I first heard of Grammar Girl via her podcast some years ago. As an English geek, I immediately took to its straightforward explanations mixed with her engaging, entertaining style. Since those early days, Grammar Girl has become a New York Times best-seller. Grammar Girl was created by Mignon Fogarty, a magazine writer, technical writer, and entrepreneur. She has served as a senior editor and producer at a number of health and science web sites and has a B.A. in English from the University of Washington in Seattle and an M.S. in biology from Stanford University. Mignon believes that learning isContinue readingAuthor Interview Series #76 – Mignon Fogarty

Lori Handeland is a New York Times, USA Today, Waldenbooks and Bookscan Bestselling Author and the recipient of many industry awards, including two RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America for Best Paranormal (BLUE MOON) and Best Long Contemporary Romance (THE MOMMY QUEST), a Romantic Times Award for Best Harlequin Superromance (A SOLDIER’S QUEST), the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence, the Write Touch Readers Award, the National Readers Choice Award and the Prism Award. Her published genres include–historical, contemporary, series and paranormal romance, as well as urban fantasy and historical fantasy, and her publishers are a Who’s Who ofContinue readingAuthor Interview Series #75 – Lori Handeland

Jeanne Stein’s writing epitomizes the urban fantasy genre. Her character, Anna Strong, is that iconic butt-kicking, powerful female that has come be associated with what we call urban fantasy nowadays, and now, seven books along in the series, they’re as popular as ever. She has shared anthology pages with other luminaries of genre: Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, and Kelley Armstrong. And on top of all that, she is an exceedingly gracious lady. How far will Anna Strong go? That remains to be seen, but if you corner her at a convention, she might confide that she wants to write moreContinue readingAuthor Interview Series # 74 – Jeanne Stein

I met Aaron Michael Ritchey at Mile Hi Con in 2012, in one of those author mixer venues. At a room party at the con, there were about half a dozen writers standing around drinking and conversing, and the topic of conversation went toward religion and spirituality. In a world that bears the odiousness of the Taliban, the Westboro Baptist Church, and the Catholic Church sex abuse scandals, it was easy for most of us to get pretty snarky on the subject of religion. And then Aaron asked the question of all of us: “Do you think religion has, cumulatively,Continue readingAuthor Interview Series #73 – Aaron Michael Ritchey

Quincy Allen is one of those writers whose persona follows him around conventions. You’re just as likely to see him in full steampunk regalia, complete with mohawk and monocle, as in leather sport jacket and looking almost normal. The bottom line, however, is still all about the hard work, and here’s a guy who works hard. With one novel under his belt, and several short stories, he’s still near the beginning of his career, but I suspect he’s going to be around for a while. I also happen to know he’s not a bad poker player.

One of the long-standing luminaries of the fantasy genre is Piers Anthony. With forty Xanth novels under his belt, plus several other series, short stories and novellas, collaborations, Anthony has assembled a prolific body of work, and new stuff is coming out as we speak. Even with that much going on, he graciously took the time out to chat with us about the writing life, and what led him to it.