WOW! Women On Writing Blog

Mother Tongue - Interview with Linda Petrucelli (and Join our Reader Review Event)

2026-04-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

Travel across the world today with author Linda Petrucelli and her memoir Mother Tongue: A Memoir of Taiwan. Enjoy today's author interview and a sneak peek at a memoir of her time as a clergyperson in Taiwan in the 1980s.

For more information about reviewing this book contact jodiwebb9@gmail.com or sign up at

https://forms.gle/LhLatdbbS8i6cuBT9

About the Book

Standing by the window, I tried to understand what happened to me to take such an unfathomable leap… What I hadn’t realized was that first, my one and only assignment would be to learn the language.”

In 1984, when Linda Petrucelli arrives in Taiwan with her husband Gary Hoff, she assumes she will learn Mandarin Chinese. Instead, her local church partner, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, assigns her to learn Taiwanese, an eight-toned ancient tongue that few Westerners ever attempt. What began as a daunting assignment turns into a transformative journey of faith, identity, and resilience. Set during the world’s longest period of martial law, Mother Tongue offers candid insight into Taiwan’s nonviolent struggle toward democracy, the political power of language, and the universal search for belonging. In her odyssey to communicate in the island’s mother tongue, Linda learns the political implications of language, insight into her own ethnic identity, and the value of finding humor in her mistakes.

Publisher: Koehler Books

ISBN-13: 979-8897471195

ASIN: B0GNCKK6QV

Print length: 178 pages

Genre: Memoir

We're also inviting readers to participate in our Reader Review event. You can sign up by emailing: jodiwebb9@gmail.com and she will get you a copy of the book! You don't need to be a blogger to join in on this event; anyone who can leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon can participate and receive an ebook copy of Mother Tongue. By leaving a review, you'll also be entered in a drawing to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Mother Tongue: A Memoir of Taiwan is available in print and as an ebook at Amazon, BooksaMillion and Barnes & Noble. Add it to your Goodreads list.

About the Author

Linda Petrucelli’s creative nonfiction essays have earned Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations, and her fiction accolades include first place in the Women on Writing Fall 2018 Flash Fiction Contest. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, Linda holds degrees from Yale Divinity School and Chicago Theological Seminary. For ten years, she served as a missionary in
Taiwan, becoming fluent in the Taiwanese language. Her wide-ranging ministerial service includes work as a humanitarian relief executive in New York City and pastorates in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and on the Big Island of Hawaii. She now resides in Hawi, Hawaii, with her artist husband, Gary Hoff, and writes on the lanai of their tin-roofed rancher overlooking the
ʼAlenuihāhā Channel.

Connect with the author

Website: http://lindapetrucelli.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaSPetrucelli/

IG: @linda.petrucelli

--Interview by Jodi M. Webb

WOW: Tell us a little about how you began writing.

Linda: I’ve kept a journal much of my life as a way to sort through my feelings, but writing played a significant role in my professional life, too. I've been an ordained minister and for much of my career each week I wrote a flash CNF essay, aka “a sermon,” and delivered it live before a congregation. From time to time during my ministerial years, I published nonfiction articles that leaned toward journalism, including one about capital punishment in Taiwan that appeared in The Christian Century.

After I retired, I finally had the time to dedicate myself to the craft of writing and to enjoy a consistent practice. I started by taking online classes, many of them WOW! offerings, joined our local writer’s guild, and began reading lit mags and memoirs. My first efforts were short form prose—flash fiction and personal essays.

WOW: So how did you go from flash fiction to a memoir focused on your time in Taiwan?

Linda: Current events got me thinking. How, in my opinion, Taiwan and the US had reversed roles over the last several decades. I am concerned about what I see as authoritarian tendencies infiltrating our national life. Book banning; disruption in transferring power; curbs to freedom of expression. These were the tactics of Taiwan’s one-party dictatorship in the 80s when I lived there. How ironic, I thought, that Taiwan has made incredible strides toward democracy in the shadow of China, slowly overcoming its authoritarian history, while my own country has moved in the opposite direction. I wanted to tell my story against the backdrop of Taiwan’s resistance and resilience as a hopeful reminder that courageous individuals can change oppressive systems.

WOW: It's amazing to see our current world through the lens of your experiences decades ago. How did you write Mother Tongue? Did you have journals or other written works

to draw from or was it all from your memory?

Linda: I had made several attempts at writing a memoir but I never finished any of them. Finally admitting that I was a “Plotter” not a “Pantser,” I drafted a three-act structure using a list of detailed scenes. The outline periodically shifted and rearranged itself but it helped me when I felt lost or overwhelmed trying to get the story down. I committed to 500 words a day for four months. The first draft was pretty awful but not beyond saving and I went on to edit the manuscript over a period of nearly two years. I actually wrote the last chapter first, in hopes that the preceding chapters would move toward and culminate in that final scene.

For background material, since it happened so long ago, I utilized journals and letters I had written to my father. I also was lucky to have my husband Gary who was with me in Taiwan as a sounding board. His recollections were indispensable, as well as the extensive photo collection we had assembled. Towards the end of the second draft, I contacted some of my Taiwanese colleagues with a few questions. I even got some information I didn’t expect… After I messaged Lim Bi-iong, one of the Taiwanese women who appear in my book, she sent me declassified government surveillance records on my activity at the Fishermen’s Service Center where I had worked!

WOW: You write about the difficulty of learning to speak Taiwanese. Was it difficult to capture the sound of the Taiwanese language in your writing?

Linda: That is a super insightful question, Jodi!

Of course, I used the romanization system I had learned to show the language I was speaking, but to evoke the sound is another thing altogether. As a writer, I think sound is one of the more challenging senses to describe. So, I got a lot of practice writing this book!

During my research, I discovered a journal written back when I was studying Taiwanese where I wrote about “laughing in eight tones.” This memory inspired the scene where I am practicing saying “HA” using eight different intonations. Later in the scene, where I am practicing saying MA, you’ll find my favorite line in the book:

“Eighth tone: MA (high and stopped). I forced a soprano glottal stop and squeaked. It was the same tone of my surname in Taiwanese. Not the gently modulated “Bai” of Mandarin, but mousespeak. Peh!”

WOW: I often find that the memoirs I read change my outlook on life. What do you hope readers will take away from Mother Tongue?

Linda: Life and learning are better with laughter!

WOW: Isn't everything! What’s up next for your writing career?

Linda: I continue to take online classes and keep practicing, word by word. I participated in

Novnov last year and wrote a 50K-word cozy mystery in a month. This kind of writer’s marathon had been an item on my literary bucket list for a while. I’d like to see, with a few months of hindsight now, what I might do with that “vomit draft.” I’m hoping to explore chapbooks, too. Maybe compose several short-short collections around the theme of ‘belonging’ and my spiritual experiences with nature in Hawaii.

WOW: You sound super busy with so many different possibilities. Personally, I would love to read about the connections you've made during your time in Hawaii.

Join the Reader Review Event

Readers, if you'd like to receive a copy of Mother Tongue by Linda Petrucelli for review, please email jodiwebb9@gmail.com or signup at https://forms.gle/LhLatdbbS8i6cuBT9 . Book reviews need to be posted by on Goodreads (required) and one other bookseller online site. We'll be sharing all the reviews in a Reader Review Event and Giveaway post here on The Muffin on June 15! In addition to receiving the book, you'll also be entered to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Interview with Rose Brown: Fall 2025 Flash Fiction First Place Winner

2026-04-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

Rose is an ICU nurse who was raised in Hawaii and now lives in Georgia with her husband, toddler, and cat. She took up writing in 2025 and has been published in Elegant Literature, was a 2025 ACFW Crown Award finalist, and is shortlisted for a current Uncharted magazine flash contest. She is working on her debut novel, a Southern folk horror–drama.

--interview by Marcia Peterson

WOW: Congratulations on winning first place in our Fall 2025 Flash Fiction competition! What inspired you to write your story, “Sack of Bones?” It’s a powerful piece, and I loved everything about your writing style.

Rose: Thank you so much! I'm honored (and shocked) that I won. I actually wrote it last year during my lunch break at work. I'm not sure why this specific family member came to mind while I ate some crappy hospital cafeteria Salisbury steak, but he did. He died years ago, and his funeral, the eulogy, everything felt like it was for a stranger. The only ones I found myself grieving for (and confused by) were his still-living victims, who seemed genuinely lost and torn up over his death when I thought they'd finally feel free.

I'm much older now (was nineteen then) and understand how incredibly complicated abuse is, and how victims can be left with many mixed emotions. Basically, parts of the story (like the setting, since I grew up in Hawaii) were changed, but it was inspired by a very real moment of struggling to grieve someone who had caused a lot of pain in my family.

WOW: In your bio, you say that you “took up writing in 2025.” You’re already having success with publications and awards. Did you have an interest in writing and make any attempts at it previously?

Rose:  My twenties were busy with college, nursing, getting married and moving across the country (my husband is in the Air Force). Long hours at the hospital exhausted me so much that I didn't have energy to pursue much outside of that, especially something that can be as difficult as writing.

But things changed after having my daughter. I worked much less to stay home with her, and finally had time to breathe. One day I came across a Reedsy ad for a writing contest, tried it out, and soon started winning. I had no idea how much writing short stories could help me de-stress (and help pay for groceries!).

WOW: What advice would you give to someone wanting to try writing flash fiction for the first time?

Rose:  One of my goals for this year has been to read much more, specifically flash fic and short stories. Spending more time reading than writing has actually strengthened my writing way more than I expected! I wish I prioritized it much sooner!

WOW: You’re also currently working on your first novel. Can you tell us anything about it, and what your novel writing journey has been like so far?

Rose:  Last year I completed my first try at a novel, a thriller, then trashed it. I hated it! My writing style and preferences have changed so much in just a year, and I had to start over. So since late last year I've been working on a southern mystery. The south, especially Appalachia, has fascinated me since moving here, so my story incorporates a lot of Appalachian folk-lore and spiritual themes. I'm only on chapter seven, and have a lot going on this year (a baby due this summer, deployed husband, and possibly moving to Japan), but I'm hoping through all of the craziness I can still work on it!

WOW: My, you have a lot going on, and we wish the best for you and your family with all of these things! Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Rose. Before you go, can you share a favorite writing tip or piece of advice?

Rose:  It's funny how the stories I think are my best and most polished don't place. The ones I almost don't submit to contests because they feel so raw and unedited almost always do well. So, don't write to sound good, or like someone else, or to win. Just write a story you can't not write, one that speaks deeply to you.

***

Moving to My Dog's Hometown by Betsy Vereckey: Podcast Tour & Giveaway

2026-04-20T01:30:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to announce the launch of Betsy Vereckey's podcast tour. Podcasters will be talking with her about her newly released memoir, Moving to My Dog's Hometown. You'll have a chance to read more about the author in our interview and enter to win a copy of the book for yourself.

Before we get to that, here's more about the book:

Betsy Vereckey was thirty-seven and newly divorced when she rerouted her life from New York City to a tiny town in New Hampshire she knew virtually nothing about . . . except that it was her dog’s hometown. A lot of people switch up their lives after a divorce, but only a dog lover would drive a rental car north with just a duffel bag and a Glen of Imaal terrier named Ronan in the backseat.

While Betsy’s decision to move to Hanover was motivated by a desperate need for change—along with the fact that Mercury was no longer in retrograde and she’d been offered a “garden” apartment she could almost afford—sometimes challenging circumstances and a cosmic hunch lead you right where you’re meant to be.

From the author of the essays “How my dog helped me find love again” (Newsweek) and “This recipe is the best thing I got from my divorce” (Washington Post) comes a relatable, funny and inspiring memoir for anyone feeling stuck in life. As Betsy discovers in writing these stories, taking a leap of faith to find your personal authenticity isn’t wrong—it’s the key to happiness.

Purchase a copy of Moving to My Dog's Hometown on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org. You can also add it to your GoodReads reading list.

About the Author, Betsy Vereckey

Betsy Vereckey is a journalist, memoirist and astrologer who lives in Vermont with three very opinionated terriers in an old farmhouse. Her debut memoir, Moving to My Dog’s Hometown, is about an impulsive decision she made in her mid-30s to move to Hanover, New Hampshire, a town she knew nothing about--except that it was the town where she and her ex-husband adopted their dog Ronan. The book was published in January by Rootstock Publishing, a small press based in Montpelier, Vermont. It is a Kirkus-recommended pick, and the Vermont Weekly Seven Days called the book “a feel-good story with some bite.

Betsy started her career as a 24-year-old reporter writing for the Associated Press in Athens, Greece. Her personal essays have appeared in the highly competitive New York Times’ Modern Love column, The Boston Globe, Food & Wine, The Washington Post, and New York Magazine. Her Modern Love column was chosen by comedian/actress Abbi Jacobson to read on the NYT Modern Love podcast.

Betsy is the daughter of a Hungarian immigrant, has been a vegetarian since she was 7 years old, and grew up near Youngstown, Ohio, home of the best pizza you’ll ever have. She is an avid birder and volunteers at the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science.

Betsy is also a practicing astrologer and has written numerous essays on astrology, including one for The LA Times about what it was like to do her mother’s chart, decades after she died. You can find her on Substack as Moonlight in Vermont.

Find her online at:

https://betsyvereckey.com

https://www.facebook.com/vereckey

https://www.linkedin.com/in/betsyvereckey/

https://www.instagram.com/betsyvereckey/

--- Interview by Nicole Pyles

WOW: Congrats on your memoir, Moving to My Dog's Hometown. There's so much I love about your memoir. Can you tell us why you decided to write a memoir about your experience?

Betsy: I was 36 and going through a divorce when I started working on this memoir, a time when many of my friends were settling down and having babies. Writing was my therapy (and cheaper than seeing a therapist)! I wasn’t sure that anything would make sense in my life again. I was working in a dead-end job writing insurance copy for a marketing agency and throwing all my money into my Brooklyn apartment, which was infested with mice. They were everywhere—even in my oven. Well, you know how the saying goes—bad for real life but amazing story material. If I didn’t find the humor in it, I probably would have gone crazy.

I decided to move to Hanover, New Hampshire, a college town that I knew nothing about, except that it was where my now ex-husband and I had adopted our dog Ronan. I moved in with an older retired couple who were suffering from empty nest syndrome, and they became my surrogate parents. We had the best time playing “Jeopardy!” I had only expected to live in New England for six months or so until I moved on to something better, but it's been almost 10 years, and I’m still here and loving it. So, I think my memoir is an exploration of how and why this random decision ended up working out for me.

WOW: What a scenario! I love how that turned out for you. And you basically lived out a daydream of mine, and that is moving to a random city to start a new life. What gave you the courage to take such a drastic step in changing your life?

Betsy: I had no other options? I’m kidding, but I think there’s actually something to that! If one thing had worked out for me (a date, a job, an apartment), I’d probably still be living in New York City. When everything goes to hell, you really have no choice but to start over. Also, when you change one thing, it becomes a lot easier to keep on taking chances. Once I quit my job, it wasn’t long until I left the city. I really had nothing to lose, and I was tired of sleeping with one eye open to fend off the mice. Plus, I had big dreams of having my own washer and dryer.

WOW: Ha! I think there is a LOT of truth to that statement. This is certainly not your first rodeo in terms of writing. But what was different writing a memoir in comparison to other types of writing you've done?

Betsy: I workshopped my memoir with a wonderful editor named Joni Cole at the Writer’s Center of White River Junction in Vermont. I met with a writers’ group every Thursday night. It was collaborative and creative, and far less solitary than how I used to work. I think I will always be in a writers’ group from now on. I find that it helps me pull a draft together much faster.

I also felt like I had more freedom on the page when working on my memoir (hello, swear words!) than if I were writing a personal essay that would appear in a newspaper. I feel like people always say this, and I never believed them until I experienced it myself, but the best part of writing a memoir was actually writing it. In addition to divorce, there were other setbacks in my life I was desperate to make sense of—my mother’s death, for example—and writing a memoir helped me find some peace.

WOW: Memoir writing can be absolutely healing. As you look back, what lessons would you have wanted yourself to know, whether it's a life lesson or a writing lesson?

Betsy: Sometimes, you can’t think your way out of things; you just have to act. I think I hesitated to leave New York because I was paralyzed that I would make another wrong decision, but you actually can’t move on if you’re just sitting around doing nothing. I think the same lesson applies to writing. More often than not, you can’t write the story in your head. You have to handwrite in a journal and put some words on the page and get out of your own way so that your subconscious can take over.

WOW: Great advice! What would you say to authors who aren't sure their lived experiences are "memoir worthy"?

Betsy: Great question. I wrote an entire book about living in a stranger’s house, so I bet your lived experience is a lot more exciting than mine! Any story that completely transforms you is worth putting on the page. I have found that some of the best stories are in the mundaneness of everyday life. By going smaller, you can actually go bigger. Often, it’s not the story itself that matters; it’s how you tell it.

