Guest post

“Building Writer’s Voice”

On a television show I watched once, there was a curvy girl trying out for a ballet program. She got cut almost immediately. Her ballet teacher gave her a wig and told her to audition under another name. She quickly got cut again. Her ballet teacher sent her in under a third name. Someone who was watching said, “This is madness. They saw her, and she got cut.” The ballet teacher said, “They didn’t see her. She’s auditioning with all these skinny girls and they see that she has the biggest thighs and the biggest hips and they cut her. They aren’t actually seeing her. Eventually, she’ll go in with a group of girls and someone else will have big thighs, then they will see her.”

This statement blew my mind. How many times have we been rejected from an opportunity, not based on merit but on some external bias beyond our control? And how many times have we taken that judgment to be a ruling on our talent (or lack thereof) rather than a prejudice against our being. Students fight this battle of perception on a daily basis. I have a colleague who is working in an afterschool program. There are two boys in the program who are constantly getting in trouble together. One of them, however, has a behavior plan and goals that the adults in his life are monitoring. The other boy has nothing. She asked, “Why doesn’t this boy have a plan too?” The head of the program said, “Because we don’t care about him.” He laughed when he said it, but it was true. Two troublemakers, but one was seen as redeemable and one was not. We internalize the judgments that are made on us—but we have no idea what biases may be at play when people are reacting to us. That was really all the ballet teacher in the TV show was looking for. She wasn’t pushing to have her student selected, she was pushing to have the biases stripped away so her student could be seen. Isn’t that what we are all looking for?

As humans we all need relationships in which we are authentically seen, valued and appreciated, but being seen can be a really tricky proposition. For the main character in my YA novel Tempest, being seen is dangerous. Born with the power to control the wind, Veronique grows up knowing that there are threats to her life and her freedom. To keep her safe, her grandmother insists that she hide, but a life of hiding is limiting—and safety based on hiding can quickly become a trap. Over the course of the novel, Veronique learns how to face the forces that are hunting her—and she learns how to face herself and fully embrace her power.

The dangers of being seen may not be life-threatening for all of us, but very early in our lives, we learn how closely judgment is tied to visibility. Being seen means opening ourselves to being criticized. For the entire first half of my career, being seen was an intensely uncomfortable sensation. I didn’t like sharing pictures of myself or personal information about myself. And, the idea of sharing my work—my raw, unpolished, initial drafts—was excruciating. I remember years ago when a magazine editor asked me to submit an article. I told her I didn’t know where to begin. She told me to write a draft off the top of my head and send it to her unedited. I looked at her like she was crazy. She said, “I know sharing your work at such a raw stage feels strange, but I think the first draft holds power.” It was painful for me to even consider turning over a first draft of anything. With MASSIVE reluctance, I shared my first draft with her. The process unfolded just as the editor said it would. She gave me some guidance and I completed the piece.

Fast-forward 12 years. An editor asked me for an essay. I was willing but busy. I sat down and banged out a draft in two hours. I sent it to her without reading it over even once. “I need to edit this piece,” I wrote, “but please review it and let me know if this is what you’re looking for.” I trusted that she could see the essence of the essay in the draft, she could read the bones and I could fill in the flesh later. She reviewed it and affirmed that it was exactly what she was looking for. She gave me a deadline to turn in edits. I made some tweaks and the work was done.

The difference between these two experiences was about a decade of writing. When I was less developed as a writer, I was more rigid and more controlling about my work. Now, I’m happy to hear critique and insight. I welcome new suggestions and perspectives. And I don’t mind sending out an underdeveloped draft for feedback. I believe it is because more experience = more confidence. More confidence = less need for every single thing I write to be perfect.

