I aimed Fires Burning Underground toward upper middle grade readers—so more in the age 11 to 13 range. The ideal reader probably feels caught between childhood and adolescence, is contemplating belief systems and what they want to subscribe to, and/or is seeking affirmation for their identities
Nancy McCabe – 12 April 2025 Continue reading
Every single character in my book is a real person. When I felt the need to create a composite character, I had to ask myself, what am I avoiding?
Janine Kovac – 12 November 2024 Continue reading
Oh, yes. My target reader’s idea of a good time is curling up with a good book that gambols through the Cotswold’s or wanders the streets of London. She longs to live in Great Britain for an extended period, so she relishes adventuring England’s back roads—anywhere in Europe for that matter—through the eyes of solo women travelers: Books give her the encouragement that she, too, could do it alone.
Susan J Godwin – 17 October 2023 Continue reading
Because I was following true historical events and wanted to stick to the actual timeline and chronology of what happened, I relied heavily on my outline.
Jacqueline Friedland – 1 September 2023 Continue reading
Sarah J. Maas and Brandon Sanderson both inspired me to a great degree. Both of them have written several masterpieces in my opinion, and their writing styles in general helped me guide myself toward my own voice. They showed me that you can show the reader an entire world, rather than just a simple story, and that was what ultimately helped grow my passion for writing.
Nick Stitle – 31 May 2023 Continue reading
I have a disorder where I mostly experience nightmares, including night terrors, and at the time they had become frequent again. There’s a chunk of the book that deals with this in a creative way, but there were moments when I had to push through some of my worst fears to get to the end of the book. I just leaned into it instead of avoiding it, and I poured all of that anxiety into the writing.
Shane Blackheart – 17 February 2023 Continue reading
This book is for fans of the fantasy genre. It’s also for those who have thought about writing fantasy stories of their own but maybe need a little “push.”
Dan O’Mahony – 7 October 2022 Continue reading
Then I came across my earlier attempt to fictionalize my grandmother’s story, and was surprised by how deeply it still resonated. I realized this was the story I most needed to tell in that moment.
Suzanne Moyers – 13 September 2022 Continue reading
I really wanted to find the right balance that didn’t condemn tech people as “evil” but also acknowledged the moral traps they can fall into.
Mike Trigg – 16 August 2022 Continue reading
I love reading memoirs. I think it satisfies some curious, voyeuristic tendency in me. I want to know how other people live, what motivates them, what struggles they face.
Joanne Tubbs Kelly – 9 August 2022 Continue reading