WOW: I completely agree. Where do you like to write? Any photos you can share?

Betsy: Sometimes, I’ll go to King Arthur Bakery, which is right down the street, but usually, I write at home. My husband and I live in an old farmhouse, and my office is in a small one-room building next to the house that used to be the former owner’s carpentry studio.

His family buried his freaking ashes under the floorboards after he died, so I like to think he’s my spirit guide. I have three Glen of Imaal terriers who never fail to steal all the good spots on the furniture, so I’m normally at my desk, which is right in front of a big window.

Sometimes, I’ll see an owl or a hawk. Once, I saw an otter, but I’d love to see a bear or a moose walk past one of these days. A girl can dream.

WOW: How fun! You have great writing company. Thank you so much for joining us today.

--- Podcast Features

Creative Conversations with Roger Humphrey

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-conversations-with-roger-humphrey/id1477499834

Lori Duff's Podcast

https://loriduffwrites.substack.com/

Beach Chair Chats

https://open.spotify.com/show/0kyjauDYhbOBdbGkCmwuQ9

Who We Become

https://www.amandalentz.com/episodes

One Starfish with Angela Bradford

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/one-starfish-with-angela-bradford/id1603082480

The Written World

https://www.leslieannelee.com/s-projects-basic

Teatime with Miss Liz

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/teatime-with-miss-liz/id1509139894

***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****

Enter the Gleam form for a chance to win a copy of the memoir Moving to My Dog's Hometown by Betsy Vereckey! The giveaway ends May 3rd at 11:59 pm CT. We will randomly choose a winner the next day. Good luck!

Interview with Bethany Bruno, Runner Up in the Q1 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest with “Half of What I Hear”

2026-04-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Bethany Bruno from Huntsville, Alabama

for her amazing nonfiction essay titled: Half of What I Hear

Check out Bethany’s submission,

Half of What I Hear as well as all the other winning entries

and then stop back here to read Bethany’s engaging interview with

Crystal J. Casavant-Otto from WOW! Women on Writing.

Bethany’s Bio:

Bethany Bruno is a Floridian author and amateur historian. She holds a BA in English from Flagler College and an MA from the University of North Florida. Her work has appeared in more than a hundred literary journals and magazines, including The Sun, McSweeney’s, River Teeth’s Beautiful Things, Brevity, and The Huffington Post. A Best of the Net nominee, she won 2025 flash fiction contests from Inscape Journal and Blue Earth Review. She is the winner of the 2026 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest. Learn more at www.bethanybrunowriter.com.

WOW: Thank you Bethany for being with me today and sharing so intimately with the WOW! Readership. Keep up the great work and I look forward to working more with you in the future!

What is the take-away you’d like readers to gain from Half of What I Hear?

Bethany: For a long time, I treated my hearing loss as something to overcome. Instead, it taught me how to listen differently. I learned to pay attention to pauses, expressions, and what goes unsaid. Silence shaped how I move through the world and how I parent my daughters. I hope readers leave thinking differently about connection, and noticing how much meaning lives in quiet spaces.

WOW: Bethany - that is such a beautiful explanation for those of us who can only imagine the silence. As someone who is often overwhelmed with an overabundance of noise I can’t really imagine it, but I try… I find myself searching for somewhere quiet when I need to study or write. That makes me wonder, if it’s different for you. Where do you write? What does your space look like? Where did you write your winning piece?

Bethany: I write wherever I can find a little quiet. On telework days, that means writing at home while the house is empty. Most nights, it happens after my kids are asleep. Time is always the hardest part, so I’ve learned to write in short bursts and take what I can get.

I actually wrote No Swimming at Monson’s, the piece that won the Great American Fiction Contest, in my husband’s computer lab at work. During the summer, the university is nearly silent, and I loved slipping into that empty space to focus.

At home, I write at a large wooden desk I bought when we first moved to Alabama. I keep it mostly clear, partly by choice and partly because my toddler loves to grab anything within reach. I do keep a Far Side rip-away calendar on one corner, which feels like just the right amount of chaos.

WOW: The computer lab sounds dreamy - but I feel like my children might find me as they just love those screens! What’s next for you? What are your writing goals for 2026 and beyond?

Bethany: Over the past year, I’ve made a real shift toward writing more consistently. For a long time, I only produced a few pieces a year, which limited where and how often I could submit. Writing more changed everything. It opened doors I once thought were closed.

In the last year alone, I’ve had work accepted by places I’d been submitting to for more than a decade, including McSweeney’s, The Huffington Post, and River Teeth’s Beautiful Things. I started submitting seriously in 2011, right after college, knowing this was the life I wanted. Those acceptances felt like quiet confirmation that persistence matters.

Looking ahead, my goals are simple but big. I want to keep writing, keep submitting, and keep aiming higher. I’m also starting a new book. I’ve written two books in the past three years and queried widely without landing an agent, which has been humbling. Still, that goal hasn’t changed. I want to build a sustainable writing life. A Pushcart nomination is high on my list, not just as an honor but as a sign that the work is reaching beyond me.

WOW: You have an impressive bio. What’s one strange story about yourself that may surprise us?

Bethany: I’ve had a lot of interesting jobs, from English teacher to National Park Ranger to records manager for the Army. But one of the strangest experiences came when I was an undergraduate at Flagler College in St. Augustine, where I worked as a ghost tour guide.

For two years, I dressed in full nineteenth-century mourning clothes and played a grieving Spanish widow, hoop skirt and all. In the summer, it was brutal. I used to joke that I was slowly roasting as I walked people through the city.

One night, while leading a group of Girl Scouts, I stopped in front of the gates of the Tolomato Cemetery. As I was telling a story, several of the girls started pointing into the cemetery and whispering. One of them finally said, very calmly, “There’s a little boy in the tree.”

What unsettled me was that there’s a well-known local story about a young boy buried there whose spirit is said to appear playing in a tree nearby. I’ve always wondered if they knew the story or if they truly saw something I couldn’t. I never saw anything myself, but that moment has stayed with me.

WOW: Well if that isn’t the most surprising job I’ve ever heard of! Thank you for the photos - what fun!

Who is your support? What sustains you in writing and in life?

Bethany: Support has always been a complicated idea for me as a writer. The people in my life are kind and encouraging, but most aren’t deeply connected to what literary work means or how long the road can be. When something gets published, they’re happy for me, but the scale of it often lands differently.

My husband supports me in the way that matters most. He knows writing makes me happy, and he believes in the part of me that needs to keep doing it, even when the process is slow and quiet. What I’ve learned is that writing requires a certain self-reliance. You do it because you want the work to exist. In the end, you become your own support system, and your own reason for continuing.

WOW!: Bethany - next time we chat I want to know more about being my own support system and my own reason for continuing… If only we had more time.

Thank you for sharing so much about yourself and your life - you’re amazing and I’m so thankful for our time together!

Today's post was penned by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto

Crystal Casavant writes.

Everything...

If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had as well as most of the recipes she's tried. She's a lot and she's not for everyone.

Her debut novel, It Was Never About Me, Was It? is still a work in progress and shall be fully worthy sometime in 2026...or maybe 2027. She has written for WOW! Women on Writing, Bring on Lemons, and has been featured in several magazines and ezines relating to credit and collections as well as religious collections for confessional Lutherans. She runs a busy household full of intelligent, recalcitrant, and delightful humans who give her breath and keep her heart beating day after day.

Crystal wears many hats (and not just the one in this photo) including college student, mom, musician, singer, administrator, writer, teacher, and friend. She fully believes in being in the moment and doing everything she can to improve the lives of those around her! The world may never know her name, but she prays that because of her, someone may smile a little brighter. She prides herself on doing nice things - yes, even for strangers!

Check out the latest Contests: www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php

When Busyness Becomes a Dog Run

2026-04-15T01:30:00.000-07:00

A photo of a stranger's dog from Pixabay to represent my metaphor

The last month or so has been quite the doozy. It began when I had an idea for a Substack featuring podcasters looking for guests. I launched it, not sure about the time investment or whether it was worth it, but I wanted to give it a try.

In a few weeks, I went from roughly 400 to about 800 subscribers. That's remarkable, right?

Well, when I had a really bad day that hit me really hard, I knew something had to give with my schedule. I ran across someone's newsletter that asked, "Is your schedule full but not increasing your income?"

In reality, I think they were selling a course or their coaching business, but that question came back to me on that particularly bad day. The few weeks of reaching out to podcasters did require extra time. It took several hours on Saturday to find and compile the information.

And it wasn't just that feature on my Substack that drained me, as I was also doing a fairly regular "Weekend Care Package" post. It was all fun...but...had I really just built myself a dog run?

I think it's my need to control my circumstances that sometimes leads me to create a busyness that feels productive but doesn't really go anywhere. That doesn't fit my goals. That is really taking up space without leaving room to really grow.

So, I sent out a more solemn-than-I-meant-to Substack post advising people of my pause on all features, including my posts featuring podcasters looking for guests. I braced myself, because I knew I'd feel guilty. And I did. I mean, someone even volunteered their time to help me when they read my announcement.

But I thought to myself: give it time. I asked myself to reflect at the end of the week to see if there really was room for this feature. Maybe I could go back if I felt it really benefited me this way (hey, it's a marketing funnel to the podcast service, really! my inner busyness addict said).

Well, now that a week has gone by, I've come to accept I made the right choice.

And if you feel like you are too busy to write, or even more importantly, too busy to rest, make sure you haven't accidentally generated a busyness for yourself that is just a dog run.

And you have to know what's right for you. For example, some people do fantastic with their newsletters. And it works for them. They had the time and room in their life for it to grow, and it's now a success. But we shouldn't base our goals on what worked for someone else. Don't be afraid to accept that something isn't right for you.

In an ironic twist of fate, soon after that, I ended up picking up an extra writing gig, and another might start next week. It made me realize the importance of leaving room for things.

So if you feel like you are running around like a chicken with its head cut off (I knew one day that metaphor would enter into my writing), pause, do a busyness inventory, and see what you can stop doing for a while. See if it works and leaves you with breathing room.

Nicole Pyles is a chronic busyness addict who promises she'll stop adding unnecessary things to her plate. Check out her writing blog for updates at https://worldofmyimagination.com. Or say hi on threads at @BeingTheWriter.

Interview with Jewels - WOW! Q1 Creative Nonfiction Essay Runner Up

2026-04-12T03:00:00.000-07:00

Jewels, a runner up in the Q1 2026 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest for Headbanger's Mask, joins us today with some thoughts on memoir. As a writer and artist based in the Pacific Northwest, has been trying to speak her truth since before she had the language for it. Her work explores identity, masking, and the long, uneven process of becoming audible—to herself first, and then to others. Her writing is informed by a parallel practice in systems, culture, and narrative analysis.

You can read more of her work on Substack at https://www.jewelsfromcoal.com/ where she shares reflections, writing, and creative work.

WOW: “Headbanger’s Mask” was a powerful essay. What message do you hope will remain with your readers?

Jewels: What I hope readers carry with them is the idea that the masks we wear often begin as protection. For many of us—especially those navigating race, identity, or belonging in environments that weren’t built for us—masking can be a survival strategy. But over time, those masks can also become prisons if we never take them off.

Writing the essay helped me understand that the version of myself I created to survive wasn’t fake—it was adaptive. The real work now is learning how to keep the strength that mask gave me while still allowing my true self to breathe.

WOW: Do you think all people recognize that they wear a mask?

Jewels: I don’t think everyone does, at least not right away. Many of the masks we wear are learned so early that they feel like personality instead of performance. For people who exist at the intersection of multiple identities—race, gender, class, sexuality, neurodivergence—the awareness often comes earlier because we’re constantly adjusting ourselves to different environments. But even then, recognizing the mask and understanding why it exists are two different things. Sometimes writing is the first place where that realization happens.

WOW: Has writing been an important way to learn about yourself?

Jewels: Writing has been part of my life since I was young, though I didn’t always understand its importance at the time. It started as journaling, then poetry, then essays. Over the years it became the place where I could ask the questions I didn’t always feel safe asking out loud. Writing helped me make sense of the spaces between identity, family history, culture, and belonging. Looking back now, I realize writing wasn’t just expression—it was also a form of listening to myself.

WOW: Do you have a preferred type of writing or genre?

Jewels: I’m most drawn to creative nonfiction and memoir because they allow me to explore lived experience while still using the tools of storytelling. That said, I also write fiction and speculative work. Sometimes the truths we’re trying to explore become clearer when they’re placed inside a story. I enjoy moving between those spaces because each genre reveals something different about how we understand ourselves and the world around us.

WOW: Can you tell us a little about the progress of your memoir?

Jewels: The memoir I’m working on explores identity, belonging, and the long process of learning to love oneself after years of navigating systems that encourage masking and survival over authenticity. Right now the project exists as a series of interconnected essays and narrative moments. Pieces like “Headbanger’s Mask” are part of that larger exploration. The process has been both challenging and rewarding because it asks me to revisit moments in my life with honesty and compassion. It’s a slow process, but it’s one that feels deeply meaningful.

WOW: What’s up next for you?

Jewels: Right now I’m continuing to build out my memoir through interconnected essays that explore identity, belonging, and the long process of becoming. I’m also actively submitting my work and expanding my presence as a writer.

In addition to my own writing, I’ve begun offering sensitivity reading and editorial support, particularly for stories that engage with race, identity, and lived experience. That work feels like a natural extension of my writing—helping other storytellers bring honesty and nuance to the page.

I’m also exploring ways to bring storytelling into community spaces through workshops and conversations. At this point, my focus is on creating work that is both personally meaningful and in dialogue with a larger audience.

WOW: Good luck with achieving the balance between writing yourself and writing for others. We look forward to updates on your memoir.

Caio - Interview with L.S. Delorme (and Join our Reader Review Event)

2026-04-08T02:30:00.000-07:00

Today Lexy Delorme is back with another book from her Limerent series, Caio. Because of the unique design of her series you can read Caio as a standalone and a great way to enter into to Limerent world. In today's interview Lexy talks about writing craft but you can enjoy her first interview and information about Bright Midnights HERE.

For more information about reviewing this book for our Reader Review Event contact jodiwebb9@gmail.com or sign up at https://forms.gle/KvrVVU955aeHtFL86

About the Book

Sarah Baker is a paralegal in a law firm in modern-day Brooklyn. Her life is bouncing between her abusive lawyer boyfriend, the voices she hears in her head and her soul-sucking work at the law firm. On a New York spring day, she meets Caio as he plays basketball on a street court.

He is alluring, intriguing and young. Yet that’s the least of his mystery, for Caio was beaten, thrown into a hole and left to die. In 1905.

Sarah tries to understand this enigmatic stranger while juggling the dubious ethics of her law firm and the ghosts in her head. As she struggles with loss, grief, love, beauty… and lawyers, she will need to summon the strength to break all of society’s rules, save several lives and step into a new and potentially magical life..

Publisher: Limerent Publishing

ISBN-13: 979-8987488096
ASIN: B0DVQ6VX3R

Publication Date: Feb. 11, 2023
Print length: 307 pages

We're also inviting readers to participate in our Reader Review event. You can sign up by emailing: jodiwebb9@gmail.com and she will get you a copy of the book! You don't need to be a blogger to join in on this event; anyone who can leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon can participate and receive a copy of Caio - both print and ebooks are available. By leaving a review, you'll also be entered in a drawing to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Caio, a book in the Limerent series, is available in print and as an ebook at LS Delorme, Amazon, Barnes & Noble. Add it to your Goodreads list.

About the Author

Author Lexy Shaw Delorme, writing as LS Delorme, is the award-winning author of The Limerent Series, a genre-defying collection of emotionally resonant novels that blend supernatural mystery, psychological thriller, historical fiction, and romantic suspense. With a background as a lawyer, pop musician, and science writer, Lexy brings intellectual depth and lyrical prose to every story she tells. Now based in Paris, she lives with her French husband and two very cool sons. Her work explores themes of limerence, memory, identity, and the echoes of past lives—and she’s not afraid to push boundaries along the way.

Connect with the author

Website: www.lsdelorme.com

Instagram: @ls_delorme

TikTok: @LexyShawDelorme

Learn more about Lexy on Upcoming Podcasts:

One More Thing Before You Go

Book Banter

Beach Chair Chats

--Interview by Jodi M. Webb

WOW: Welcome back, Lexy. Earlier this year we featured Bright Midnights from your Limerent series and this time we’re featuring Caio. Although your books are all in the same series each has a different feel. What types of readers do you think will enjoy Caio?

Lexy: Each of my books explores a different theme. Bright Midnights looked at the different forms of attraction. The good the bad and the ugly, if you will. Caio explores the theme of appearance versus reality. I want to explore the full spectrum of people situations and concepts within this thing. Ouch, that sounded way too “final examine a literature class”. In short, I think the sort of people who will like Caio, will be the sort of person who likes or will like most of my books.