The biggest thing artists need as they are developing their voices, as well as when they are maturing to deeper and deeper levels of mastery, is the willingness to follow their ideas. So often, the need for perfection stops people from bringing their ideas to life. Willingness and acceptance are the biggest barriers to developing skill and identity as a writer. The only way to grow is to make mistakes, to write clumsily, and to discover the potholes of storytelling. When we are willing to be imperfect, we learn the rhythm of writing more quickly. We must also accept that all writers have both gifts and challenges. No matter how much mastery we gain, we are constantly called to both acknowledge our imperfections AND validate our writing

But how do we get there? If seasoned writing requires time and space, and for so many evolving writers, just staring at the blank page sparks vulnerability and the intense desire to hide, what do we do? Evolving writers need frequent, low-stakes practices that build fluidity and confidence into their writing. It’s a huge gift to offer people—both grown-ups and students alike—the space to play freely and explore creatively. In his excellent Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art, Stephen Nachmanovitch draws on Buddhist philosophy to talk about the tendency of humans to compare ourselves to others. Nachmanovitch defines the “fear of ghosts” as our habit of measuring ourselves against the talents and directives of our “teachers, authorities, parents or the great masters.” That’s why writing assignments that are not graded, that are short, and that are frequent can give growing writers a little bit of breathing room.

When guiding developing writers, it’s important to remember that for so many people, writing just feels like setting themselves up to be judged. When we share our writing, negative marks can validate self-criticism and strengthen our certainty that our writing voice is faulty and our efforts are useless. If the only focus in writing is the right way to structure a sentence or a paragraph or a paper or a story, we lose our own personal relationship to writing. We rob ourselves of the ability to personally connect to the work and discover our own reasons for writing. The academic side of writing is essential, but without valuing the uniqueness of our voices, we can end up frozen and afraid to write. Finding value in our own writing style is essential— it’s not just about healthy esteem, it is literally the key to forward motion. We all need to learn about topic sentences and paragraphs, but we also need support and guidance to celebrate our authorial voice, just as it is.

Published June 24th, 2025 by Qull Tree Books

About the Book: In this lyrical and epic contemporary novel with magical fantasy elements, a girl must learn to master her powers over the wind before a sinister secret organization finds her. Perfect for fans of Legendborn,  A Song Below Water, and Vespertine.

After Veronique’s parents died, her grandmother raised her on a farm in rural Louisiana. For sixteen years, it’s just been Veronique, MawMaw, and an ocean of trees. That’s because Veronique has a secret—one MawMaw has warned her she must always keep safe.

Veronique has the power to control the wind.

But when MawMaw falls ill, Veronique is forced to move to New Orleans to live with family she never knew she had. New Orleans is a far cry from her old quiet life, but Veronique finally gets her chance for a normal life—one with school, friends, and even love. But when her new life threatens her ability to control her powers, she quickly learns that the world is bigger and more dangerous than she’d ever imagined. Veronique must uncover what MawMaw was trying to protect her from before it’s too late.

About the Author: K. Ibura is a writer and visual artist from New Orleans, Louisiana. The middle child of five, she grew up in a city full of music and culture, a neighborhood full of oak trees and mosquitoes, and a home full of art and activism. She has written two short story collections for adults: Ancient, Ancient—winner of the James Tiptree Jr. Literary Award—and When the World Wounds. Her debut novel and first book for young people, When the World Turned Upside Down, was published in February 2022. Find her online at kiburabooks.com.

Thank you, K, for this thought-provoking and inspiring post!

“Finding Inspiration in Video Games”

“Inspiration” is a very popular word within the writing world. The question “where do you get your inspiration?” is easily the most commonly asked question any writer or author will receive. I think inspiration is different for every author. For me, much of my inspiration comes not from books or movies, but from video games. I’ve been a huge gamer ever since I was a kid playing Super Mario bros. on my Nintendo. And over time, as consoles have gotten even better and game graphics have evolved to movie-like quality, I continue to be immersed in the stories, characters, and worlds of certain games. The phrase “video games will rot your brain” sounds very hollow to me, as all the elements of a good story can be found within a video game world. You become engrossed in these stories and characters because you are the one controlling them. You are the one going through all their hardships, trials and challenges right alongside them. You journey with them, fight with them, discover with them and, in some cases, find love with them.

