Joan Nestle speaking at table with flowers

Talk, Love, Listen – Joan Nestle, in Her Own Words

Karin Kallmaker Sisters of the Pen

Who can’t see the parallel to the 1950s and 60s, when you would be scarcely tolerated if you were a desexed homosexual and the reality in 2015 that getting legally married leads to losing your job? It’s okay to be gay as long as you are invisible – true then. True now. Which is why reading Joan Nestle is as important today as it has ever been. Read More

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Try Something Different?

Why Change? 3 Things I Learned from Melissa Brayden Plus a Sneak Peek

Karin Kallmaker Captain of Industry, Craft of Writing, Sisters of the Pen, Stepping Stone

 I learned way more than three things during Melissa Brayden‘s “25 Tips You Need to Write Faster, Please Your Readers, and Sell More Books” session at the Golden Crown Literary Society last week in New Orleans. It was easily the most informative and useful technical session of the Con for me – 25 useful things in 50 minutes. Suh-weet! Read More

wood desk with typewriter vinyl record scrabble tiles paint and music

Go Set a Watchman – It’s Not About Atticus

Karin Kallmaker Sisters of the Pen

Go Set a Watchman

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The trending hashtag was #atticusracist. I’ve felt very alone wondering why it wasn’t #scoutreturns. Plenty has already been written and argued about whether Harper Lee’s new novel, Go Set a Watchman, should have even been published, whether she was elder-abused into publishing it and whether it damages the legacy of To Kill a Mockingbird. Read More

Keep Calm and Love On Poster

Casting the First Tweet – Why Someone Else’s Gender Is Not About Me

Karin Kallmaker Cheers & Chocolate, LIFE + STYLE

When I decide to do something the hard way I like to have a good reason. Wiring the home network with spare ports and power means adding peripherals is easier in the long run. Developing a character with a researched career and life history means smoother first drafting and a more complex book that readers like better. If there’s no good reason to do it the hard way, I can be as lazy as the day is long.Read More

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