Let’s tell some stories.
Looking for my books? Check out Industrialized, Part One: Experiment.
WRITING RESOURCES & MUSINGS
Where the Winged Thing Waits: A Vintage Horror Serial
This spring, I’m releasing a new serialized horror story as a palate cleanser before launching my dark fantasy era this autumn with Putrescence in Her Peripherals. Starting next week, you’ll be able to enjoy Where the Winged Thing Waits, a vintage horror serial inspired by 1920s spiritualism, roadside carnivals, lost fortunes, and the legend of the Seven Gates of Hell.
Religion as World-Flavor and Literary Engine in the Industrialized Series
In the Industrialized series, religion isn’t a backdrop. It’s the cultural engine that drives Tesland’s identity and the emotional engine that shapes its characters. Columbiana, the Goddess of Progress, the trauma-laden Nonnicaean compound from which Captain Asher Murphy hails, Saida’s grounding Kemetic worldview, and Kristina’s complicated, observant narration all combine into a nuanced religious landscape with real narrative weight.
Industrial Gothic: Why Industrialized Is the Perfect Read for the Darker Half of the Year
Every gothic story has its monster-maker — the mind too brilliant to rest, too wounded to stop. In Industrialized, it may seem like Titus is our monster-maker at first glance, but that mind really belongs to Kristina, the novel’s conflicted genius and self-conscious narrator. She doesn’t just inhabit the gothic tradition. Kristina rebuilds it from the inside, soldering intellect and mania together until they’re indistinguishable in the final stretches of Part One: Experiment.
Live Author Reading: Poor Vinnie’s Valor
Been itching to start the Industrialized series, but haven’t had a chance to sit down and dive in? I’ve got you. To help get you started, I’ve got a video narration of the prequel novella to introduce you to the series’ world-building, characters, and distinct vibe. Listen in on your commute or while you’re sorting through those annoying autoreply emails early in the morning.
Dystopian Romance: A Clear Definition, Key Tropes, and a Fresh Case Study
Dystopian romance is a genre that’s all about love forged under systemic pressure — authoritarian rule, surveillance, scarcity, or engineered inequality — where intimacy becomes both a refuge and a rebellion. In this area, relationships are never “just” a love story; they’re often entangled with power, ethics, and survival.
Chekhov’s Gun and the Thigh Touch Heard ’Round the World
Chekhov’s gun as a literary principle is something many early-phase writers overlook, but it can make a decent story into a great one if it’s kept in mind. It guides us writers to draft with intention, which in turn creates a deeper, more resonant story. And even better? It rewards close reading, which will scratch an itch in the observant reader’s brain.
AI for Authors: How To Use It and Why It’s Not Coming After Your Job
Since my very first training, whenever I use AI, it’s in a way that’s meant to save me time or take annoying tasks off my plate. Not to take creative endeavors from me.
And truthfully? That’s exactly why workplaces are pushing for its adoption – it’s a timesaver, not a replacement for human creativity.
From Clunky to Captivating: How to Write Snappy, Authentic Dialogue
Ask anyone who works in content marketing – consistent voice and tone are crucial for building trust and engagement. Authors can only benefit from applying techniques used in brand voice analysis: take samples of your character’s dialogue and look for patterns. Are they consistent? Are you unintentionally blending tones between characters? Can a reader identify who’s speaking without the dialogue tag?
Self-Insert Characters & Writing the Best Story You Can
If nothing truly bad can happen to your protagonist, your readers don’t have a reason to invest in them. Your reader becomes a bug on the windshield rather than a passenger in the car who’s jamming to the same songs as you. As the great Hilary Duff one said, “Let the rain fall down and wake your readers’ dreams. Let it wash away their sanity. They want to feel the thunder. They want to scream.”
Exploring Foils as Storytelling Tools
Divergence becomes essential in theme-driven fiction. Want to talk about freedom? Build a foil who never got it. Want to explore identity? Let two characters define themselves in opposite ways. Writers can use foils to explore philosophical questions. And honestly? We should.
Your Next Book Club Read: The Industrialized Series
At its core, the Industrialized series spans many heavy themes, making it an especially compelling choice for book club discussions. As is true with any dystopian story, heavy elements are central to the suffering that fuels the plot, but this is an almost more light-hearted take on a traditionally unfunny genre.
Politics & Literature: Inherent Politicism, Book Bans, and Why You Should Be Taking Notes
Books do not exist in a vacuum; they are part of a larger dialogue about who we are as a society and who we want to become, making them fundamentally political artifacts. Books are both a refuge from reality and a tool for understanding it better, and the role they play in politics cannot be overstated.
