My guest blogger today is Brenda Lowder. Brenda is an award-winning author of lighthearted women’s fiction and romantic comedy novels. She lives in Atlanta and loves international travel, fine dining, and air conditioning. She’s a big fan of fiction in all its forms—books, films, television, and the lies we tell ourselves. Her brilliant and smoking-hot husband and two princess-scientist daughters love her enough to insist she’s still twenty-nine. (She also happens to be a very dear personal friend of mine!)
School ended for my kids last week. I don’t know if you feel like I do, but for me the sparkle and promise of summer with all its possibility glitters before me like a shimmering oasis of sun, sea, sand, and sky.
I love this time of year. Maybe there’ll be a beach trip. Maybe there’ll be some visits to or from family out of town. Maybe there’ll be an adventure that I won’t know anything about until I’m smack in the middle of it. My mind whirls with the possibilities.
I know there’ll be reading. The lazy days of summer, stretching sunlight far into the evening hours, are the perfect time to soak up words along with the sun. The books I read each season become as much hallmarks of my experiences and memories as the trips I take and the inches my children grow. And here, poised at the very top of the summer, the precipice before the dive off the high board into fun, is the best part—making my plans.
Today I’m making my summer wish list. Top of the list is to read The Keeper by Tana French—third in the series and I loved the first two. Second is The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss—looks like a delicious, guilty pleasure and who could resist those gorgeous sprayed edges? And third, to have that mystery adventure that I haven’t guessed yet. What’s on your summer wish list?
To get you started, I have a gift for you! The eBook of my book, Keeping the Pieces, is yours free! Pick up your copy here. And the eBook of my book Sparks Unlimited, the second in the Keeping the Pieces series, is on sale for 99 cents! You can pick it up here. Treat yourself to this pair of beach reads and get your summer reading off to a great start!
Thanks to my friend Jacquie Bosma for allowing me to guest blog today. I can’t wait for the release of her book Stage Mouse.
Happy Summer, my friends, and Happy Beach Reading! 😊
Guesting at my blog today is author Chelsey M. Ortega. Chelsey is a teacher by day and award-winning author by night. History is her first love, and any story involving magic and romance, her second love. She especially loves witches and is still awaiting her acceptance letter to a well-known school. Chelsey received her Bachelor’s in History Teaching from Brigham Young University. In addition to writing, Chelsey teaches high school U.S. History and ELD. She lives in Utah with her husband, three children, and two cats. Follow Chelsey at www.chelseymortega.com.
Have you ever come across that tumblr-screenshot-turned-into-a-meme thing about that claim that certain deaths in the Harry Potter series are pieces of JK Rowling’s soul, and thus by the end of the 7th book, she had seven horcruxes, just like Voldemort? Well, I have a much less gruesome version of that.
My debut novel, Bondwitch, came out two and a half years ago, and it follows the adventure of a teenage witch named Annamaria as she navigates learning how to use her powers, protect herself from vengeful vampires, and open up her heart to love. In Book 1, Annamaria is the only POV character. Written in third person limited, the reader gets to know only what Annamaria is thinking, feeling, and doing.
Towards the end of Bondwitch, I threw in three very short moments where we hop into Marianna’s head (Annamaria’s sister). I enjoyed exploring Marianna’s headspace so much, that I decided she deserved a larger role in the sequel.
Bondwitch: Hybrid came out last week, and is a dual POV; following Annamaria and Marianna in their next adventure.
Annamaria Lyons is finally with her grandma, but Libby holds unyielding control of her coven and granddaughters. Betrothed to a male witch, Annamaria’s heart secretly belongs to her vampire boyfriend. When Libby threatens deadly consequences if she refuses the arranged marriage, Annamaria faces an impossible choice: obey or risk everything to follow her heart?
Marianna Lyons is a big disappointment. Stripped of her magic when she was forcefully turned into a vampire, she is now an outcast, desperate for Libby’s approval. When Marianna is tricked into breaking coven rules, she faces a difficult decision: endure brutal rehabilitation, or leave her new home. As Marianna struggles to rediscover herself, will she accept her new identity, or conform to Libby’s impossible demands?
