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The Joy of What If

I had two inspiration points for When WE Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women. (Of course, I did–it always has to be complicated with me.) One involved What If. This concept is when we set our imagination on “Go” and take off. At least it is for me. The joy of What If has inspired tons of novels, often in the “alternate...

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The American Daughters

I have fallen in love with…. I love stories that re-tell American history in a way that, had we not always written the past with a White male pen, we’d know was the way it might have happened. The American Daughters by Marcus Carlos Ruffin which retells how the years leading up to the Civil War unfolded in New Orleans is the latest novel I...

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Porchlight: A Journal of Southern Literature

The birth of the new is exciting. When that birthing happens in an arena you dearly love, it’s even more exciting. Such is the case with Porchlight: A Journal of Southern Literature. I built my writing career on literary journals. That was the way you did it when I was starting out. You submitted to journals and hoped you got lucky...

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Love Song to Cities

I was reading a book out in the world and an observer asked me what it was. The City We Became, I told her. Then she wanted to know what it was about. “Blah, blah, blah,” I said, ending with, “It’s about New York City.” I have now finished the second, and final, installment in the series by N. K. Jemisin, The World We Make. I...

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I Should Be More Excited

This week, I got the draft cover for When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women. The cover’s cool, particularly for a small press. Sometimes, to me, covers on small presses look like an image grab off Shutterstock. This cover is bespoke, tailored to New Orleans. It’s gonna be awesome. Still, I should be more excited than I am. I’ve seen the...

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Me

Romantasy or Trying New Things

This is going to be a ridiculously upbeat post where I report on trying new things. Last month, I facilitated a panel for the Louisiana Book Festival. Nothing new there. I’ve loved leading writing conversations forever. What was totally new for me was the genre of book I would be moderating. I had zero experience with romantasy. I...

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Me

Crystal Wilkinson

I don’t remember who introduced me to Crystal Wilkinson, but several years ago, I went to a writing conference because she was teaching the fiction session. The conference was in Asheville near my family. Also, the host, Image Journal, had nominated my work for a Pushcart Prize, where it received an Honorable Mention. But I wouldn’t...

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