Unlock the Power of Words - Welcome to the world of words, where stories come to life and ideas take flight! As an editor, I understand the importance of polished prose and captivating narratives. That's why I'm thrilled to announce a limited time special offer on my professional editing services. Continue Reading
Unbound – Reader’s Choice Award Winner - My short story Unbound won the Reader's Choice Award at the Fall Short Story Writing Contest. It is the story of a young immigrant girl named Laila and one life-altering decision she had to make. Continue Reading
Author Interview – Derek R. King - This month for the author interview segment Confessions of a Writeaholic brings you the interview with Award-winning Author Derek R. King. Continue Reading
Guest Post – My Experience with a Hybrid Publisher - Chasing Fae is finally out in the world, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. When I started on my writing journey for this book, I had no idea that I would end up with a newfangled hybrid publisher who would fall in love with my book and take it from a dream to a beautiful reality. Continue Reading
Author Interview – Lali A. Love - This month for the author interview segment, Confessions of a Writeaholic brings you the interview with Award-winning published Author Lali A. Love. Continue Reading
Book Spotlight – Secrets - CW shines the spotlight this week on Secrets - A Collection of Short Stories by Susan M Lane. Continue Reading
Book Review – The Beloved Fire by Chelsii Klein - I was given the ARC of The Beloved Fire by Chelsii Klein in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed reading the book and writing the Book Review of The Beloved Fire. The Beloved Fire tells the story of Mikayla and her relationship with the supernatural. The base of the story stems from a challenge between the Angels and Demons of Heaven and Hell, respectively, and how Mikayla becomes a part of that challenge due to her previously unknown connections to the supernatural. Chelsii Klein did a marvelous job building the world of the Purgatory with its mansion, hallways, and the doorways that lead to various locations in Hell. I also enjoyed this fresh take on the supernatural genre and… Continue Reading
How to Instagram as an Author - As of 2019, Instagram is one of the top 10 social media platforms for engagement ranking second, behind only Facebook. Think about it, a platform for engagement that’s better than Twitter? Yep, you read that right! Continue Reading
5 Steps To Your Non-Fiction Story – Karina Monteiro - My first encounter with non-fiction was Irving Stone’s The Agony and the Ecstasy. I was in college when I read it. The book infused in me some of Michelangelo’s spunk, a keen interest in his sculptures, and inspired me to travel to Florence six years later. I’ve been writing non-fiction for the past five years – specifically, human interest stories for social impact or employee engagement. It’s been a long and arduous journey with its fair share of heartbreak and of course some wisdom. For what it’s worth, here’s what I learned: Start with one idea Brainstorm over an overarching theme or moral for your story. With non-fiction, you often discover information as you progress. More often than not, you find your… Continue Reading
An Interview and A Giveaway – Author DB Carter - A talk with Published Author DB Carter about his love for Writing, Classics, and about his latest book The Wild Roses. Continue Reading
My Journey to Becoming A Writer – Paul C. Thornton - “You’ll be dead in six months.” It was May 29, 1985. Those words started me on the path to become a writer. I just didn’t know it at the time. When I wrote my first book, a memoir intriguingly titled White Man’s Disease, I faithfully depicted the scene I vividly recalled where I was with my crying wife and the brain surgeon who said those words to me. White Man’s Disease was published 30 years after that scene took place. I became a writer at age 58. When I woke up on the morning of December 6, 2014, I had no plans to write a book. When I went to bed that night, I was a writer. December 6 was my… Continue Reading
Interview with Literary Agent Eric Smith - One of the decisions I had to make as a debut author getting ready to hit the publishing world was the route I wanted to take: should I go traditonal, indie, or self-publish? I researched each route and found that they all have their own pros and cons. One of the most important aspects on traditional publishing was landing the right Literary Agent to represent your book to the publishing world. Finding an agent to represent you is not an easy task these days and if you are not well prepared it is near impossible. I figured, the best way to find out would be to ask Literary Agents themselves. In that spirit, I reached out to Eric Smith, a… Continue Reading
Navigating Fantasy: A Breakdown of Subgenres - One of my favorite things about the fantasy genre is its versatility. Almost any type of story you want to read, you can add a fantastical element and transform it into an entirely new subgenre. If you’re writing a fantasy novel, it can be difficult to distinguish which subgenre the story falls into. This categorization is incredibly important in terms of picking the right literary agent, finding the best audience for your work, and deciding which platforms are the best places to promote your work. Today, I want to break down as many fantasy subgenres as I can and give an indication as to which stories fall into which categories. High/Epic Fantasy: The most prominent of the fantasy subgenres. If… Continue Reading