As I navigated two plots and two main characters, I discovered something about myself: I am both Annamaria and Marianna in their respective situations. Marianna is who I am: softspoken, afraid of conflict, obedient. Annamaria is who I want to be (and occasionally bring out when I’m feeling really brave or comfortable): bold, fiery, and puts herself first (usually).
Have you ever walked away from a conflict and an hour later you’re playing the conversation you wish you had in your head? Annamaria doesn’t wish she’d been more assertive an hour later. She simply is assertive. So, when I’m writing a scene in Annamaria’s head, I ask myself what I would want to do, but probably not be brave enough to actually do that; and that’s what Annamaria does.
Are you that person who remains calm, flexible, and in the middle? Or do you know someone like that? That’s who Marianna is. She wants everyone to be happy, even if she has to sacrifice her own happiness. When I’m writing a scene in Marianna’s head, I ask myself what I would actually do in that situation, and then I increase the passive and obedience tenfold.
These two sisters are two halves of my soul. Breathing life into their being and telling their story has been a wonderful journey thus far. But their story isn’t over yet. Two more books are in the works. In the meantime, check out Bondwitch and Bondwitch: Hybrid at https://chelseymortega.com/books/.
My guest blogger today is M.G. de Grey. She is a romance author (Then The Earth Moved, Let Love Find a Way, Then Time Stands Still). Disappeared, published earlier this month, is her first foray into the thriller genre. She uses her extensive knowledge of the countries she has lived in to infuse her novels with a strong sense of place. To learn more, and to get her latest release, Disappeared, visit https://marygeorginadegreyauthor.com/.
[A quick TW: de Grey’s book, Disappeared, as well as the content of this blog post, contain subject matter that may be triggering or painful for some readers to read, including mentions of child exploitation, murder, and human trafficking. Click below if you wish to continue reading this impactful guest blog, as well as learn a real-world way to help those affected.]
I’m not cute no more. I growed out of it just like when I growed out of my favorite Reptar jammies. —Chuckie Finster
There are a lot of helpful things I’ve learned over the years, but one thing is so helpful I use it almost every day: Two things can be true at once.
You can love your job and also feel burnout. You can be a cat person and a dog person. You can make steps toward building a more sustainable environment and feel a bit of you die inside when the paper straw disintegrates as soon as you take your first sip. And you can be old and young.
Because I’m a Blockbuster-card-carrying, Garden-State-soundtrack-listening, unprecedented-times-living millennial. And I feel like more of an incongruence than I was in seventh grade. Which, I mean, you didn’t know me then (maybe), but just know that it’s saying a lot. Trust me.
The in-between: where we don’t recognize anyone at the VMAs but we also use tap to pay
Millennial is invoked pejoratively by every group except millennials ourselves (and sometimes not even us, because self-loathing is a shared experience among our generation AND WE’RE WORKING ON IT OKAY). Middle schoolers use it as a catch-all for the perpetually uncool, try-hard, cringe folks that are their parents’ age which, okay, fair. GenX and up still think we’re teenagers, apparently, if the grainy memes on my occasional trips to my Facebook feed are any indication. (Fact check: we actually do know how to read and write in cursive, we did not ever eat Tide Pods, but bless you for thinking we’re still teenagers. Lord knows I’d like some of that skin elasticity right now.)
My fellow millennials have either hit forty or we’re teetering dangerously close to it. Our backs hurt. We have to make up for killing our pores with Noxema pads and St. Ives apricot scrubbing by embracing multi-step skincare that costs about the same as a car payment. The Challenger exploded when I was three weeks old, and I’ve been living in Unprecedented Times ever since.
