“A successful ending to a brilliant trilogy about human hope and connection . . . set in a diverse world that celebrates and affirms all kinds of love.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review AXIE: HUGE CONGRATS to Katy for not only releasing her third novel today, but the FINAL book in her Age of Darkness trilogy, INTO… Continue reading Author Spotlight: Katy Rose Pool
We are absolutely delighted today to discuss the magical, dazzling ending to the Kingdom of Cards duology, WHEN NIGHT BREAKS by our dear friend, Janella Angeles which releases this fall! Let’s dive right in! Can you give us the logline for WHEN NIGHT BREAKS? What can readers who loved WHERE DREAMS DESCEND expect in the… Continue reading Author Spotlight: Janella Angeles
We’re so beyond excited to host our friend, the incomparable, Axie Oh for our Author Spotlight this week. Today marks the release of her newest contemporary YA novel, XOXO! MEG: Welcome Axie! Give us a quick pitch of XOXO for anyone who might not know what it’s about (but will very soon). AXIE: Hi~~~ Meg!!! XOXO is about a… Continue reading Author Spotlight: Axie Oh and XOXO
Atmosphere: what is it really? It sounds ethereal, hard to describe and even harder to define in your own writing. Atmosphere is another word for mood; it’s the feeling a writer wants their readers to experience, like suspense or foreboding, longing or joy. Individual scenes can have a particular mood, while the overall novel has… Continue reading How to Create Atmosphere in Your Writing
My favorite part of writing is creating conflict. Well, my true favorite part of writing is angst but really good angst stems from really good conflict. So what is conflict exactly? Conflict is basically what keeps a character from getting something that they want. Without it, the character would just go on living their life… Continue reading Thoughts on Creating Conflict
There are different types of IP in traditional publishing. IP stands for “intellectual property” and from a legal standpoint any story idea is intellectual property. But in traditional publishing, we tend to use IP as shorthand for any project owned by a company that hires an individual author to write it. So this can run… Continue reading Introduction to Writing IP & Book Packaging
If you’ve ever read any book reviews, or ever received any critiques on your work, chances are good you’ve heard the following feedback: “I just wasn’t grabbed by this scene/chapter/story. Nothing happened.” If your goal is to write a commercial book where everyone says “I read it in one sitting and I couldn’t put it… Continue reading “Nothing Happens In This Scene:” Brief Thoughts On Pacing and Context
Today we’re spotlighting our three Asian Writer’s Block Party contributors! Let’s give it up for Akshaya, Kat, and Axie!! QUESTION 1: What has it been like incorporating your Asian identities into your books? What’s your personal philosophy when it comes to being true to your identity in your writing? AKSHAYA: I think for me, writing… Continue reading APAHM Spotlight: Writer’s Block Party!
I am so excited to interview our next author to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month! This really means a lot to me because Sarah Suk was one of my first ever mentees! I absolutely fell in love with her sweet and fun writing style and I’m so excited to talk to her about her debut Young… Continue reading APAHM Spotlight: SARAH SUK
We’re so excited to have Sarena Nanua and Sasha Nanua for this week’s Author Spotlight to celebrate Asian (American) Pacific Islander Heritage Month! I put *American* because Sarena and Sasha are Canadian and this month is for celebrating all API diaspora writers! SISTERS OF THE SNAKE is out on June 15th and you can find… Continue reading AAPIHM Spotlight: Sarena and Sasha Nanua
