Hello,

Whether this is a quiet time or a busy time for you, I hope you can spend some time for yourself. Reflecting, contemplating, planning, or just enjoying the season.

Five November Write Spot Blog posts

Ronnie Blair answers the question, What makes writing memorable? with a surprising connection.

You might find encouragement from Dan Blank’s post, Your Path to Success.

Review of Giving Up The Ghost by Samantha Rose.

Guest Blogger post by Mary Monoky, As writers, we’re often . . .

The idea of Making sense of something senseless is a topic I’ve been pondering for a while. This post is about a Wall Street Journal article I have read several times, 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.

Workshop Opportunity

“What you create lives on.” —Quote from Dan Blank’s Nov 28, 2025 Substack post. Click on Your Writing Lives On to read the entire post.

Dan is offering a free workshop: Friday, December 12th at 12:30 pm ET: Creative Clarity - Find More Time, Get More Done, and Live with More Confidence. Save your seat here.

Review of Amoran 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 the life we consider ordinary is only one version of reality? The "vortex" connecting Earth and Amoran becomes a potent metaphor for midlife awakening, the recognition that there are dimensions within us we've yet to explore.

Koehler weaves in classic fantasy motifs, guardians, portals, and ancient prophecies, but grounds them in modern emotional realism. It's this juxtaposition, heroism amid domestic practicality, that makes Amoran stand out in a crowded genre.

The novel's prose balances light humor with moments of lyrical description. Underneath the fantasy, Koehler explores universal themes: the rediscovery of purpose, the interplay of science and spirituality, and the enduring power of choice.

Amoran is both comforting and exhilarating. It's a story of awakening told with humor, compassion, and a touch of cosmic mystery.

It's the rare fantasy novel that not only whisks you away to another world but leaves you more deeply rooted in your own.

Writers Forum

Thursday, February 26, 2026

6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Pacific

Free on Zoom.

Debra Koehler will share her writing journey, from believing she couldn't possibly be imaginative enough to write fiction, to producing a four-book fantasy series, the first of which she self-published August, 2025.

She will share tips on how to keep going with your writing project even when you get so fed up you want to throw it away. Which she did. Multiple times. Only to pull it out of the recycling bin, smooth out the pages, and keep going.

Debra will also cover how using intuition to trust her story, as well as her writing process, helped her move beyond the setbacks and blocks that can be part of any writer's journey. 

I hope you can join us at The Forum.

Wishing you joy and peace this holiday season.

And, oh yes, Just Write!

Marlene