There’s something lovely and freeing since I turned forty this year, though. I have learned to embrace the things that make me weird—all that cringe behavior that gets eyerolls from my children and would have earned me a sneering look in high school from the cool kids’ table—and let it fly. I’ll use the gif reaction. I’ll send texts longer than three or four words (which I’ve now learned is apparently a super millennial thing to do?). I’ll wear the clothes I want to wear, read the books I want to read, and I’ll enjoy it even if I’m the only one having fun. “Weird” hits even deeper after forty than it ever did when I was eleven and listening to it through my boom box and gazing at my multiple posters of Taylor Hanson on my walls.
If you’re not careful, you might just buy the sweater that “looks a little young for you,” wear it on a solo trip to Disney, and get a bunch of esteem-boosting compliments on it. Embrace your whimsy responsibly.
I read somewhere recently (and by “read somewhere” I mean “it was a caption on an Instagram post I think”) that being in your forties means getting to be the person you wanted to be at fifteen, only this time, you’re not apologizing for it or minimizing it. I’ve leaned into that in recent months, and I’ve got to tell you, my soul has never felt lighter.
My fellow millennials, our whole lives can be summed up in the two things can be true at the same time truism. We can feel our age when we get out of bed and we can wear cute clothes. We can crash out over Italian brainrot and we can still go bar for bar on the End Of The World flash video from eBaum’s World. We can run tech support for our kids when they don’t know how to connect to the router and we can run tech support for our parents when they don’t know how to find that PDF they saved. We can embrace a firm “I will not be leaving my house after nightfall” policy and we remember what to do when we hear that Cash Money Records Taking Over For The Nine-Nine Into Two Thousand. We can be emotionally exhausted at the state of the Everything Going On All The Time and still have hope that it won’t always be this way.
We can be old and we can be young. Let’s make like Hannah Montana and get the best of both worlds.
My guest blogger today is Susan Harris Howell. Susan is a psychologist and retired university professor. The Spirit of Vanderlaan draws on her career to capture the warmth between a teacher and the students who inhabit her office. Susan is also the author of Buried Talents. She and her husband have two grown children, a daughter-in-law, one adorable grandson, and an incorrigible beagle named Doc.
My new desk came to me in 483 pieces—slats, panels, and hardware wrapped in plastic bags for “easy delivery and assembly.” My daughter commented that the company might have just sent me a tree and an ice pick for the work it would require.
I sat on the floor, surrounded by debris that looked nothing like the desk I had ordered. I wanted to lie down and cry. I would have too if I would’ve had enough floor space to lie down. This was an impossible task.
I wanted to send it back, but I could no more repack that box than I could unring a bell. So, I picked up the forty-eight-page instruction booklet, turned to page one, and put the “twist-lock fasteners into outer ends A and C.”
That first step was the beginning of a three-day process which led to the beautiful desk I now adore. It also taught me a few things about another “impossible” task I would soon face – writing my first novel.
Here’s what I learned.
Lesson One: Just do today’s work.
As I thumbed through the encyclopedic-sized instruction manual, I knew I’d have to narrow my focus. So, I concentrated on step one without mentally moving on to steps two or three. This helped me begin and kept me moving forward.
Likewise, when writing a book, we often work best by tackling one manageable task at a time without mentally wandering into steps two, three, or beyond. Narrowing our focus can move us forward.
Lesson Two: Be confident.
That first day, colleagues dropped by to offer condolences. I assumed they would know more than I and would have secrets to share on furniture assembly. Sadly, none of them did; evidently, there were no secrets.
Similarly, when we have a story to tell, we can’t assume someone else will tell it better. They have their own stories to write, their own desks to assemble. My story is my story; your story is yours. Be confident in the telling.
Lesson Three: Use available resources.
On the first day when my husband offered our power drill, I declined since the instructions clearly said power tools weren’t necessary. On day two, I grabbed that power drill and didn’t let go. Using the right tool made the task easier.
Likewise, when writing, we can avail ourselves of quality resources. Books, conferences, blogs and podcasts – a lot of information is out there. Find it and use it.
Lesson Four: Let others participate.
When one of my students (now a friend) offered to help, I gratefully accepted. Not only was Bethany’s help priceless, she and I bonded through our desk-a-thon experience. For several days, we posted pictures and progress reports on social media. Friends across several states watched with interest and celebrated the finished product.
