The Christmas Traveler by DiAnn Mills

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills This week launches a series of weekly blog posts that will feature 1 of 6 Christmas short-story ebooks I’ve written. I will post one each week as a free download for my readers on Pinterest. I’m hopeful one or more of these will be just the ticket to get you in the holiday giving spirit. This …

What Aspects of a Romantic Suspense Novel Thrill You?

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills During Lone Star Literary’s book blog tour for Fatal Strike, I learned a lot about what readers prefer in a romantic suspense novel. The responses can help me weave what reader preferences into my stories. The following 16 responses interested me, and I wanted to share them with you. Good character development The edge of the …

Why Write Fiction?

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Christian fiction writers often hear these questions: “Why write fiction when you could be creating nonfiction?” “If you feel writing is a ministry, then why are you putting your time and effort into fiction?” “A real Christian would be writing something with real sustenance, not fiction.” “Isn’t nonfiction how people learn how to live life to …

Creating the Perfect Reading Spot

By Cathy Baker @DiAnnMills This week Cathy Baker @CathyBaker is my guest blogger. Do you have the perfect reading spot? “The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.” —Ursula K. Le Guin You’re handed a book by your favorite author and told …

7 Reasons We Love Stories

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Thousands of stories are released each year. So many wonderful and amazing books, and we’ll never be able to read them all. But we try. What’s the fascination for story? Why do we crave the next novel and the next? Here are 7 reasons we love story. Entertainment is the number one reason we love story. …

7 Habits of a Highly Productive Reader

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Readers come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. Some prefer short nonfiction pieces while other readers reach for book length. Fiction readers select type and genre of stories according to their taste and whim. Avid readers devour one book after another while many prefer to linger on each word. Word lovers highlight and underline passages that …

Spreading the Word about Fav Books

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills As readers, many of us finish a novel or nonfiction book and post a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CBD, Goodreads, LifeWay, Mardel, etc. In addition to reviews, many of us post our opinions about a title on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Still others choose word of mouth to recommend …