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A. A. Jeffery is an attorney and educator who splits time between Northern California and Mason County, Washington. Her background includes teaching students at all levels from kindergarten to college. She wrote for several years as a columnist in the Sunday Morning News in her hometown.

An Oakland, California, native, Jeffery began to write illustrated stories while she was a student at U.C. Berkeley and she continued to write after graduating from Vanderbilt University Law School. Jeffery enjoys learning foreign languages, playing piano, and spending time with family, friends, and a Chihuahua-pug.Read More →

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It’s no secret I’m a big fan of independent publishing—if it’s done well, mind you—so I’m thrilled to finally be able to interview Helen Edwards, author of How to Self-Publish on a Budget: My Self-Publishing Journey.

Originally from North Wales, and after a decade or more of living in Buckinghamshire, indie author Helen is currently living in Shropshire with her husband, Simon, and her Zuchon dog, Archie. Helen worked for many years in the public sector and has an administrative background. She writes fiction and non-fiction and to date has self-published nine e-books, five paperbacks, and two audiobooks.Read More →

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You can choose courage or you can choose comfort. You cannot have both.

Brené Brown

For the past two and a half years, I’ve been joking that I haven’t seen my comfort zone since late 2017.

It’s not actually a joke, of course. I have been pushing myself beyond what I thought myself capable of and I’m not even close to being done.

During the last eighteen months alone, I quit my teaching job to start editing and coaching full time, I moved to Cyprus, I published my first co-written lesbian romance, I published my first and many other nonfiction books, and that’s just the business and writing part of my life.

Of course, these were all calculated risks, and some were bigger than others. You really don’t have to jump without a safety net. Falling flat on your face and bruising your ego is embarrassing enough as it is. Besides, there’s no guarantee a crazy leap will bring in a bigger reward. It might, but it might also end in a trip to the ER.Read More →

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New month, new interview!

Today, we are joined by prize-winning author Helena Halme. Helena writes contemporary fiction with a hint of both Nordic Noir and romance. She’s a former BBC journalist, bookseller, and magazine editor. Originally from Finland, where she gained an MSc in Marketing, Helena also holds an MA in Creative Writing. Helena acts as Nordic Ambassador for the Alliance of Independent Authors and helps other writers publish and market their books.

Helena has published 12 fiction titles, including The English Heart, a best-selling Nordic romance, which won an Awesome Indies badge on publication. The bittersweet 1980s love story between a Finnish student and a British Navy officer is now a series of six books. Helena’s latest title, Book 2 in Love on the Island-series, An Island Christmas, came out November 2019.

Helena has also published two non-fiction titles, Write Your Story: Turn Your Life into Fiction in 10 Easy Steps, which we will be talking about today, and Write in Another Language in 10 Easy Steps.

Helena is addicted to Nordic Noir and dances to Abba songs when nobody’s watching.

Write Your Story: Turn Your Life into Fiction in 10 Easy Steps

Welcome, Helena! Please tell us, what is Write Your Story: Turn Your Life into Fiction in 10 Easy Steps about?

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In a Facebook live recorded on 02 September 2019, I sat down with Halona Black to talk about starting over and creating the writing career you’ve always wanted. In this honest conversation, we talked about starting from scratch, trusting the process, starting from where you, doing what you can, and taking the time to figure things out.Read More →