As an author, I’ve encountered reviews and opinions about how a story doesn’t resonate with readers because it didn’t seem “real enough.” My first push-back response to that criticism is usually a strong defense of the genre. “It’s fiction and by definition, ‘not real.’ ” But, when you look deeper at what the reader’s trying to say, you realize that this critique is neither trite nor glib. Here’s what I mean:
Read moreAuthor: Palessa D
Palessa is the author of the Baxter Family Saga series about a wealthy South Florida family with a dangerous legacy. While it may sound like the typical billionaire-boyfriend drama, it slaps like a Lifetime Movie meets Dynasty (without the Moldovan Massacre!). When not writing about pretend lives, Palessa lives the country life in western Jamaica.
Here’s What I’d Be Doing If I Weren’t A Writer
If I couldn’t write fiction, would I babble to myself in the streets about these crazy Baxters who won’t leave me alone? Probably? Who said I wasn’t doing that already…🤪 For years, I technically wasn’t a fiction writer. I ignored that path for a while, but the characters came to me anyway. So, when I get a question like this, I know exactly what I’d do. But, and here’s the trick, I’d still be writing. […]
Read moreAdventures in Bookmarketing – Amazon Marketing Services, Pt 1
I love marketing but was wary of Amazon Marketing Services at first. I have know that Amazon was a pioneer in that type of related search technology long before it became an industry-wide practice. But AMS, at first, felt like a new pair of shoes: tight, uncomfortable, and in need of more time to stretch out before I shoved my big feet in them. So, I left it alone. Thanks to a Reedsy learning course, […]
Read moreCelebrating After a Completed Manuscript? I wish
I’ve seen authors go out to dinner, drink wine, have some decadent dessert and I have to congratulate them because I know it’s a helluva slog. But when my manuscript is ready, and I mean really ready, I don’t have time to celebrate because the game has just begun.
Read moreCharacter Theme Songs: Unchained Hearts
Sometimes when I’m writing, I’ll have a song on repeat in my head because that song embodies the character, the situation or maybe a meaning I never realized until I paid attention to the lyrics. Basically, that song is trying to tell me something. To me, songs are stories or poems set to music. There isn’t a decade that hasn’t produced notable songs, despite what some aficionados may claim. It’s just that some years or […]
Read moreMy Fellow Authors & Creatives : Is Your Hard Work Being Stolen?
More precisely, is your work being plagiarized? That’s my first question. Second question: Are. You. Sure?
Read moreWhy I Have No Problem Writing Interracial Romance Stories
I’m an author who writes stories. When I started on this path, I thought, (and still do think) how screwed up can people be in this situation, or that one. In that vein, I wound up writing interracial romance unions. I’ll never classify myself as an interracial romance author because I tend to write a variety of stories, some not romantic. But I have been shocked to realize that there aren’t that many interracial romance […]
Read moreMy Mother’s Day Gift Revenge
I like giving presents that are meaningful and not just for the sake of looking good. This is one of the reasons I’m just not a fan of Christmas, which has become this exercise in showmanship. But when giving gifts are tinged with a bit of, say, revenge, that’s when things get fun and funny.
Read moreBaxter Family Saga Book 4 Story Research: Black Monday 1987
It was October 1987. I was a pre-teen mooning over a cute boy I was starting to like and thinking about Halloween candy. I was clueless, to say the least, about what happened. I’m sure my parents knew what happened but I don’t remember being upset, sad or worried as others were. The rest of the U.S. and the world reeled from what became known as Black Monday where those who were rich on paper […]
Read moreWhat An Unguarded Expression of Angst Taught Me About Kindness
I’ve often shared that my mother presented me with my first blank diary at 11. I don’t know what she knew or saw but I count it as one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten. So, it must have been a heart-stopping moment that left her bereft when she happened on a piece of paper that said I hated her.
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