Joie's Blog

A Guest Post by Author AA DaSilva: Villains aren’t born, they’re made. A dark past, a thirst for power, and a skewed moral compass are some of the main ingredients for a great villain. More than just a plot device, villains are paramount in many stories. They raise the stakes, create conflict, and play a crucial role in shaping the hero. Because a villain represents what a hero fights against, they help clearly define what the hero stands for. But the real twist?

For Margaret Izard, it’s about layering history and myth into the very bones of the story—giving the magic weight and grounding the fantasy in a world that feels real. ...Each story in the [Stones of Iona] series focuses on the search for a magic Fae stone, a Stone of Iona. Via a Fae fable, the characters learn which stone needs finding. Blending the fable into the plotline and how it unfolds became the series’ backbone.

I didn’t plot Crushing before I wrote it—as if the story was already written, and I only needed to extract it from my mind. All I knew was my protagonist (Atarah) had five days to fall in love or the world was going to end. This is a common sentiment for young adults, but I made the emotional crisis into something literal. The Crush-it dance, which we would call a Valentine's Day dance, provided a finish line to inject a race against time feeling.

Guest Post by J. Von Tobel: When I set out to write my recent novel, Fated to be Monsters, there was only pain in mind. I was still writing dark fantasy exclusively and my stories went accordingly. The worlds were bleak. The heroes were brave. The odds were against them. The book was going to end with the FMC broken, alone, and betrayed. The man she loved taken prisoner and the vile antagonist would force her into self-imposed exile.

Angels in the Crosswalks of Seattle: An Interview with Nikki Frank, Author of KILLING SHADOWS (The Wild Rose Press, September 18, 2024)

Through Elizabeth's Eyes: When I sit down to write, I hope to craft a story that pulls the reader in. If done well, the reader is immersed.

The characters I least expect to hear, sometimes talk the loudest and demand their stories be told.