In the same way, writing is richer when others walk alongside us. Whether they read each draft, encourage our persistence, or subscribe to our newsletter, many will participate if we invite them. Don’t go it alone.
The take-away?
My desk now serves as a daily reminder of what can be accomplished when we focus on today’s work, remain confident, use available resources, and invite others to join us.
I hope these lessons encourage you in your next “impossible” endeavor.
For more from Susan Harris Howell, and to learn more about The Spirit of Vanderlaan, visit susanharrishowell.com.
I’m a creative human. Even if you’ve only so much as passed by me at the grocery store, you can probably catch that vibe. As much as I want to claim being a well-rounded individual, there’s an under-nurtured area of my personality that doesn’t see a lot of action: Analytical stuff. Statistics. The precise predictability of numbers.
My husband loves that stuff, so we balance each other out pretty well. But I noticed a study recently conducted by the Pew Research Center that made my ears perk up: reading trends among U.S. adults.
Which, yay, statistics! News I can use! But the results are… a little icky.
“How can you read this? There’s no pictures!”
Of the U.S. adults surveyed, less than half of them (38%) have read at least one book in the past year. Very few of them enjoy reading in any kind of book club community (only 5% of men and 10% of women). And one quarter of them—that’s 25% for those of you who are even more number-averse than I am—read zero books at all this past year.
There’s still a small percentage of surveyed adults (about 14%) that have read more than 20 books in a year, but the big numbers are revealing that many adults read, at most, one book a year and, at worst, no books.
Take a look at another survey from August, where we see a steep decline in adults who read for enjoyment over the past decade or two.
These surveys don’t really dive into the “why” too much. It’s likely a bundle of unique circumstances—the overwhelming busyness of day-to-day life, socioeconomic disadvantages, mental fatigue, as well as learning disabilities that make reading less enjoyable for some people—but I’m more concerned with those who aren’t reading not because they can’t, but because they just don’t want to.
So if that’s you, and you’ve somehow wandered onto a blog that’s written by someone who is part of that weird 14% who reads 20+ books a year, but also someone who writes them… pull up a chair. Let’s have something tasty to sip on. And let’s chat about the Why.
I was a child during the height of the “Read” poster campaign and yes, that is a flex.
“Reading feels like homework.” No actually, it really does. Sometimes. I love my book club, but some months are easier than others when it comes to powering through a book that isn’t something I normally read. But if you’re an adult that’s out of school, here’s something great to know: You can listen to your favorite music in the car. You can eat cereal for dinner if you want. You can have a birthday cake when it isn’t your birthday. And you don’t have to read any books you don’t want to read. Sometimes that means I re-read books I loved as a kid (Goosebumps, Baby-Sitter’s Club, the OG American Girls historical fiction books, Animorphs, even The Stinky Cheese Man). Nostalgia is a heck of a drug.
Really. Nobody’s making you complete a required reading list. How freeing is that! Get a book, any book, and dive in. Once you start reading things you actually want to read, you might start to branch out and read things outside of your interest level. You might even learn something by accident but it won’t even feel like school when you do.
“I don’t like books.” I can reassure you on the homework thing, but I’m gonna have to put my foot down here. Yes you do. This is a point in history where anyone can publish a book about anything. An. Ee. Thing. If you like it, there is a book about it.
Maybe you thought books weren’t your thing because you’re not into romantasy like all the Booktok girlies are right now (spoiler: me neither, actually). Or you think life is too hard to actually enjoy a thriller or horror book, so maybe you could try a low-stakes cozy read. It might be that fiction isn’t something you enjoy at all. Awesome! Do you have any idea how many insanely compelling non-fiction books there are out there?! Your reading preferences won’t be the same as mine, to which I say, “Amazing. You do you, boo.”
