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Celebrating the release of Andrew Berac's A Sinister Radiance

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We would like to congratulate Skolion author Andrew Berac on the release of his dark fantasy novel A Sinister Radiance – a slowly unfolding tale that blends dark fantasy and mystery elements as we follow the doings of a mage named Kai.  After too many years locked away in a church-controlled thaumaturge, Kai has taken advantage of the chaos wrought by the caster rebellion to escape to the shadowed city of Falkirk. Starting a new life at thirty-one would be challenge enough, but being identified as a magic caster could get him killed. Then there’s his estranged family, less-than-spectacular love life, and the disturbing secrets Falkirk hides under its facade of staid respectability to contend with, before a human monster from his past surfaces… All that pales before the threat Kai inadvertently discovers thanks to a missing friend and a spur-of-the-moment lie. It’s madly dangerous to keep up the act, but his curiosity overrides the sensible part of his mind that’s screaming you could st
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Five ways to deal with a writing rut

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Stuck with your writing? Cristy Zinn has five helpful tips to lift you out of the funk I’ve had to dust off my keyboard for this blog because it’s been so long since I last wrote. I have projects on the horizon but getting my head around them has been like trying to walk through quicksand. This is by far the worst writing rut I’ve ever experienced. I’m beginning to ask myself that question: am I a writer if I’m not writing anything? I’m sure I’m not the only writer in the world who has dealt with this so here’s my take on those seasons where you feel like you can’t write and what to do during those times (and FYI, this is totally me, talking to myself right now): 1. IF YOU CAN, PINPOINT THE WHY. For me it’s two-fold. Firstly, it’s been a rough end to the year with multiple personal and work-related dramas, but, secondly, it’s also been some of the most rewarding months creatively because as a children’s book illustrator I’m finally finding my space. I think part of my lack of drive to
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How to Get Your Kids to Read More

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Carrie Clevenger shares some tips for getting your little ones into books With all the reading programs out there to reward the kids for reading at school, I suppose there’s a need for an article like this. I’ll level with you: Our family are readers, kids included, so I asked my eleven year-old daughter for some help on this topic. She is the subject matter expert after all. Associate Favorite movies or TV series capture the minds of young and old alike. The good news is, sometimes that story doesn’t have to end with the credits. A lot of movies and shows have novelizations, which means your kids (or you) can stay in that world a little longer. There are also books that expand the lore. I’ll provide an example: Supernatural , the television show (does anyone actually have cable anymore?). I know they have a lot of fans out there, myself included. Did you know there have been a number of novels written in that universe? There has! Another example is the Marvel Universe, which began lif
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Music and Writing go together!

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Xan van Rooyen shares how they pair music with writing Music has always been a huge part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are listening to Mozart with my grandfather or wiggling away to Elvis with my parents. I’ve dedicated my life to music, first with grandiose ideas of becoming a world-renowned flutist, and now as a music teacher for elementary school kids. The latter is far more rewarding, and enjoyable! I couldn’t imagine a day going by without music and I absolutely couldn’t imagine writing without it either! Music as Inspiration Music often serves as my muse. Sometimes it's the lyrics that get me, conjuring a certain emotion or even a whole scene in my head that plays out like a movie, which I inevitably end up incorporating into a story. I often seek inspiration from visual sources, scrolling through Pinterest, hoping to stumble upon something that speaks to me. Music videos prove doubly rich sources of inspiration, combining both visual and auditory stimuli, telling
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What Writers Can Learn from Da Vinci

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Icy Sedgwick shares some of the wisdom we can learn from a great master artist The United Kingdom has been spoiled for all things Leonardo da Vinci this year (2019). The genius inventor and painter died 500 years ago, in 1519. To celebrate, we had the 'Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing' exhibition. 200 drawings from the Queen's collection went on display around the country. The British Library are hosting the ‘Leonardo da Vinci: A Mind in Motion’ exhibition until 8 September 2019. We often think of da Vinci as an artist. Or an inventor. And we know about his many notebooks. But we don’t always think of him as a writer.  Still, he’s an inspiration to writers. Here are five lessons you can learn from da Vinci and the way he approached his work. And I’m a huge fan of the journaling. So, I’ve also included journal prompts to help you unpick your own writing habits. Be Multi Passionate Many associate da Vinci with Renaissance art, particularly in the form of the Mona Lisa. Y
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Stumbling into Romance – how the genre changed my reading life

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Laurie Jane shares how the romance genre changed her life when she was in a slump In mid-2018, I was having a rough time and I got a bit depressed. It wasn’t the first time I’d experienced depression and it wouldn’t be the last. Like all the times before, my productivity nosedived and, along with it, my ability to find joy in the activities I would normally use to escape from stress or anxiety — in particular, reading. For a person who has had their studies, their work, their dreams and even their identity tangled up in books in one way or another for as long as they can remember, this was an incredibly difficult reality to deal with. I’d pick up a book, start slogging through it and feel my mind coming apart like candy floss in a hurricane. Two chapters in, I’d be dragging my eyes along the same sentences over and over again, trying to understand what they meant, trying to appreciate the artistry of them, trying to lose myself in the story or the prose or both… but I couldn’t. I’d put
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Authors’ co-operatives offer hope

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Nerine Dorman shares what makes author co-operatives a viable solution for authors faced with the volatility of the publishing industry Books have always been magical for me. From my earliest memories longingly gazing at my parents’ bookshelves, and being mystified by the tales locked within the covers, and my teenage years where I spent more time reading than studying for my exams… To my adult years where I have more ebooks loaded on my iPad than I can read in a year, not to forget the hours I spend crafting my own stories or those of the authors who come to me for editing. Stories are everything to me, and I’m sure some of you reading this post right now feel exactly the same way. It used to be that publishing a book was an arcane process, watched over by mysterious industry guardians in the forms of agents, editors and publishers. However, all that has changed during the past two decades with the rise of digital media and print-on-demand services. It’s now possible for you to write,
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