Life-Transforming Fiction

Adversity in Fiction Changes Lives

A few years ago, I sent a draft of one of my novels to a copyeditor. I was shocked when, a week later, I received an angry message from her. She couldn’t understand why I had killed off two characters she had fallen in love with.

“They escaped slavery and finally found a place where they could live in complete freedom, only to be brutally murdered. Their whole lives were ahead of them!”

The Flip Side

Thou Shalt Publish

My friend and mentor, the late Charles L. Grant, gave me the writing pep talk of my life. Charlie had written and published over 100 books and more short stories than I could count. He wrote horror, romance, YA fiction, nonfiction, science fiction, and a few things that defy genres, all under different names. He was also an award-winning editor and anthologist.

Fiction Ramblings

Writer As A Rolling Stone

I am a writer. My first book came out a few months ago, but I’ve been around the industry a long time, so I have heard many stories about the dreaded book signing.

Now, to a reader, the whole idea sounds terribly glamorous: long lines, screaming fans, and hundreds of books sold. You know, your average book signing . . .

Rachel's Rubies

The Golden Nuggets Of Fiction

I bristle when I read a review with these words, “it was a fast read” or “great for a light summer read.”

Unless the read is a novella, how can it be a fast? Unless the book weights an ounce, how can it be light?

Wait a minute, I know what you’re thinking, “Rachel, I read really fast. I can put away two trade fictions a week.”