Musings

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?

Every year on my birthday—and other days, too—I revisit an event that has become a favorite memory. And as if there is magic afoot, when I recall those particular 4th of July fireworks, I'm instantly transported back to childhood.

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.

Curse of Flame is the story that brought J. Von Tobel back to writing. This story is about that spark inside of you that won’t go away.

The ocean's vastness and endless horizon pull me in. When I stand on shore and witness the briny blue kiss the sky, it fills me with...

On Enchanted Forests and Elemental Magic: An Interview with Barbara Robinson, author of A Cure for Spring Fever (The Wild Rose Press).

Skyward: Memories of childhood become faded things. Sometimes the details escape us. So, we fill them in with our imagination.

Cana is a town nestled somewhere in the California wine country. It’s 1945 and to visit there, one must travel winding roads.

I have a new found love for writing poetry despite adamantly declaring, "I'm not a poet," for years.

I love the ocean. I revel in the sound of the waves sweeping to shore. The sound sometimes loud enough to drown out all others.

Lonely Barquinho ~ A story about a lonely little boat.

Becoming Ghosts ~ Autumn is Joie Lesin's favorite season. Perhaps there is beauty in decay.

The Scent of Coffee. As a writer, I rely on the sense of smell to enrich a scene and help make the storytelling all that much deeper.

In July 1977, my brothers treated me to a movie and those events cemented my love for Space Opera.

Music and books go together like two sides of the same coin. I could not have one without the other. Each book I write has a soundtrack.

This is the story of how my sister handed me a book and I fell in love with a whole genre.

One moment I’m eating my late breakfast, the next my mind is envisioning the haunted gravel road that leads up to the Clemente Vineyard.

The new year means a new beginning. With COVID and the year behind me, it's time to finish that book!

Tis the Season for NaNoWriMo ~ In my house, the holiday season starts with NanoWriMo.

The Magic in Writing ~ As a writer, there is nothing more magical than when you envision a scene and capture it on paper just as you saw it.