They are perfect for somebody who doesn’t mind something different, isn’t afraid of looking at things from different angles, isn’t afraid of introspection, and likes a story that will make you feel something. I mean really feel something. Caio will make you feel a lot of things.

I have triggered warnings for all my books. It’s absolutely for a reason. Part of that reason is because of what it will make you feel but another part is because I push the envelope. I don’t do that to shock. I do that to point out things that are really happening but that we often look away from. In Caio, I’m looking at appearance versus reality in terms of appearance of age versus real age, appearance of kindness versus real kindness, appearance of honour versus real honour and a lot of others One issue that people have had with this book and with Bright Midnights is that my bad guys are BAD. And a lot of times they are in positions of power in which we would want people to be paragons of virtue.

WOW: Talking about bad guys...actors often say it’s more challenging to play villians than nice guys. Your book has characters with a villain streak. Would you rather write for the villians or the nice guys?

Lexy: I write morally grey character. That’s because I don’t believe in “good guys “and “bad guys”. Mostly I see characters and people as being narrow spectrum or broad spectrum. So how they’re perceived depends on where they are on that spectrum. People who have a narrow spectrum will usually be viewed about the same. If we think of the spectrum being like a pendulum that swings between creating and destroying, broad spectrum people are those who can swing between being a monster and being an angel. The broadest spectrum sort of entity would be a god, capable of miracles and horrific atrocities. I used to use this analogy all the time saying that if someone is behaving like Mother Teresa then they are also capable of being a monster. Then I read a little bit about Mother Teresa and realised I was closer than I thought. As someone who has acted, I love playing villains. I love playing villains because I find the other part of the spectrum and find a way to weave it in.

WOW: I find it illuminating that you look at your characters as what they are capable of doing - both positive and negative. You’ve been upfront about the fact that Caio has trigger warnings. Although those aspects are key to the plot, have you had any blowback from readers who feel your writing is too dark?

Lexy: Oh yes, of course. My writing is not for people who can’t deal with that. The main reason is I do write about things that actually happened in the world. If you look around there is a lot of dark. But there is also a lot of light. So if people are either unafraid or uncomfortable with that, they definitely should not read my books. That being said, I find that people who are “survivors” tend to like my books. But if you’re looking for something cozy, be warned that there is nothing cozy about anything that I write.

WOW: Consider us warned. We've talked about characters now let's move on to pacing. What’s the secret to maintaining the excitement and fast pace in Caio?

Lexy: It’s interesting that you ask that. Because the beginning of Caio is very much a woman who is not in a good place in life, I’ve had very different responses in terms of pacing. Most people have given really positive comments about pacing, but occasionally I’ve had people have trouble with the fact that I lean into the difficulties of Sarah’s life in the beginning of the book. I knew that would be something that could be difficult so I did a few things to keep the pacing tighter. For example, I used a date at the beginning of each chapter. That helps people feel grounded. The chapters are fairly short. Also, I pepper set ups throughout the beginning help you get a sense of what’s coming. In all my books I aim to make the last third of the book as engaging as possible. One of my readers said “Unputdownable”.

WOW: I can sense the focus you put on the third part of the book. It is like going up the hills of a rollercoaster and ending with the huge descent. The Limerent world feels so addictive for readers, what about as the writer. Did you ever suffer from writer’s block?

Lexy: For me because I am neurodivergent, it could be very easy to lose focus. But I found a way to harness that. What I do is that I always have two or three projects that I’m working on at the same time. That sounds counterintuitive but that means when I block on one, I can just go to the other. Right now, I’m working on a new trilogy, and I’m writing them basically at the same time. This means I never get bored.

WOW: Can you tell us a little about your editing process. Do you have beta readers, professional editors, or is it just you and endless rounds of writing and re-writing?

Lexy: This is a really good question. I think you can only edit yourself through two or maybe three rounds. After that, you either stop seeing it or you start picking at it in a way that hurts more than it helps. So for me, I’m very lucky in that my family is very involved. My youngest son is my developmental editor. After I get about a third of the way through writing a book, I start reading him the chapters. He helps me with structure and that core spine of a story. Once I’m finished, I will do a first round edit of myself. I then turn it over to him to do a second round edit. And then I give it to my husband and oldest son to read. My husband is the one who tells me if I’m getting too wordy. My oldest son helps me with my themes and set ups. He also writes my blurbs. And then it will go back to me to make changes. After that, I sent it to my wonderful Editor and she and I have usually around three back-and-forth rounds of editing. I am a strong believer in having an editor. I really lucked out because my Editor is also a reader. She likes my books. I would tell people if you can spend money on anything spend it on your cover and editing. You want to be able to draw people in and then you want to be able to keep them once they start.

WOW: What led you to shift gears well into writing one very long book and divide that manuscript into several novels? I can only imagine it was an overwhelming decision process.

Lexy: I have a very logical side of myself, as well as a very emotional one. I think the logical side of myself stepped in and told me that it was unreasonable to expect anyone to read through 1 million word book. And what I want at the end of the day is for people to read my books and love my characters as much as I do. That’s what success looks like for me. But forcing people to read through a gigantic novel feels a bit like putting a burden on people. It also means I’ll lose them. In today’s world, people are very busy. And when they’re not actively doing things there is that lure of the phone. So I want to do the best that I can to keep people engaged, which I’ve discovered means shorter books, but more of them.

Mind you, I didn’t just immediately come to this idea. There was a Deep internal fight with my ego about this, but it ended in a good place.

WOW: Any words of advice for those who dream of their byline on a novel?

Lexy: Yes, I think people get crushed or overwhelmed when they think about the big picture. So I’ve learned that if you take the art of writing a novel down to its components, it’s easier to focus on the next component. If you told me 10 years ago that I had to write 10 books within 10 years that would’ve been really overwhelming. But if I tell myself, I need to write down the key events for a book, then the next step into outlining is much more natural and not as overwhelming. That makes things much easier.

WOW: What authors or teachers have influenced your writing?

Lexy: Flonnie Anderson, my 11th grade AP English teacher. This woman made us write a five paragraph essay every Friday in class. When I started doing that, I sucked. But by the end of the year, I was becoming quite good at it. And once you grasp the basic concept of the five paragraph essay, you just want to build on it for everything else I’ve actually tried to track her down, but I haven’t been able to. So thank you for Flonnie Anderson.

WOW: Yes, thank you Flonnie Anderson. Without you, we might never have had the opportunity to travel to the Limerent universe.

Join the Reader Review Event

Readers, if you'd like to receive a copy of Caio by LS Delome for review, please email jodiwebb9@gmail.com or signup at https://forms.gle/KvrVVU955aeHtFL86. Book reviews need to be posted by on Goodreads (required) and one other bookseller online site. We'll be sharing all the reviews in a Reader Review Event and Giveaway post here on The Muffin on May 15! Besides receiving the book, you'll also be entered to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith: Blog Tour & Giveaway

2026-04-06T01:30:00.000-07:00

We're excited to have author Tracy Smith join us for a blog tour of her book, The Purpose of Getting Lost. This book is perfect for readers navigating midlife transitions, questioning long-held identities, or longing to stop performing and finally feel at home within themselves. Join us as we celebrate the launch of her book and interview her about her writing journey. You'll also have the chance to win a copy for yourself.

Before we get to that, here's more about The Purpose of Getting Lost:

The Purpose of Getting Lost is a reflective memoir about identity, belonging, and the courage to question the life you’ve carefully built. As Tracy Smith enters midlife—navigating the end of a long marriage, children growing up, and a growing sense of disconnection—she realizes she has spent years performing for expectations rather than listening to herself.

Through solo travel across more than thirty countries, Tracy doesn’t search for reinvention or escape, but for clarity. In unfamiliar places and quiet moments in between, she begins to notice her patterns, longings, and the stories she’s lived by—some worth keeping, others ready to be released.

Told with honesty, warmth, and insight, The Purpose of Getting Lost explores what it means to stop waiting to belong and start building a sense of home from the inside out. It’s a book for anyone who has ever felt out of place, questioned who they are becoming, or sensed that getting lost might be an essential part of finding their way.

Publisher: Compass Story Press

ISBN-13: 979-8993320717

ASIN: B0GFY8KR3J

Print length: 264 pages

Purchase a copy of The Purpose of Getting Lost on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop. Be sure to add it to your GoodReads reading list.

About the Author, Tracy Smith

Tracy Smith, Ph.D. is a writer exploring the intersection of travel, identity, and belonging. Her work focuses on the small, often uncelebrated moments when women begin choosing themselves—sometimes quietly, sometimes far from home.

Through personal narrative and place-based storytelling, Tracy examines what happens when certainty loosens, expectations fall away, and life is allowed to remain unresolved. Her writing is less about escape and more about attention: noticing how freedom, acceptance, risk, and community take shape in everyday lives across cultures and landscapes.

She is the author of The Purpose of Getting Lost and the creator of The Geography of Connection, an ongoing project that follows these themes through travel, essays, and lived experience. Tracy’s work speaks to readers navigating reinvention, midlife change, and the courage it takes to live without a neat ending.

You can follow the author on:

Website: https://tracysmithauthor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracytravelseverywhere/

Substack: https://www.thegeographyofconnection.com/

--- Interview by Nicole Pyles

WOW: Congrats on The Purpose of Getting Lost! How has your background in psychology shaped the way you approached writing this memoir?

Tracy: My background in psychology gave me tools for understanding cognitive patterns — how people process experience, make meaning, and behave in the world. But honestly, the more important thing it gave me was self-awareness. Writing this memoir forced me to look at my own patterns first. And once I could see them clearly in myself, I started recognizing them everywhere — in how strangers moved through a space, how people signaled connection without words. That's really what gave birth to the Geography of Connection. The good news is you don't need a doctorate to do this kind of looking. You just have to be willing to pay attention.

WOW: I love when we can recognize our own patterns in ourselves. How did the memoir evolve from your first draft to the final version?

Tracy: When I first decided to write this book, I downloaded my Facebook feed — I had been documenting my travel experiences there for the past several years. I had close to 100,000 words and 200 single-spaced pages. I sent it to an editor and thought, great, here is a book. It wasn't until he and I talked extensively that I realized I didn't have a message. I couldn't tell anyone why they should pick up my book of travel stories over anyone else's. A lot of writers have funny travel stories.

So he gave me a homework assignment. The question that turned everything around was deceptively simple: describe the demographic characteristics of your primary audience. I sat with it and realized I wasn't describing a stranger. I was describing women in my everyday life: women who had lost themselves, who didn't feel like they belonged anywhere, who were one life event away from blowing everything up or breaking open. Once I saw her clearly, I saw her everywhere. That became the spine of the book.

WOW: What an inspiring assignment! Tell us about The Geography of Connection and how it relates to The Purpose of Getting Lost.

Tracy: Most people think belonging is something you feel. I’m interested in how it’s something you can see.

The Geography of Connection is a project that examines what belonging looks like, not as a feeling, but as something you can observe— through behaviors, postures, and movement, and then questions how those signals of belonging are shaped by culture and environment.

The project grew directly out of writing the memoir, where I started by looking at my own patterns. That process forced me to look at my own patterns first, to understand where I had and hadn't felt like I belonged. Once I could see those signals in myself, I started recognizing them everywhere — in how strangers moved through a space, how people positioned themselves toward or away from each other. What struck me was how universal the signals were across cultures, even when everything else was different.

The Geography of Connection is my attempt to build a framework around that — to make that kind of looking accessible to anyone, not just researchers. Because once you learn to see belonging, you start to understand what you've been missing and now you can feel it differently. And that's where everything changes.

WOW: That's amazing. What advice would you offer women who feel nervous about breaking free from the traditional path, as you did?

Tracy: Somewhere along the way, most women I know stopped being a person and became a collection of roles — mother, daughter, wife, friend, colleague. Those identities aren't wrong, but they have a way of crowding out the one underneath. The woman who existed before all of them.

The first step back is smaller than you think. Maybe it's reading a chapter before washing the dishes. A walk at sunset before the nighttime routine starts. It sounds almost too simple — but what those small acts do, over time, is remind you that you exist outside of what you do for everyone else. And once you see that, once you feel it even briefly, something shifts. You start to understand that choosing yourself isn't abandonment. It's just remembering.

WOW: I love your advice on taking that first step back. What are you working on now that you can share with us?

Tracy: I am currently designing a 90-day place-based inquiry in West Africa — specifically Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. My project is not just travel and it is not academic research, though it borrows from both. It merges the rigor of structured observation with the intimacy of actually being somewhere, living inside a culture rather than passing through it.

The methodology is the Geography of Connection. I'll be observing how belonging is expressed differently across communities — what it looks like, how it moves, what culture and place do to it. But here's what I want people to understand: you don't need to be a traveler or a researcher to do this kind of work. You can practice it in your own neighborhood, your own kitchen. West Africa is just where I'm taking it next.

The 90-day residency is the first chapter. What I'm building toward is a year-long program rooted in the same methodology — but that's still taking shape. The Substack is where I'm thinking out loud, designing in public. That's the most honest way I know to do this work.

WOW: We can't wait to hear more! Thank you for joining us today. Best of luck on your tour!

--- Blog Tour Calendar

April 6 @ The Muffin

Join us at the Muffin as we celebrate the launch of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith. We interview the author and give you a chance to win a copy of the book.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

April 9 @ Rachael's Thoughts

Join Rachael for her review of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://rachaelstray.com/

April 10 @ What Is That Book About

Join Michelle for her spotlight of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://www.whatisthatbookabout.com/

April 18 @ Boots, Shoes and Fashion

Visit Linda's blog for her in-depth interview with author Tracy Smith.

https://bootsshoesandfashion.com

April 22 @ Writer Advice

Join B. Lynn Goodwin for a guest post by Tracy Smith on finding purpose in uncertainty and “in-between” seasons.

https://writeradvice.com/

April 23 @ Words by Webb

Jodi shares her review of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://www.jodiwebbwriter.com/blog

April 23 @ Knotty Needle

Visit Judy's blog for her review of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://knottyneedle.blogspot.com

April 25 @ A Wonderful World of Words

Visit Joy's blog for a guest post by Tracy Smith on midlife reinvention: identity, courage, and starting again.

https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/

April 27 @ World of My Imagination

Join Nicole for her review of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://worldofmyimagination.com/my-blog/

April 30 @ Words by Webb

Jodi responds to our tour prompt of something she learned about herself later in life that surprised her.

https://www.jodiwebbwriter.com/blog

May 1 @ A Storybook World

Join Deirdra for her spotlight of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://www.astorybookworld.com/

May 3 @ Bookwoman Joan

Stop by Joan's blog for her review of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com

May 5 @ Sarandipity's

Stop by Sara's blog for her spotlight of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://sarandipitys.com/blog/

May 6 @ Bring on Lemons

Visit Crystal's blog for her review of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

May 7 @ Balance and Joy

Visit Sheri's blog for her review of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://www.balanceandjoy.com/

May 8 @ Boys' Mom Reads

Join Karen's blog for her review of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith.

https://karensiddall.wordpress.com/

May 9 @ Just Katherine

Katherine joins us for a review of The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith. She also shares Tracy's guest post writing memoir from lived experience without polishing the truth. Katherine also responds to the tour prompt about what does “belonging” mean now and how that has changed over time.

https://justkatherineblog.wordpress.com

***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****

Enter the Gleam form for a chance to win a copy of the memoir The Purpose of Getting Lost by Tracy Smith! The giveaway ends April 19th at 11:59 pm CT. We will randomly choose a winner the next day. Good luck!

Interview with Hallie Marbet, Runner Up in the WOW! Q1 2026 Creative Nonfiction Contest

2026-04-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hallie Marbet has been writing voraciously for five years, creating both fictional and non-fictional work. In addition to her shorter pieces, she’s written three children’s books: The Fire-sneezing Dragon, Changing Charlie and Chalk Doors, along with three novels: Final Dawn, Fog and Happy Sad Lands. She draws inspiration from tapping into memories of a rocky childhood and meaningful observation of everyday life. Her birthplace, Plum Island, Massachusetts, has always held her heart, but it never stopped her from living in more places than many. Currently, she resides with her family in Bracciano, Italy, teaching English as a second language to all ages. When she’s not writing or working, she’s either swimming, spending time with family or somewhere lost in translation.

----------Interview by Renee Roberson

WOW: Welcome, Hallie, and congratulations on placing with your beautiful and introspective essay, Losing Leaves. What first gave you the idea for this piece?

Hallie: Memories of the Frank Church Wilderness have been bouncing around my brain for years. As you can see, there were a lot of sensory exploits and I dug deep to put them into words. I was twenty-one, just starting adulthood, but I knew that this experience would be character defining, mind-altering, and all encompassing. And it was. I started writing about it five years ago. It began as a much larger piece, with more specific experiences. But for WOW I honed in on crucial points. I'm currently working on a memoir for future publication.

