Author: cherylspanos

Duology Done Well

It’s summer, and time for leisure reading. I have several YA fantasy titles in my TBR pile, some of which are the first books in a two-book series, aka a duology. I’ve read of couple of these, only to reach the end of Book 1 to find no resolution, a lot more questions, and a […]

Editor Scam

This past month, I received an inquiry out of the blue purportedly from an editor with a traditional publishing house. My first thought was this must be some sort of scam. But curious, I looked closer. The email was addressed to me by name. The sender identified himself and his publishing house, then mentioned my […]

Place as Character

Have you ever read a novel in which the setting itself becomes a character in the story? Often this is the case when the central conflict of the plot is man vs. nature, such as in Jack London’s Call of the Wild. In these instances, the location (e.g., wilderness, mountain, ocean) serves as the antagonist. […]

Inspiring Bedlam

In a past author Q & A, I was asked what inspired me to write Bedlam Bewitched. Good question. Normally, I consider myself more of a plot-driven writer. I start with a general idea for a story and begin writing from there. But in Bedlam, the character came first—Cory Smyth, my plucky, witchy FMC. Cory […]

Plotting

This past December, I attended an excellent presentation on Painless Plot Pointers given by David Macinnis Gill. David is the author of young adult and middle grade novels and has taught plot structure for the MFA program at Vermont College. In his workshop, David walked us through the new Three Act plot structure. The traditional […]

Sweetheart Sale

For Valentine’s Day, I’m running a limited-time sweetheart sale of Bedlam Bewitched. For three days only from Friday, February 13th through Sunday, February 15th, 2026, you can purchase my book at a special discount price. Looking for an escapist teen fantasy with a side of cozy mystery and romance? In Bedlam Bewitched, a teenage witch […]

A New Year, New Goals

The turn of a New Year offers time to reflect back and look forward. I’m not much for resolutions, but I do set writing goals for the coming year. Looking back, my writing goal for 2025 was to complete a first draft of my novel-in-progress. I didn’t quite get there, but I did make significant […]

The Great Dickens Christmas Fair

For the past several years, the Great Dickens Christmas Fair has been on my holiday radar. I first spotted it while researching Bay Area outings for when my guests visit over the Christmas holidays. Unfortunately, the timing never worked out. The fair closes the weekend before Christmas, and my guests arrive a few days later. […]