“Books are expensive.” Undeniably. I won’t argue that point. Everything is getting prohibitively expensive, and seeing hardcover books go for upwards of forty dollars is—sorry, fellow authors—stupid. And that’s if you don’t go for sprayed edges or Super Duper Special Editions or whatever else they’re trying to upsell you on. Even paperbacks are running about twenty bucks. E-reader copies are sometimes affordable, but even those run you about six dollars on a normal day.
If I can challenge you to venture outside of your Barnes & Noble, or your preferred big box store, or That One River Running Through Most Of South America (you know the one), though, you might find some alternatives. Many independent bookstores offer used books—many of which are recent used books that are in demand right now and not just the dusty dog-eared copies of your grandma’s old bodice-ripper paperback but hey listen there’s a place for that sometimes—and many places will even pay you (or offer store credit) for books you read and want to unload. Or, next time you’re thrifting for a mythical pull on a hanger, scoot over to their books on offer. You might discover a treasure there, too.
And, of course, if you don’t want to pay anything at all, there’s the valuable advice that we all learned when watching Arthur: “Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card!” Most libraries don’t charge you anything to join; all you have to do is be local to that area. And when you try a book at the library and don’t like it, you can choose from one of the bazillion other offerings! Many libraries also work with Libby, an app that allows you to read library books right on your e-reader.
“I like listening to books instead, but someone said it doesn’t count as reading.” Yes it does. Audiobooks count as books. And anyone that says otherwise can be directed to me so I can have a little chat with ‘em about how not to be a pretentious butt-head. You keep doing your audiobooks, champ. Enjoy them.
Have you ever been in a reading slump, or did you have to re-discover the joy of reading altogether? How did you do it? Let me know!
Joining me at the blog today is author Kaci Curtis. Kaci is a military spouse, and mom of two. She was raised in Kansas City, MO, only minutes away from the town of Independence, where the Westward Trails began. She loves hiking, camping, reading while sipping coffee, all things National Parks, thunderstorms, gardening, and book club.
If we traveled about 180 years back in time to Independence, MO (not far from where I grew up), the safest traveling season would just be kicking off. In the 1840s, April was the magical month that the grass turned green. Grass was the key to success – it supported the livestock that hauled wagons, and the migrant families that depended on them, along the westward trails.
The outfitter’s town of Independence was a busy place in mid-April and early May. It was the starting point for the three main migrant trails of the era: the Oregon, Sante Fe, and California Trails. Families camped by their wagons on the outskirts of town, gathering supplies & tools, making repairs, and finalizing preparations for a journey that would take them over 2,000 miles.
Packing enough food for the trip was a particular challenge, especially in the early years of the trails, when there were fewer places to resupply. Each family was encouraged to bring: 600 lbs of flour, 400 lbs of bacon, 200 lbs of lard, 120 lbs of biscuits, 100 lbs of sugar, 60 lbs of coffee. And those were just the basic staples! Most also brought dried fruit, rice, beans, tea, and bacon.
In addition to that, they had to pack their clothing, tools, cookware, spare parts for the wagon, guns and ammunition, farming tools, seeds, and other essentials. The travelers had to squeeze family heirlooms and items of sentimental value in whatever tiny free space remained. Imagine trying to fit all of that into a wagon that was only 4 feet wide and 10 feet long!
If the thought of an adventure along the Oregon Trail seems interesting, and you enjoy books with historical tidbits sprinkled throughout (like those I mentioned above), please check out my historical fiction novel, Along the Trail, available wherever you get your books online!
For Winnie, my heroine, the trail isn’t just about survival – it’s also about self-discovery, freedom, and the bonds forged along the way.
Kaci’s book, Along the Trail, is available now by The Wild Rose Press. To order her book, and to view what else she’s working on, visit her at kacicurtisauthor.com.
My guest blogger today is Liz Flaherty. Liz has spent the past several years enjoying not working a day job, making terrible crafts, and writing stories in which the people aren’t young, brilliant, or even beautiful. She’s decided (and has to re-decide most every day) that the definition of success is having a good time. Along with her husband of lo, these many years, kids, grands, friends, and the occasional cat, she’s doing just that. She’d love to hear from you at lizkflaherty@gmail.com or please come and see her at http://lizflaherty.net.
