So you’re a writer. You’re creative, right? You’re multitalented, right? You’ve got loads of ideas spinning around that ol’ brain of yours, and you want to bring them all to fruition. Whether as short stories, poems, novels, or creative non-fiction, you’re a writer with a lot to offer, and it’s time to turn all those…
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10 Things I’ve Learned In Two Weeks Of Self-Employment
It’s Friday! A few weeks ago, that would have meant a lot more to me than it does today. (Spoiler alert: one of the things on this list is that the days of the week don’t matter that much anymore.) But Friday means that I’ve officially had two weeks as a full-time member of the…
Read MoreWin A Free Copy Of THE SOWING!
This week, we’re running an Amazon giveaway of THE SOWING, the first book of the Seeds trilogy. All you have to do to enter is watch a short video of me and my sister Elena introducing ourselves and the characters in the books. It’s funny! (I think.) And fun! (I hope.) And it’s super easy…
Read MoreTHE HARVEST Release Day!
JOIN THE RESISTANCE! THE HARVEST, the third book in the Seeds trilogy, is officially available for download today. Available for download on Kindle or in paperback through Amazon. Remy Alexander wants revolution. After watching Vale fall back into the hands of the Sector, she will stop at nothing to reveal…
Read MoreThe Harvest Cover Reveal!
It’s been a long time coming, but the cover for THE HARVEST, the third book in the SEEDS trilogy, is finally here! For those of you interested in the process of book design, here are some notes about our process: This cover was possibly the hardest one we’ve done so far from a design perspective. We…
Read MoreWriter’s Digest Conference 2015: A Reflection
This past weekend I attended the 2015 Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City. It was only the second writing conference I’ve ever attended, and far larger in size and scale than the first. There were maybe four times as many agents and editors as there were at the first one I went to (the Missouri Writer’s…
Read MoreHow I Sold My First 10,000 Books
It’s been a crazy year and a half for one Amira K. Makansi. Since I began my journey as an author and a publisher in July of 2013, my co-authors and I have released two books and a novella, all set in the world of Okaria, a futuristic post-apocalyptic civilization. In early April we announced…
Read MoreA Day For Dreaming
Horray! Today is BOOKBUB DAY! This means that my debut novel, THE SOWING, is temporarily discounted to $0.99. DID YOU HEAR THAT? YOU CAN BUY AN ENTIRE BOOK FOR NINETY-NINE CENTS! Does anyone else find this a little bit crazy? Crazy awesome, amirite?! After all, once upon a time, books were the possessions of the elite,…
Read MoreBook Review: Who Is Evelyn Dae by Sarah La Fleur
A few weeks back I won something in a random draw contest. It was the first time in my life I’ve ever won something at a raffle-style event, so that alone was special. It was made even more special because the thing that I won happened to be a paperback copy of Who Is Evelyn Dae,…
Read MoreFour Ways To Improve Your Dialogue and Write Better Characters
Writing dialogue, is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult aspects of writing. Description? I’m all over that. I’ll describe shit to you all day long. Character development? Challenging, but can come naturally as the plot moves along. Plot? Easy. If you ever took an English class in high school you know how to write a…
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