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Point Of View: Hitting The Beats (It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint)

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drummer - deposit photos

One of the hardest tricks to learn when writing novels is pacing. It’s a little easier with a short story—at 5-15,000 words, it’s harder for readers to become bored with your characters’ exploits. But with a novella or novel, pacing becomes more important. The classic example of a pacing template comes from the historical Romance market. Once upon a time, there were very specific plot expectations laid out for romance books by the major Romance publishers: • The characters meet • They’re in denial about their connection • They decide to give it a chance • They date • There’s … Read more

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Author Spotlight: C.J. Baty

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Author Spotlight: C.J. Baty

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: C.J. Baty loves a good mystery, hot sexy guys, the mountains, and a happily ever after. When she decided to try her hand in the book world, it only made sense to combine those things. She firmly believes that love is love in all of its shapes and forms. Her books contain broken spirits that need to be mended and a mystery, often a murder, which needs to be solved, so those … Read more

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New Release / Giveaway: Transform the World Anthology

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Transform the World Anthology

There’s a new hopepunk book out in the Writers Save the World anthology series from Other Worlds Ink: Transform the World. And there’s a giveaway. FOURTEEN WAYS TO CHANGE THE PLANET Income inequality is worse than it was in the Roaring Twenties. Corporations are moving fast and breaking things, and the social contract seems to be falling apart, aided by social media disruption and division on steroids. There has to be a better way. We asked fourteen sci-fi writers to come up with innovative ways the world could work better. Universal basic income, smaller communities, AI voting, and learning to … Read more

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Point of View: Building a House

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house made of books - Deposit Photos

In writing, there are many different forms, or structures, to choose from when you decide to write something new. Which one you use depends on the story you want to tell. It’s like building a house. Maybe you have one person’s story to tell, something that takes place over a fairly short period of time. You might choose to build a small studio apartment, where everything has its place and nothing that isn’t necessary is included. That’s a short story, usually anything up to 15,000 words. Maybe you want to tell the story of a couple characters, but still over … Read more

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Author Spotlight: Andrea Stanet

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Andrea Stanet

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: Andrea Stanet’s fiction has appeared in several anthologies, an online literary magazine, the Nighlight Horror Podcast. She released her first independent novella, Spirit of the Wolf on Amazon in fall of 2022 followed by Umbra in spring 2023, the first novel in her Fey and Fate series. In collaboration with her husband, Andrea is developing role-playing game modules set in the Fey and Fate world. Lastly, she is wrapping up serialized short … Read more

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Review: New Denver – Ryan Southwick

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New Denver - Ryan Southwick

Genre: Sci-Fi, Post Apocalyptic Reviewer: Scott Get It On Amazon About The Book Fi’s destiny becomes clear, and it’s the opposite of what she wanted: vast, mired in politics, and critically important to far more than her beloved Earth. City life isn’t everything Seg had hoped. New Denver’s residents enjoy luxuries that Providers never imagined, consuming the results of their hard work while giving little in return. The only thing he finds of interest is the Mars Museum—especially after his blind white eye spots an alien artifact in one of the exhibits that no one else can see. Even that … Read more

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Point of View: The Gauntlet Runner – Making of the Cover

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The Gauntlet Runner - J. Scott Coatsworth

It’s almost here. Just three and a half more weeks until the release of book two in the Tharassas Cycle, The Gauntlet Runner. This is the follow-up to The Dragon Eater, and I’m thrilled to be finally bringing it to you all. For my Point of View column today, I thought it would be fun to share the evolution of the cover with you. This one (like the first book) was created by my amazing friend and graphic artist Kelley York at Sleepy Fox Studio. We started with a pose and a rough approximation of the character: The pose isn’t … Read more

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Author Spotlight – Grace R. Duncan

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Grace Duncan

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today: Grace Duncan grew up with a wild imagination. She told stories from an early age – many of which got her into trouble. Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica. As someone who loves to travel and see new places, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East … Read more

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New Release / Giveaway: Magic, Monsters and Me – Timoteo Tong

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Magic, Monsters and Me - Timoteo Tong

Timoteo Tong  has a new MM YA sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal romance out: Magic, Monsters, and Me. And there’s a giveaway. Sixteen-year-old Elijah Delomary loves the City of Angels. The sunshine, the palm trees, the ocean. He especially enjoys battling the monsters infesting the dark corners of the vast metropolis. As he starts his junior year at Burbank High School he meets a new friend, Austin who also fights monsters to keep Angelenos safe. As their friendship develops and love blooms, Elijah’s arch nemesis Devlina reappears, threatening to use magic to destroy the world. Elijah must now juggle pursuing his feelings for Austin, … Read more

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Point of View: From the Top

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writer and notebook - deposit photos

Maybe you were a writing whiz in high school, and finished your first novel before you were eighteen. Or maybe you’re in your fifties (or seventies) and just discovered your great desire to pen fascinating stories that everyone will want to read. No matter when and where you start, you’ll need to learn the basics before your writing can soar. There Are (Weird, Contradictory) Rules The history of writing goes back almost as far as humankind, with ancient civilizations employing cuneiform and hieroglyphs to tell stories and communicate information verbally. And since you’re not (I’m guessing) Mesopotamian, you probably share … Read more