As a novelist, memoirist, and associate director of the New York State Summer Writers Institute, Amy Wallen has a few things to say about the writing world, many of them irreverent and snarky. From her perspective as a teacher, mentor, and published author, her belief is that the way to survive the hard knocks of writing a book and trying to get published is to bust a gut working, laughing, and eating pie. With chapters including "Oh Agent, Where Art Thou?", "Revising, Rewriting, and Reimagining," and "The Joy of Rejection," Wallen balances out the challenging stages of the writing process with both sweet and savory goodness, featuring recipes for chocolate pecan pie, salmon and portobello pie, and the recipe for the best cherry pie ever. Throughout the book, Wallen demystifies the vagaries of the publishing business, providing delicious recipes that will keep your belly full even when you're staring at an empty page. Her writing advice is neatly paired with the brilliant illustrations of Emil Wilson, who shares her sharp wit, sardonic look at the demands of the writing life, and her mad love of pie. Combined, the stories, lessons, images, and recipes will provide encouragement and camaraderie for the novel-writing journey, from putting pen to page, to finding an agent, to celebrating publication—all with a piece of pie.

When Amy E. Wallen's southern, blue-collar, peripatetic family was transferred from Ely, Nevada, to Lagos, Nigeria, she had just turned seven. From Nevada to Nigeria and on to Peru, Bolivia, and Oklahoma, the family wandered the world, living in a state of constant upheaval. When We Were Ghouls follows Wallen's recollections of her family who, like ghosts, came and went and slipped through her fingers, rendering her memories unclear. Were they a family of grave robbers, as her memory of the pillaging of a pre-Incan grave site indicates? Are they, as the author's mother posits, "hideous people?" Or is Wallen's memory out of focus? In this quick-paced and riveting narrative, Wallen exorcizes these haunted memories to clarify the nature of her family and, by extension, her own character. Plumbing the slipperiness of memory and confronting what it means to be a "good" human, When We Were Ghouls links the fear of loss and mortality to childhood ideas of permanence. It is a story about family, surely, but it is also a representation of how a combination of innocence and denial can cause us to neglect our most precious earthly treasures: not just our children but the artifacts of humanity and humanity itself.

Knowing very little English, eleven-year-old Jingwen feels like an alien when his family immigrates to Australia, but copes with loneliness and the loss of his father by baking elaborate cakes.

Writing a novel doesn't have to be an overwhelming endeavor. This book breaks down the process down into manageable steps. It starts with helping you come up with the idea to your novel, then takes you all the way through marketing your finished product. How to Write a Novel in 20 Steps not only provides a path to writing a novel, it has lessons learned from attorney and novelist Adam Van Susteren that will be useful for any novelist aspiring to make a career out of writing.

~ 8 Accomplished Authors ~10 Memorable Stories ~ Compelling Characters at a Crossroads ~ What Choices Will They Make? The emotive stories in this anthology take readers to the streets of New York and San Francisco, to warm east coast beaches, rural Idaho, and Italy, from the early 1900s, through the 1970s, and into present day. A sinister woman accustomed to getting everything she wants. A down-on-his luck cook who stumbles on goodness. A young mother who hides $10 she received from a stranger. The boy who collects secrets. A young woman stuck between youth and adulthood. Children who can’t understand why their mother disappears. The distinct and varied characters in Distant Flickers stand at a juncture. The loss of a spouse, a parent, a child, one’s self. Whether they arrived at this place through self-reflection, unexpected change, or new revelations—each one has a choice to make.

Do any of these sound familiar? • You want to write your first novel, but you don't know how to begin. • You've started writing several novels, but you never finish them. • You've written a novel or two, but you want to increase your output and publish more often. If you answered yes to any of the above, this book might just be what you're looking for! I'm Simon Haynes, and I've been writing and publishing novels and short fiction for almost twenty years. This guide contains everything I've learned about writing a novel, both as an indie and as a trade-published author. Maybe you want to write a novel which has been on your mind for years. You don't care how long it takes, you just want to see it through to the end. Or maybe you see yourself as a career novelist - there's a real challenge - and you want to write books quickly and efficiently. I've done both, and I cover both approaches in How to Write a Novel. Keywords: How to Write a Book ASAP, How to Write a Book, How to Write a novel, writing books, writing a novel, How to write a E book ?, fiction writing, write a novel quickly

What sort of mad longing besets a woman—nearing fifty and recently widowed—to sell everything she owns, buy an around-the-world airline ticket, pack a single suitcase, and set off alone on a year-long journey without a plan or agenda? When Your Heart Says Go answers that question. Set in 1990–’91, Judy’s story takes readers from San Diego through eleven European countries, the then-Soviet Union, and finally India, during the lead-up to the first Gulf War. Explorations of foreign locales and interactions with strangers and acquaintances who become a lifeline to friendship are interspersed with occasional flashbacks to Judy’s life with her beloved husband, Tom, as well as his illness and death. Descriptions of sites historic and current serve as both daily life and background for Judy’s struggle to find her way as a sober, single, independent woman in the vast world as it edges toward the collapse of the Soviet Union and war in the Middle East. The outer journey serves as a container for the inner; the more Judy experiences of the world, the more she learns about herself—and the closer she gets to realizing her lifelong dream of being a writer.