I’m not sure when I first heard the term women’s fiction. I don’t recall whose I read first or even if I liked it. The words Woman’s Journey has been around most of the time I’ve been writing romance, and I always thought that’s what we should do with romance and women’s fiction—just make them into one huge glorious genre known as The Woman’s Journey.
The idea hasn’t caught on.
But I’ve read women’s fiction since long before it became an accepted category all its own. As a teenager, I read Elisabeth Ogilvie’s Bennett’s Island series and fell in love with Maine. I read CurtissAnn Matlock, Robyn Carr, Cheryl Reavis, Kathleen Gilles Seidel from their very first category romances on, and relished the extra something that was in their voices. While I love the relationship that grows between the heroine and hero, I also enjoy the ones between girlfriends, between sisters, between work friends who are there for each other. From the very beginning, while these authors’ books were under romance’s extensive umbrella, they were writing women’s fiction. Not just them, I should add, but they were the ones whose voices I can still hear. Still feel.
More than the formula in genre fiction, it’s the story that’s most important. The journey. How you feel when you finish reading. To a lesser degree, as a writer, how I feel when I finish writing is important, too.
After having a two-word start that wouldn’t get off my mind and stay there and a trip back a skinny, curvy road to a small lake I’d never known existed, heroine Maggie North invited me on her journey. It took her a while, and writing it took me a while, but … gosh, I loved Maggie. And Sam. And her adoptive parents. And Pastor Cari Newland. Oh, and Maggie’s friend Ellie and the dachshund named Chloe, too.
Pieces of Blue has some romance, a setting I never wanted to leave, and, most of all, it has friends and family and community. Their dialogue was so much fun to write. The house—the Burl—is a character unto itself.
How did I feel when I finished writing it? Oh, I felt good. Happy with how Maggie found herself. Sorry it was over and slapping back thoughts that maybe it wasn’t over…maybe there was another story at Harper Loch. Or two.
We’ll see. In the meantime, it’s a story from the “huge glorious genre” I mentioned above. I hope you like it.
My guest blogger today is SD Porter. The retired local high school teacher has had a fantastic start to her writing dreams. In the last four years, she has published eight books, including her newest release The Nova Chronicles. Recently, she has collaborated with two other writers to create the Holiday Chronicle series of romance short stories. So far, they have released two (Midnight Meet-Ups and Sweet Chaos), and the third, Caught a Spark, is available for pre-order (just in time for the 4th of July). She enjoys reading and writing in a variety of genres, including Young Adult, Apocalyptic, Middle Grade sports stories, Paranormal, and Romance.
As a lifelong resident of Washington State, most of her stories are set in the great outdoors of the PNW. She loves hiking, photography, 80’s concerts, visiting wineries, and just hanging out with good friends.
She is married and has three grown sons. She lives in Spanaway with her husband, a Great Pyrenees, and a sassy tabby named Smudge (who is a character in one of her stories).
Look for more to come from SD Porter as she has stepped into the professional world of writing with wild abandon.
For me, writing is NOT a solo adventure. I know many authors might describe it that way, but that has not been my experience. Maybe that is more about me than the process itself.
Looking back on my life, I was never a solo sport kindagal. I played soccer, basketball, and softball, all team sports. Then, once I was a bit too old to play, I coached those same sports. Life is better shared, and so is writing!
I love the team approach, overcoming challenges with group effort, and just generally connecting with others who share my love for the written word. I’m so fortunate to have landed in the midst of some wonderfully inspiring critique partners, mi writing amigas. They are a wonderful group of authors who meet up over Zoom every week (or at least twice a month, depending on our busy schedules). We swap work and critique our pages, but we spend a healthy amount of time talking about every other publishing topic that we need support on.
This year, we’ve even co-authored some romance short stories, exploring self-publishing…learning the ropes. It has been very fun and rewarding. It’s the best part of my authoring experience so far.
