Blog Tour News! 🥳⭐

I’m super excited to announce a project I’ve been working on for a bit now: starting this Monday, December 5th (through January 7th, 2023), my latest book, From Promising to Published, will kickstart a WOW! blog tour!

Join us at the following amazing blogs for craft articles, some interviews about the book and writing, reviews, and more! Ta-da! 🥳📚

Special shout-out to fellow writers and book promoters extraordinaire Nicole Pyles at Women on Writing for championing my book and for super helpful answers to all of my questions and Angela Mackintosh for the fabulous tour banner and wonderful camaraderie! Many thanks to each of the generous book bloggers and reviewers as well! ⭐😊 I couldn’t have launched this tour without all of your support and kindness. Much appreciated!

I highly recommend WOW!’s book promotion services for fellow authors looking to expand their readership and market their books with the help of friendly, informed, enthusiastic book promoters and bloggers.

50 Give or Take, #2 Published and Ready for Readers! 📚🥳

It’s here! Check out this fabulous collection of micro stories to inspire your pen: clicky.

Such a treat to have work in this volume along with talented authors from across the globe. It’s the perfect addition to your bookshelf, classroom, syllabus, holiday gift list, and more!

Shout-out and many thanks to Jessica Bell and Elaina Battista-Parsons for this amazing, page-turning volume of stories.

"The 5 Things You Need To Be A Successful Author or Writer" Published

A great joy that my piece, "The 5 Things You Need To Be A Successful Author or Writer," was published this week at Authority Magazine, along with an interview about mistakes I’ve made in my writing journey, a long-time-arriving acceptance letter, and more.

Photo by Worachat Sodsri on Unsplash

Art & Interview in Bait/Switch 🥳

A true delight to get to participate in Bait/Switch, an innovative, inspiring “call and response art publication” where creatives are given a piece of art as a prompt to then create a new piece of art.

I had the best time creating my cyanotype, “On the Move,” and had a blast talking art, letter-writing, and more with multitalented editor and executive director Lu Valena. Check out the latest/fall 2022 issue for the work of wonderful creatives here: clickety.

Extra props and a very special shout-out to powerhouse of art and dear friend Christine Tierney. Many thanks for your encouragement to submit to Bait/Switch and for the marvelous poetry and life conversations. Such a joy to be publication twins with you, and kudos on your group show! 🥳Check out Christine’s gorgeous collage art and interview in the issue as well as her fabulous poetry book, chicken+lowercase=fleur .

To continued artistic inspiration!

"Pocketed: Adventures with 110 Film and a 1980s Pocket Camera" Published 📸

Splendid news: I’m honored to be published today in Film Shooters Collective, a very inspiring resource and encouragement for photographers who practice the art of film photography.

I had the pleasure to take a pocket camera (sometimes called a “spy camera”) for a whirl recently, and after shooting two rolls of 110 film, I wrote about it. 🥳Curious? Remember these unobtrusive dynamos? Thinking about taking your own pocket camera for a spin or getting one? Clickety to read and learn more. The article is packed with tons of insights, photo examples, and tips to get you started.

Many thanks to the super talented Amy Jasek for her interest in my 110 camera shoot and her enthusiastic camera and cyanotype camaraderie. Please check out Amy’s amazing photography and wonderful cyanotypes.

To the marvels of film photography!

Happy November & NaNoWriMo & News

Happy November! Cheering on all of my fellow writers embarking on the adventure of NaNoWriMo this month.

While I won’t be taking part this year, I have a few exciting projects I’ve been working on since summer that are set to release this fall.

Stay tuned, and rooting for each of these novels that will be created this month. NaNo on!

The 50-Word Stories of 2022 Anthology! 📚

Super amped to have work in the The 50-Word Stories of 2022: : Microfiction for Lovers of Quick Reads alongside talented, innovative writers from across the world. Many thanks to Jessica Bell and Elaina Battista-Parsons for compiling such a marvelous collection of stories!

Perfect inspiration for writers, readers, and teachers alike!

Preorder now at Amazon. Clicky!

Fall into Reading Book Giveaway

Happy Fall! There’s a crispness in the breeze today that matches with what the calendar says about a new season. Time for cozy sweaters and curling up with fabulous books!

Want to win some stellar books to keep your TBR pile stocked this fall? Or how about an Amazon gift card? Enter this free and awesome Fall into Reading contest at Women on Writing between now and October 6, 2022: clicky.

