview with Author Jonathon Mast

Hello Readers and Writers! Author Jonathon Mast graciously agreed to stop by for an interview and to let me throw all sorts of questions at him. I hope you find his insights on writing and publishing as interesting (and entertaining) as I did! SO, Jon, when did you become “a writer”? Was it something you…

Guest Post by JPC Allen: When a Character Turns into a Problem Child

Welcome to another November weekend, and another excellent guest post! Today, author JPC Allen shares her thoughts on the challenge of working with characters who simply refuse to behave themselves. (Who knew fictional people we invent could be so ornery?!) I hope you enjoy her thoughts on this topic as much as I did! -Anne…

Guest Post By Andrew McDowell: Dusting Off Stories From History

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash Hello all—we've made it to another weekend! Today, author Andrew McDowell has been kind enough to stop by and share his thoughts on historical fiction. Can stories from history be overused, even as a framework for fiction? I enjoyed reading Andrew's thoughts on this, and I hope you do too! -Anne I…

The Waves of #War Will Take Us in This #Podcast: Where Shall I Flee? by Anne Clare — Jean Lee’s World

Many thanks to author Jean Lee who featured my new novel, Where Shall I Flee? in today's podcast! Stop by for a chance to listen to the opening pages of the novel along with Jean's writerly thoughts on it. -Anne Welcome back, my fellow creatives! We’re back with more beautiful brews from fellow indie authors…

Whaddya Mean You Don’t Like My Protagonist?!

I'm on the verge of launching a new story, which means introducing new protagonists and hoping they "play well" together. While their personalities are different than the characters from my first book, (i.e. the characters this post was about when I wrote it a few years ago) the lessons are essentially the same. I hope…

Musical Interlude: “I Dream of Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair”

I first shared this post in 2018, but as "Jeannie's" story is nearly ready for launch (and is currently up for pre-order!) it seemed like a good time to share it again. Launch Date: Nov 1, 2021! Choosing the right name is a difficult task- at least it is for me. As a child, the…