by kristinoakley | Jul 6, 2018 | Creativity & Craft, For Readers, Newsletter
I stayed up way too late last night and am having a hard time concentrating on my work today. It’s all Fredrik Backman’s fault. Mr. Backman is the author of the critically acclaimed novel A Man Called Ove which was made into an Academy Award nominated...
by kristinoakley | Jun 22, 2018 | Newsletter, Writing Life
In the summer of 2007, as I drove around northern Illinois, I listened to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and wondered why novels with futuristic societies portray those societies as evil, dystopian. I thought, why don’t I write a book about a culture...
by kristinoakley | Jun 8, 2018 | Newsletter, Writing Life
Authors are often told that they should write every day. This seems obvious. Daily creating helps us hone our craft, develop new stories, and finish our works in progress. It’s part of the reason why NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, began. NaNoWriMo...
by kristinoakley | May 25, 2018 | Creativity & Craft, Newsletter
I’m sure many readers imagine novel writing as a solitary pursuit. First thing in the morning, the novelist grabs a mug of coffee or a cup of tea on her way to her computer wearing pjs and fuzzy slippers and writes until noon. Followed by a shower, lunch, maybe...
by kristinoakley | May 11, 2018 | Creativity & Craft, Fictional Research, Newsletter
While editing the second book in my Devil Particle Trilogy, I’ve been thinking about how to craft the third book. I have an idea of what protagonist Jaelyn Bellamy’s struggle will be, but not much else and it’s gnawing at me. It’s as if...
by kristinoakley | Apr 27, 2018 | Creativity & Craft, Fictional Research, Newsletter
I’m happy to say I’m beginning to know as much about survival in the wilderness as my protagonist, Gaige. Last weekend I hiked the Appalachian Trail to the top of Devil’s Tooth and Tinker Cliffs near Catawba, Virginia with nine independent women, our...
by kristinoakley | Apr 17, 2018 | Conferences, Fictional Research, Newsletter
For me, one of the things that makes a good novel a great novel is when the author has done her research. Currently, I’m reading The Immortalists by Madisonian Chloe Benjamin. Her description of San Francisco in the late 70s/early 80s brought back vivid memories...
by kristinoakley | Apr 2, 2018 | Conferences, Newsletter
This April 12th to the 15th, the air at Madison’s Concourse Hotel will be buzzing with tales of murder in Elizabethan London, dragon-slaying in fantastical worlds, intergalactic war, and Russian espionage when UW-Madison’s Division of Continuing Studies...
