Jennifer is a writer, reader, blogger, and all things books-type individual. No wonder we are friends! We highly recommend you check out her website here. When writing fantasy, one of the best parts is being able to create your own world, inhabited by your own races and creatures, each with their own laws and culture. It can be so much fun to let your imagination just run rampant, and see what you come up with! But it’s also one of the most difficult things to do. When writin

Where do ideas come from? This simple quandary has stumped generation after generation of thinkers, academics, writers, artists, musicians, and creative types of every kind. Interviewers constantly badger famous authors for any clue of where their most memorable fictional characters come from and songwriters dissect chart-topping hits in an attempt to reverse-engineer some long-kept secret formula. Much like the mythic Spring of Eternal Youth, the secret source of humanity’s

Tree District Books has recently signed Jimmy Jones. Jimmy is a relative newcomer to writing. He had been working on the Novel Silver Eyes on South Holston for a year before penning his first short story, Skeens, in February 2018. Having written twelve short stories and a novelette since, and beginning his second novel, he doesn’t stick to one genre. Most stories cross action, suspense, thriller, and a touch of the supernatural or sorcery. By day, he also works full time remo

Role Models for Aspiring Authors When aspiring writers look for advice on how to guide or develop their own writing they often come across the axiom “Write what you know”, a saying attributed to both Twain and Hemingway (I have cited Twain as he was the earlier of the two writers). As a novice writer one can understand how life experience acted as a powerful catalyst for some writers to make their work both realistic and highly detailed. If we take the action and espionage ge

If you’re like me it’s easy getting intimidated by…WRITING! It can be daunting and/or our best friend. Ever get so many ideas in your head and can’t figure out how to get them all down? Have you thought of countless ideas for your characters and aren’t sure which ones to choose or which ones work as well? Stepping back is part of the writing process because it gives our mind a chance to ‘stew’ and get it all together. When a stew is made all the ingredients meld together and

From C.S. Lewis to Graham Greene and beyond, many writers professing the Christian faith have written works of universal appeal. Though these individuals practiced particular, orthodox faiths, their works examined certain themes and questions, struggles and characters, that were of a broader appeal. For me, the question remains: how does a writer who practices a very particular faith reach all people without appearing to have an agenda? How does the religious writer craft som

Identity, we search for it, both in our writing and ourselves. Readers too, seek to locate and pinpoint the identity of characters they are reading about, piecing together through the information the writing presents them with, the nature and personality of said individuals. As this process unfolds, discernible, understandable, and perhaps most importantly, relatable identity forms. These fictional constructs are the quintessential components of a piece of fiction. The overwh

Recently Barbara had a successful book signing event in Stratford, Ontario at Knot Too Shabby (a bridal boutique that we recommend you check out. Their website is here). Book signings are always one of those things authors get butterflies for. But once a few folks show interest and buy the book, it's all fun! Barbara had two books signings during back-to-back weekends. We are so proud and happy they went well! More to come, we are sure of it! If you haven't already, check out