Literary Craft

Distinguished author Phillip Lopate, editor of the celebrated anthology The Art of the Personal Essay, is universally acclaimed as “one of our best personal essayists” ( Dallas Morning News). Here, combining more than 40 years of lessons from his storied career as a writer and professor, he brings us this highly anticipated nuts-and-bolts guide to writing literary nonfiction. A phenomenal master class shaped by Lopate’s informative, accessible tone, and immense gift for storytelling.

With passion and wit, Mary Oliver skillfully imparts expertise from her long, celebrated career as a disguised poet. She walks listeners through exactly how a poem is built, from meter and rhyme, to form and diction, to sound and sense, drawing on poems by Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop, and others. This handbook is an invaluable glimpse into Oliver’s prolific mind—a must-have for all poetry-lovers.

During an early morning feeding for her four-month-old twins, Meg Langslow hears an odd noise and goes downstairs to find her living room filled with dozens of animals. She soon learns that financial woes have caused the local animal shelter to repeal its no-kill policy. Her kind-hearted father, her zoologist grandfather, and other like-minded citizens have stolen all the shelter animals, both as a gesture of protest and to protect them until the hated policy can be repealed. But the volunteer who was transporting animals to new homes has been murdered.

A proud and reserved alien society finds its homeland destroyed in an unprovoked act of aggression, and the survivors have no choice but to reach out to the indigenous humanoids of their adopted world, to whom they are distantly related. They wish to preserve their cherished way of life, but doing so may mean changing their culture forever. Working together to save this vanishing race, a man and a woman from two clashing societies will uncover ancient mysteries with far-reaching ramifications.

What readers are saying... "As always, Sharon Srock delivers a suspenseful, loving, and beautiful story of real life in God’s hands. This series shows the love of God in the everyday life and trials of people doing their best to stay strong in their faith. How blessed we are, Ms Srock shares her tremendous talent with us!" Amazon reviewer SHE FINALLY HAS HER DREAM IN SIGHT. Maggie Hart hasn’t always made the best choices. When the life she was trying to build for her kids is derailed by charges of neglect, she found promise instead of despair. The promise of getting her kids back home ...

Unlock the Power of Your Words: Journey into the Heart of Hypnotic Storytelling Are you ready to transform your writing and master the art of influence? Hypnotic Writing Lab: Develop Your Hypnotic Episodic Storytelling Skills for Influence is your gateway to a deeper understanding of how language can shape thoughts, evoke emotions, and guide perceptions. Building on the principles laid out in The Art of Hypnotic Episodic Storytelling, this book takes you beyond theory and into the practical application of hypnotic techniques through a series of carefully designed prompts. Each prompt ...

In a world defined by social distancing, where physical connections are limited, the human spirit yearns for new avenues of exploration. This captivating collection of poetry, "67 Days of NOLA Poetic Exploration Between Here And There: Week 8 - The Experimental Certainty of Exploration Through Social Distance," invites you to embark on an extraordinary voyage into the uncharted territories of isolation, where self-discovery and communal understanding await. Through the lens of vibrant New Orleans, this poetic sojourn delves into the depths of human emotions, illuminating the transformative ...

With the signature wit and humor that has garnered him legions of fans, Gantos instructs young writers on using their "writing radar" to find story ideas in their own lives. Incorporating his own misadventures as a developing writer, Gantos inspires listeners to build confidence and establish good writing habits as they create and revise their stories. More than just a how-to guide, Writing Radar is a celebration of the power of storytelling and an ode to the characters who - many unwittingly - inspired Gantos' own writing career.

Eager to unravel her family's history, Becca Gold finds herself untangling a web of murder. Aunt Becca and her niece take a journey to Portugal on an exclusive tour in pursuit of ancestral insights. Amid mingling with fellow travelers, Becca’s inner warning system starts to flare. She senses an ominous undercurrent. She’s keenly observing everyone’s actions and yet a priceless relic goes missing and its owner, one of the tourmates, is found dead. Uncertainty looms: no one knows if it was a natural demise or a calculated murder. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Becca snoops ...

Crafting a killer cozy can be perilous. Fans of the genre expect authors to forego explicit gore and violence while at the same time creating a mind-boggling murder mystery with pulse-pounding tension and a twisty plot. But how is a writer supposed to satisfy such disparate demands? How to Craft a Killer Cozy Mystery tackles this exact problem by providing an actionable roadmap for starting (and completing!) a manuscript that will leave readers dying for more. Packed with charts and questionnaires designed to streamline the writing process, this comprehensive step-by-step guide will help ...

