Every writer loves a good twist. The moment where a reader sits up a little straighter. The moment a quiet assumption shatters. The goal is always the same. Surprise them. Do not betray them. A twist is not chaos. It is clarity arriving with perfect timing. When done well it feels like light flooding into a dark room. Suddenly everything that came before makes sense. The reader might gasp. They might toss the book across…
Posts published in “Informational”
I entered a writing contest recently. I was not chasing prestige. I was not trying to prove anything. I already won an award years ago with my debut novel, which is still wild to me considering it had enough formatting issues to make an editor burst into tears. This time I was mostly in it for the prize money. I am an indie author with bills, after all. If my work could give me a…
Some people talk to plants. I talk to characters… usually when they show up uninvited while I’m doing something else entirely. People sometimes ask if I’m working on my fourth book right now. If “working” means sitting at the keyboard, brow furrowed, typing furiously into the night, the answer is… not exactly. But if “working” means mentally rehearsing scenes while cooking, negotiating with characters while folding laundry, and collecting story fuel from everyday life like…
For years, I used a certain popular video tool that shall remain nameless. Not because I’m afraid to name names, but because if you’ve ever used it, you probably already know who I’m talking about. It was the starter kit of video creation platforms. Simple, structured, and surprisingly decent when you’re just getting your feet wet in the wild world of book trailers and content marketing. Back then, it was exactly what I needed. I…
There’s a quiet fatigue settling over authors, and it doesn’t come from the writing. It’s not the editing, the rewrites, or the endless battles with self-doubt. It’s not the algorithm, or the market, or even the low sales numbers. It’s the growing tide of unsolicited messages that slide into our inboxes like clockwork, asking if our books are on Amazon (yes), offering services we never asked for, and failing, in every possible way, to show…
There’s a silence that comes after a book is born. Not the kind that brings peace, but the kind that rattles inside your ribs—echoing through the empty corners once filled by characters, conflict, and craft. As writers, we spend months—sometimes years—growing a story. We nurture it, worry over it, rewrite its flaws, and chase perfection like it owes us something. The book takes up residence in our minds and our bones. It whispers when we’re…
There’s a whispered assumption that fiction writers are always spilling someone’s tea—just dressing it up in fantasy or fog and hoping no one recognizes the teacup. And while I won’t confirm or deny such claims (my legal team and sense of self-preservation would both like a word), I will say this: real life has a way of showing up in fiction whether you invite it or not. Sometimes it starts with a moment. A single…
When I first dipped my toes into the audiobook world, I thought it would be a fairly straightforward process. After all, the book was done. The story was edited, polished, published, and live. What else was there to do? Answer: A lot. I expected to simply sit back and listen to my novel come to life in audio form. What I didn’t expect was that I’d be immediately confronted with every sentence that sounded better…
There’s a certain narrative that floats around the writing community like gospel: Be patient. Wait for the right deal. Don’t rush into publishing. Good things take time. And sure, good things do take time—but how much time is too much? How long are we supposed to sit in limbo, manuscripts in hand, waiting for the elusive green light that signals we’re “worthy” of being read? Because here’s the truth: Some writers wait forever. Some never…
There are few things in life as humbling as watching an AI narrator absolutely fumble your words with full confidence—like a cat knocking a glass off the table while making unwavering eye contact. And yet, after the Saga of Martin and Mary, after every mispronounced coiffed, every aggressively Greek agahpay, and the emotional rollercoaster that was Martin’s spectacular rise and fall, I stepped into my next audiobook project, Vitae, with cautious optimism. This time, I…