“Amoran: Book One of the Amoran Chronicles,” by Debra Koehler, reviewed by Jessica Fahey Debra Koehler’s Amoran: Book One of the Amoran Chronicles is a richly layered blend of domestic realism and metaphysical fantasy, a story that begins in a perfectly ordinary New England household and expands into an extraordinary multiverse. It’s a novel about rediscovery of self, of purpose, and of unseen worlds that lie just beyond the veil of perception. What begins as the story of a harried mother juggling family, work, and forgotten dreams evolves into an odyssey across dimensions, infused with wonder, humor, and emotional truth. Amoran explores the tension between the mundane and the mystical. Kerrin’s life in Glenwood Falls, marked by school runs, marital banter, and afternoon tea, embodies the small comforts and quiet frustrations of midlife. Yet Koehler uses that ordinariness as fertile ground for transformation. The novel poses the question: what if…
A December Memory . . . Prompt #859
Writing Prompt: Write a December memory. #justwrite #iamawriter #iamwriting
Keeping the memory . . . Prompt #858
In “Giving Up The Ghost” by Samantha Rose, Sam explores the possibility of having a relationship with someone after they die. Writing Prompt: If you have lost a loved one, in what ways have you continued the relationship? Or Write about someone who has passed as if you were introducing them. For example, “This is my grandmother, she sews all her clothes and makes noodles from scratch.” Bring this person to life as if they were in the room, or right around the corner.
Hard to do . . . Prompt #857
Prompt 1 Make a list of things that are hard for you to do. Prompt 2 Write about one of those things that are hard, and yet you do it anyway.
What makes writing memorable?
Concrete details. Evocative language. Characters who seem as human as we are. Ronnie Blair, “Writing That Endures—It’s All in the Craft,” Brevity Blog, October 17, 2025 Ronnie Blair is the author of the memoir Eisenhower Babies: Growing Up on Moonshots, Comic Books, and Black-and-White TV.
Your Path to Success
Excerpt from an excellent post by Dan Blank: “As a writer, it can be difficult to find a clear path that leads you to your goals.” “One of my biggest concerns is that someone has a vision for what they want to write and create, and they justify giving it up. That it’s too hard to publish, so they don’t. That they receive too many rejections, so they give up. That they read marketing is impossible nowadays, so they stop trying.” You don’t have to struggle alone. Dan Blank has answers. “We struggle alone. We succeed together.” The Creative Shift by Dan Blank, November 7, 2025
Making sense of something senseless
I have re-read a Wall Street Journal article numerous times since its publication, July 2024, partly because of the subject, mostly because of the riveting way it was written . . . the account of the days before and after Rachel Zimmerman’s husband’s death by his own hand. “As a health reporter, I wrote years ago about a study that showed the psychological benefits of storytelling. I was fascinated by research that found that people felt differently about themselves and their lives when they reframed their stories so that they were agents, not victims or bystanders. Essentially, the story matters less than how we tell it to ourselves.” Rachel Zimmerman, “A Decade Ago, My Husband Killed Himself. Could I Have Stopped it?” The Wall Street Journal, July 6-7, 2024 As Zimmerman wrote, “This is my effort to make sense of something senseless.” Both Zimmerman and Samantha Rose (Giving Up The…
Giving Up The Ghost
Even though “Giving Up The Ghost” by Samantha Rose is about a difficult topic (her mother’s decision to end her life), the gorgeous writing, the meaningful themes, and demonstrations of the importance of connections make this a powerhouse of a memoir. I was curious how Sam accomplished this masterpiece, so I took a deep dive to discover how she did this; reading the first time to learn the story, the second time to discover gems I missed the first time, and a third exploration, using “Ghost” as a textbook for how to write a memoir. Sam skillfully uses sensory detail and strong verbs to word-paint scenes that readers can “see,” unspooling across their minds like a well-crafted movie. Her ability to transform conversations and scenes into poignant moments paired with her willingness to be vulnerable while releasing the truth of her mother’s life and death are remarkable. Sam’s mother, Susan…
As writers, we’re often . . .
“As writers, we’re often trained to seek momentum—significant events, turning moments, the big emotional payoff. Especially in memoir, there’s pressure to magnify the trauma or spin a grand arc of triumph. But when I sat down to write, what called to me weren’t the headlines. It was the folds in between.” — Mary Monoky, “What Stillness Taught Me About Story,” August 6, 2025, The Brevity Blog
Misconception . . . Prompt #856
Write about something someone thinks about you, but it’s not true. A misconception. Just Write!