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June 28, 2019Navigating Microaggressions as a Black Writer in CanLit
Story time! Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of doing a talk with the wonderful and talented Olive Senior and I was excited because it was held in the same neighbourhood where my protagonist, Kara, ...
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August 31, 2020How to Be Exceptionally Editable
When I first started writing children’s books, I possessed the strength and virility of a thousand strong and virile men. I believed in my ideas and held fast to them. While I was open to the editorial ...
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July 06, 2016What is Literary Fiction? Ask a Romance Publisher
Years ago, I was the guest author at a summer camp for teen writers. The afternoon started well: I read a bit from my first novel, spoke in very general terms about how I became a writer, and outlined ...
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July 08, 2015
The Gift of Interacting with Readers
Many years ago I finished reading a book that resonated for me. The characters in it and their struggles felt real. I lived with them for a while, found pain in their sorrows, amusement in their foibles, ...
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April 20, 2015
Otherwiseness: Thinking with José Muñoz and Lauren Berlant
About seven years ago, I wrote a series of terrible poems, each of which was trying to work out in my own head and writing how to think about “otherwise” as a process of perceiving and thinking. I ...
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February 05, 2016It Began With Degrassi-Themed Walkie-Talkies: Part One of Desert Pets Press in Conversation
Desert Pets Press is a brand new chapbook press that launched their first season in Fall 2015. The press was instantly recognized for creating beautiful books with interesting new poetry, which comes ...
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February 12, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 4 of 9
The creation of tension and suspense and mood shifts to me are just as important as creating characters and the plot themselves. Tension and suspense is what makes the story come alive. For the short ...
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March 09, 2022Rejection
No one likes rejection. I’ve been told that some people handle it better than others. It depends on your baggage.I had my first official manuscript rejection when I was nine years old. I received a ...
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October 17, 2022
My Abuser Died
Trigger Warning – Sexual Violence, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Trauma.I have pondered the title of this thread for weeks now, wondering if I should lead with a softer opening. Something like, ‘the ...
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November 26, 2022
Ask Jane (Agony Aunt)
Hi, I’m Jane, and I’m the protagonist of Helen’s novel, Pull Focus. I’m taking over the blog today to answer questions readers may about me, or the book, or anything else. What’s an Agony ...
