Category: Debut Novel

The Genius of Thomas Wolfe

I wanted to see the movie, Genius, because it was about Maxwell Perkins, the famed editor of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. But it is really about Perkins’ relationship with Thomas Wolfe, who I’m embarrassed to say, I had…

Q&A with Kelly J. Ford, author of Cottonmouths

My fellow Dead Darlings contributor and site editor, Cara Wood, sent along these questions in anticipation of the launch of my debut novel, Cottonmouths, on June 6, 2017. Echoing the work of authors like Daniel Woodrell and Sarah Waters, Cottonmouths is an unflinching story about the ways in…

ARCs: The Oh F*ck Phase

I’ve been working on edits pretty much non-stop since I sold my debut novel (along with mourning my poor dead cat, getting married, going to Chile, and unfollowing relatives on Facebook). There was the big developmental edit. Then came the line…

What’s in a Name?

Most of us writers spend way too much time doing this writing thing. Crafting a story. Developing characters. Stressing about arcs and structure. Every once in awhile, like in the shower, more fanciful thoughts will strike me. And lots of…

Who Cares?

Who cares? I ask myself this question a lot these days in the wake of an election, a year, that left me, and so many others, feeling lopsided. For years, I’ve used writing and reading as a way to cope….