Carol L. Paur wrote the upcoming YA mystery novel, Early Summer, about an anxious young woman obsessed with serial killers. When girls start missing, she blames the mayor. No one believes her, until it’s too late. Paur is a National Mental Health First Aider and a NAMI Mental Health Advocate.  Before writing full time, she blamed her messy house on homeschooling her four daughters, who are now out of school. Paur is the author of the middle-grade fantasy, Isasnora Snores. She blogs and hosts a podcast, Talking to Myself. While cleaning could be a priority ..read more

Guest post by Karen Pedersen Travis Creature Comforts As the oldest of three kids, I loved being a big sister. So, when I had a child of my own, I always planned to have another. But life rarely goes according to plan. When I became a single mom with an only child, I knew I had to get it right. I only had this one chance—there were no do-overs. The pressure was on. And my baby wanted a baby. “When can we get a baby?” my daughter asked from her car seat when she was three. “We can’t just ‘get’ a baby, honey.” “Yes, we can,” she said as we passed by the hospital. “They have th ..read more

Guest post by Sharon Wagner Be like Samwise and Frodo and Help a Writer Out ​Friendship isn’t like a Lifetime movie. Often, our tribe can disappoint us. No one knows this better than a newbie writer. Most of you are counting on your friends and family to be your early readers and the choir that will exalt your praises on social media as soon as your masterpiece lands on Amazon. These are the same friends and family that sent brownies when you were studying for exams in college. They saved you from life’s bullies, attended your wedding, and always remember your birthday. They even helped you c ..read more

Guest post by Caroline Kelley Guiding Our Children Through Hates Shadow As a parent, one of our greatest fears is witnessing our child's innocence shattered by the harsh realities of the world. Recently, my 10-year-old son came home, his usual cheerful demeanor replaced with distress. The reason? He had been subjected to hurtful gestures and comments in his classroom, all stemming from his proud Jewish heritage. My son, like many children, sees the world through a lens of purity and kindness. He believes in the inherent goodness of people and struggles to comprehend acts ..read more

Bio: ​Victoria Grageda-Smith was born in the Philippines, the eldest of ten children in a family of humble means. Through full academic merit scholarships, she graduated Magna Cum Laude in her pre-law class and ranked among the top of her law class at The College of Law, University of the Philippines.  ​She also earned a Master of Law degree from The University of Michigan School of Law. She served as associate counsel in a large, prestigious Manila law firm before becoming the only female attorney in the twenty-five-lawyer legal department of one of Southeast Asia’s oldest g ..read more

Guest post by Marcus Herzberg The Night Clerk's Wisdom A Gentle Warning “Kiss ‘em and hug for as long as you can.” As I was chewing the fat with the night clerk at the community college where I taught, I mentioned that my wife and I were expecting our first child. Having children of his own, he’d shared some stories and the advice above. “They grow up so fast,” he added wistfully. I didn’t take the man to mean merely that we should rub cheeks with infants. I thought he meant that we should show our children affection in many ways during our limited time with them. In my ..read more

Guest post by Tricia Easter Writing for Your Mental Health It wasn’t until my 40’s that I started a consistent writing practice to support my mental health. Before I had always written in a journal off and on. My writing practice was the outlet I needed to heal debilitating anxiety and rebuild my self-trust, which I lost because of the anxiety. ​ I first started journaling daily to document my three-year intensive spiritual study of the different angels and archangels. While I had anticipated results from my spiritual studies, I was surprised about the impact my writing p ..read more

by Arielle Haughee Writing Workshop Descriptions: You Gotta Sell It! You have a great idea for a workshop and there is a conference coming up. Time to fill out the faculty application. How can you give yourself the best chance of being selected as a presenter? Write a stellar workshop description! Many times writers view the description as a little nonfiction blurb stating the basics of what they will be sharing with the group. Incorrect. You are selling your workshop, and not just to the person selecting faculty, but to the attendees as well. Writers will be more likely to select your worksh ..read more

by Arielle Haughee New Year Writing Strategies It’s the new year, and people are thinking about resolutions, changing their lives, and expanding their horizons. Those are great goals to aspire and work toward. I’ve even been working on a few of my own in various parts of my life. Then I wondered how I could apply those lofty ideas to my writing. Organize How is the plot moving along? Are scenes jumping around like popping corn or fireworks exploding in the night sky? It might be a good time for a read through to see if your story is going where you want it to. Sometimes the characters take ma ..read more

Arielle Haughee 25 Sensory Winter Writing Prompts 25 Sensory details add realism to your writing and make the reader feel more connected to the work. Let’s get those creative juices going and do some practice working with sensory details as writing prompts. Look at the suggestions below and see if anything stands out to you. Can you combine more than one of these in a story? Scent heavy maple sweetness combined with hints of vanilla chemical stench of plastic thrown on a fire flowery fabric softener embedded in a scarf rotten, waterlogged stump of a browning Christmas tree new leather on sh ..read more