Mine – Part III - Mine – A Lucien Hawke Story – is a 3-part short story that is being published as a part of the Guest Blogging for Confessions of a Writeaholic. Read Part I and Part II if you haven't already. Blackrose gasped. She covered her mouth. Kai showed no sign of acknowledging the noise. “I have the power to enter your dreams, your heart, and your mind. I hunger for love, Mike. I thrive on it.” “Freak.” Kai's smile faded. He stared into Mike's eyes. Kai pounced on Mike and bit into his neck. He ripped the flesh clean off the bone and swallowed. Mike fell to the floor, dead. The poor lad didn't even have time to scream. The other three… Continue Reading- Mine – Part II - Kai smiled. “Proof that our bond is real.” He ran his hand over Gabe's. His touch was gentle. It was welcoming. “I know your loneliness. I know your wish for connection. Your wish for acceptance. Your entire being screams it. I have felt this cry. I know you wish for a friend who understands.” A few passing students caught the tender moment and burst into laughter. Gabe jerked his hand away. “But it's not you.” Gabe froze. He glanced down. “My hand...” “My gift to you.” Continue Reading
- Mine – Part I - An eerie quiet loomed within the school halls. It was an unusually windy night for the end of summer. Gabe tried rubbing the goosebumps off his arm. The empty school was unsettling. Broken lockers creaked with each swing. Wind whistled. Shadows danced. Gabe tried shaking off his nerves. “Why am I doing this?” Continue Reading
NaNo Prep as a Plotter - Writing a novel takes preparation; that is obvious, but there are different types of preparation involved. The level of prep work required mainly depends on the category you identify with as a writer. Continue Reading
Turning Social Media Followers into a Reader Fan Base - I’ll preface this article by saying that there are plenty of publishing and marketing gurus out there who have written expert articles on this matter. I am in the pre-published phase of my novel-writing career but I’ve been following the advice of some greats out there and I’m reaping the rewards of a growing author platform. This blog is my personal journey about what I’ve found has worked and not worked for me to turn my followers into fans. What is an Author Platform? Publishing expert, Jane Friedman, describes this as an ability to sell books because of who you are or who you can reach in her blog: A Definition of Author Platform. Also check out this YouTube video:… Continue Reading
Tips To Revive Your Blog - I recognized the problem – a dormant or barely active blog. What was the solution? Simple, revive the blog Continue Reading
Hearts Desire – A Sonnet - This sonnet was written for an authors writing challenge that I participate in Instagram. I am no poet, but I do hope you enjoyed it. Continue Reading
If I Were A Goddess - As I sit here typing this post, I can’t help but smile at everything that transpired the last month and all that I have accomplished. Yes, a sense of accomplishment is what I feel when I think about July. Despite, the fact that I may not have posted much on my blog, I am proud of the amount of writing I did. I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo and contributed a total of 51K words into my WIP. The debut novel that I am currently working on. 51 thousand words, y’all! I am excited about where my book is headed, it has changed drastically from what I had initially planned, but I am really enjoying writing it. I am also glad… Continue Reading
I Still Remember – A Poem - I still remember The warmth of your tiny body on my bosom The first time I held you in my arms The tears of joy rolling down my face I still remember The sweet resonance of you suckling on my breast The heavenly ambrosial of your milky smile When you wrapped your tiny hands around my finger I still remember The panic of not finding a rhythm to your breathing The tears rolling down my face when I held you to my heart Though you're no longer part of my world I still remember! Continue Reading
Top 10 Fun Facts About My WIP – Buried Deceptions - My debut novel is something that I am really excited about. I started working on it in January 2016, at the time I only had an outline or a basic idea about the story that I wanted to tell. I knew I had to do a lot of research before I picked it up again. Anyway, long story short, I picked up the book again this year and have started writing it to make it worthy of being published. The working title of my debut novel is Buried Deceptions. So, for this week’s Top 10 Tuesdays I wanted to share the Top 10 Fun Facts from my WIP – Buried Deceptions. OK, disclaimer: When I say fun facts, I am… Continue Reading
Confessions of a Writeaholic! - One thing I remember promising my readers when I started my blog was that the output of my blog would never be constant. I remember using the quote “change is the only constant” for this blog. True to my words, I believe the time has come for Mind and Life Matters to evolve and change into something that I have been aiming for forever since my first post. For me, this blog started as a personal journal where I could freely share my journey as a single mother, survivor of an abusive relationship that held me hostage from myself, and how I was trying to grow into my true potential as a woman with dreams, as a mother of a… Continue Reading
A Photo a Week Challenge: Sunshine - It has been a while since I have participated in any of the challenges in this blogosphere. Every time I see an interesting challenge, I think to myself that I should participate! That’s when my everlasting procrastination takes over and before I know it the challenge has passed, and new ones take over! And it becomes a vicious cycle! However, today when I saw Cee’s post on the weekly photo challenge hosted by Nancy Merrill Photography, I knew I just had to contribute! The prompt for this week is Sunshine…such a lovely prompt! The reason why this prompt attracted me so much is because the sun and sunshine hold many significances for me…you see, my name in the Sanskrit (an… Continue Reading