And if a video game can break your heart or make you feel intense joy because of something that happened to the characters, then it has achieved full emersion, something that all authors should strive for in their own books. I remember the games that did this to me. A few special titles, where I was not okay at one point in the game. Even today, Final Fantasy X will never fail to make me tear up at its heartbreaking conclusion. When I first played it, I sobbed like a baby after the credits rolled. But you can’t just watch the finale of FFX and get it; you have had to have gone through everything with the characters to understand the significance of what was sacrificed at the end. Watching just the end is like flipping to the last page of a book to see what happens. You have to experience the entire story to understand.  In a similiar vein, the ending of Dragon Age: Origins had me smiling and feeling all was right with the world, because the two characters you had been rooting for the entire game finally (if you made certain choices) got their happy ending. (There is also a tragic, “ultimate noble sacrifice ending” as well, which I appreciate just as much, but for this purpose we’ll go with the happy ending.)

So, video games have played a huge part in me becoming a writer. Which brings us to FATELESS, a tale about theives, assassins, curses, and ancient gods, set against the backdrop of a harsh desert world. Think Dune and The Mummy vibes. And while both of these stories did play a small part in creating the world of FATELESS, I owe the largest inspiration to a video game series called Assassin’s Creed.

I think what I loved most about Assassin’s Creed was the world. Throughout the whole series, you are given this massive open world to explore, journey through, and live in. The world feels alive; from bustling city streets to sprawling rooftops to temples that seem to touch the sky, you could move through this world and feel like you were a part of it. I also loved the assassins—their Order, their code (“We work in the dark to serve the light”), even their clothing: the distinguishable red and white outfits that subtly changed throughout the series but still stayed true to the original.  The plot was complex and mind-bending, especially in the earlier games, but it was the world and the characters themselves that fascinated me.  Their individual stories kept me playing, kept me immersed, long after I would have gotten bored of endless repetitive missions where I had to assassinate yet another nameless captain of an outpost.  Whether it was Ezio’s desperation to save his family, Kenway’s journey of self-discovery and redemption, or the ill-fated love between an assassin and their sworn enemy (a templar), the stories presented in Assassin’s Creed are as old as time. And they played a huge part in shaping the world of FATELESS and its characters, especially the two main protagonists, Sparrow and Raithe. One is a thief, the other an assassin. Their stories and fates become entwined with each other’s, as they race to stop the rising of an awakened god that will destroy their world. And, just like the characters in Assassin’s Creed, they are individual souls trying to stand against a far greater darkness.

I could wax poetic about the virtues of video games for hours, but I will end this post with this. For me, gaming has been a huge part of my life, and has definitely shaped me as a writer. So, the next time you hear the phrase “video games will rot your brain,” remember that at least one book might not ever have been written, were it not for the hours spent sitting in front of a screen, playing a video game series about assassins.

Published July 15, 2025 by HarperCollins

About the Book: Deep in the forgotten city of the Deathless Kings, an ancient relic of untold power waits—for one bold enough to steal it.

When seventeen-year-old Sparrow joined the Thieves Guild she made a vow of binding loyalty to their cause. So when a mission comes along from The Circle, a group of mysterious, dangerous beings who control the Thieves Guild from the shadows, Sparrow is determined to cement her place in the guild.

What ensues is a death-defying adventure that has Sparrow and her band of thieves venturing into the heart of the forgotten city of the Deathless King. The fate of Sparrow, her companions, and Raithe, the enigmatic yet alluring assassin Sparrow is forced to join forces with during their quest, all hang in the balance as they find themselves battling ancient forces within the tombs and facing the unwavering hold of fate.

Perfect for fans of Alexandra Bracken and Sabaa Tahir, this new fantasy trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Julie Kagawa will sweep readers into a bold and exciting new world, where a twisted game of destiny has far-reaching consequences.

About the Author: Julie Kagawa is the New York Times, USA TODAY and internationally bestselling author of The Iron Fey, Blood of Eden, The Talon Saga and the Shadow of the Fox series. Born in Sacramento, she has been a bookseller and an animal trainer and enjoys reading, painting, playing in her garden and training in martial arts. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and a plethora of pets. Visit her at www.juliekagawa.com.

Thank you, Julie, for showing how inspiration comes from anywhere someone finds passion!

“What Would It Take to Love a Snake”

.I’ve always been afraid of snakes. They give me the primordial heebie-jeebies—a fear so deep in my blood that I’m sure my ancestors are recoiling, too. But, one day, I saw this king snake in my backyard — an enormous, black-and-white striped, insanely long creature — and for some reason, a little voice in my head said: what would it take to love a snake?

