As host for a New Books Network channel, I receive an ongoing stream of pitches from authors, publishers, and publicists. I try to respond to all of them and sometimes agree to an interview, but my favorite way of finding new authors is from recommendations by those I’ve already interviewed.

Very few of the 275 authors I’ve spoken to for an NBN podcast have paid it forward by recommending another author. I still remember the names of the ones who have, and I have made sure to read more of their books. I’m thinking of asking anyone who pitches me to first suggest a new, well-written novel they loved (preferably by an author who deserves more attention). And if you can’t come up with a name before our interview, I’ll ask again after our podcast goes live but before I begin promoting it.

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Fantasy author and folklorist Terri Windling once observed that we keep returning to these old stories because they're not really about fantasy at all; they're about real life. We've all encountered metaphorical wolves at our door, all faced impossible trials.

Folktales solved a problem writers still struggle with: how do you show someone wrestling with their conscience? They externalized internal conflict. The demons we battle aren't metaphorical; they're actual demons. And the test of character is a literal trial with life-or-death stakes.

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As host for New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network, I’ve interviewed over 275 authors and have over 20 interviews scheduled for this year. Every month, dozens of pitches from publishers, publicists, and authors show up in my inbox.

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I had poured something tender into that piece. It wasn’t just fiction—it was stitched with memory. My childhood home. My mother’s silence. The way grief lingers in kitchens long after the coffee cools. When the rejection came, it felt personal. I told myself it wasn’t good enough because maybe I wasn’t good enough.

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I used to believe myself incapable of writing poetry. I didn’t think the themes I was interested in exploring were worthy of being made into poems, let alone ones someone would want to read.

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Few of us make it through a creative writing education without being told to “kill your darlings”—to excise even the cleverest turn of phrase or most exquisitely crafted sentence if it doesn’t serve the overall piece. In my career as a writer, I’ve grown accustomed to making such cuts. Sometimes it even feels gratifying: It lets me believe that I am honing my work toward some perfectly sculpted, final version. I wouldn’t choose “killing” to describe the experience—but maybe I’m not the one to ask. I’m not the one being cut. For that, I would have to ask my mom.

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I recently had a request to review a book. This book was already published in eBook form. I was not paid to write this review, and I received no other compensation, which was fine. This was a new, young writer, and I wanted to encourage him. Keep in mind, I have written a lot of book reviews. I am normally asked to write what the book is about, not necessarily give my opinions on the content. That is what I did with this particular book.

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You may have heard of “cycle syncing,” which involves making lifestyle adjustments based on where a woman is in her menstrual cycle. But recently I’ve embraced what I think of as “season syncing,” or being aware of a season’s benefits and working with them (instead of resisting elements) in order to thrive creatively.

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I went for a walk-and-talk the other day around Seattle’s Green Lake with an author friend whose debut memoir comes out this fall. After the rain teased on and off that morning, the clouds opened, and a bit of sun broke through. The air felt mild and fresh, a brief respite mirroring how I hoped to feel inside, during and after our chat.

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"All of us possess a reading vocabulary as big as a lake but draw from a writing vocabulary as small as a pond."

Roy Peter Clark wrote that in Writing Tools, and it names something most writers feel but rarely examine. The words are there; accumulated through years of reading, conversation, and education. They simply don't come to hand when a sentence needs them. And so, we reach for what's close rather than what's right, and the sentence works, but it doesn't sing.

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Years ago, I took a class on “Authentic Happiness” taught by a NC State professor who offered these continuing education classes at UNC’s Friday Center.  Often, I signed up for classes related to writing. Although this one wasn’t, I reflect on it when I sit down to compose a fictional story, personal essay, or even an article.

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I know it’s been a while. Sometimes it feels like I’m circling inside an endless loop of rejection, as if the same door keeps swinging shut no matter how many times I gather the courage to knock. Each “no” folds into the next, tightening around me until hope feels fragile, almost foolish. I tell myself not to care so much, not to expect anything. And yet, the moment I hit submit, something inside me rises. It always does. And then it falls.

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Health is a subject that connects all of us. Writers use such scenes to create drama, build emotional investment in a story, and to develop tension. Neurosurgery, head injuries, and chronic diseases, among others, affect a character's personality and create an opportunity for change. However, it's important to get the details right because readers notice mistakes and unchecked errors perpetuate false information, skewing facts.

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The relentless click-click-click of a metronome may be helpful for practicing finger exercises, but it’s deathly dull for an audience. Classical composers use Italian terms to signal changes in the desired pace of their music, such as lento (slow), allegro (lively), and presto (very fast). My favorite of these is rubato, literally “robbed” time, meaning the performer is free to “rob” a moment from one note and give it to the next.

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We often speak of a writer’s voice, that distinct and resonant quality that separates one narrative from another on a crowded shelf. We talk of plot, of structure, of the muscularity of good prose. These are the tools of our trade, the timber and nails of the houses we build for our stories.

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Today, in 2026, when someone hears my accent and asks where I’m from, I hesitate. I lower my eyes, give a small smile, and say, “I was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia.” I hear the words and feel a pinch of embarrassment. I don’t always want to explain the Russia I knew—my Russia—because it feels so different from the Russia people picture today.  

But things were very different in 1993. That was the year I moved, by a rather unlikely twist of fate, from St. Petersburg to a small college town with a surprising name: Moscow… Moscow, Idaho.

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What makes your writing unique? When readers come across your books, what do they see that makes them know it’s yours?

Establishing your position within the writing community can feel impossible, especially if you are just beginning your career. Each writer you come across pulls you in different directions, which can make it challenging to find your creative identity. The tendency to adopt the stylistic elements of a recently read work is a natural part of writing, one that contributes to your emerging voice.

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As a judge for the popular storytelling platform NYC Midnight, I read a lot of flash fiction and microfiction submissions. For the unfamiliar, flash fiction is loosely defined as a short story of up to 1,000 words. Microfiction is a subset of flash fiction, with stories weighing in at 100 words or less. 

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When I first began freelancing, it could get lonely. It was not like other jobs where you have coworkers with whom to bounce ideas off or solve problems, but writers need watering holes, too. Sometimes there is no one else that understands what you’re going through better than those who have been through it as well

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