5 PODCASTS TO INSPIRE AUTHOR SUCCESS

By Alex Kava Writing a novel is a solitary endeavor, but sometimes it helps to hear how other authors deal with the same challenges. Plus, we all could use a little inspiration once in a while.  Here are five of my favorite podcasts offering conversations, information and a whole lot of...

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WHEN TO CELEBRATE A NEW NOVEL

By Alex Kava I just launched novel #23!  Actually, I completed the manuscript months ago, but the book was just released into the world December 17th. As an author I’ve always wavered back and forth about when to celebrate a new book. When I was traditionally published, sending the finished...

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BRINGING A CHARACTER TO LIFE

By Alex Kava In honor of National Dog Month, I want to share how one of my characters—a favorite of readers as well as my own—came to life.  Grace is a scrappy, sixteen-pound Jack Russell terrier. In my Ryder Creed series, Creed is a former Marine K9 handler who now owns a training facility...

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SEVEN WAYS TO CONNECT WITH READERS

By Alex Kava The reading experience is a very personal one. As authors, we transport readers to a different place and introduce them to strangers we hope they care about. And, if we’re lucky, we capture their attention and imaginations for 300-400 pages. But what about afterwards? We authors tend...

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LIFE IS STRESSFUL. GRAB A BOOK.

By Alex Kava Research shows that reading fiction beats stress better than any other activity, including listening to music or taking a walk. It lowers the heart rate and eases tension in the muscles. It also creates a distraction by transporting our minds away from whatever is causing our stress....

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7 TIPS TO UNPLUG & BEAT WRITER’S BLOCK

By Alex Kava According to artist, Chuck Close: “Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.” But what if it’s not about inspiration? What if you’re really stuck in a manuscript. You can’t move forward no matter how many bad paragraphs you force yourself to...

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THREE CHRISTMAS CLASSICS THAT ALMOST WEREN’T

By Alex Kava A Christmas Carol, It’s A Wonderful Life, and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. They’ve become synonymous with Christmas, but did you know they almost didn’t happen? A Christmas Carol In 1843, Charles Dickens already enjoyed literary success with several novels, including Oliver Twist....

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DAHMER AND OTHERS: WHY SERIAL KILLERS FASCINATE US

by Alex Kava Last month, Netflix’s DAHMER—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was the streaming platform’s most watched new show ever in its first week. At a time when violent crime makes the daily news, what is it about serial killers that we can’t stop watching? Harold Schechter, author of The...

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THE CAREFUL AGING OF A SERIES CHARACTER

by Alex Kava Alex Kava’s Grace and Maggie O’Dell are two of readers favorite characters. Last month, I received this Facebook message from a reader with a great question: “Maggie O’Dell was my introduction to thrillers back when I was maybe 14 or 15 years old, so I’m really happy there’s this...

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LETTING MY CAREER GO TO THE DOGS

by Alex Kava Spoiler alert! It’s a good thing. It was nine years ago this summer when I decided to write a new series. The latest installment (#11, Stranded) in my long-running FBI profiler series was scheduled for release in August that year. Pre-orders outpaced previous books. The publisher even...

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