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Michael Seese
- May 27, 2019
Julian's World
As a writer, I hold in high regard—and higher awe—authors who pen “epic fantasies.” Whether it's Harry Potter, where wizards and strange creatures live in the shadows among the rest of us, or Game Of Thrones, with sorcery and treachery and dragons, the level of sheer imagination involved in their creation is mind-boggling. Central to any fantasy novel is the concept of “world building.” When setting a book in a place that doesn’t exist, the author must ask: What does their wo

Emily Stewart
- May 24, 2019
Around the Web: Comics, 100-Year-Old Words, Go Ask Alice, Cities for Book Lovers, and Book Marketers
Hello readers! As we head into the weekend, I’m back to share some links and give you reading material from across the internet. The Evolution of Comics We live in exciting literary times. There was a time when comics meant superheroes or newspapers, but the medium is now so much more. SKTCHD has a great piece on how comics have changed over the years. In particular, it discusses the impact of the internet and social media. 100-Year-Old Words This one’s for the word nerds! Th

Common Deer Press
- May 17, 2019
Pen Avey Interview in Story Monsters Ink
The latest issue of Story Monsters Ink features and interview with Dear Earthling: Cosmic Correspondent author Pen Avey. Story Monsters Ink is a resource for teachers, librarians, and parents. In addition to the interview with Pen, the June 2019 issue includes several other interviews, reviews, and more.

Emily Stewart
- May 17, 2019
Around the Web: Writing Life, Literary Devices, Rereading Podcasts, and the Forest of Reading Winner
Hello again, and happy Friday! For the newbies out there, Around the Web is a weekly roundup of blogs, essays, articles, and other content that the CDP team have found around the internet. It’s our chance to spread interesting content, let you know our interests, and share helpful information. This week, we’ve got an interview, some literary definitions, a look at podcasts, and the Forest of Reading winners. Alison Kinney on Writing Does everyone have a novel in them? What’s

Emily Stewart
- May 10, 2019
Around the Web: Marketing Books, the Connection Between Trauma and Art, the Demand for Diversity, an
Welcome, dear readers, to Around the Web, your weekly roundup of book, publishing, and literary posts from across the corners of the internet. This week, I’m sharing some publishing advice, a poignant look at trauma in art, a new report from BookNet Canada, and an author interview. Getting Your Book Read Let’s start with some marketing tips! Writing is a business, and whether you’re self-publishing or going the traditional route it’s helpful to have ideas about how to get you

David Cole
- May 7, 2019
Writing A Book Series
When I was growing up, I couldn’t wait for the next Hardy Boys book to come out. I lived vicariously through the adventures of the two brothers and their detective father. I still have the first fifty-one books in my library, although that leaves me hundreds short of having the whole collection, which went through multiple authors over almost a century. Years later, when I started writing my own books, I knew I wanted to write a series. What I didn’t know at the time was that

Emily Stewart
- May 3, 2019
Around the Web: Encyclopedia Brown, Comp Titles, Literary Agents, and More
Hello, everyone, and happy Friday. I hope you've had a fantastic week and are preparing for wonderful weekend. As always, here's some reading material to get your weekend started with. Who Wrote Encyclopedia Brown Encyclopedia Brown is the plucky star of a series of children’s mystery novels. He and his detective skills are well known, but his creator is less so. Donald J. Sobol was happy to let his books stand for themselves, but Crime Reads has the scoop on this author’s li
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