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 […]
Yearly Archives: 2026
61 posts
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 […]
Pam/Parker is thrilled to announce the publication of BREAK ME, the exciting finale to the Demon Underground Series (Parker Hayden Media, July 10th). It’s been a long haul, but she finally got there! She’s now working on a prequel to the series, titled KISS ME. All of her books are […]
by Erica Balfour Tension keeps readers turning pages, whether they’re reading about the climactic battle to determine the fate of the world or the spark-filled argument when two characters finally admit they’re meant for each other. We writers are always looking for ways to deepen tension without derailing our scenes. […]
Happy news! Gwynne Stanker just found out her gothic, atmospheric novel DARK MOUNTAIN was a First Place Winner in the 2025 Rocky Mountain Gold Rush Writers Competition, Literary/Mainstream Genre. Set in the rural Ozarks of the 1930’s, the story pits culturally diverse characters against one another, characters whose dark history […]
by Carol Berg There are certain questions people frequently ask writers. We’ve all heard them: What’s your writing day like? Plotter or pantser? Some, mostly people who don’t read speculative or paranormal fiction, ask me why I write fantasy. You talk about mysteries all the time, they might say. Why […]
Three cheers for Amy Tordoff! Her debut novel, ALL WE HAVE IS TIME, releases July 14th from Atria Books /Simon & Schuster in hardcover, audiobook, and ebook. ABOUT THE BOOK: A jaded immortal woman searching for a way to end her curse and a man traveling through time to experience […]
By Sam Knight There are so many! But let’s get some simple ones out of the way so we can move on with our writing lives! 1) Worrying about things they don’t need to know. When I first decided to write a novel, I kept trying to figure out what […]