With The Commuter’s very own Straight from the Hartsock and Dear Conscience just around the corner, I’m hosting a month-long, interactive contest!

Win a $20 gift card of your choice+Sock monkey plush key chain!

http://jennifermhartsock.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/straight-from-the-hartsock-20key-chain-contest/

Enter the psychedelic time tunnel and hang on for an inspirational and amazing story. Zen teacher Don Lubov gives us Story Ten of the One series. It is available now from Trestle Press for ONLY 99 Cents and you can get it here: http://goo.gl/JkFJs

You can read the full post at my official blog - …

So I was in Stratford-Upon-Avon the other day....

Why does that sound like the beginning of a bad joke?! In all seriousness, I really was in Stratford-Upon-Avon the other day, and it was simply amazing. I got to visit the birthplace of one of the greatest writers of all time...William Shakespeare.…

I have chosen some of my favorite Bible stories as the basis for my new short stories. Starting with Noah's Ark, I will introduce the themes and messages of the stories I grew up with into my fictional Amish community of Karsten Field.

 Check out this graph with the sales stats in kid lit:

 New Stats Show Great Gain in Children's Fiction 2011

 No one says you can't write a race other than your own, right? Just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons by checking out this article:

  On Writing Diversity

 Check out this article to make sure you know the difference:

 Action vs. Active Openings to Grab Attention 

Edinburgh, Scotland is made for writers. JK Rowling, Robert Burns, and Robert Louis Stevenson have each been inspired by the city's dark past and creeptastic atmosphere. Check out my pictures and perhaps the muse will find you!

I Heart Words

First-time author Marissa Carmel debuted last month with her YA fantasy iFeel (http://goo.gl/MnDYg). As she continues on her blog tour, see what she has to say about the expectations of being a writer and a mother.…

I guess it's been a while, but Olivia and I have finally put together the fourth episode of Sons of the King. In case you are not familiar with it, this is the Christian sci-fantasy that I am co-writing with my nine-year-old daughter.

You can read the full post at my official blog - http://empyricaltales.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-back-to-it.html

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas's life. Until that world…

We all do it, judging books by their covers. We know we're not supposed to, but with the internet as  a  venue for selling books, this "forbidden" pastime is more prevalent than ever, especially in Young Adult Fiction.

Considered the fastest growing fiction genre in the literary industry, Young Adult Fiction is filling the virtual shelves.

Covers - A…

 Just wanted to share this important movement. Two teen girls started a petition for teen magazines to stop showing airbrushed perfect teen girls on their covers. The result is damaging to young minds. Sign their petition!

 Give Us Images of Real Girls

Step aside Anne Rice , here comes Rhiannon Frater . She is awesome when I tell you I read 3 of her titles and can not get enough of her work. For those of you that havent read anything by her.I highly suggest you check her out . Here is a link to her Website: Rhiannon Frater 

        Go to my blog now and enter to win your free copy now!

                                                     …

 Find out how eReader users' reading habits are being tracked and used for vital publishing data. Interesting stuff!

 Your E-Book Is Reading You

 Check out this interesting article on ARCs and who they should be offered to. Be sure to read the comments and weigh in on the controversy.:

  Conference Decorum: Where ARC Thou?

Every writer should learn to avoid these crutches:

 4 Writing Crutches that Insult the Reader's Intelligence