WOW: It certainly does sound like a life-changing experience and I'm so glad to hear it is also part of a larger body of work. What is your favorite line from the essay?

Hallie: 'The echo of hooves on stone claps off the trees, frightening the birds again.' I like how the hendecasyllable sounds in the first clause of the sentence and how it changes after the comma, highlighting just how scared the birds were, how scared I was when that moose was standing in front of me.

WOW: Thank you for picking that one out for us--I know how hard it is to highlight a favorite part of our own writing! As a children's book author, what do you enjoy most about writing for that specific audience?

Hallie: It's easier to have more fun with the writing when the characters are animals. But it can also be more challenging since children are hard critics, the first critics. They know what they like. And if you can please a child with your words, that is success.

WOW: So true! Who are some of the writers that inspire your own work?

Hallie: I love the depth and rawness of Charles Bukowski's writing. I read John Grisham like water. Stephanie Meyer has an amazing ability to get inside the head of the protagonist, and subsequently, the reader. And Stephen King is the king for me. I enjoy Agatha Christie's timeless writing. Pat Barker is a captivating author. And of course, John Steinbeck and Hermann Hesse are wonderful to read as well.

WOW: Bracciano, Italy looks like a magical place to reside! How is it different from your birthplace of Massachusetts?

Hallie: These two places couldn't be more different. Bracciano, a bustling town, full of life and activity, is seated along the banks of Lake Bracciano. Thin streets snake throughout the small city, with cars screaming along them. Sidewalks are full of people at all hours of the day, except for lunch time, when shops close for a few hours. It's a great place for people watching and being seen. Plum Island, Massachusetts, however, was a very quiet place, surrounded by nothing but nature and water. The salt marsh was my backyard, where I would get lost for hours. And it may have been there, where my imagination learned to flourish.

WOW: I imagine it was! Your writing is a great example of how we can turn our experiences with nature and travel into compelling essays. Thank you for joining us again today.

You Want What? Time for Reinvention

2026-04-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have reinvented my writing self multiple times. First there was my stint as an equestrian writer. When my publisher shuttered the magazine, I pivoted to book reviewer. As those pay checks became fewer and farther between, I briefly wrote testing materials before moving on to writing how-tos for my fellow writers. Then I started writing activities for teachers to do with their classes and parents to do with their children. Then came the school library market.

But that market is under attack by book banners. There is even speculation that this may be why Penguin Random House announced the closure of its Dial Books imprint. I reached out to the school library packager that I work through and . . .

Nothing.

If it turns out that the assistant who is my contact left and someone else reaches out to me with an assignment, I’ll say yes. But in the meantime, I’ll be looking for work elsewhere. I could apply to work with other school library publishers and packagers, but I’ve decided to try other things.

I don’t remember dreading my earlier reinventions this much. My husband says I have a highly selective memory. Pfft.

Fortunately, just as I admitted to myself that I need to start looking at markets, the latest WOW! Markets Newsletter came out. The first market of interest was Mental Floss. “Looking for voices to write about the diverse verticals.” What? I know terms like reading level and AR and ATOS, but verticals? The next market I spotted was Elle. “Looking for freelance writers to contribute to the culture section’s main verticals…” Oh, come on.

I may have stomped through the house grumbling about jargon and nonsense. “Oh, you’re on that point in the learning curve.” Can you guess who said that? When did my husband get so cheeky?

But he’s right. Every reinvention has been accompanied by a steep learning curve. Like earlier ones, this one involves new-to-me jargon and the need to write original samples of my work. None of the clips I have match the markets I am planning to approach.

That’s okay. Write what you like to read. I can do that. I just need to learn a thing or twelve first. Maybe this go round I’ll be an online nonfiction writer specializing in science and pop culture. That sounds like an interesting combo.

--SueBE

To get a free copy of Sue’s book, What to Do When Your Book Is Banned, subscribe to her newsletter, One Writer’s Journey, here.

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 80 books for young readers.

To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog.

She is also the instructor for 3 WOW classes which begin on the first Monday of every month. She teaches:

Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work

Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults

Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults

Interview with Amethyst Loscocco: Q1 2026 Essay Contest Runner Up

2026-03-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

Amethyst’s Bio: Amethyst Loscocco is a multi-genre writer. Her work has appeared in Electric Literature, The Pinch, Catamaran, Variant Lit, Gone Lawn, Tiny Molecules, and elsewhere. She was a finalist for the 2024 Page Prize in Creative Nonfiction, and her essays and fiction have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She has an MA in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University. She grew up on a farm near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and now lives in Oakland, California. She's currently working on a memoir. Find her online at amethystloscocco.com and on social media @amethyst_writes.

If you haven't done so already, check out Amethyst's award-winning essay "Learning to Walk Again, Again, Again" and then return here for a chat with the author.

WOW: Congratulations on placing in the Q1 2026 Essay Contest! How did you begin writing your essay and how did it and your writing processes evolve as you wrote?

Amethyst: I wrote the first draft of this essay in grad school in a class called Subatomic Writing, taught by Jamie Zvirzdin, who wrote a craft book by the same name. The book is humorous and uses particle physics as a metaphor for the components of language and writing that come together to make words carry more energy and clarity (sound, grammar, syntax, punctuation, rhythm, emphasis, pacing, etc.). She was a phenomenal and inspiring teacher. Between her class and the book, through some kind of alchemy, a lot of writing concepts I’d been circling for years clicked into place. The final assignment for the class was to write a 700-word essay, in the vein of the flash essays found in Brevity. I’d been thinking about this essay for some time, about my complex relationship with the seemingly simple act of walking, about footsteps, about starting over again and again and again. Thinking is writing, is drafting. With the challenge of this assignment, I knew I was finally ready to write it and that the distilled form of a flash essay would be potent.

WOW: That’s great that the class and the assignment helped to bring out a story that had been percolating in you for some time. What did you learn about yourself or your writing by creating this essay?

Amethyst: I learned how much I adore the lyric essay and that maybe I do have a bit of poetry in me. I’m obsessed with the sound and sense of words, the rhythm of sentences, and how they interact together to echo or reinforce meaning. I always read my work out loud multiple times during revision and listen to how words flow and sound together and especially for anything I trip over. Then sometimes I read it to someone else and if I skip over something, it’s probably because I need to do the hard thing and cut it even if it might be a darling. Most importantly, that semester and especially in this essay, I found that elusive mythical thing—my writing voice. Frustratingly, I still must search for it in early drafts, but when it starts to sound like me, I know it. I’ll always be grateful for that. Also, this essay was one of the most vulnerable things I had written at that point. At the same time, I was just so dang proud of it, and I wanted to share it. It’s a bit of a contradiction writing personal creative nonfiction and being a quiet introvert who likes to hide, to not use that voice. I’m constantly reminding myself to claim it.

WOW: Yes, it can be so challenging to find and claim and use your voice! Sounds like a formidable experience you had that semester. Please tell us more about the memoir you’re writing (what’s your focus, what’s your process like, how far into the process are you, etc.).

Amethyst: My process is quite messy at this point because I’m still in the early drafting stages and trying to just get everything down. I’m almost finished with the first draft, though I tend to edit repeatedly way too early, so this might be more of a second draft. The book is called The House with Ten Doors and is a coming-of-age memoir about growing up in an unconventional mixed-race family of eight children, five of whom were adopted. On a farm in the desert near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, my father built a magnificent house with ten doors to the outside, one of which led to nowhere—a drop from the second floor. Maybe even as he built it, he was thinking of exits, of escape. That house could not hold onto everyone. Ten people moved in, but, due to mental health issues, death, and my parent’s divorce, in a matter of five years only four were left.

WOW: What an intriguing synopsis! Thanks so much for sharing that with us. Which creative nonfiction essays or writers have inspired you most, and in what ways did they inspire you?

Amethyst: There are so many! I’m obsessed with Melissa Febos and recently finished her memoir The Dry Season. Her writing is so sharp and delicious with fully realized layers of personal experience, research, and reflection. I especially want to recommend her craft book Body Work for anyone writing personal narrative and trying to navigate writing about things that feel deeply intimate, like our relationship with our bodies, desires, and traumas. I also recommend Chloe Cooper Jones’ essay collection Easy Beauty about navigating disability in a world that is shaped to exclude and create shame around bodies that don’t conform. She is a beautiful, humorous, and unflinching writer that will make you feel seen or see in new ways, depending on your experience. This collection taught me the power personal narrative has to reclaim space and experiences that have been denied and inspired me to not shy away from sharing my own disability experience. Ultimately, writing and reading memoir and creative nonfiction is a chance at connection, something we all need. It invites understanding of lives like and unlike our own; it invites seeing and being seen.

WOW: Thank you for those fabulous recommendations. If you could tell your younger self anything about writing, what would it be?

Amethyst: You are already a writer. Never doubt yourself. Just keep going and the writing gods will meet you halfway.

WOW: Excellent advice. Anything else you’d like to add?

Amethyst: I’m honored to have my essay selected as a finalist for this contest. Thank you for your time and thoughtful questions!

WOW: You’re very welcome! Thank you for sharing your writing with us and for your thoughtful responses. Happy writing!

Interviewed by Anne Greenawalt, founder and editor-in-chief of Sport Stories Press, which publishes stories by, for, and about sportswomen and amateur athletes. Engage on social media @GreenMachine459.

Interview with Kelly Stallard, WOW! Q1 2026 Essay Contest Runner Up

2026-03-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

Kelly is an artist and a writer who retired from teaching high school English 5 years ago. She spent 24 years encouraging young people to write and continues this mission by designing original greeting cards through her studio, Mixed Pickles Art. She can be found at art festivals throughout Virginia peddling her work. Kelly is currently writing essays to compile into a collection that will highlight the beautiful public spaces in the Commonwealth where she finds inspiration and renewal. Her novel, Circumference of a Big Man, was chosen as an Honorable Mention winner in the Writer's Digest 33rd Annual Self-Published Book Awards. Her manuscript, Circle Unbroken, placed 3rd at the Virginia Highlands Festival Creative Writing Contest. Kelly lives with her husband in Winchester, VA.

--Interview by Marcia Peterson

WOW: Congratulations on placing as a runner up in our Q1 2026 Creative Nonfiction essay competition! What prompted you to enter the contest?

Kelly: While I think anyone can relate to my essay, it is at its core, a mother’s story. The unexplainable strength I found to open my daughter’s front door that was either jammed or maybe locked, the inability to squelch my gut feeling that something was off -- these are absolute truths that I think demonstrate the irrepressible bond between a mother and her daughter. Finding a contest that features the voices of women was a perfect fit.

WOW: Your entry “Until” is a powerful essay about a horrific event for your family. What inspired you to write this particular piece?

Kelly: There were two inspirations. First, my husband and I own a 17’ Airstream, so we spend a lot of time camping. We live in Virginia where the state park system is outstanding. I started writing essays a few years ago aiming to focus at least one essay on each park in the state thinking I would create a collection that could highlight the public spaces we love so well. My essay, “Until,” started as one of those essays. Just as I describe in the essay, one day we had a lake at a park completely to ourselves. As we kayaked, I noticed the chaos of sunbleached trunks and limbs along the banks, and among the litter, one determined sapling clinging to a rock, and in that moment, that one image truly did say everything. The violence against my daughter occurred in 2017. I started this essay in 2021. I finished it in 2025.

The second inspiration is my daughter who survived the attack. She is the strongest human being I have ever known. She is still in the healing process as complex PTSD has no easy fix. Along her healing journey, she completed her PhD and wrote a book of poetry about her experience as a victim and a survivor. The book was published, and my daughter uses it and her expertise on trauma-informed education to advocate for other survivors. She has taught me about the importance of using my own voice, so a large part of my inspiration for writing this piece is to honor her bravery by being brave, too.

WOW: Do you have any thoughts or advice for writing about difficult things?

Kelly: There was a right time for me. I had to wait until I could articulate the horror we had lived through with utter honesty. That might not be necessary for every writer, but I had to be patient with myself. It helped me to remember that while not every reader has experienced the same traumatic experience we have, it is a sad fact that nearly everyone understands trauma in some personal way.

WOW: What writing projects are you working on right now? What’s next for you?

Kelly: Aside from the Virginia State Parks essay collection, I am completing a manuscript for a novel. I self-published a novel not long ago which has been fairly successful. This time, I am going to attempt traditional publishing.

WOW: Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Kelly. Before you go can you share a favorite writing tip or piece of advice?

Kelly: I have to give myself permission to take risks in my writing, to allow form and content to complement each other in nontraditional ways. Not only has this permission helped me create more pleasing products, it has made the process more fun and having fun is so important. Thank you for having me on.

***

Is Writing a Luxury?

2026-03-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

My life became increasingly complicated lately. In addition to a day job, work with WOW and some freelance writing, I've been juggling the health problems of two family members. So many doctor appointments! There didn't seem like there were enough hours in the day and something had to go. I chose my "luxury" of creative writing. I could rationalize taking time to write when it was an assignment but writing just to write? Writing just for me? I convinced myself that it was a selfish use of my time.

Fast forward to a work meeting when a co-worker complained about making a follow-up proposal to upper management on some equipment our department wanted. We work with figures in our department and as she said, "I have problems getting the idea across to him. I just can't string words together." Words are my thing! (I know, how did I end up in a job that requires me to deal with numbers for eight hours?) I spent my lunch hour doing a little research and scribbling out a funny speech that I hoped would help her convince the bosses upstairs to see our point of view on the issue.

The verdict is still out on the new equipment but the verdict is not out on the importance of writing to my life. I was so EXCITED after writing that little speech. It felt great to write something fun and different. It was if I had woken up after sleepwalking through the past few weeks.

Writing is not a luxury.

It was clear that writing - the kind that isn't attached to a paycheck but simply to the desire to say something - makes a huge difference in my life. It is not something I can give up unless I want my life to resemble a deflated balloon. I want a life that is a bouncy, helium filled balloon.

My life is still complicated and I may have to take a break from my longer works but I'm embracing shorter pieces to fit my schedule. They also give me the boost of having a finished piece, even if I'm the only one who will ever read it.

I even found a perfect writing challenge that I can even work on during my daily commute to work. Six words stories. Yes, a complete story in only six words. I stumbled across this micro-fiction niche thanks to the Sherwood Public Library and discovered there are several markets that specialize in it. If you want a new challenge check out the library's contest HERE.

Have life circumstances ever required you to take a break from writing?

Jodi M. Webb writes from her home in the Pennsylvania mountains. She's also a blog tour manager for WOW-Women on Writing. Follow her writing and reading life at Words by Webb.

Interview with Laura Heaton, Runner Up in the Q1 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest with “You Were Trustworthy and Kind”

2026-03-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Laura Heaton from East Patchogue, New York

for her amazing nonfiction essay titled: You Were Trustworthy and Kind

Check out Laura’s submission, You Were Trustworthy and Kind

as well as all the other winning entries and then stop back here to

read Laura’s engaging interview with Crystal J. Casavant-Otto from

WOW! Women on Writing

Laura’s Bio:

Laura Heaton is a retired public-school educator who lives with her family on Long Island. Since retiring from teaching, she has been developing her passion for writing. Her writing journey was inspired by a desire to share her experiences parenting a son who struggled for twenty years with addiction. Now Laura is dedicated to honing her craft and expressing her heart through honest stories, just as she once encouraged her fifth-grade students to do. She is excited about her second published essay on WOW! Women on Writing and anticipates publishing additional memoir essays and short fiction she is currently working on.

When she’s not perfecting sentences, Laura enjoys perfecting recipes, relaxing with friends on a sunny beach, and participating in activities with her two young grandsons. Whether it's a bike race, a swim contest, interval training, or whatever they suggest, “Mima” is happy to join in!

WOW: Congratulations Laura; thank you for writing such a personal essay - what is the take-away you'd like readers to gain from You Were Trustworthy and Kind?

Laura: I wrote this essay to share an intimate view of my counseling experience—the frustration, concern, and appreciation I felt while seeking guidance from therapists during my struggle with my son's addiction, especially with letting go. From this, I hope readers will gain understanding of the role and responsibility therapists may have in guiding families through the mental illness of a loved one, and that there is never an easy answer. There are consequences of both letting go and of not letting go.

WOW: Never an easy answer - you’re spot on and included in this interview is a lovely photo of you and your son. I absolutely appreciate you sharing such an important part of your life with me and our WOW! Readers. Thank you! What’s next for you? What are your writing goals for the rest of 2026 and beyond?

Laura: I am approaching three years into my writing journey since retiring from teaching. I’ve been experimenting with various genres and forms, but personal narrative nonfiction feels most comfortable for me. I have a few longer pieces that I’ve been polishing and would like to find a journal they may fit with for publication. I've also been working on developing my skills in short and flash fiction, and want to continue this work, hopefully publishing something in this genre too.

