Author Interview: Ryan Artes on the Poetry of Identity

Black and white portrait of Ryan Artes, author. Photo credit: David Gray Wright

Have you ever met someone who was poetry? I met Ryan Artes serendipitously when I was in my last year at university, and we realized with a start that we shared two very close friends, even though we had somehow never crossed paths – until we did. Fifteen years later, when he told me he […]

Self-publishing on Amazon KDP: 6 Lessons 

A screenshot of the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing backend, which I used to self-publish my young adult fantasy debut novel, "Flight of an Orphan Thief"

Back in March, I self-published my first novel. It has been an exciting journey, and I thought I would share some lessons learned about the whole process of self-publishing using Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (or “Amazon KDP”). Going in, I decided I would keep things as stress-free as possible, understanding that as a first-time self-published […]

A letter to my Impostor Syndrome

Dear Impostor Syndrome, While I know you’re always lurking, I appreciate that most of the time my cheerleader voice is louder than yours. You might be frustrated that despite your insistence to stick around, I refuse to let you interfere in all the things I set out to do. Fair, I suppose. I’m frustrated that […]

Advance Reader Copy: The magic of ARCs

I remember when I first came across the term “ARC”, short for “Advance Reader Copy”. It sounded like a promise and a responsibility, but more importantly, a badge of honor – and proof that you weren’t a bystander, a mere spectator. You had a toe in the backstage waters.  What’s the difference between being a […]

Cover Reveal!

It’s done! It’s here! And I’m so excited to share… Here is the cover for “Flight of an Orphan Thief”, my young adult fantasy debut novel coming out March 20 this year: How it came about As mentioned in my last post “Book Cover Design: Where to begin?“, the options were numerous and almost overwhelming. […]

Book Cover Design: Where to begin?

In parallel to finalizing my manuscript, I decided to go ahead and start figuring out a book cover design. I found way more options and resources than expected, a range of prices going from $0 to $3500, and was almost paralyzed by choice (except I actually got really excited about having so much choice!). That’s […]

My writing journey: Self-publishing, here we go!

It has been a while since I shared anything here. I would apologize, but I am not sure how many people are even paying attention, what with all the blogs and articles and newsletters out there – not to mention the state of the world. BUT, in case you have been reading my words, I […]

Podcast Review: “The Life Coach School” – an unexpected favorite

Two notes up front: First, I’m not paid by any of the experts or Apps mentioned in this article. I’m just sharing my experience and appreciation of them because there’s so much noise out there that I always appreciate heartfelt recommendations. In other words, this is me paying it forward. And second, I’m not an […]