I had been tinkering with this idea of a girl who made magic jewelry, but it was at that moment that Embrace the Serpent really had a spark. Jewels and snakes go together often in fairytales—there are too many examples to name, but I’m particularly fond of “The Snake Prince” and “Muchie-Lal”—and I started wondering why. Why do fairytale serpents have bejeweled palaces? Why does a queen’s ruby necklace turn into a snake, and the snake into a prince? Why does a bride have to embrace a hundred-headed snake for an entire night without letting go, to save her bridegroom? Why do they go together, the things we covet and the things we fear?

One thought kept nagging at me. It’s a simple one: both snakes and jewels are found deep in the earth, hidden from sight.

That idea inspired me. That something could be lurking just beneath your feet—something that could be wonderful, or dangerous. And you can’t know which it is unless you’re brave enough to seek it out, to reach into the dark, the unknown, and take hold of it.

Saphira, the main character in Embrace the Serpent, is a girl who’s so afraid of the world that she lets someone else take the credit for the magical jewelry she makes. But, she doesn’t realize that her work is so extraordinary that powerful people are paying attention, including the Serpent King. That idea, of being afraid to claim your work as your own, and therefore limiting yourself to a cage of your own making—that became the crux of Saphira’s character.

She’s tested when the Serpent King sends his cleverest huntsman to find the best jewelsmith in the world, and he realizes that the unassuming little apprentice is the true genius behind these extraordinary works. Unfortunately, his scrutiny leads others to discover her, and sets of a chain of events that leads to Saphira making a dangerous deal with the Serpent King: she’ll help him, if he’ll give her the means to hide forever.

And that’s where the unlikely romance begins. As they journey together, pretending to be newlyweds, they begin to see each other as more than a means to an end. Both Saphira and the Serpent King have something to hide, and I wanted to capture the feeling of guarded people slowly opening up to each other, and finding that under the fear, there’s something to love.

Who we love shows us who we are. And sometimes who we really are is a surprise to ourselves—in a good way. Sometimes being loved changes the beloved.

That feeling of transformation—of becoming stronger because you have something or someone to be strong for—was the thing I most wanted to explore with this story.

Some of the books and movies that have been a touchstone for this story include Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen—all these have one thing in common, which is that the main character undergoes a radical transformation because they found a reason to be braver in loving someone else. I found those stories powerful, especially in the context of a world that seems increasingly self-centered and fearful.

Fear can be good, because it keeps us alive, but it also can keep us stagnant. You can only be sure no one will hurt you if you’re all alone, that you’ll never say something wrong if you never speak at all, and that nothing horrible can happen to you if you never leave the house—but centering fear seems like such a shame, when there are so many wonderful things to embrace instead.

That, I think, is what Embrace the Serpent is about. It came out of me as an antidote to fear. It reminded me of the power of delight, of choosing to be strong enough to care. I hope that if you choose to give Embrace the Serpent a chance, that Saphira and the Serpent King’s love story will take care of you the way it took care of me.

And, the funny thing is, I still think about that king snake. In a way, it gave me this book, and the adventure of writing it. It changed me for the better, and I’m grateful to it.

And I wonder, what would it take for you to love a snake?

Published June 24th, 2025 by HarperCollins

About the Book: “An exquisite jewel of a book.” —Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

In this sweeping romantic fantasy, a dangerous deal binds a young jeweler’s apprentice to the mysterious Serpent King in a marriage of convenience, thrusting her into a deadly game between the cunning, fearsome ruler and his rebellious huntsman. Perfect for fans of The Wrath & the Dawn and Once Upon a Broken Heart!

The Serpent King is the most eligible bachelor in the land: a monster with dark and terrible magic and the ruler of the last free kingdom. Riches and power await his future bride—but so does a life forever trapped in the games of court.

That fate is eighteen-year-old Saphira’s worst nightmare. Ever since the Empire made her an orphan, she’s found freedom in being invisible. So despite her rare gift for harnessing the magic in gemstones, she lets an unscrupulous jewelsmith take credit for her increasingly sought-after work.

But when the king sends his most clever huntsman to find the best jewelsmith of all, the spotlight lands on Saphira. Faced with choosing between falling into the Empire’s grasp or marrying a monster, she chooses the latter — even if it means getting increasingly caught between her cold, serpentine husband and his cunning, handsome huntsman.