How To Change a Cover on Goodreads: A Step-By-Step Guide
One of the more frustrating aspects of self-publishing is navigating platforms like Goodreads, where a great deal of your control is sacrificed. Even simple things like how to change a cover on Goodreads can seem impossible, but there is a four-step workaround to update your cover and book description.
In Memoriam of Sarabi
There’s magic in the sunrise, in the daytime. In time. As time marches forward, our wounds heal. They’re often still there, but they stop hurting after a while. Time’s not a panacea – it’s arguably more a poison than a balm, but it’s the thread that moves our life forward and marches each of us closer to our own demise. It’s beautiful and horrible all at the same time. But what a powerful force it is.
How to Write a Denouement: A Guide for Authors
A denouement is not just the conclusion to your story… it’s also a bit of a love letter to your readers. It’s the final part of a narrative where the strands of the plot are drawn together and everything is resolved (or as resolved as it can be). As the culmination of a story’s journey, it’s important to nail this piece of the narrative.
The Importance of Queerness in Literature
Queer identities and diversity in literature are crucial for several reasons, not just for young queer readers. These stories help foster understanding, empathy, and inclusivity in society. Literature has always mirrored the myriad experiences of human life, so it should be just as rich and colorful as the real world we live in.
The Ultimate Guide to Self-Publishing
With self-publishing, authors have full control over the creative and business aspects of their books. It offers a viable alternative to the traditional publishing route, where authors often face numerous rejections and long waiting periods.
How To Write an Unforgettable Inciting Incident
The inciting incident serves as the catalyst for the main conflict and sets the story in motion. It’s the moment near the beginning of a story that causes its direction to shift or change. Being so critical in the structure of a good story, it’s important to make sure it’s engaging, memorable, and intentional.
Rambling & Reflecting: Typing Away My Teenage Years
I don’t credit detention with sparking a desire to write scathing manuscripts, but it might not be a coincidence that I began writing fiction the following year. While the inciting incident is lost from memory, I do recall sitting down to pen my first story. When I say pen, I mean pen. That year, I knocked out three separate handwritten manuscripts.
New Publisher Alert: Owl Talyn Press
With a passion for captivating storytelling and a commitment to promoting diverse voices, Owl Talyn Press is poised to make an impact on the literary world. And the best part? This publishing house is founded by two writers, so they’ve been in your shoes.
Dragging My Sister Into The Latest Bookstagram Trend
“You like social change as a theme, too. Pushing the boundaries of the world, rebuilding it in different ways. Making it better, if possible. I’ve seen that in a few of your books.”
Dystopian Romance: The Perfect Blend of Love and Despair
Dystopian romance stories allow authors to explore the complexities of human relationships against a backdrop of societal collapse. They delve into the depths of human nature, showcasing the resilience and vulnerability that come with a love that is doomed to be forlorn.
7 Dystopian Story Ideas To Kickstart Your Next Book
Dystopian fiction has long captivated readers with its gripping and thought-provoking narratives. But how do you create a world that’s convincingly broken from scratch? In this article, we will unveil the top seven dystopian book ideas to help you brainstorm how to start dipping your toes into this exciting genre.
YSK: Changes To The Findaway Voices Audiobook Distribution Terms of Use
The Findaway Voices Digital Distribution Agreement has been replaced with a new Terms of Use that will be effective March 15, 2024. Authors in my writing circle are concerned about some of the language in this new agreement.
How to Gracefully Explore Taboo and Sensitive Topics
One of the most crucial elements to consider when writing tension-filled scenes is how to balance the discomfort of the situation with the development of your characters. It is essential to ensure that the tension and uncomfortable situations your characters face serve a purpose in their overall growth and story arc.
How to Write a Book in 6 Easy Steps
I’ll walk you through how to write a book forward, backward, upside down, from the middle… okay, so there’s no “right” way to do it, but these tips may just help you ease your nerves and confirm that you’re doing everything right. Or, better yet, you might even find an easy way to improve your writing.
INDIE AUTHOR SPOTLIGHTS
Indie Book Spotlight: Caves and forests by Any Pascual
As always, Any Pascual’s prose delights with a delicious dive into humanity, this time intertwining it with lush themes of nature. The variety of topics she highlights and the flow from long poems to short is always so gripping, and Caves and forests is arguably her best work yet. Resonant and lyrical, I deeply enjoyed reading a few poems to kick off each day and set the perfect vibe.
Indie Book Spotlight: Star Lost by Amy Marie Ayres
Two AI stand in the middle of an empty office bullpen. It’s not a punchline… it’s part of the dystopian future dreamed up by Amy Marie Ayres. And what a Wilda ride it was! In Star Lost, Ayres plunges us into a hauntingly plausible future where memory itself is a commodity to be stolen, books are outlawed, and sunrise is the best time to walk since the rest of the day is too damn hot. And trees? Those are a mere failed experiment.
