Writing Craft
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Book Review: “The Queen of Florida” by Jeff Bercuson
Jeff Bercuson’s The Queen of Florida is a sharp, darkly comic crime novel about family obligation, late-life reinvention, addiction, greed, and the strange moral compromises people make when they finally decide they deserve more. The novel follows June, a retired widow who escapes to Boca after spending years being pulled into chaos by her troubled…
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Book Review: “Three Bengal Kittens” by Philipp Schott
Philipp Schott’s Three Bengal Kittens is a charming, witty, and warmly offbeat cozy mystery that blends murder, family tension, veterinary detail, and just the right amount of feline chaos. As the fourth book in the Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery series, the novel follows veterinarian Peter Bannerman as he is pulled into trouble when his brother…
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Protected: The Process Server by Frank Mallia
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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Thriller Submission Mistakes That Hurt Strong Short Stories
A lot of passes are not about talent. They are about friction. The story arrives with preventable issues that make it harder to evaluate, or it signals a mismatch with thriller expectations before the tension even has a chance to build. This post focuses on common mistakes in thriller submissions (and how to avoid them)…
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What Are The Best Thriller Short Story Hooks?
Editors do not need fireworks in line one. They need traction. A thriller short story hook works when it creates immediate pressure and makes the reader believe the next paragraph will matter. Most openings fail for one simple reason: they delay the story’s first meaningful problem. They start with atmosphere, biography, or explanation, then hope…
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The Ultimate Guide For Writing a Thriller Novel Synopsis
Many writers freeze when asked to write a synopsis for a thriller novel. The irony is that thriller writers already know how to control information. A synopsis simply asks them to control it in a different way. This guide breaks the task into steps that reflect how editors evaluate long-form suspense. The goal is clarity,…
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What Is a Manuscript Evaluation? A Practical Guide for Writers
A manuscript evaluation is a big-picture assessment of an entire manuscript. It is designed to answer one question: How is the draft functioning as a reading experience right now, and what changes will improve it most? Writers often hear multiple overlapping terms: The exact label varies, but the intent is consistent. The evaluator reads the…
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Short Story Submission Tips That Editors Notice
Writing a strong story is only part of getting published. A clean, professional submission helps your work be read the way you intended, without friction, confusion, or avoidable rule breaks. These short story submission tips come from the patterns editors see every reading period. The goal is not to game the system. The goal is…