About the Author: Sunya Mara grew up in six different cities across five different states and now calls Los Angeles home. She studied film and business at the University of Southern California and went on to write and illustrate at Kobe Bryant’s Granity Studios. When not telling stories, she spends her time haunting old movie theaters and staring at museum walls.

Thank you, Sunya, for sharing your fear that became power in this post!

“Not If But When”

If you haven’t heard of Sarah Wynn-Williams, she’s the Meta whistleblower who dropped bombshell after bombshell about the harmful practices of social media titans like Facebook and Instagram. In April of this year, she detailed to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee how these sites would target vulnerable teens, sending them ads for beauty products after they deleted a selfie or made posts indicating they were sad or depressed. I’ve understood for a long time that companies are not our friends, and that social media has become unbelievably toxic, but still, these revelations filled me with a special kind of anger.

Even at our lowest, even when we’re expressing self-doubt, fear, or vulnerability, the message is obvious: if you were a little bit more beautiful, would this still be happening? Maybe you wouldn’t feel so rejected if your skin texture was gone. Don’t you think he would still be your boyfriend if you had fuller lips? You won’t delete selfies after slathering your face in blah, blah, blah… It’s exactly this kind of pressure to be beautiful, presentable, consumable—even at our lowest points—that inspired Valla’s story in A Girl Walks Into the Forest.

I shouldn’t say it’s the only inspiration, because that’s just one of hundreds. This book is the natural outcome of someone born a woman just trying to exist in culture steeped in patriarchal ideas about what it means to be feminine. Valla’s journey started when I was picked on in middle school for not shaving my legs, when I went to an anticipated dinner at a date’s house and was immediately criticized, put down, then told menacingly there was a gun in the cabinet. This book began when I shared these experiences with other women, and heard either agreement or their far worse, far more damaging memories. I don’t have the word count to list out the rest, but I’m sure you get the idea.

At the beginning of A Girl Walks Into the Forest, Valla is a girl who believes that her beauty will protect her. She is traded to a wealthy Count living in a dangerous forest; their marriage will mean prosperity for her village. The deal is very simple—Valla will be a lovely, compliant bride and the Count will lavish her people with enough supplies to survive in an unforgiving place. Things fall apart quickly for Valla, who is grievously wounded and scarred on the trip to the Count’s castle. (I’m sure Facebook would gleefully inform her that this new exfoliating scrub could make those scars fade overnight!!!) Because she is no longer perfect, the Count no longer wants her in the same way, and we watch Valla discover her strength, her power, and how her pain and struggle are connected to that of other women and girls.

I hope the message of this book is clear by the time you reach the end of it—your beauty and compliance will protect you until they don’t, and it’s not a matter of if you become a Valla but when.

Published June 10th, 2025 by Quill Books

About the Book: For as long as she can remember, Valla’s been told her beauty would give her a life most people only dreamed of. So when the mysterious Count Leonid calls on her to be his betrothed, Valla jumps at the chance to leave her small, bleak village. The only thing standing in her way? The journey through the dangerous Gottyar Wood that many don’t survive.

Filled with deadly and cunning creatures, the Gottyar immediately delivers on its reputation with an attack that leaves Valla injured; her face torn to shreds. Barely making it to the castle in one piece, Valla is relieved to finally be safe. But things have changed. Valla’s face is no longer beautiful. And the Count is not happy…Valla thought making it through the Gottyar was a victory, but when she sees what awaits beyond the palace walls, the true battle begins. In this ruthlessly female-forward narrative that borrows from the best of horror, fairy tales, and folklore, a chewed-up-and-spit-out heroine must lean on the brutality of nature and her biggest fears in order to win back what’s she’s been robbed of: her life.

About the Author: MADELEINE ROUX is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Asylum series, which has sold over a million copies worldwide. She is also the author of the House of Furies series, and several titles for adults, including Salvaged and Reclaimed. She has written for Star Wars, World of Warcraft, Critical Role, and Dungeons & Dragons. Madeleine lives in Seattle, Washington with her partner and beloved pups.

Thank you, Madeleine, for this thought piece!