by Debra Hunt What is the source of our story themes? When I sat down to write Unlikely Hero, my goals were pretty simple: write a complete story and finally call myself a novelist. Like all of us, I wanted to craft a compelling plot with engaging characters. I knew […]
Yearly Archives: 2026
57 posts
by Erica Balfour Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. Three stories walk into a bar . . . Story 1: An astronaut gets stranded on Mars and must figure out how to grow potatoes to survive. Story 2: A mercenary shows up in ancient China and gets pulled […]
Ahoy, Mateys! I’ve always had a soft spot for Talk Like a Pirate Day—my crew and I celebrate with movie marathons, pirate snacks, and the occasional raid on Long John Silver’s. So when the chance came to interview a true pirate author, I jumped aboard without hesitation. In honor of […]
Three cheers for Clifton Brown! His debut SciFi novel, IN THE GHOST’S SHADOW, (Dark Quill Publishing) won a Bronze Medal for the Romance-Fantasy/SciFi category in the 2026 Readers Favorite Book Awards! ABOUT THE BOOK: He was built for war. She was never supposed to know or care. But when shadows […]
by Jeff Schmoyer Editor’s Note: For this week’s Throwback Tuesday, we’re revisiting a 2023 post from Jeff Schmoyer that breaks down what it really means for indie authors to “go wide.” If you’ve ever wondered or just want to know more about the topic, this one’s for you. Jeff’s practical […]
Congratulations to T.M. Hedlund on the recent release of LADIES’ NIGHT. Coloradans in particular may enjoy this story, since the setting is Denver, 1979. Disco was fading, and a new wave of music was hitting the record charts and dance clubs. Full of nostalgia, LADIES’ NIGHT will take you back […]
by Merida Bass Hot take: Reading classical literature is a waste of time. Every writer has been encouraged to read the stuff. They are books we must all learn from so that we can craft the next generation of classics. However . . . Now don’t get me wrong! I […]
by Steven Anderson If I had known everything I needed to learn, I might not have ever started. What a marvelous advantage it is, being ignorant and overconfident. But overconfidence is still confidence of a sort, so I enthusiastically started the journey to self-publish. Not that I went in completely […]
By Mandy Houk In the spring of 2007, I attended my very first Pikes Peak Writers Conference, then held at the Colorado Springs Marriott. I’d recently moved to Colorado, recently finished my first novel, and had zero idea what to do next. The week before the conference, I attended my […]
by Kim Olgren It’s Throwback Tuesday! This week, we’re spotlighting an archived gem from our current PPW President, Kim Olgren—a thoughtful guide to the benefits of writing contests and how to approach them with purpose. It’s a great nudge for anyone looking to grow, stretch, and connect within the writing […]