In Part 1 of this discussion, we talked about why someone might want to stay anonymous as a result of stalking or for personal safety. Here are some more of the other really good reasons to stay anonymous. Transitioning Transitioning is a really tough process, made intentionally tougher in some places. Plenty of gifted writers have discussed the process, so I'm not going to repeat that here. What I am going to say, however, is that you may, or may not, be ready to ditch your deadname. You may be out, or you may not. You may have fully transitioned,...
Leave a Review! (or, Developing a Culture of Praise)
I think most writers wrangle with the feeling that their writing is garbage, from time to time. Our own inner critics take our rough drafts and compare them incessantly and unkindly to the great works that exist in the world. And this is a normal part of the growth process. Read something polished, pick up those tricks, apply them to our works-in-progress lather-rinse-repeat. But another thing happens, sometimes. Sometimes the critics get you. I just recently completed a gig, writing blog posts for a software company. It's work I've been doing for decades, but this time I got a hold...
In Memory of Flavia Idà
We are saddened to report that author Flavia Idà passed away on November 4, 2022. Flavia was the author of the novels The Iron and The Loom (Il ferro e il telaio), The Names of Heaven, Children of the Wrong Time (Figli del tempo sbagliato), The Last Speck of the World (L’ultimo granello del mondo), the short story "Mercy", and provided the translation for Building Baby Brother (Costruendo il fratellino). Flavia was also known for her work with the Italian Consulate in San Francisco, as a translator. Her passion for the Italian culture, and for helping descendants of Italian immigrants...
Meet Author Marlene Anne Bumgarner November 5 and 6, 2022
Marlene Anne Bumgarner is the author of Back to the Land in Silicon Valley. When Marlene and her husband moved to a rural plot of land in 1973, she thought of herself as simply a young mother seeking an affordable and safe place in which to raise her child. Saturday, November 5, 2022 (2:00pm - 3:00pm): Morgan Hill Library, 660 W Main Ave, Morgan Hill, CA 95037 Sunday, November 6, 2022 (3:00pm - 4:00pm): Tortilla Flats, 4616 Soquel Dr, Soquel, CA 95073
Anonymity and Promotion (Part 1)
Content warning: stalking, harassment, threats, and law enforcement indifference to those things It's generally assumed that if you're going to write a book, you are going to promote that book. Tell your friends, buy a copy for your mom to take to bridge club, whatever. "I did this!!!!" you shout from the rooftops. You actively work to build your social media standing, so as to increase the reach of your posts, so more people get the treat of reading your work. That's how it works, right? Except when it doesn't. For many of us, existing within both digital and meatspace...
Me and Sookie Stackhouse: A Trick to Get You Past Doomscrolling
Everyone is distracted. Seriously, I followed two different anti-doomscrolling bots on Twitter, because, well :: gestures around :: there's a lot going on and a lot to keep up with and pictures of cats and dogs and... and I can feel my attention span contracting. That dopamine merry-go-round is pretty powerful, and what with needing to keep up with natural disasters (Alaska, California, Florida, Dominican Republic/Haiti/Cuba ...) and world events (Britain, Iran) and politics (like the latest Rolling Stone piece on Officer Fanone)... it's so so so easy to just scroll and scroll and scroll while your TBR sits there...
Paper Angel Press Welcomes Author Steven Owad
We are excited to announce that we have signed an agreement with author Steven Owad to publish his novel currently titled Postscript. Steven Owad is an award-winning writer and editor living in Calgary, Canada. His novels have been praised in publications such as Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Kirkus Reviews, and his stage plays have been produced in theaters throughout North America. In his previous life as a newspaper editor, Steven lived in Thailand and Poland, where he begged journalists not to use "impact" as a verb. Before that, there was a degree in English, with a lot of thousand-page...
Paper Angel Press Welcomes Author Karen Beatty
We are excited to announce that we have signed an agreement with author Karen Beatty to publish her novel, Dodging Prayers and Bullets. Karen Beatty thinks of life as a river, coming and going, surging and flowing. Reared in Appalachia near the Licking River and transported to New Jersey on the banks of the Raritan River, she savored the mighty Mekong River in the late 1960s while serving as a Peace Corps Thailand Volunteer. She finally settled in Greenwich Village, between the Hudson River and the East River on the Isle of Manhattan, where she teaches at the City University...
Paper Angel Press Welcomes Author Jeffrey Penn May
We are excited to announce that we have signed an agreement with author Jeffrey Penn May his literary novella, Margery. Jeffrey Penn May has won several fiction awards, including one from Writer’s Digest. He has received a Pushcart nomination and was a Landmark Prize finalist. Jeff wrote and performed a story for Washington University Radio and was a consultant to a St. Louis theater company. Among other occupations, Jeff has been a waiter, hotel security officer, credit manager, deckhand, technical data engineer, and creative writing teacher. Jeff’s adventures include floating a home-built raft from St. Louis to Memphis, navigating a...
Paper Angel Press Welcomes Author Elisabeth Hegmann
We are excited to announce that we have officially signed an agreement with author Elisabeth Hegmann to publish her novel, Modus Perfectus. Elisabeth Hegmann is a speculative fiction writer whose work has always been informed richly and powerfully by music. She grew up in a family of classically-trained dreamers and musicians, and, despite brave attempts otherwise, she has failed to understand anything about the box, let alone how to fit inside it. She has a B.A. in creative writing from IU and an MFA in fiction from NCSU. In addition to slipstream stories, novellas, and novels, Elisabeth writes librettos for...