Photo of Laura and her son

WOW: You’re a talented writer - so keep up the polishing! I have a feeling we will be hearing more from you Laura! You have an impressive bio - could you tell us one other strange story about yourself that may surprise us? What did you like most about teaching?

Laura: I didn't complete my degree and start my teaching career until I was 37 years old. I spent my twenties and early thirties raising my sons while following my husband around the country, and to Canada, setting up temporary homes for our family in six of the seven cities of the Major League Baseball teams he played for. I once drove from Spring Training in Arizona to hunt for an apartment in Cleveland with my infant son, now forty-three, my only companion, while my husband traveled on a flight with his team. It was sometimes challenging, always exciting.

My elementary school teaching career kept me busy and productive, and also gave me an escape from my son’s illness, requiring me to focus my energy on my pedagogical craft and my students. What I liked most about teaching was connecting with my 10-year-old students through my privileged position standing in front of the classroom, or seated in a literature circle on the classroom floor, guiding and instructing them five days a week. The appreciation on their faces when I taught them something interesting and new, or when I made a playful joke, or probably most of all, when I invited them to come out from behind their desks to play Simon Says, or run outside and play tag. It always surprised them when, up until my last few years, they had trouble tagging their teacher!

WOW: Children are amazing aren’t they? I’m so thankful you had such a great career to help you through such a dark time. What is your history with writing contests? - tell us what prompted you to submit to this particular contest? What would you like to tell other authors concerning contests and submitting their work?

Laura: I have submitted to a few contests outside of WOW!, but this WOW! contest especially appealed to me in so many ways. The creative nonfiction short form category, the 300 entry cap, the women audience. These conditions seemed ideal for a new woman writer like me to have my writing seen and heard. I also appreciated the opportunity WOW! offered to purchase a critique with my entry. Receiving expert feedback is a great perk.

To other writers considering entering contests, I would say yes, contests can be valuable experiences. I would also say to find the right contests for you and your work, and to be sure to understand the contest rules regarding publishing and copyrights. Thank you to the WOW! Contest Team for this honor and to all WOW! Readers.

WOW: Thank you Laura for being with me today and sharing so intimately with the WOW! Readership. Keep up the great work and I look forward to working more with you in the future!

Today's post was penned by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto

Crystal Casavant writes.

Everything...

If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had as well as most of the recipes she's tried. She's a lot and she's not for everyone.

Check out the latest Contests: www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php

Friday Speak Out!: A Worthwhile Conference

2026-03-13T00:30:00.000-07:00

By GP Gottlieb

I just returned from Left Coast Crime, a conference for mystery lovers. Of the 550 or so participants, there were about 70 authors, and the rest are readers looking for books to read. Guess who’s got 3 published mysteries (and a 4th launch coming this summer)?

Soon after I got to the hotel, I ran into Ann, a fellow Rocky Mountain Sister in Crime. I love her series about a doctor balancing work and family (loosely based on Ann’s life, except for the crime).

My conference plan is always to meet as many people as possible, have as many good conversations as I can manage, and leave the hotel at least once a day. We lucked out with sunny weather the whole time and the city was cleaner than when I last visited, but what did San Francisco do with all the street people?

I brought postcards with one of my excellent recipes on one side and my books and contact info on the other. I also brought wrapped chocolates and candy because it’s nice to offer something sweet to everyone. I set out some of that candy during author-speed-dating, where I spoke to about 15 tables of 8-10 people about my latest culinary mystery (Charred, Book #3 in the Whipped & Sipped Mystery series).

I will admit that after describing the book 10 times, I zipped through my allotted two minutes in less than 30 seconds. I’d stand up and say, “Hi, I wrote a Chicago based culinary mystery in which some people get killed and everyone else eats breakfast and lunch. Here’s some candy. Hope you get a chance to try my recipe.”

They’d laugh, probably relieved. I’d pass out the other author’s bookmarks, sit down, and listen to her speak. When it was over, I went to my room and read. Then I attended panels like Writing Historical Mysteries and Crime in the Great Outdoors. All four days, I ran into Ann from Colorado.

There were 4 panels each day, plus famous author interviews and readings (One played Tartini’s Devil’s Trill on the violin – his book had the same title). I make quicker decisions about reading a book after hearing an author read (or perform) than I do when listening to an author blab about his/her book.

I loved getting to moderate a panel on Global Mysteries and sitting on a panel about Mystery Categories, although whenever I was the last to answer a question about why my book is a cozy, or what differentiates cozy from traditional mystery, I’d forget the question, say whatever sprang to mind, and inadvertently get a laugh. Oops.

I came away with a long list of books to download, but my favorite part of the weekend was hanging out with Ann, who also ended up being on my flight to Denver. We ate together before the flight. Even though the conference is about books, for me the most important part is the people.

* * *

Photo credit: David Gottlieb

G.P. Gottlieb loves her family, books, music, and dessert. Her three culinary mysteries (Battered, Smothered, and Charred) were re-issued by Anamcara Press this year (Pounded, Book 4 in the Whipped & Sipped series, will launch this summer). She has interviewed over 275 authors for New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network, has published stories and essays in a variety of journals, blogs, and anthologies, and her latest story will appear in the 2nd Rocky Mountain Sisters in Crime Mystery Merge. To connect, read her book reviews and essays, or see her stunning photos of roasted vegetables, visit G.P. Gottlieb on Facebook, Instagram, Substack, or GPGottlieb.Com.

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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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When Nostalgia Shapes Our Stories

2026-03-11T05:52:00.000-07:00

Photo by Jacek Jan Skorupski/Pexels

There are a lot of things I wish I could go back and do differently in high school and college. I’m betting I’m not alone in those feelings. I may or may not be trying to work out some of those regrets in my latest manuscript, a time loop story set in the mid-1990s.

While I know a book set in this time period will appeal to women my age, I can’t help but think it might reach a wider audience. The story highlights female friendships as well as mother/daughter relationships. Perhaps readers my daughter’s age (early 20s) might want to learn more about the time period where we had to drop off film to be developed before we could peruse pictures from a party!

Nostalgia is defined as “a bittersweet, longing for the past,” and is often triggered by various scents, sounds, or memories. This longing for a simpler time before social media and technology controlled our lives has been influencing the books I select to read lately, too. Throw in some fun pop culture references, a time period in the last 60 or 70 years, and I’m sold.

I’ve just finished the novel Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven. (Her novel, All the Bright Places, remains one of my most treasured young adult reads). Niven was inspired by watching reruns of the long-running sitcom Ozzie and Harriet, which featured the real-life Nelson family. Knowing the fictional family in Meet the Newmans was based on a television sitcom from the 1950s and 60s intrigued me immediately. I love reading behind-the-scenes stories about the entertainment industry.

When patriarch of the family, Del Newman, is hospitalized and put into a medically-induced coma after a car accident, his wife Dinah must take over the reins of the television show and their family. The reader soon realizes Dinah has never been involved in the family’s finances and her two sons and husband all have secrets they are keeping from one another. Woven throughout the fun nostalgia of Hollywood are the very real issues that were still limiting women from equal rights in the workplace, the choice to choose her own contraception, financial freedom, and more. Reviewers have compared the book to Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

One way authors can successfully use nostalgia in their work is through a dual timeline. This was the case with another novel I recently read by Sarah McKoy, Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? The novel was inspired by the real-life story of actress Dolores Hart, an actress who co-starred with Elvis Presley. Hart abruptly left Hollywood in the late 1960s to become a Benedictine nun. The book follows the story of Lu, who is working on her history thesis for college in 1990. Desperate to complete the project, she pitches the idea of writing an oral history of her aunt’s life. Lori Lovely was a Hollywood starlet who retreated from fame in 1969 to join a convent. Lu makes the trip to visit her and try to uncover the mystery that led to her aunt making such a momentous life choice.

On my pile of advanced reader copies is a novel titled American Fantasy by Emma Straub. The story features middle-aged woman in the midst of divorce who takes a cruise featuring a 90’s boy band with her sister. As someone who grew up dancing and singing to the music of the New Kids on the Block, I’m ready to dive deep into the nostalgia of my own youth with this one.

Not only can nostalgia reflect the past, but it can also help us bridge the dialogue between generations, and explore the human condition. In my current work-in-progress, I jotted down the following statement when trying to narrow down the central theme:

As much as you would like to change things in the past, you can only change the path of your future.

Do you enjoy writing and reading stories that remind you of years past? What have been some of your favorite books featuring nostalgia?

Renee Roberson is an award-winning writer and host/creator of the true crime podcast, Missing in the Carolinas.

Dibs the Dragon & the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss: Blog Tour & Giveaway

2026-03-09T01:30:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce that author Ellie Moss is joining us for a blog tour of her children's book, Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue. This book is perfect for bedtime reading, classroom read-alouds, and any child who loves dragons, magical worlds, and heartwarming friendships. Join us as we celebrate the launch of her book and interview the author about her book, writing journey, and more. You'll also have the chance to win a copy for yourself.

Before we get to that, here's more about her book:

How does a bubble-blowing dragon make his very first friend?

In the magical land of Lickitypop, Dibs the Dragon hears a tiny cry for help from the sticky syrup swamp and discovers Mooch, a marshmallow mole who is very, very stuck. With a licorice vine, a bit of bravery, and a whole lot of heart, Dibs leaps into action—and begins a friendship that will change everything.

This gentle, whimsical picture book is filled with kindness, imagination, and cozy read-aloud moments that celebrate the joy of helping others and the magic of making friends.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, librarian, or cozy-color enthusiast, this sweet story is sure to become a beloved favorite on your shelf—and a magical introduction to the Lickitypop series.

Publisher: Lickitypop Press

ISBN-10: 1970978015

ISBN-13: 978-1970978001

ASIN: B0GBQW11YV

Print length: 32 pages

Purchase a copy of Dibs the Dragon & the Marshmallow Rescue on Amazon, Be sure to also add it to your GoodReads reading list.

About the Author, Ellie Moss

Ellie Moss is the creator of Lickitypop, an imaginative, candy-colored universe where jellybean forests shimmer, bubble scooters zoom through cotton-candy skies, and problems are solved with courage, connection, and a sticky SPLAT.

What began as an escape during a difficult chapter in her life quickly grew into a world that helped her find softness, hope, and joy again.

Her stories blend whimsy with emotional care: pastel illustrations designed for calm, playful sound words that encourage speech development, and gentle characters who model resilience, kindness, and friendship.

Ellie believes deeply that stories can be a form of healing for little readers discovering the world, and for grown-ups rediscovering their breath. Through Lickitypop, she invites families to step into a place where imagination is soothing, feelings are welcome, and magic is something we all deserve.

You can follow the author at:

Her website: https://www.lickitypop.com

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lickitypop

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lickitypop/

---- Interview by Nicole Pyles

WOW: Congrats on your first book in the Lickitypop series! How did this series come to life for you?

Ellie: Thank you! I built Lickitypop during a season when life felt heavy, and I realized I wanted to create the kind of world I wished existed.

For most of my adult life, I was high-functioning. I was capable, productive, carrying responsibility, solving problems and by all external measures, I was doing well. But I was always “on.” There was no natural downshift. Rest felt like something I had to earn.

I began to understand that functioning well isn’t the same as feeling well.

When I couldn’t find the kind of gentleness I needed, I decided to create it.

Lickitypop became a world with no sharp edges. Wherever you land, it’s soft. The hills are gumdrops. The clouds are cotton candy. Even the challenges are wrapped in fizz and sparkle. But the softness isn’t just visual - it’s foundational.

In Lickitypop, kindness, empathy, and courage aren’t lessons to be learned. They’re simply part of the air. When Dibs sees Mooch stuck in the syrup swamp, he doesn’t hesitate, he helps. Not for a reward. Not to learn a moral. That’s just who he is.

Lickitypop is built on goodness as the default, not the destination.

WOW: I love that the softness of the world is built in. You've created such a colorful, lively universe! What kind of planning and preparation happened before you wrote?

Ellie: I was very intentional about the emotional architecture of Lickitypop, especially because I needed it to feel like a sanctuary.

Before writing, I decided what this world would stand on. I wanted a universe where compassion isn’t a twist ending and where goodness isn’t earned after someone behaves badly.

The books have layers, but they don’t preach.

There’s no moral hammer at the end. The characters already embody the values we hope to see - they help, they forgive, they include, they rest. Growth happens through experience, not punishment.

I wanted children to absorb empathy and courage the way they absorb color, naturally.

Lickitypop doesn’t lecture. It models.

WOW: What a great lesson! Why did you decide to write a children's book?

Ellie: Children’s books are one of the few places where you’re allowed to be sincere. There’s no irony and no performance you can simply be kind and imaginative.

And while adults can seek support: call a friend, drive somewhere quiet, ask for help, children don’t have that same autonomy. Their world is smaller. Their comfort comes from what’s close by: the tone of a room, a familiar story, a safe rhythm.

If building this gentle world helped steady me during a hard time, I wanted to offer that same contained, comforting space to children. A place they can return to again and again.

Children’s books shape the inner voice early. I wanted that voice to whisper kindness, courage, and softness.

WOW: I love how you described it as close-by comfort. Who do you hope reads these books? And what do you hope they take away from this series?

Ellie: I hope children read them especially those navigating big feelings in small bodies. I hope the predictability of the world allows them to explore deeper themes without fear or urgency.

But I also write with adults in mind.

Each book ends with a soft poem. On the surface, it’s written in childlike language but it’s intentionally layered. It’s a gentle reminder for the grown-up holding the book, too. A nudge toward rest, perspective, and compassion.

If readers take away anything, I hope it’s this: kindness is strength. You don’t have to be the loudest or the fastest to matter.

WOW: I totally agree! Kindness is strength. I love how you said even adults find enjoyment in these books! Why do you think adults are drawn to books for children?

Ellie: Children’s books are distilled truth. They strip away complexity and speak directly to the heart.

Adults live under layers of pressure, performance, and responsibility. A children’s book offers something simple and honest : friendship, courage, belonging. It’s nostalgic, yes, but it’s also grounding.

In Lickitypop, there’s permission to slow down. To be gentle. To feel without performing.

Choosing a slower pace isn’t opting out of life. Sometimes it’s how you stay in it.

WOW: Great insight. What lessons have you learned along the way while creating these books?

Ellie: I’ve learned that creativity is healing. You don’t have to feel completely ready to begin something meaningful.

I’ve also learned that building a series requires patience and consistency. Inspiration is wonderful but structure sustains it.

Most of all, I’ve learned that softness is not weakness. It’s intentional strength.

WOW: So true. What are you working on you can tell us about?

Ellie: Lickitypop is expanding. There are multiple books in the series exploring themes like courage, rest, sharing, emotional regulation, and self-belief- all within this soft, whimsical world.

I’m also growing Lickitypop beyond the page through school visits and interactive materials that bring the characters into children’s everyday lives.

This is just the beginning. Lickitypop is a growing universe and I’m committed to building it with the same gentleness it was born from.

WOW: How exciting! Thank you for your time today. And I hope you enjoy the blog tour!

--- Blog Tour Calendar

March 9 @ The Muffin

Join us at the Muffin as we celebrate the blog tour launch for Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss. We interview the author and give you a chance to win a copy of her charming children's book.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

March 10 @ What Is That Book About

Visit Michelle's blog for her feature of Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss.

https://whatisthatbookabout.com

March 13 @ Chapter Break

Stop by Julie's blog for her review of Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss. She's also sharing a guest post by the author about how to write for children without talking down to them.

https://chapterbreak.net

March 15 @ The Shaggy Shepherd

Visit Isabelle's Instagram page for her review of Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss.

https://www.instagram.com/the_shaggy_shepherd

March 17 @ Words by Webb

Stop by Jodi's blog for her spotlight of Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss. She also responds to one of our tour themed prompts.

https://www.jodiwebbwriter.com/blog

March 20 @ Lisa's Reading

Join Lisa's blog for her review of Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss.

https://lisasreading.com/

March 25 @ A Wonderful World of Words

Visit Ellie's blog for experts from Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss.

https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/

March 25 @ Words by Webb

Stop by Jodi's blog for her review of Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss.

https://www.jodiwebbwriter.com/blog

March 27 @ Words From the Heart

Linda shares her thoughts about Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss.

https://contemplativeed.blogspot.com/

March 27 @ Musings From a Literary Wanderer

Stop by Angela's blog for her review of Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss.

https://musingsofaliterarywanderer.blogspot.com/

March 30 @ A Storybook World

Visit Deirdre's blog for a guest post by Ellie Moss about why gentle stories matter in a loud world.

https://www.astorybookworld.com/

April 2 @ Author Anthony Avina's Blog

Visit Anthony's blog for his review of Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss.

https://www.authoranthonyavina.com

April 3 @ Nicole Writes About Stuff

Ellie Moss is a guest on Nicole's weekly feature, Your Weekend Care Package.

https://nicolepyles.substack.com

April 4 @ Author Anthony Avina's Blog

Anthony shares a guest post by the author about why not every children's book needs a villain.

https://www.authoranthonyavina.com

April 5 @ Sarandipity

Join Sara for her review of Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss.

https://sarandipitys.com/blog/

April 7 @ World of My Imagination

Stop by Nicole's blog for her review of Dibs the Dragon and the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss.

https://worldofmyimagination.com/

April 10 @ Jill Sheets' blog

Stop by Jill's blog for her interview with Ellie Moss.

https://jillsheets.blogspot.com/

***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****

Enter to win a print copy of Dibs the Dragon & the Marshmallow Rescue by Ellie Moss. Fill out the form below for a chance to win! The giveaway ends on March 22nd at 11:59 pm CT. We will randomly draw a winner the next day and follow up via email. Good luck!

