I just finished doing my taxes this past weekend, so this week’s topic about the financial reality of being an author is especially appropriate. Once you’ve stuck a proverbial toe into the publishing world, either as a new author or if you’ve just started querying, you quickly realize that the bestsellers and millionaires that get splashed across headlines and festivals are the exceptions that prove the rule. Nobody sane writes…

I’ve already talked a little about my research into the world around Ghadid in the Perfect Assassin – books and books and days spent in the University library – but I’ve never really talked about the how of it. How did I do the research. How did I find those books. How did I take what I’d learned and weave it into a story. It’s all about the references, really. And the bibliographies. You’ve gotta start…

This week we’re sharing what our perfect day might look like, which I suppose might say a lot about ourselves. I’ve been lucky enough in my life to get real close to perfect more than once, so I’ve got a pretty good grasp on what would make up my perfect day – in case any benevolent god is listening in.   After living in Arizona for six years, I know…

As the only fantasy Deb this year, I’ve been looking forward to the topic of worldbuilding since, well, we first started. This is my jam, my butter, my easily spreadable confection of choice. Some people say worldbuilding is hard, but I can’t seem to stop. All it takes is a seed and a little water and it all but grows itself. The seed for Ghadid was a line in a…

There’s a certain allure to personality tests, as if answering a few (or a hundred) questions might just finally crack open the complex mystery that is you. We all know they’re not scientific, not in the least, and yet spending a few minutes and actually thinking about our own tendencies, our own desires, our own framework, can help us understand why we do some of the things we do. Why…