Get three PI Assistant Extraordinaire Mysteries in a bundle. More than 100,000 words, humorous mystery books. FREE with Kindle Unlimited! Ghostly Murder A murder in a locked room…The faceless ghost… Throw in a cross-dressing detective plus his assistant extraordinaire in this new mystery series! A high profile murder calls for a high profile detective. When the famous Sushi Czar is found dead in a room that’s locked from the inside, the evidence just doesn’t add up. Of course a killer ghost (supernatural killer) is no match for the deductive skills of Michael Archangel. The fabulous...

Her scars are soul deep Artist Cami Bolin has trust issues. Every man who should have loved her ultimately betrayed her. The word “father” leaves her cold, even when it applies to the one in Heaven, the one her current friends are trying so hard to get her to believe in. What does she need God for? She loves her work. She has a newfound granddad who treats her with a kindness she’s never experienced. She has all she needs, except there’s this guy… Temptation…or Divine intervention As a boy, Easton Cramer had two dreams. Convinced that his call to the ministry couldn’t coexist ...

What readers are saying... "Sharon Srock has the ability to draw us in and and not let go until the last word." Amazon reviewer "I fell into this story quickly. The characters are so real I thought I should look for their Facebook profiles and friend them." Amazon reviewer YOUNG LOVE FOUND. In 1970, seventeen-year-old Ruthie Arnold found the love of her life. Six months later, she lost him to the horror and confusion of war. With Elliott missing and presumed dead, Ruthie had no choice but to go on—carrying regrets and secrets she never dared tell another soul. Even though she eventually ...

A murder in a locked room… A faceless ghost… Throw in a cross-dressing detective-savant plus his assistant extraordinaire in this new mystery series! A high profile murder calls for a high profile detective. When the famous Sushi Czar is found dead in a room that’s locked from the inside, the evidence just doesn’t add up. Of course, a killer ghost is no match for the deductive skills of Michael Archangel. The fabulous cross-dressing former FBI agent can rock a set of sky high stilettos and assemble clues like puzzle pieces, but can he actually prove a ghost committed murder? Only ...

Afterlives of Endor offers an analysis of the way early modern English literature addressed the period's anxieties about witchcraft and theatricality. What determined whether or not a demonologist imagined a trial as a spectacle? What underlying epistemological constraints governed such choices and what conceptions of witchcraft did these choices reveal? Pairing readings of demonological texts with canonical plays and poetry, Laura Levine examines such questions.

What readers are saying... "An excellent story - one showing exactly what God can do, if we only listen and get out of our own way. I absolutely loved this book. Thank you for making me laugh and cry, for helping me see things from a different perspectives and showing Gods amazing grace so clearly!" Amazon reviewer Sage Hoffman wants what her sister has. A normal life. A husband. The works. But moving on from the trauma she survived during her late teens proves more than she can bear—especially when she’s haunted by the sound of a tiny heartbeat she never knew existed. Because of the ...

A sweet n' cold murder… A newbie, pathetic agent… and a hot mess… FREE with Kindle Unlimited! PI Assistant extraordinaire Kelly Kinki is back, and she’s stuck between a hunk and a hard case. A popular college student has been murdered after visiting a local ice cream shop. The suspect list is short and sweet, but with a fledgling FBI agent tagging along on their investigation, Kelly and her drop dead gorgeous boss Michael Archangel have an extra scoop of trouble. Trading his dress for a suit and hitting DC’s top ten list of eligible bachelors may be business as usual for Archangel...

Serial murder with a sick ritual... The most unusual way to use Eggs Benedict... The mismatched duo's race against time... FREE with Kindle Unlimited! Former London socialite Kelly Kinki doesn’t always see eye to eye with her sexy-as-hell boss Michael Archangel, but she’ll follow the brilliant, cross-dressing detective anywhere to help solve their latest case. Kelly was happy to lay her rep as the Dragon Lady to rest when she moved across the pond, but to catch an eyeball snatching serial killer she’ll have to put her skills at fire breathing to the test once again. A gruesome autopsy...

What readers are saying... "Lacy is heart wrenching, heartbreaking, and completely healing. I love the healing nature of love. I felt the entire journey in these pages. This is a story that needed to be told and a message of faith that needs to be heard." Amazon reviewer She had the perfect life, until she didn’t. Lacy Fields was so blessed, she felt like God’s favorite daughter. A husband she loved, a daughter she adored, and a soon-to-be granddaughter she planned to dote on. When a tragic accident wipes away two thirds of those blessings, everything in her life comes into question. ...

All Penny has ever wanted to do is dance-and when that chance is taken from her, it pushes her to the brink of despair, from which she might never return. When she wakes up after a traumatic fall, bruised and battered but miraculously alive, Penny must confront the memories that have haunted her for years, using her love of movement to pick up the pieces of her shattered life.