Becoming an author takes a lot of research, understanding ones chosen genre, and all the accepted ins and outs that go with it. (You know, besides writing, writing, writing, and lots of editing. And marketing - so much marketing!) But these things sometimes keep authors from writing what is on his or her heart. Even just a silly short story in a totally different genre or perspective than an author is used to.

Writers are meant to write from the heart - even ...

What does the picture make you think of? How does it make you feel? How would you describe it? Have you ever imagined something like this before and tried to put it in words? One class I attended at Realm Makers was about self-editing. In the class, Nadine Brandes, the teacher, mentioned that part of the reason an author should learn how to self-edit well is because the imagination is a language between you, the writer, and God. What you are putting on paper is your translation of your imaginati…

One way to draw readers to your story is an aesthetic collage. I've seen these presented in different ways: a reel, a collage on single Instagram square, a photo featuring several items (like toys) related to the story floating around the book, and more. I decided to try the square as you can see :) The goal of the aesthetic is to give your readers a taste of what they will find inside. Covers used to do this really well, but I guess what draws a majority of people to YA covers has changed over …

Guess what? I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Writers have hobbies outside of books and writing. How else do you think we creative creatures can describe certain tidbits in our writing with such care? ;)

One hobby for me is raising chicken chicks - I enjoy watching the little cuties grow up and sometimes (if I can find them) I sell their eggs. They are part of how I know the doors to the house need to stay closed for the Paksim family in SONJI. (If you're wondering ...