Featured Archives

GUEST BLOG: Inspiration for the Book by Kat Flannery Plus Giveaway!

Cozy Mystery Dayna Linton - 1 September 2021

Well, I’d never written anything but historical before and so part of the reason I wrote this book was to try something new AND who doesn’t love a good mystery? When I set...

GUEST BLOG: In a Flash by Barbara Venkataraman Plus Giveaway!

Cozy Mystery Dayna Linton - 1 September 2021

Ah, flash fiction, it's a beautiful thing. Don't believe me? Try telling a story in just six words and include character, setting, plot, conflict, and theme. Impossible, you say? Hemingway did it...

GUEST BLOG: Who Do You Think You Are? by JoAnn Ross Plus Giveaway!

Sibling Fiction Dayna Linton - 31 August 2021

That was the title of one of my favorite Emmy-winning television shows produced by Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky. In it, each week, a different celebrity would go on a search to...

GUEST BLOG: Advice to New Writers by Dennis Woods Plus Giveaway!

Biography/Memoir Dayna Linton - 31 August 2021

Advice to new writers concerning a start point when developing a lesson learned manuscript. In most writing projects, an outline is often the start point. When it comes to life lessons learned, though,...

GUEST BLOG: How I Met Mrs. Pringle by Jillianne Hamilton Plus Giveaway!

Historical Fiction Dayna Linton - 30 August 2021

I first met my heroine, Cora Pringle, a few years ago in a very roundabout and random way. In my new novel, The Spirited Mrs. Pringle, Cora is an adept mountaineer when it...

GUEST BLOG: The Bastard’s Inheritance: A Character-Driven Novel by Dennis Roth Plus Giveaway!

Giveaway Dayna Linton - 27 August 2021

The concept of a character-driven novel or story centers directly on characters rather than starting with plot. Plot is not ignored, rather the emphasis from beginning to end lies with the them....

OPINION: 7 Best Books to Carry While Traveling by Lindsay Johnson

Opinion Dayna Linton - 26 August 2021

I still remember the day when I was traveling for the first time to New York, America. It is a long 24 hours flight from my country. And the anxiety due to...

INTERVIEW: With Husband and Wife Team Cozy Author, J.C. Eaton Plus Giveaway!

Cozy Mystery Dayna Linton - 25 August 2021

Today we welcome the husband and wife writing team who make up the author J.C. Eaton to Novels Alive. What drives your story forward in your books the most, the characters or the...

GUEST BLOG: When Book Research Becomes Personal by Amber Garza Plus Giveaway!

Psychological Thriller Dayna Linton - 24 August 2021

My nineteen-year-old daughter and I are very close. When she was little, I worried that wouldn’t always be the case. I’d heard horror stories from other moms about their teenage daughters pulling...

GUEST BLOG: Cleaning Up by Mary Marks Plus Giveaway!

Cozy Mystery Dayna Linton - 24 August 2021

Have you ever had to dispose of someone’s belongings after they died? In the third book of the Quilting Mystery series, Gone but Knot Forgotten, Martha Rose becomes executor of someone’s estate...

GUEST BLOG: A Successful Reading Experience by Elaine Faber Plus Giveaway!

Mystery Dayna Linton - 24 August 2021

A reader spends four to six hours, immersed in reading a book. She travels alongside the main character, or if the writer is talented enough, the reader feels she ‘becomes’ the main...

GUEST BLOG: Writing Historical Fiction: No Guessing Included by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones Plus Giveaway!

Christian Dayna Linton - 23 August 2021

Research is important, especially when it comes to historical fiction. I have a stack of papers about 3-inches high on my desk to prove it. And books. And a few website sticky...