By Heather Kreke @HKreke On Memorial Day a black bear wondered into our neighborhood and made himself (for the sake of this post I have decided the bear was a male) at home in a tree belonging to our neighbors three doors down. The bear stayed in the yard all…

by @RamonaRichards I took my first job in the publishing industry in 1981. Yes, I’m old. I worked as an editorial secretary in the children’s book division of Abingdon Press. Unbelievably green, I found myself startled by the long lead time of books, the intricacy of the processes of art…

By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted Writing a story and being a storyteller are two different animals. Many can pen a story but those who learn how to tell a story are the ones who captivate a reader.  Learning to tell a story is not just a gift. It’s the product of…

By Aaron Gansky @ADGansky Study writing long enough, and you’ll hear someone talk about complex characters and the importance of believable villains, the significance of sympathetic slime-balls. Anyone can craft a one-dimensional bad-guy bent on world domination, but it takes a certain sense of subtlety to create a character we…

By James Hannibal @jamesrhannibal Aaron banked his F-35 hard, dodging orange streaks of anti-aircraft fire. A ZSU-23-4. Where had that come from? “Vega Zero One, this is Two. Sparkle the threat—half a klick north of the burning tank. I’m clear to the west, angels three thousand.” “Vega One copies. Contact…

by Lindsey Bracket @LindsBrac Back in the days of face-to-face classes, I took a workshop at a writer’s studio with Joshilyn Jackson, a NYT bestselling author. I’ve long admired her work and her kindness—Joss is actually one of the first writers who embraced me as a newbie, offering valuable advice.…