An Interview with Rob Harrell Welcome to the blog. Tell us about your new book Popcorn. Hello! Thanks so much for having me! So, Popcorn is a middle grade novel about a seventh grader named Andrew. Andrew deals with some pretty bad anxiety and also a bit of OCD. The whole book takes place on...Read More

by Rochelle Melander I’ve been surprised by the growth of book coaching programs in the past months. I’ve downloaded multiple books that promise me they’ll teach me how to use AI to write a book quickly, how to write a tiny book in a weekend, and more quick fix solutions. In one newsletter I read,...Read More

by Rochelle Melander I hope you realize that every day is a fresh start for you. That every sunrise is a new chapter in your life waiting to be written.”— Juansen Dizon Although officially we have a few more weeks of summer, Labor Day tends to mark the unofficial end of the season. In my...Read More

by Rochelle Melander Where and when do you write? Octavia Butler write early in the morning, long before the birds began chirping, so she could fit in a full day of writing before her day job. Roald Dahl wrote in a hut in his back yard. L. Frank Baum wrote many of the Oz books...Read More

by Rochelle Melander Have you been to a big box store lately? All the school supplies have been set out like a big, beautiful writer’s smorgasbord. Who can resist the thick, colorful notebooks and the shiny new pens? Not me. Despite my stacks of unused journals and buckets of pens, I want new supplies. Why?...Read More

by Rochelle Melander There was a time in my life when I experienced severe anxiety. Searching for a solution, I bought books. At the time, most of the books I could find on the topic were long, academic tomes. I felt overwhelmed and tired as I paged through the books looking for the most helpful...Read More

by Rochelle Melander Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world. – Robert McKee You’ve got information to tell your readers. You want to teach them how to do something new, shift their mindset, or help them overcome challenges. You can write at them, like the yapping salesperson at the fair,...Read More

by Rochelle Melander I’m not talking about fish hooks, command hooks, or even bell hooks. “Hooks” are what makes your book topic resonate with readers. Your book topic needs to have multiple hooks so that it will attract readers. For example, you might have a nonfiction book about creativity. Great. What are other hooks? Are...Read More

by Rochelle Melander The market is bursting with books. Because of self-publishing, more people are publishing books than ever before. According to Bowker, the company who issues ISBN numbers, 2.3 million books were self-published in the US in 2021, which was the third year in a row that more than 2 million books were self-published. That’s up...Read More

by Rochelle Melander At a presentation my coach gave a few weeks ago, he quoted the oft-repeated marketing saying, “A confused mind says no.” When people are overwhelmed or confused by an offer, they decline. “Do you want fries with that?” Yes, please. Easy decision. “For an additional charge, you can get fries, Brussels sprouts,...Read More