Interview with Court Harler - WOW! Q1 Creative Nonfiction Essay Runner Up

2026-03-08T03:30:00.000-07:00

Court Harler, a runner up in the Q1 2026 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest for The Forest, joins us today to share her love of flash writing.

Court Harler (she/her) is a queer writer, editor, and educator based in the American South. She holds an MA and an MFA. She's the owner of Harler Literary LLC, the founding editor of Flash the Court, and the former editor in chief of CRAFT. She'll be the writer-in-residence from February to April 2026 at The Kerouac House in Orlando, Florida. Her award-winning, multigenre work has been published around the world. Find her on Instagram @CourtneyHarler.

WOW: In “The Forest” you’ve written about a universal topic: home. What drew you to write about your many homes?

Court: Every time I move to a new location, or even travel to one temporarily, I think about the concept of “home.” Leaving home and returning home, or making a new home out of whatever you’ve chosen to bring with you, be it clothes, furniture, or family. Perhaps I am preconditioned to crave change due to life choices, or my upbringing, but I love the way a new setting fires my creative flow. If I can let go of the inherent anxiety associated with the change of location itself, I can savor new sensations, which can in turn help me access more resonant emotions. Pure longing helps too, but not necessarily by way of nostalgia.

Change can create distance, but it can also collapse distance. For instance, when I lived in Nevada, I wrote mostly about where I grew up in Kentucky. I loved hiking the mysterious desert, but it made me long for rolling green hills and old-growth trees. Writing about my many homes helped me not only gain perspective on my life’s trajectory, but also allowed me to express my appreciation for the places I’ve lived. Each is a site of exploration, of experience, that I can often understand more clearly from afar.

WOW: This is not your first time placing in a WOW contest. Is there a secret to packing so much meaning into a limited word count?

Court: For flash prose, I think one method is to pinpoint a specific focus for the piece, even if the scope of the idea expands to some extent during drafting. But if you can keep that singular focus, or what you might call the “heart” of the work, clear in your mind during revision, then every choice works toward that particular goal. Perhaps others would call this “cohesion,” but sometimes that term is too clinical or logical for me. A flash piece can quite often be a bit “messy,” a bit off-the-wall, but still focused, still successful.

In the case of “The Forest,” in order to maintain the focus, I had to rely on summary, not scene. I wanted to try to get to the “heart” of what “home” meant to me over the span of several decades. But even in an accelerated summary, in this sort of breakneck chronology, the chosen details need to be vivid, precise. Not amorphous, or generalized. That’s why I often use fragments and lists to keep the details sharp. And I know it sounds counterintuitive, but repetition can help maintain the focus of the piece, if you’re willing to sacrifice a few “new” words to allow your repetitions, or what you might call “echoes,” to fully reverberate.

WOW: Is it fair to say you are a fan of flash writing?

Court: As an artist, I feel most at home when writing flash prose. I’ve always loved brevity, especially when it bites. I am in awe of writers like Lydia Davis who can tell a whole story in one sentence. Someone once said to me, “But that’s not a story,” and with all due respect, I must still disagree. A sentence can encapsulate a mood, a world. Perhaps I am drawn to the challenge of the “limited word count” mentioned earlier, but I think it’s more that I enjoy marveling at just the right word chosen for just the right moment. My mind tends to build stories not idea by idea, but word by word, kind of like Lamott’s bird-by-bird advice taken to the extreme.

I’m reminded of something my ex used to say whenever I rambled: “…in a million words or less, please.” Yeah, it’s dismissive, but also funny, and illustrative. I might also argue that, in some forums, too many words are just…too many words?

WOW: Yes, finding incredible writing in just a few words is like discovering a treasure. Was it your connection with flash prose that led to the creation of your outlet for flash writing: Flash the Court?

Court: I’ve worked with a lot of great lit mags in the past but I’ve always had this dream of starting a flash lit mag that allowed for more expansion and innovation in the form. Flash, for me, is the original hybrid genre. It thrives between fiction and nonfiction, between poetry and prose. Some flash prose editors want to see full narrative and character arcs, and I do value and enjoy those types of flash stories and essays. However, I wanted to carve out more space in the lit mag scene for the highly lyrical, the obliquely metaphorical. Prose-based work that both was and wasn’t poetry, both was and wasn’t narrative. Flash the Court takes submissions of prose poetry, flash fiction, and flash nonfiction under five hundred words, but I don’t want writers to feel beholden to genre labels. I’ve always found so much creative freedom when writing flash prose, and I wanted to share that joy, that sense of enrichment, with other flash prose writers. I also wanted to provide a platform for the published work.

WOW: It's interesting that you mentioned writing that both was and wasn't poetry because I was struck by the lyrical tone of your feedback to Flash the Court contributors. Do you think offering feedback to others improves your own writing?

Court: Offering feedback to other writers is absolutely essential to my own writing process. In this case, I think you’re specifically referring to the brief introductions on the site, which are indeed a type of feedback and critical analysis. At first, I fall into a flash piece just like I fall into a dreamscape—pulled in, inexorably. I give myself time to enjoy the experience, whether it’s pure bliss or pure challenge.

Eventually, however, I’ll want to think about what’s working, how the piece strives and strives and strives and finally—how it succeeds. I’m always looking for models, but to truly appreciate the model and apply those lessons to my own work, I need to be able to articulate the elements of fine craft apparent in the piece. Let me just say, some flash pieces defy this mode of analysis, which is wonderful, because this type of work really stretches my thinking. I believe that’s when lyricism enters the arena. Sometimes my clearest response to the poetry in the piece requires more poetry. And I study each piece on its own merits—which promotes variety and singularity in my intros.

WOW: Thank you for sharing your thoughts on writing with us. Hopefully, Flash the Court will get an influx of submission from WOW readers.

Empowering Children to Write - Make it Fun!

2026-03-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

I love to read and I love to write - you know what's even more fun than reading and writing?

...

It's teaching children to love reading and writing. I found a fun way to do that and if you have young people in your life, this article is for you. Even if you don't have young people - I bet you'll find a few take aways from adding a little fun to your life!

Mini-lessons lay the foundation for deeper understanding BUT…if you ask my 8 year old, it’s all about having fun! This is my biggest take-away from a recent reading at school. We finished reading Chapter 10 in Literacy Development in the Early Years (Morrow, 2020) and my take away was this: mini-lessons feel like play and that’s the best way to learn is doing things that are fun where you learn without feeling like you’re working. This resonated with me because as a mom, I’d rather take my kids to the petting zoo to learn about animals instead of taking out a workbook. If you make learning fun, kids are more likely to enjoy it for now and for their lifetime! When a teacher says “we need to work on our end of module writing” the class groans, but when you say “have you ever played a game that was so fun you felt like you were transported?” and you tell your class you’re going to read a magical book there are no groans! It’s essential to incorporate mini-lessons and positive encouragement to help students succeed and recognize themselves as writers!

I spent time recently in a 3rd grade classroom where the teacher used the book Zathura (Allsburg, 2002) as a mini-lesson and I ordered the book for our home so I could re-create the experience with my 8-, 10-, and 12-year-olds. I have a little different plan than Mrs. Wagner had. Mrs. Wagner was tying the Zathura book into the end of module writing for their space section of science. I however really appreciate the relationship development with the brothers and want to use the story to help my children appreciate one another. I created a plan to teach my children a fun mini writing lesson using Zathura.

You can delve into my mini lesson below - otherwise, I encourage you to just keep in mind the fun when you're reading and writing. Whether you yourself are the aspiring writer, or you're simply helping someone else (young or old) recognize their own writing talent, don't forget the fun. Feeling uninspired, consider a quit 'stop and jot' exercise and toss a few fun sentences in your journal about the banana section at the grocery store. Writing doesn't have to be grand and it shouldn't be forced. And don't forget the positive encouragement - even if it's encouragement for yourself as you're looking over your rough draft. In a world full of critics, choose to be a cheerleader for yourself and others!

Purpose: Get the family writing and talk about sibling relationships and how being part of a family is important. Focus on shared family experience as building blocks.

Connection:

• Hook: “you know how sometimes we play games and we get so caught up it feels magical and time seems to just disappear”

• Setup: “I heard about this book during my time in 3rd grade this week. They were talking about solar systems and finished their unit reading this fun book. I thought you’d love it so I bought it! What do you notice about the cover? What do you think it’s about? Do you have any predictions about this book? Do you want to write down your predictions and keep them a secret until the end or do you want to share them now and Delphine can record them?

• Objective: We will write down our thoughts at the end of the book and see how closely they match with our predictions.

Discuss vocabulary words (based on the varied ages of the children) and then read Zathura by Chris VanAlsburg

Vocab:

Meteor

Robot

Defective

Rotated

Dangling

Staggered

Tokens

Evasive

Fraternal Twin

See eye to eye

Camouflage

Imminently

Sigh

Squinting

Teach:

-How did the brothers get along at the beginning, middle, and end of the book?

-When did their relationship seem to change? And Why? How do you know?

-How do you think Danny and Walter felt about one another at the end of the book?

-How did the author / illustrator help us as readers understand the relationship between the brothers?

-How do you see a correlation between this fictional story and your relationships with friends and family?

-How has a difficult situation helped you be a better friend, sibling, or person?

-How has a difficult situation changed your perspective about someone or something?

Writing Time:

-Use the other side of your prediction paper and write what you learned from reading Zathura with us today. You can work collaboratively with one another but try to build strong descriptive sentences (add details when you can) with capital letters, and ending marks.

-Remember our chat about a the deluxe cheeseburger method of adding details to our stories - read over your sentences and ask yourself if they're interesting!

-I’m right here to help, and you can also use the book as a reference. -Include a final sentence talking about how your prediction compares to the story we read.

Conference:

-Begin with a compliment.

-Ask each writer to explain what they’ve been working on.

-Discuss the child’s goals for the writing they are doing ask “what are doing to add depth and detail to your writing?”.

–Ask each child to revise and if time allows, they can write an “alternate ending” and give them a new card.

-Help the child focus on the most important part of their writing based on their age.

Revise:

-Offer new paper if they’d like.

-ask each child to revise based on feedback.

Share:

-Share with one another or share with the group.

Works Cited Allsburg, C. V. (2002). Zathura. Houghton Mifflin. Morrow, L. M. (2020). Literacy Development in the Early Years.

To see this lesson being taught in a video, it's broken into 3 parts:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

About the Author of Today's Post:

Crystal Casavant-Otto writes.

Everything...

If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had. Her debut novel, It Was Never About Me, Was It? is still a work in progress and shall be fully worthy sometime in 2026...or maybe 2027. She has written for WOW! Women on Writing, Bring on Lemons, and has been featured in several magazines and ezines relating to credit and collections as well as religious collections for confessional Lutherans. She runs a busy household full of intelligent, recalcitrant, and delightful humans who give her breath and keep her heart beating day after day. Crystal wears many hats (and not just the one in this photo) including student, church worker, musician, singer, mom, and more! She fully believes in being in the moment and doing everything she can to improve the lives of those around her! The world may never know her name, but she prays that because of her, someone may smile a little brighter. She prides herself on doing nice things - yes, even for strangers!

HERA: Kingdom of Lies by Betsy Ellor Blog Tour & GIVEAWAY

2026-03-02T01:30:00.000-08:00

We're excited to announce the blog tour for HERA: Kingdom of Lies by Betsy Ellor. This book is perfect for women navigating love, ambition, motherhood, and impossible expectations without breaking.

Before we interview the author, here's a bit more about the book:
Before the gods became.
Before humankind was imagined.
Before Olympus was more than mist on a desolate mountain — Hera reigned.

When the war hero, Zeus, takes power and moves Hera’s statues aside to make room for his own, the queen of heaven must find her place in a new order. At first drawn in by Zeus’ charm, she quickly realizes she wants no part of life with this petty, egocentric dictator. When she refuses to marry him, what began as seduction becomes a snare. Trapped into marriage, Hera learns that power can still be forged through cunning, seduction, and unexpected alliances. But after she gives birth to the God of War, her influence begins to crumble — and his lust threatens to tear the kingdom apart.

Who is the Goddess of Marriage, if she’s bound to a husband who defiles every vow?
Who is the Goddess of Motherhood, if she’s raising a child the world misunderstands?
What kind of goddess is she willing to become to protect her people and her child?

Rich with betrayal, desire, and divine intrigue, this origin story of Greek mythology told from the point of view of its chief villain weaves gods, nymphs, dragons, sex, lies, and strategy into a fierce new legend. Hera: Kingdom of Lies combines the social and political maneuvers of Scandal with the mythic, villain-redemption of Circe.

PUBLISHER: Words Unbound Press

ASIN: B0G2GJ4RR9

ISBN-13 979-8274299466

Print Length: 282 pages

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon and Bookshop. Be sure to add it to your GoodReads reading list.

About the Author, Betsy Ellor

Betsy Ellor is a women’s fiction author and multi-disciplinary creative whose work blends intrigue, myth, and magic with strong, complex female leads. When not at her desk, she’s hiking, gardening, or annoying her teenage son. She’s the editor of the anthology Heroic Care, author of the picture book, My Dog is NOT A Scientist, from Yeehoo Press, and scribbler of articles and stories for various outlets, including Spine Magazine, 5 Minute Lit, and The Creative Collective.

Linktr.ee: linktr.ee/betsyellor

Instagram: betsyellor

Facebook: betsy.ellor

Substack: betsyellor.substack.com

Threads: Betsyellor

Website: https://www.wordsunboundstudio.com/

---- Interview by Ellen LaFleche Christian

WOW: Hera is often portrayed as a villain in classical mythology. What inspired you to reclaim her story and tell it from her point of view?

Betsy: I’ve loved mythology my whole life, but Hera always felt deeply misunderstood. She was a queen, a protector, and a mother, yet legends flatten her into “jealous wife.” As I got older and became a working mother myself, her portrayal needled me even more.

Hera stands up to a husband and king who could destroy her at his whim. Doesn’t that alone command respect? Her dominions were marriage and family, meaning it was literally her job to enforce the sanctity of those institutions. Yet when she did, she was labeled quarrelsome and difficult. (Labels many women in leadership are called.) The more I thought about these things, the more I reread the old stories, asking: what if Hera’s story was never about jealousy at all?

That question became this novel.

WOW: The novel explores power, marriage, and motherhood under impossible expectations. How do you see Hera’s struggles reflecting the pressures modern women still face today?

Betsy: Becoming a mother made me rethink our cultural myths about motherhood. Society tells us that motherhood should be instinctual and intuitive. Meanwhile, the media has plenty of ever-changing commentary on the “right” way to parent. The same can be said about society’s expectations for career women, wives, and active citizens.

Trying to balance those expectations myself often feels suffocating. How much heavier would that weight be for the Goddess of Motherhood and Marriage? She was expected to embody those roles to perfection, yet her firstborn was Ares, the God of War. What was he like as a toddler? She was raising a child that the world misunderstood, with the world watching.

Hera’s struggle to find peace, balance, and identity inside the pressure of these roles and expectations is mythic, but also completely relatable to modern women.

WOW: Zeus is depicted as charming yet deeply dangerous. How did you approach writing a character who embodies both seduction and tyranny without softening his impact?

Betsy: Many readers have told me they found it cathartic to see Zeus through a modern political lens. While I can see where they make that connection, my portrayal of Zeus grew from personal experience with a partner who confused love with control.

Zeus is charming because he genuinely believes what he is doing is best for Hera and his kingdom. He has flair. He dazzles. He illuminates those close to him in the glow of his presence. But Zeus believes his decisions are inherently right simply because they are his. If anyone disagrees, rather than question his own perfection, he simply forces them back in line. By this logic, he can commit atrocities and then curl up beside Hera, and expect her to give him reassurance and adoration. When someone with that mentality holds absolute power, the danger is very real.

WOW: Much of Hera’s strength comes not from brute force, but from strategy, alliances, and resilience. What does power mean to you in this story—and how does it evolve for Hera over time?