The Best Resource Available for Finding a Literary Agent, fully revised and updated No matter what you're writing--fiction or nonfiction, books for adults or children--you need a literary agent to get the best book deal possible from a traditional publisher. Guide to Literary Agents 30th edition is your go-to resource for finding that literary agent and earning a contract from a reputable publisher. Along with listing information for more than 1,000 agents who represent writers and their books, the 30th edition of GLA includes: Hundreds of updated listings for literary agents and writing conferences Informative articles on crafting effective queries, synopses, and book proposals (and the agent query tracker) Plus, a 30-Day Platform Challenge to help writers build their writing platforms Includes 20 literary agents actively seeking writers and their writing

This intensely practical and funny guide will take you through everything you need to do write a book to be proud of in 2020. You'll learn to write a novel, children's book, or narrative non-fiction that will remain true to your artistic vision and be strong enough to sell. 'Best book on writing I have ever read' -- Lovely Rita, Amazon reviewer So: you want to write a book. That means you'll need to learn how to find the market you'll be writing for and how to plan your novel. Know what works and what doesn't and identify the 'outstanding' from the 'good' ideas. You'll need to know how to plot like the experts: learn about all the plotting methods open to you, and which one suits you and your writing style. You'll also want to know who your characters are and why they're the way they are. You'll need to know about character arcs and character development, so that you can create dazzling characters that'll leave your readers captivated. But none of that will mean anything, if you haven't developed your prose style. This is what separates 'people who like to write' and 'writers.' So, you'll need to learn how to handle technicalities like point of view, tense, omniscience, writing with clarity, and the art of showing-not-telling. And, because you're a writer whose just created a world filled with evocative characters and excellent descriptions of place, you'll also need to know how to edit. Really edit your manuscript so that it's ready for publication. Oh, and yes, you'll need experience. This book is written by someone who knows what he's talking about. With 20+ years as a published and bestselling author, Harry has helped thousands of writers on their journey to publication (as boss of Jericho Writers). And look: there are plenty of writing manuals out there, but with this book Harry will be with you from the very first sentence to the last full stop. Offering you actionable advice with real-life examples, all with the aim to help you write a book to be proud of. From one writer to another - good luck. Table of contents: Introduction Part one: Planning 1 What is Your Market? 2 What is Your Plan? 3 What is Your Plot? 4 Who Are Your Characters? 5 What is Your Stage and Where is Your Camera? 6 Who Are You? 7 Some Common Mistakes Part two: Prose Style 8 Clarity 9 Economy 10 Clichés: A Field Guide 11 Precision 12 Some Technicalities 13 Little Flashes of Genius 14 Tone Part three: Character 15 Show, Telling, and The Riddle of Character 16 Finding Edge 17 The World of Interiors 18 Faces, Bodies, Mirrors 19 Meetings 20 Empathy Part four: Placing the Camera 21 First-Person, Third-Person 22 One, Few, or Many 23 Up Close, Far Out, and The Myth of Omniscience 24 Past or Present? 25 The Time Traveller's Reader 26 Madmen, Liars and Rogues 27 Irony Part five: Story 28 The Classic Plot 29 The Mystery Plot 30 The Literary Plot 31 Perspectives From Film 32 Diagnosing Your Plot Problems Part six: Scenes and Chapters 33 The Scene 34 The Scene That Isn't 35 The Chapter Part seven: Towards Perfection 36 Themes 37 Editing Your Manuscript 38 Getting Help Conclusion About Jericho Writers Bingham has been published by the three largest trade publishers in the world, has sold in every major market on the planet, has been on bestseller lists, has been prize long- and short-listed, and has had his work adapted for TV. His work has also received a considerable amount of critical acclaim.

World-renowned pie artist Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin shares her easy, approachable, and never-before-seen pie art techniques, delicious recipes, and 28 pie art designs centered around holidays and life occasions. Let pie baker extraordinaire Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin take you by the oven mitt and spirit you away to a delicious, magical, new world of pie-sibilities in this first of its kind pie art book! Whether you are a master baker, a little pie-curious, or just want to drool over the pictures while you lounge in your fuzzy socks, Jessica will show you just how easy it is for you to become your own pie-oneering pie artist! The pie art projects in this book are centered around some of our most popular and cherished celebrations in the hopes that they will encourage you to develop your own tasty new traditions with friends and family. The ample step-by-step photos take you through Jessica’s easy-to-follow, groundbreaking pie art techniques, while the friendly and funny (and a bit geeky) writing style encourages experimentation and creative discovery. With Pies Are Awesome, get ready to wow the pants off your crew at your next game night, baby shower, birthday party, or any of the social occasions that call for pie . . . which is, let’s face it, all of them. From decorative patterns to more elaborate themes, the pie art designs in this book, ranging from easy to difficult, for novice and experienced bakers alike, include amazing-looking and -tasting pies to celebrate: Birthdays (children and adults) Weddings Baby Showers New Year's Eve/Day Super Bowl Lunar New Year Valentine's Day Pi Day St. Patrick's Day Easter Mother’s Day Father’s Day Fourth of July Bastille Day Diwali Halloween Day of the Dead Thanksgiving Hanukkah Christmas Pies Are Awesome also includes tricks for working with your own tried-and-true dough recipes and store-bought dough; modifications to personalize projects; and online resources for printable templates, pie communities, friendly challenges, and more.