Indie Book Spotlight: Vessel by Samantha Jo
I was totally enamored by the worldbuilding and prose in Vessel by Samantha Jo. In this unique world, meteors seem to have brought mana, a type of magic, to humans. Particularly gifted individuals are able to absorb and fuse with mana, serving as Vessels able to bless the communities around them. This story follows Revered Calendula, whose bond with Brother Stokely is torture, to say the very least.
Indie Book Spotlight: A Thorn Among Roses by Hayley Anderton
What a fun, easy read by Hayley Anderton! Alana, The Cursed Queen, has given everything to save her kingdom. After a witch curses her, love is the only thing that can break through the dark magic… And though she finds that fabled true love, she still manages to be her own knight in shining armor.
Indie Book Spotlight: A Midflight Vampire’s Tale by Linda Ling
A Midflight Vampire’s Tale by Linda Ling is a refreshingly innovative take on the vampire genre, weaving together ancient Chinese history, modern lore, and a deeply personal tale of redemption. The story unfolds mid-flight, where two vampires reluctantly find themselves sharing a cabin. The setting of an overnight flight serves as the perfect backdrop for a tale that alternates between historical flashbacks and the present, building suspense and intimacy in equal measure.
Indie Book Spotlight: The Locket by Michelle Konde
The Locket by Michelle Konde is a fascinating read. The story follows the misadventures of Agent Burgh (and team), a rational man thrust into an irrational world where cults, bizarre artifacts, and supernatural forces come together. The book artfully balances high-stakes suspense with a richly built world, topped off with digestible and relatable dialogue.
Indie Book Spotlight: A Taste of Rhythm and Courage by Eddy Rose
A Taste of Rhythm and Courage follows Lion, a beast and undefeated gladiator, as he explores his love for Saradra, a flame-haired freeborn slave who he fears will be taken away as soon as she conceives. Their world is complicated and layered, a place where carnage and cruelty are viewed as entertainment and commonplace necessities, and I find it absolutely fascinating how the author threads such vivid personalities into it.
Indie Book Spotlight: A Fox Among Flames by Sara Puissegur
If A Sparrow Among Stars laid the foundation for Puissegur’s world, AFAF absolutely sets it alight. This second installment of the Celestial Destiny Series, coming in January 2026, takes everything that made the debut so stand-out – its heart, its peril, its sense of destiny – and sharpens it into something richer and far more emotionally complex.
Indie Book Spotlight: Monsters-in-Law by Jeannin Counts
Monsters-in-Law by Jeannin Counts is a delightfully weird, heartfelt, and utterly charming MM romance that manages to balance genuine emotional beats with gleeful absurdity. It’s the kind of story that makes you grin and tear up in equal measure… and then laugh when it’s revealed that Mothman is a secret tech guru.
Indie Book Spotlight: Carve Our Names in Fire (Radiant Shadows Book One)
Carve Our Names in Fire by Nicole Thorner… What an incredible story! To say I devoured it would be an understatement. Set in Kansas City (and later, Nebraska), the story follows Tessalyn (Tessa) Pryce as she finds love, order, and rebellion in a dystopian/supernatural world.
Just weeks ago, Capital employer Tarm Industries recognized a female employee as its Employee of the Year for the first time in the event’s five-year run. While seemingly progressive, this development is overshadowed by rumors and accusations that draw one horrific question to mind: Is this what it takes to overcome wage disparity and unpleasant working conditions as a woman in the workforce? The unethical behaviors women often endure to climb the corporate ladder in Tesland are a growing problem, as evidenced by the recent scandal at Tarm Industries.
The Woods: Act II
Evil can move, it adapts to change
And, thus, it has a far-reaching range.
From dawn to dusk, and dusk to dawn,
From night to morning, that evil marches on.
The Woods: Act I
In this collection of stories, each told in rhyme,
We explore a forest seated at the edge of time.
Poor Vinnie’s Valor
I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.
That was what they said. Living in a portion of Tesland that was prone to earthquakes, there was mass fear surrounding the possibility of being crushed by the upper floor of a house. Supposedly, one couldn’t waste time – or be wasted by time – if clocks weren’t present on the base story of a home.
Saida and Captain’s Beginnings
“Name’s Rennan,” offered the first mate. “This is Captain.”
“Sailors,” she stated, continuing to undulate to the muffled music spilling from the pub. “Welcome to the ruins of Kemet. She’s not what she once was.”
The Industrialized Military Complex: Unveiling the Shadows of Power
The global arms race perpetuated by Tarm Industries sustains a cycle of violence and instability, all in the pursuit of profit. The consequences of unlimited power and the manipulation of resources for profit-driven agendas are examined in this scathing article by Zoey Davids from Capital News on Five.
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