Betsy: Early readers have compared the book to the political maneuvering of Scandal, and I understand why. Like Olivia Pope, Hera often operates without an official seat at the table. After Zeus supersedes her on the throne, she loses direct authority and must rely on strategy, alliances, and seduction to shape the future for her realm.

At first, she believes she can protect the kingdom in this way. But as the story progresses - especially as her body, energy, and focus change through pregnancy—she begins to see how fragile that kind of influence is and fights even harder for a seat at the table with a voice that can’t be ignored.

WOW: Motherhood plays a complicated role in Hera’s identity, especially through her relationship with Ares. What drew you to explore the complicated tensions in that dynamic?

Betsy: While drafting this book, I was also navigating the support for my neurodivergent son (He has pretty severe ADHD and an anxiety disorder). Anyone who has walked a similar path understands the emotional gymnastics required. You must be a hearth-keeper, building a safe, warm, and stable life with plenty of positive reinforcement. But you must also be a dragon, constantly and fiercely advocating for the resources and opportunities your child needs while often battling systems that make support difficult to access. You must constantly embody tenderness and ferocity at the same time. I hope readers in a similar situation can draw on Hera’s strength and find solidarity in the story.

WOW: Readers have compared HERA: Kingdom of Lies to Circe and Scandal for its mix of myth and political maneuvering. How did you balance epic mythology with intimate, emotional storytelling?

Betsy: Myths endure because they evolve. They are mirrors held up to society; the mirror’s framework remains, but what we see reflected changes with each new generation.

In Circe, Madeline Miller took her key plot points from myth: an exiled nymph, Hermes, the Minotaur, and Odysseus, etc. But she layered in Circe’s emotions and motivations, and that is what makes the story resonate.

Unlike Circe, who makes a few brief appearances in legend, Hera appears in a large percentage of Greek myths. Instead of including all her appearances, I developed a few overarching stories to keep the novel from feeling disjointed and disengaging. The tales I focused on allow us to experience Hera’s cunning brain and the journey within her rich inner life. Hera has a strong moral compass, a protective heart, and a deep desire to both mother and rule well. Balancing epic stakes with intimate emotion meant grounding divine conflict in a deeply resonant story.

WOW: If readers walk away from this book seeing Hera differently—or seeing themselves differently—what do you hope that shift will be?

Betsy: We are all handed roles from the day we are born. We spend our lives either trying to live within those roles or - sometimes quietly, sometimes fiercely - fighting against them. That tension lives within all of us. It’s a conflict as old as the myth of Hera.

I hope that readers walk away seeing Hera differently, but also feeling empowered to always be the ruler of their own story.

---- Blog Tour Calendar

March 2nd @ The Muffin

Join WOW as we celebrate the launch of Betsy Ellor's blog tour of HERA: Kingdom of Lies. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of the book.

March 5th @ Knotty Kneedle Creative

Judy, a blogger about writing, gardening, and fiber arts, shares a guest post about Why We Love Myths.

https://knottyneedle.blogspot.com/

March 7th @ Chapter Break

Today, Julie shares a guest post by the author on the topic of Cut The Should. Stop by and learn more at her blog.

https://chapterbreak.net/

March 9th @ StoreyBook Reviews

Visit StoreyBook Reviews to read a guest post by author Betsy Ellor on the topic of Making peace with the duality of being soft and fierce in the world.

https://storeybookreviews.com/

March 12th @ Knotty Kneedle Creative

Knotty Needle Creatives reviews HERA: Kingdom of Lies. Find out more.

https://knottyneedle.blogspot.com/

March 16th @ Hook of a Book

Interested in the place of women in history? Visit Hook of a Book to read a guest post by Betsy Ellor about Women's History.

https://www.hookofabook.wordpress.com

March 17th @ Wonderful World of Words

Head to A Wonderful World of Words to read Joy's review of HERA: Kingdom of Lies today.

https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/

March 20th @ Hook of a Book

Read Erin's review of HERA: Kingdom of Lies today on Hook of a Book.

https://www.hookofabook.wordpress.com

March 25th @ All Things Writing

CC King, shares a guest post that addresses the subject: Myths Remixed: How to write your own. Head to her blog:

https://www.caitrincking.com/blog

March 27th @ Sarandipity's

Sara shares a guest post by Betsy Ellor on the topic of Parenting Difficult/Neurodiverse Children. Learn more at her blog.

https://sarandipitys.com/

March 30th @ Word Magic

Visit Word Magic today when Fiona shares a guest post by the author of HERA: Kingdom of Lies on the topic of Love Revised.

https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com/

April 3rd @ Boys' Mom Reads!

Find out more about HERA: Kingdom of Lies when Karen reviews the book today.

https://karensiddall.wordpress.com/

April 4th @ Ellen Blogs

Discover more about Marketing for Introverted Writers at Ellen Blogs where she shares a guest post by Besty Ellor, author of HERA Kingdom of Lies.

https://ellenblogs.com

April 5th @ In Our Spare Time

Read Ellen's review of HERA Kingdom of Lies today on her blog. Find out more about her thoughts on this book.

https://in-our-spare-time.com

***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****

Enter to win a print copy of Hera: Kingdom of Lies by Betsy Ellor. Fill out the form below for a chance to win! The giveaway ends on March 15th at 11:59 pm CT. We will randomly draw a winner the next day and follow up via email. Good luck!

Interview with Sophie Berghouse, M.D., 3rd Place Winner in the WOW! Q1 2026 Essay Contest

2026-03-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Sophie was raised in the Midwest and spent the first three decades of her life there. She attended medical school, completed her residency and fellowship, and felt pleased her life was comfortably mapped out. Then life introduced a plot twist: a permanent move to Germany due to her husband's job. Just as she began to find a new rhythm within the different language and culture, Sophie faced another plot twist she never saw coming: her third child was born with severe disabilities. When Sophie grows up, she wants to write a novel about traveling Europe with a wheelchair and four kids in tow. For now, she will focus on short stories detailing her (mis)adventures in parenting, special needs, and most importantly, living. She hopes her experiences can support and encourage other women and mothers facing unexpected life changes. She is not a big fan of socials but grudgingly accepts that they are here to stay. The only social link she has is on Substack: @sophieberghouse, where she has a mightily underwhelming number of followers.

----------Interview with Renee Roberson

WOW: Hi Sophie. Welcome, and congratulations on your win. Your powerful essay, "Lingchi," is a testament to a mother's love and the reality of parenting a child with severe disabilities. How did you first get the idea to structure the piece around the concept of an ancient Chinese torture method?

Sophie: When we first found out about the disability, I felt like my world had imploded in a single instant. It was torturous. Fast forward a decade, and I often forget about my daughter’s differences; this is our normal. But as soon as we step outside, I am reminded by peoples’ glances. And I don’t blame them. We are different, and it’s natural to look for the outlier. Yet, the ‘othering’ does affect me—not to the extent of the initial diagnosis, but just small cuts that add up over time. I am really drawn to the hermit-crab form of writing ever since I took a WoW class last summer. It offers a pre-defined structure which is helpful for the emerging writer. It’s the antidote to not knowing where to begin. Plus, it allows for creativity for the writer and the reader. The writer, because there is a starting point that can now be filled however you want to tell your story. And the reader, because they want to figure out how it all ties together.

WOW: There are so many ways to be creative with a hermit crab essay. This was an excellent structure for your piece. How did "Lingchi" evolve from the first spark of an idea to the completed draft you submitted to the contest?

Sophie: This was one of those essays where everything came together. I had read about that for other writers but always reacted silently with a dubious “yeah, right.” But that’s exactly how it worked this time. Things just ‘clicked’ and it was start to finish in two or three days. On a metaphorical level, I have been writing this essay for a decade. Maybe that’s why it just poured out once I had found the correct structure.

WOW: Sounds like it was meant to be, and I love hearing stories like this where everything falls into place on the page. Parenting is a universal topic that many of us can relate to in our writing. What are some of the related subtopics you've explored on the page?

Sophie: I think there is a dearth of authentic perspectives on what motherhood means. The narrative continues that its either communing with angels or ha-ha crazy. And of course there are those moments, but there is a range of other emotions that never get dissected: frustration, anger, jealousy, confusion. Those don’t seem to fit into the definition of motherhood and therefore don’t get written about. Another subtopic I try to shine light on is special needs parenting. It’s a subset of the population who has experienced it and even less who are writers. Yet, it’s a topic that touches us all. I think readers would be very interested to see what diagnosis day feels like, what the daily struggles are, etc. Parenting teens is also mostly a black box. I am trying to delve into that too.

WOW: You are correct--there is such a wide spectrum on what experience and explore as mothers. I appreciate you shedding light on special needs parenting with this essay and your Substack. What advice would you give to writers planning to explore emotionally-heavy topics in their own creative nonfiction?

Sophie: The danger in emotionally-heavy topics is to veer towards melodrama because—I don’t know— anything outside of the shiny-happy narrative must be its opposite? But after the initial shock of the inciting incident, I think people adjust, at least in some form. And describing that re-adjustment, that learning, is where the authenticity lies. I don’t think people want to read “woe unto me, I’m the victim.” But everyone is wildly interested in “I felt like a victim but now know I’m not.” There is still so much beauty to be found in many situations, even though it may not look like it to the casual observer. And shining a light on that beauty, that’s what makes emotionally-heavy topics so fascinating to the public.

WOW: That's such a thoughtful perspective, and a great way to describe what makes a compelling piece of creative nonfiction. Let's switch to something a little different. Originally being from the Midwest, how have you adjusted to life abroad in Germany?

Sophie: The first couple of years were confusing, but there is an American-International women’s group here that has events and helps close the cultural gap. I am glad to be here now and rarely run into any more surprises. Pro-tip: apartments do not come with kitchens—we found out the hard way with a newborn, two toddlers and a first grader.

WOW: Oh, my goodness, that bit about kitchens could be its own essay! Sophie, we're so glad we got to learn more about your life and writing process, and look forward to reading more in the future.

Which Is Which? Parsing Contradictory Advice

2026-02-26T06:30:00.000-08:00

It doesn’t matter what the industry is, there is always contradictory advice out there in the world. Designers are sick of white and greige, says one article. Yet in another article I read that the Panton color of the year is Cloud Dancer which I saw described as a shade of white.

Eeny, meeny, miny, mo . . . writing advice is just as varied and contradictory.

Never use sentence fragments.
Use sentence fragments to create emphasis.
A paragraph must have at least 3 sentences.
A single word can be a paragraph. (Not sure what I mean?)
Crash!
Don’t use exclamation marks.

So how do you navigate this mess? First things first, take a close at the various pieces of advice you've received on your latest project. Consider who told you what. Not every piece of advice is equally valuable, and a lot of that depends on who gave the advice to you.

That last one may feel a little harsh, but I’ve been in critique groups with people that I wish I could mute, especially when new writers are around. One author wrote only young adult literature which she actually knew very well. But she was equally opinionated about picture books and early readers. Not every one knows every form and this can make their advice suspect.

Another person I was in a critique group with had been trapped in time. When giving advice, she frequently cited well known books published in the mid-1930s. If you want to sell today, take advice from people whose ideas are based on the current industry.

So whose advice matters? If the advice comes from your editor, it matters. Probably. Most of my books are work-for-hire. While I will periodically dig in my heels, I buy this privilege by giving in to things that aren’t that important to me. I may be the queen of the sentence fragment and the wee short paragraph in my fiction but I give in and do it my editor’s way on nonfiction work-for-hire.

Last but not least, if you break a rule, take a hard look at the piece of writing you've produced. Does it work? Maybe you are breaking the rule to create emphasis. Maybe the rule is valid for narrative but you are breaking it in writing dialogue.

And it works.

I’m not going to say that you should always ignore the rules. Sometimes they are there for a good reason (See Butt in Chair). But there are other times you will discover that they aren’t rules as much as suggestions and that you can get away with doing things your way.

It just has to work.

--SueBE

To get a free copy of Sue’s book, What to Do When Your Book Is Banned, subscribe to her newsletter, One Writer’s Journey, here.

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 80 books for young readers.

To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog.

She is also the instructor for 3 WOW classes which begin on the first Monday of every month. She teaches:

Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work

Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults

Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults

Interview with Tara Sobel, Runner-Up in the WOW! Summer 2025 Flash Fiction Competition

2026-02-24T00:30:00.000-08:00

Tara Sobel lives in Goshen, New York, with her husband and four fabulous felines. As a nurse in the medical device industry, she’s passionate about making a difference in the lives of the patients she serves. Her love of writing began in grade school when she signed her dad up for a parent-child fiction workshop. Tara enjoys bringing real and imagined experiences to life on the page, often drawing inspiration from her love of reading cozy mysteries, sci-fi, and fantasy. Most of her stories have only been shared with friends and family, but this may be the start of something new.

-----interview by Sue Bradford Edwards -----

WOW: What was the inspiration for “Purple Flames?”

Tara: As a nurse, I have seen time and again that a patient’s story runs far deeper than what appears in an admission diagnosis. What brings someone in for medical care is often just the tip of the iceberg. I wanted to tell that larger, unseen story and offer readers a glimpse behind the curtain at the humanity that is such an essential part of healthcare work.

WOW: Such a big part of a writer’s work is revision. How did this story change through the revision process?

Tara: As someone without formal creative writing training, feedback has been essential to my revision process. I initially submitted this piece to a previous quarterly contest for critique and took that feedback seriously, especially suggestions to remove filtering language and clarify Bridget’s motivation for leaving.

I also wanted the reader to feel what Bridget was experiencing, so I leaned into shorter, punchier sentences to heighten the visceral impact. That choice reduced the word count more than I anticipated, but it ultimately strengthened the story.

Stepping away from the piece and returning with fresh eyes, more than once, was also crucial in reaching the final polished version.

WOW: Flash is such a tight form of writing that details have to be carefully selected. How did you decide which details would have space in the story and which wouldn’t? For example, Bridget is the only named character.

Tara: I wanted the opening scene to immerse the reader fully in Bridget’s physical trauma, so every detail had to serve that goal. I chose specific sensory details and similes to place the reader inside the car with her, making her strength and determination more impactful as she pushes through both the crash and her abuse.

Bridget is the only named character because the story is meant to stay tightly focused on her experience. The other characters did not need names, as they function more as representations of roles rather than individuals. Naming the EMTs risked pulling attention away from Bridget in a moment where her perspective mattered most, and naming her abuser would have given him a presence and power in the story that I did not want him to have.

Names carry a great deal of meaning, especially in flash fiction. Bridget is associated with strength, power, and the Celtic goddess of healing, which made it a perfect fit for this character.

WOW: There is so much meaning in your choice of that name! Your bio says that generally you only let those close to you read your work. What moved you to enter this piece in the competition?

Tara: That’s a great question. I received encouraging feedback from a couple of close friends who had read another piece I was working on, and I wanted to know whether they were simply being kind or if the response would be the same from someone with no personal investment.

I chose this competition specifically because it offered critique and focused on women writers. I’ve really enjoyed reading the work of the other winners, and I found their bios especially inspiring. There were many non-professional writers like me.

WOW: We always say that you are a writer if you are someone who writes! What advice do you have for our readers who have never entered one of our flash competitions?

Tara: Just do it! I would strongly recommend opting for the critique on your first submission(s). The feedback boosted my confidence. When I first submitted this story, the editor noted that I had a lot of raw talent, which encouraged me to revise and resubmit. The critique helped me refine both my content and technique. That process directly contributed to this runner-up win and made me a stronger writer overall.

WOW: I feel like I am speaking for all of our readers when I say that I'm glad you stuck with this story and worked with the feedback you received. I hope your words encourage someone else to keep working on their writing. Thank you so much for sharing with us all!

Book Blog Tour Launch and Author Interview for Michael R. French's "The Good Mother Test"...and giveaway

2026-02-23T01:30:00.000-08:00

WOW! Women on Writing Book Blog Tour

Michael R. French’s

THE GOOD MOTHER TEST

What makes a good mother you ask?

That’s a great question and we ask that YOU leave your answer in the comments - thanks!

And now onto our tour - we are happy to welcome back to WOW! Women on Writing, author Michael R. French with his latest book The Good Mother Test!

About the Book: When Emily, a bright but impulsive UCLA student, gives birth to her daughter Violet, she vows to be the kind of mother she never had: endlessly loving and fiercely protective. But single motherhood is a test with no right answers.

As Violet’s brilliance and independence unfold, Emily’s instincts clash with a world obsessed with achievement. Then Violet’s father, Doug, returns, now partnered with Amanda, a celebrated therapist unable to have children of her own. What begins as an amicable co-parenting plan becomes a psychological struggle for Violet’s heart and future.

Told through the eyes of both mother and daughter, The Good Mother Test is a deeply moving contemporary novel about family, ambition, and the fragile line between devotion and control. It asks the reader what makes a good mother, and what happens when love itself is put to the test.

