Sometimes books can be a literal escape, not just a figurative one. Our critic Alethea Kontis recommends three fantasy novels that helped her along the way as she escaped an abusive relationship. (NPR) As someone who virtually grew up in the publishing industry — and someone whose mentors include Andre Norton and Jane Yolen — it’s difficult to admit that I read almost…
The Fun & Games “unworkshops” that Tempest and I hosted this winter/spring were a success in more ways than one. Not only did we have a lot of fun playing the games, some of us were able to get a story seed or two out of them! Some created our own games! Some of us put words on paper…
I’m always hesitant to recommend the Trix books to my fans, since Trix’s adventures parallel the Woodcutter Sisters series. And until THAT series isn’t finished (click here to read why), THIS trilogy can’t be properly tied up. But Trix and Lizinia are still two of my favorite characters of all time, and these award-nominated books are still wonderful and…
Hello, my dears! Is it time for storm chasing yet?? The answer is: YES. Chris and I leave next week, and I am SO EXCITED. (Yes, we are both fully vaccinated!) I am attempting to do All the Things before I leave, including All the Gardening…and writing this letter to tell you about the myriad of things I’ve been…
Castle of Horror Anthology Volume Three: Summer Lovin’ Featuring “Blood, Sweat, and Tears” by Alethea Kontis“Angelica gets sick so she asks her best friend Desi to write for her using her secret weapon that made all her books bestsellers: her own blood, sweat and tears. ‘Blood, Sweat, and Tears’ was amazing. It was dark, twisted and filled with so…
Today, my horoscope—in a couple of different places—talked about “eureka moments” and the intensity of my internal world. How I might reflect on how my identity has been shaped by the past. How “the communication you received growing up was more vague than explicit, so people believed what they wanted instead of having discussions.” Well, that’s certainly true. I’ve…
I often talk to middle schoolers about how keeping a journal saved my life. There were three major Big Bads in my history (how very like a fairy tale, right?). I call them: Lazy, Evil, and Awful. AKA: The Leech, The Sociopath, and The Abuser. Back when I was dating Evil, I wrote in a journal. Sometimes. Usually when…
In March 2020, the world shut down. That same month, a few thousand Snow Patrol fans from around the globe met Gary Lightbody online to write songs. Patchwork Poetry and Other Gibberish by the Saturday Songwriters contains over 100 poems, prose, and works of art by 39 Songwriters from over a dozen countries. In addition, each of the contributors…
Clockwork, Curses & Coal is NOW AVAILABLE! Featuring Alethea Kontis’s steampunk Aesop’s fable “The Giant & The Unicorn.”
The Once Upon fairy tale anthology collection — A new anthology in this award-winning fairy tale series releases every February…and I have a story in every single one! Collect them all!
Get Thieftess In Print Now! ✨🖤✨🖤✨🖤✨🖤✨🖤✨🖤✨🖤✨ ~~~Acknowledgments~~~ I started…
Dearest Squad, Only a few more chapters of Thieftess…
Dearest Squad, “Nabi” was one of the first Korean…