We met at a year-long writing course (at Pacific Northwest Writing Association) seven years ago, and we are still going strong. Things pivot, people come and go depending on their needs, but we have managed to take this crazy, wonderful journey together.
We are working on our third holiday romance book of short stories called Caught a Spark (4th of July themed) and plan to write four every year, self- publish through Draft2Digital. We call our series The Holiday Chronicles, and we couldn’t be prouder. We also write our own things, and have different genres, but we sharpen each other, most definitely.
From exchanging plot ideas, marketing strategies, techy skills, grammar, pitching, and ARC reading, we share our strengths and learn from each other. I am so grateful for their support and encouragement. I sometimes wonder if I would continue writing without them, as they bring so much pleasure to the process.
It may not be for you…maybe you’re more of a solo sport athlete, but for me, it’s everything. If it sounds like something you might like, put yourself out there and find one that works for you! Attending a writing convention is a good place to connect with others who share your passions. Go team go!
My guest blogger today is Amanda Cirilli. She is a romance author who crafts emotionally rich stories centered on high-stakes relationships and the obstacles her characters must overcome to earn their Happily Ever After. She is the author of the romantasy novel The Starlight Princess, and she has recently released In Your Court, a contemporary sports romance. Find out about these and other exciting things Amanda is working on at amandacirilliauthor.com.
You have an idea for a book—a solid one. One you’ve cultivated and spent years shaping. Now, it’s written. You’ve worked through critique partners, beta readers, and edits, and you finally feel ready to query or take the leap into self-publishing.
And then, another idea arrives.
Different. Unexpected. In an entirely different genre than the last.
And suddenly, doubt follows.
You can’t switch genres. That’s a career no-no…right? Readers know you for your first book. You’re supposed to build consistency. A recognizable brand. Something that grows steadily over time.
Welcome to the traditional stigma of becoming an author.
When you think of your favorite writers, who comes to mind? Do they stay within the genre they’re known for? In many cases, yes.
But what happens when that path doesn’t fit you—or your identity as a writer?
Hi, I’m Amanda Cirilli. I’m a self-published author, a multi-genre writer, and what I’ve come to call a “mood writer.”
What does that mean?
It means I write the story that won’t leave me alone. Fantasy? Absolutely. Contemporary romance? Without hesitation. Children’s books? If the right idea finds me, I follow it.
And I do all of this under one name. No separation. No pen names. Just me.
While my writing journey began long ago, I’ve only recently stepped into publishing—navigating not just the craft of storytelling, but the challenge of defining who I am as an author.
Because branding, as it turns out, can be one of the most difficult parts of this process.
We’re often told to create something cohesive: an image, a tone, a recognizable presence that readers can immediately identify. Think of authors such as Brandon Sanderson or Emily Henry—both widely known for the genres they’ve built their careers within.
And yet, there’s a noticeable shift happening.
More authors are beginning to branch beyond the spaces they originally established, expanding their creativity and exploring new ground.
Take Holly Renee, who built her audience through romantasy and has since ventured into cowboy romance. Or Ali Hazelwood, whose early success in STEM-centered romance has expanded into sports and even paranormal romance.
These shifts don’t diminish their identity as authors—they deepen it.
They demonstrate that creativity isn’t meant to be confined, but expanded.
And it’s within that shift that I’ve found clarity in my own identity as a writer.
That’s where I plan to fit in—as a mood writer, as someone who moves between genres and follows the stories that resonate most.
I firmly believe there is space for all kinds of writers, and that we don’t have to confine ourselves to a traditional publishing mold when there are so many new, exciting, and diverse voices waiting to be heard.
If a story calls to you, follow it. Don’t be afraid to explore it, even if it leads you somewhere unexpected.
Over the past year, I’ve discovered an author identity that genuinely excites me—a brand that works for me, and a message that can carry across any genre I choose to write in.
As for my fellow writers who may still be feeling doubt, or trying to discover who they are and what they’re meant to write—my final thought for you is this:
Don’t stifle your voice because of industry stigma. Let your creativity roam, and trust where it leads you.
