Dear Writer Linderson Creations

Sue Carpenter is a writer based in Auckland, New Zealand. Sue writes within a number of different genres, including YA, junior fiction, children’s fiction and she also dabbles in poetry. Sue has received a number of awards. These include: first place in the IWW Short Story competition in Sci-fi/fantasy with her story ‘Blood Protectors’; highly commended in kidslit with her story 'Lavendar Hill'; and 2nd in long fiction under her thriller penname Lee Simpson's 'Switches'. In 2023 she was a runner up in XYZ children's poetry, and in 2022 she was runner up in the National Poetry Day, Poetry at the beach and New Leaf Christmas competition. Outside of her writing life, Sue enjoys spending time at the beach, with her toes in the sand and her thoughts in the clouds.

This week we talk all things romance. We chat about how to decide whether to include romance in your novels, how romance can enhance your characters and plot, and what we think makes a good romance.

On our author spotlight section this month we welcomed Jade du Preez. Jade is a lawyer and author based in Auckland, New Zealand. She won the New Zealand Writers College Short Story Competition in 2013 and the Same Same But Different Short Fiction Contest in 2016. She recently launched her debut novel, 'Outsider' - a story of art, identity, secret diaries and legal anomalies set in Japan and New Zealand.

This week we continue our discussion about editing. We talk about whether or not to pay for proofreading, how we do our developmental edits, and share our tips for editing better (and smarter).

This week in our author spotlight we were pleased to welcome AK Nevermore. AK is an author based in New York. She writes in a number of different genres, including Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Paranormal Erotica. Outside of her writing life, AK is a Jane-of-all-trades. As a home-schooling stay-at-home mom, her primary job is looking after her kids. However, AK is also a certified chef, restores antiques and dabbles in beekeeping. Her resume includes belonging to the Authors Guild, being an RWA Chapter board member, and volunteering for numerous committees. AK’s goals are to write amazing books, and to inspire her kids and others that, just because you hear “no”, you don’t have to listen.

This week we discuss editing (I know it sounds boring but I promise it's not). We go through the three major types of editing, and give you a window into our process to help make it as painless as possible.

Also, apologies in advance for the mic issues!