I’m so pleased to offer copies of my latest book, From Promising to Published, as part of the contest offerings. Read all about all of the excellent books on offer and enter the Rafflecopter form for a chance to win at WOW’s blog: The Muffin.

My Craft Article Published Today 🎉

Super excited that my article, “Hop on Your Horse and Gallop Back in Time: 4 Strengths of Historical and Time-Travel Stories,” was published today at Women on Writing.

Image courtesy of unsplash.com and Kayla Koss

Care to learn more and explore this fun subject as you create your own stories? Ta-da! My latest online class, Leaping Worlds, begins on Friday, September 30th and is is open for sign-ups now.

Read on for my article:
”Hop on Your Horse and Gallop Back In Time: 4 Strengths of Historical and Time-Travel Stories”

By: Melanie Faith

Creating characters whose lives take place in another time can be one of the most enlivening and meaningful writing experiences an author can have. Let’s take a look at four assets writing these stories can bring into the lives of writers and readers alike.

Historical fiction offers maximum flexibility in developing the protagonist. There is no one cookie-cutter image for who the protagonist of your story might be. There are historical fiction main characters of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities. Protagonists can live in literally any place and time (or multiple places and times, should you choose a time-travel tale) that you can imagine and recreate. You even have the flexibility to braid the stories of multiple protagonists within this genre.

Historical fiction protagonists in all types of narratives must have a purpose for being in the story, and that purpose is to inspire change through their actions; to be changed by events, people, or the place(s) where they live; or (ideally) both. All you need to get started is a setting, a time, and a protagonist with a big obstacle to push up against that’ll impact them and the wider world for days, years, or perhaps even decades to come! 

This genre also offers great flexibility of era. Have you always had a passion for the Roaring ‘20s or an interest in ancient Rome? What about a predilection for the early days of TV? Or even (gulp!) the early days of the internet? All include history well worth exploring. Whether a story is set two thousand years ago or twenty-five years ago, the past is at the core and the story is literally limited only by any era or eras that suit your fancy. A great deal of the fun in preparing to write, drafting, and editing within this genre is researching music, clothes, expressions and idioms, and more from the epoch you’ve chosen.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay at Pexels.com

Historical fiction is not a one-trick pony when it comes to styles and formats. Variety, thy name is this genre! Whether you want to pen a magnum opus novel or a flash fiction of a mere 45 words, there’s a style and a format to fit every writer and every project. Great historical fiction time-travel stories, for instance, can be told within a chapbook of stories connected by character or by place or by era, in a novella of a few thousand words (I had a fun time a few years ago writing a Regency novella, Her Humble Admirer, which in the tradition of many historical romance writers, I pen named), or equally well in linked historical-fiction poems (I wrote a collection of thematic poems set in 1918 a few years ago called This Passing Fever ). Historical fiction and time-travel stories also lend themselves well to creating a series. Want to write books about three cousins during the American Revolutionary War: one a Loyalist, one a Patriot, and one a pacifist? A series is born; go for it. Historical fiction allows for great versatility in how stories can be connected, divided, and crafted for maximum reader (and writer) interest.  

At its best, historical fiction sheds a light not only on another time but also on our modern lives. These stories can make us reflect on how far our lives have come and on how far we might go. They can remind us of our own struggles and hopes and setbacks, and they have the power to entertain us as well. That’s a lot of reading happiness in one literary package!  

Try this prompt: Pick a place, a time, and a protagonist. Your protagonist can be a real historical person or a completely fictional person. You don’t need to know everything—or even a lot—about your main character at this point: a name and an initial detail or two will do, even if you end up changing these details later. What does the protagonist, place, or era need the most that it doesn’t have yet? Who or what is blocking positive change? What most excites you to write about this era? Write for twenty minutes. Go!

New Month, New Projects Popping ⏲️

Hello, September!

I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately: how we organize it, how we anticipate or dread it, how we save it through the things we make and the things we share, how it is ever-malleable—both jet-speed propulsion and gelatin slow and everything in-between.

So, I made this thematic pen-and-ink drawing. Writing the interconnected and interrupted “ticks” was relaxing. There’s something very meditative about making something by hand, even something imperfect, as this doodle most certainly is. 😁

Also, my new class about writing historical fiction and time-travel stories, Leaping Worlds, is accepting registrations and will start Friday, September 30th. Can’t wait! Clicky above for more deets. I’d love to work with you and a friend. 📝