The Good Mother Test

Not Trying to Heal My Inner Child While Raising One

Find out more by visiting: www.goodmothertest.com

The Good Mother Test is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org. You can add it to your list at Goodreads.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-948749-90-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-948749-92-3

Audiobook: Coming Mar 10, 2026 Narrated by Laurie Bower

Library of Congress Number: 2026900284

About the Author:

Michael R. French graduated from Stanford University, where he studied English and creative writing under Wallace Stegner, and later earned a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. After serving in the U.S. Army, he married Patricia Goodkind, an educator and entrepreneur, and began a family.

French is the author of more than twenty books, including award-winning young adult novels, adult fiction, biographies, and self-help titles. His work has been warmly reviewed in The New York Times and honored with multiple literary prizes. He has also written or co-written several screenplays, including Intersection, which has received awards at more than twenty film festivals.

His passions include travel, collecting rare books, and spending time with family and friends. He describes his worst traits as impatience and saying “no” too quickly, and his best as curiosity, risk-taking, and learning from failure.

Words of Praise:

“…A highly readable, relatable novel about ordinary people interacting, clashing, and blending their lives in however a messy or successful manner they can, and will attract readers interested in the psychological dovetailing of family and relationship-building which all boils down to luck and trust. These elements move full circle to guide characters and readers in an unexpected journey towards new beginnings and hope, making for a hard-hitting, satisfying read.” -- Midwest Book Review

“French shows a skillful hand with characters’ voices and dialogue, effectively

capturing very different perspectives in both third and first person.

The scenes of tension and suspense work well.” – Kirkus Reviews

Author Interview by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto…

WOW: Welcome back, Michael! I’m so glad you are here!.Congratulations on your latest book baby! The Good Mother Test feels different from some of the other books we’ve discussed together in the past. Where did your inspiration come from, and why a book about a mother, written by a man?

Michael: The start of the novel came from my wife and I watching our daughter, a single mom, prepare to have a baby. At age 40, with several careers behind her, she decided that she wanted a child and being a mom would be her “real career.” She liked sharing with us the details of the pregnancy, the ordeal of giving birth, and then raising her son the last three years. I was impressed by her patience, improvisation skills, and rebalancing her life. We talked about her expectations, dramas, joys, setbacks, chronic sleeplessness, and the bond shaping her and her son. My wife and I continue to be involved as both caretakers and curious observers.

As the days spooled into one another, they had the ingredients of an irresistible story. I didn't think of myself as a male author weighing in on a subject where I was an “outsider.” I was curious, deeply empathetic, and began to understand what my daughter and other mothers had to go through, and sometimes largely on their own. I began the novel a couple weeks after the birth and wrote almost every day for the next two years. Our grandson is now three. The mother in the novel, Emily, is a combination of my daughter and other women I’ve met debating about having a child or children, or none at all. The complexity of this far-reaching decision always gets my attention.

In my novel, Emily raises a daughter, not a son, because for me girls and women are harder and more interesting to write than men. I’ve read good novels about mothers and fathers and raising families by dozens of authors, and every story is unique. I wanted to capture what was unfolding in front of me. That said, the novel ends up spanning two decades with three main characters who interact with each other from different motives. There are interesting, complex men in the story, and a super driven woman therapist with an agenda. The daughter that Emily raises, Violet, is a tour de force with tough decisions to make as she grows up. Her pivotal story takes place over the last 150 pages of the book, and includes a love story. The novel also deals with our country’s low birth rate, privilege, and how to be a decent, smart mom when the chips are down. There are markers and tests along the way.

WOW: What a beautiful explanation Michael; thank you for taking time to explain this back story to us. Also, congratulations on your new role as grandfather! Has The Good Mother Test helped you deepen and strengthen your own familial relationships?

Michael: For a story to hold my interest, a family dynamic—the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows—gets tested in ways the characters don’t always anticipate, and often they don’t like or respect it. In our situation, after our grandson was born, my wife and I had to juggle our schedules to meet our daughter’s needs, similar to what all parents do throughout their children' s lives. The sacrifices, and sometimes mistakes, that got made were never regretted for long because lessons were learned and our grandson was priority number one. Still, emotional adjustments and expectations had to be fluid. In any relationship, the glue of flexibility becomes crucial if you want things to work with a coefficient of harmony and purpose. Our daughter and infant son were learning the same thing at the same time. It was all memorable, peaks and valleys.

WOW: Speaking of ebbs and flows or peaks and valleys, I must ask: When you wrote The Good Mother Test, did the final product match the enthusiasm and curiosity with which you tackled the book. What were the biggest challenges?

Michael: Writing something for two years or longer, almost every novelist will attest, can be a roller coaster. There are good days and frustrating ones. Unless you’re a strict genre writer, you’re not following a formula; and even if you are writing genre, you still have to improvise and problem solve at unexpected junctures. Perseverance, patience, and a worth ethic help a writer. Some of my challenges were to achieve a depth in the five or six secondary characters. They had to be interesting and important in their own right to deserve being in the story. I also wanted to be totally accurate about the freeways, restaurants and neighborhoods of L.A. because “setting” is a kind of character, too. In the end, I was very happy with TGMT and hope its many parts comes together to both entertain and even enlighten. I was certainly enlightened by writing it.

WOW: How did you research this particular book and others that you have written? What advice do you have for other authors when writing from the perspective of another gender?

Michael: In over fifty years of publishing fiction and non-fiction, novels are my favorite. My first commercially successful novel was Abingdon’s. It was about the department store, Bloomingdale’s, the cool place in Manhattan to be seen and shop in the Seventies. I had a broad swath of characters: a shoplifter, a janitor in the boiler room, shoppers of different ages and persuasion, disgruntled wannabes, and unique personalities in the C- suite. Obviously, this was all pre social media, but observing it day in and out was like looking at a screen. The plot involves a terrorist bomb threat. I did tons of research to make everything as accurate and believable as possible. Research somehow became one of my calling cards as a writer. I don’t write genre fiction, but to be grounded in verifiable facts I find essential to good story telling. Readers do, too.

The art of writing from the perspective of another gender is actually complimented by good research because you’re showing the reader that you know what you’re talking about. Complimented, yes, but of course creating a living, breathing character has mostly to do with other things. Your ability to empathize and sympathize is essential.

The depth of your imagination is as well. I can’t explain what “depth” means other than your imagination needs to be highly-inclusionary; monsters, aliens, obviously, but also you have to be the star of your own dramas. You allow yourself to play whatever gender, age, and circumstance you want. The freedom is exhilarating. I had an imaginary pet gopher when I was four or five and my mother allowed me to take it with us to the supermarket. I was an undisciplined early student because, like many boys, I couldn’t focus. Everyone’s mind fills with something, all the time, and when you become aware of this and accept that everything in your mind and heart has meaning, you’re a much happier person. Self-acceptance of course is always a struggle. For years I ran from myself, but once in college, and I could breathe, self-expression became my life-blood.

Regarding the characters in The Good Mother Test, which I’m blogging about for the release of the novel, I think my deep sympathy for Emily comes from my relationship with my maternal grandmother. For twelve years of my life, this woman was an all- accepting, all-forgiving, never voice-raising human being whom I trusted. Emily’s daughter, Violet, ultimately has to decide how close she want to be with her mother, one of the main themes of the book. It’s such a crucial thing, and many ways to think about and interpret.

WOW: Thank you as always Michael for being such a joy - I enjoy our time together and look forward to the next big project! I can’t wait to hear all the reviews and thoughts on The Good Mother Test!

Blog Tour Dates:

February 23rd @ The Muffin

What goes better in the morning with coffee than a muffin? Join us on the WOW! blog today and celebrate the launch of Michael R. French's book The Good Mother Test. You can read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of the book too.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

February 24th @ Bring on Lemons with Sara Erdmann

Wisconsin mother and reader Sara Erdmann shares her review of Michael R. French’s The Good Mother Test with readers at Bring on Lemons. You won’t want to miss what this mother of 5 has to say! https://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

February 25th @ Fiona Ingram Author

Fiona Ingram puts Michael R. French’s The Good Mother Test in the spotlight at her blog today - stop by and learn more about this accomplished author and his latest highly acclaimed book!

https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com

February 27th @ A Wonderful World of Words

Joy at a Wonderful World of Words puts Michael R. French’s The Good Mother Test in the spotlight at her blog today - stop by and find out why this book belongs on everyone’s TBR pile! https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/

March 1st @ Book Bunnies

Stop by Book Bunnies and read this review of The Good Mother Test. Michael R. French has done it again and created a touching and unforgettable tale you won’t be able to put down!

https://bookbunnies.blog/

March 2nd @ Chapter Break

Julie at Chapter Break interviews author Michael R. French about his latest book, The Good Mother Test. Stop by and gain more insight into this highly acclaimed author and his latest book baby! https://chapterbreak.net

March 5th @ Storey Book Reviews

Today’s spotlight at Storey Book Reviews shines on none other than author, Michael R. French and his latest book, The Good Mother Test. Don’t miss this shining star in today’s author spotlight! https://www.storeybookreviews.com

March 8th @ Sarandipitys

Today’s spotlight at Sarandipitys shines on none other than author, Michael R. French and his latest book, The Good Mother Test. Don’t miss this shining star in today’s author spotlight!

https://sarandipitys.com

March 11th @ Bring on Lemons with Crystal Otto

Wisconsin mother, reader, student, and musician Crystal Otto shares her 5 star review of Michael R. French’s The Good Mother Test. Stop by Bring on Lemons to learn why you need to get your hands on this amazing book today!

https://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

March 14th @ World of My Imagination with Nicole Pyles

Nicole shares her review of Michael R. French’s The Good Mother Test. Stop by World of My Imagination to find out what Nicole has to say today!

https://worldofmyimagination.com

March 15th @ Substack with Nicole Pyles

If you didn’t get enough of Michael R. French’s The Good Mother Test yesterday, stop by Nicole’s substack today and learn even more!

https://substack.com/@nicolepyles

March 17th @ Bring on Lemons with Tina Brouchoud

Wisconsin mother and avid reader Tina Brouchoud shares her honest review of Michael R. French’s The Good Mother Test. Stop by Bring on Lemons to hear an interesting perspective on this fantastic book! https://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

March 21st @ Karen Siddall

Fellow author Karen Siddall shares her review of Michael R. French’s The Good Mother Test. Stop by Karen’s website to hear what she thinks of French’s latest book!

https://karensiddall.wordpress.com

***** BOOK GIVEAWAY *****

Enter to win a print copy of The Good Mother Test by Michael R French. Fill out the form below for a chance to win! The giveaway ends on March 8th at 11:59 pm CT. We will randomly draw a winner the next day and follow up via email. Good luck!

Interview With Odyssey Writing Workshops Graduate, Shay Kaleoʻoluhoʻiloliokawaipāhe Kauwe

2026-02-21T01:30:00.000-08:00

As we move past the new year and resolutions begin to fade into the background, it's the perfect time to invest in your writing goals. Odyssey Writing Workshops offers courses that combine deep focus, directed study, intensive practice, and detailed feedback. You'll learn how to best use the concepts, tools, and techniques covered to make major improvements in your work.

Today, we're excited to interview Shay Kaleoʻoluhoʻiloliokawaipāhe Kauwe, a graduate of Your Personal Odyssey. It's an online, one-on-one intensive workshop experience, where you'll receive customized instruction based on your work and what you need.

Before we chat with Shay, here's a bit more about her:

Shay Kaleoʻoluhoʻiloliokawaipāhe Kauwe is a kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) author from the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi. She grew up on the Homestead in Waimānalo but moved to Russia because she fell in love with a boy. Her and the boy now live in Honolulu with their poi dog, Iris.

Shay holds an M.Ed in Education and taught English, ESL, and Literacy for nearly a decade before moving to the corporate world. Her debut adult fantasy THE KILLING SPELL is forthcoming from Saga and Solaris Books.

You can find her online at: https://www.shaykauwe.com/.

--- Interview with Nicole Pyles

WOW: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today! So, I learned that you are a graduate of Your Personal Odyssey from the Odyssey Writing Workshop. What was your experience like with them?

Shay: My experience with Your Personal Odyssey (YPO) was a fantastic one! I got the opportunity to dive into craft like never before. YPO has been instrumental in shaping my own unique take on storytelling. For example, I’ve learned to appreciate character far more than I had before the workshop. I used to think of character as just a list of traits and physical attributes with a dash of backstory thrown in. YPO taught me to think of characters as more complex beings with motivations that drive their decisions and thus, the plot of a piece. My stories are all the better for this realization.

Jeanne, too, is amazing. She is encouraging and helpful, but constantly pushing you to do better. It's rare to have an instructor that can provide specific and helpful feedback in a way that is always meant to improve and never hurt. It was an absolute honor to work with her!

WOW: I think that's one of the best combinations: helpful feedback that is focusing on improving, not hurting. What about the course appealed to you?

Shay: YPO appealed to me because I wanted a longer program with a sustained focus on writing improvement. However, I’m a full-time worker in Hawaiʻi, which is literally one of the most expensive places in the US, and it’s not financially feasible for me to take off for six weeks for anything. Odyssey was exactly what I was looking for! It was intensive yet flexible enough that I wouldn’t need to quit working or take a long leave of absence.

As soon as I met Jeanne, I knew that YPO was the right choice. The program allowed me to schedule meetings in accordance with my schedule, but it still required rigor. I was very busy during the program but found that this was a great way to learn how to balance my work with my writing. Since I knew I wanted to take writing seriously, I wanted to prepare for what that would look like later when the program ended. I can say confidently that the skills, and even the schedule I kept during Odyssey, have helped me set up a new and improved writing routine post-workshop.

WOW: How great that it worked with your schedule! I saw on your Instagram that you shared some wisdom you gained from the workshop! Can you recap some of that advice for us?

Shay: Absolutely! I did YPO from home and quickly understood that I needed to make some major adjustments to fit its rigorous schedule into my life. Organization was the key to everything. I realized I needed a clean desk to focus on writing, and so kept my work space tidy. To maximize on time, I picked up listening to lectures and audiobooks when walking my dog or while on a run. Experience was the second bit I learned from YPO because nothing can replace it. As a result, I’ll actively seek out new things when I have ideas for books – like I joined a mahjong club because I want to write a book about playing the game! Ironically, YPO helped push me out into the world, both living and reading more widely than ever before.

WOW: I love that! Experiences can inspire so much. So, congrats on the upcoming release of your book, The Killing Spell! How did the workshop prepare you for getting your novel ready for publication?

Shay: Mahalo nui! I had actually already sold The Killing Spell and was in the middle of the publication process when I applied to YPO, so my experience with this book was not affected by the workshop. (It’s such a bummer! If I had done Odyssey prior to edits, I’m sure I could’ve made The Killing Spell so much better!) That said, there was an amazing module at the end of YPO that focused on publication, marketing, and other things a new writer can expect. With my debut right around the corner, this was invaluable information to have.

More than that, YPO taught me how to continue to progress as a writer. Jeanne helped me to see the weak areas in my works-in-progress, and I was able to tackle heavy revisions there. I’ve got a second manuscript with my editor now, so with luck, folks will get to see that work out in the world one day!

WOW: That must have been great to have help with that book following your first novel publication! What advice would you share with writers curious about investing in themselves with this workshop?

Shay: You don’t know what you don’t know! YPO opens your eyes to all the small ways that stories are built, brick-by-brick. By completing the workshop, you’re giving yourself a sixth sense, a new way to look at books. It’s magical, and so, so worth it.

WOW: How cool is that. When did you know it was the right time to take this course?

Shay: In the interim between selling The Killing Spell and having it published, I ended up writing three additional books. I could see that there was a jump in quality from book to book, but when I finished the third and reread it, I felt like I’d hit a plateau. The book was good–not great. The bigger issue, though, was that I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t great.

That nagging inside drove me to search for courses where I could learn more about writing and how to improve. Odyssey and Jeanne were amazing for that, but it’s not for the faint of heart. I painfully came to the realization that all three new books were, in fact, not very good. But this time, with the help of Jeanne, I could now see why, and I knew how to fix it.

WOW: It must have been so refreshing to see how you could fix these books. How did this course compare to others you've taken in the past?

Shay: Odyssey is different from other writing courses because it treats you as a capital-W-writer from the jump. That professionalism encouraged me to take myself seriously, and it completely changed the way that I approached my writing. When writing is your “job” it looks a lot different from when writing is just a hobby. I learned, annoyingly, that the best way to become a better writer, is to write a lot.

WOW: Ha, I love that sentiment. What lasting advice or thoughts would you like to share with our audience?

Shay: Consistency is your greatest asset! Write daily. Read daily. Engage in deep practice daily. Learn daily. It really makes all the difference in the world.

WOW: What wonderful lasting thoughts! Thank you again for your time.

Remember, if you think Your Personal Odyssey is right for you, apply now! They are accepting applications through April 10. You'll receive customized instruction based on your work and what you need.