NADINE BRANDES once spent four days as a sea cook in the name of book research. She is the author of the award-winning ROMANOV, FAWKES, and the Out of Time Series. Her inner fangirl perks up at the mention of soul-talk, Quidditch, bookstagram, and Oreos. When she's not busy writing novels about bold living, she's adventuring through Middle Earth or taste-testing a new chai. She and her Auror husband are building a Tiny House on wheels with their Halfling children. Current mission: paint the world in shalom.

Adventuring Author: logbook of a sea cook (part 1)

(This is the second post of my sea cook adventure. For the first post, please go here.)   I’m not sure what sea cooks of old planned for meals, but I’m betting it wasn’t PB&Js, pot pies, or fettucini pasta. I’m also betting sea cooks didn’t keep log books. I… Continue reading

Adventuring Author: The story of a sea cook

Adventure is both a noun and verb. I like the verb version best. “I’m going adventuring,” not “I’m going on an adventure,” although both are perfectly acceptable. Inside my chest is a tiny adventure gremlin. It spends about six months to a year growing and sharpening its little claws before it… Continue reading

Should Authors Write Book Reviews?

Should I or shouldn’t I click the “two-star” button on that book rating? According to Goodreads, two stars means “It was ok.” And that’s exactly what I would say to someone in person if they asked what I thought of that book. Yet we all know a two-out-of-five-star rating is… Continue reading

What if Someone Steals Your Story Idea?

On August 7th, 2011—almost a full year after I started my upcoming novel, A Time to Die—I had an experience that left me numb, cold, and questioning my purpose behind writing. An experience that, I’m sure, every author (and maybe even musician, screenwriter, playwright, poet, painter, and so on) dreads. On… Continue reading

12 Questions About Your NaNoWriMo Plans

  [ujicountdown id=”NaNoWriMo” expire=”2013/11/01 00:00″]   I just about spit out my chai latte when someone pointed out that NaNoWriMo is next month. Shouldn’t I have an author radar alerting me? For less than three years, I’ve known about NaNoWriMo and I realized I needed much more than a two-day heads… Continue reading

Should a Fiction Author Blog?

I’m a contracted author, which means my blog can no longer be simply an online journal. It needs purpose now, vision, poise, and professionalism, right? With a touch of humanness, of course. Many different words of advice have gone out about fiction authors blogging, or just blogging in general: Don’t… Continue reading

Our 5 Winners! – Check out the Other MLP Giveaways

My 5-book giveaway for Marcher Lord Press’s 5th anniversary has ended! Thank you to all who participated and who support Marcher Lord Press. Our five winners are: Dirk Johnston (Oxygen) Joy D. Hartshorn (The Annotated Firebird Trilogy) Nathan Norman (Amish Vampires in Space) Kristen Johnson (Numb) James Nichols (The Restorer –… Continue reading

MLP 5th Anniversary – How I Became a Marcher Lord

  Happy Anniversary, Marcher Lord Press! Today is the fifth anniversary of my publisher, hurray! To celebrate, there are giveaways here (ends tonight) and here! (hosted by MLP author, Morgan L. Busse.) Not to mention a 25% discount on the entire MLP library (except the newly released Amish Vampires in Space, by Kerry Nietz)… Continue reading