I'm Obsessed!

Here are my latest obsessions . . .

Obsession #1

Anyone who’s ever taken one of my classes, intensives, webinars or even stopped me in the grocery store tbh, knows I can talk about books, publishing, book marketing, creativity, writing, covers, craft, inspiration, for days without taking a breath. And since I know that practically no one slows the scroll for headlines like “Amazon’s New Algorithm!” I’m here doing the hard stuff. I.E., reading those articles with you in mind. As unsexy as that Amazon news may sound, if you’re an author—traditionally published, hybrid published or self-published—you need to know that your publishing and marketing strategies must adapt to the new algorithm (called A10) so that you leverage all the new opportunities WHILE also minimize the ways your books are currently getting buried on Amazon. Like it or not, the majority of book sales happen online and with this retailer. To that end, I’m hosting a FREE webinar this Wednesday, 10/22/25 at 7pm EST. Leave me a comment below if you’d like to join the FREE WEBINAR and I’ll send you the link.

Obsession #2

The six classes of 40+ middle school kids I presented to this week in my home town (who taught me to exclaim ‘I’m obsessed!’ at least once an hour). My preconceived notion that a fraction of the 12-14 year olds would be interested in a talk on being a writer, challenged me to broaden the topics to: finding your people, creativity across mediums, self-pride, making mistakes (reframed as ‘learning something new’) and that living an observant life—noticing the world and the people around you—would not only make their writing richer, but also their life. While there was one heckler, a couple power-nappers, sporadic giggling and some audible gasps when I used the word “crap” (speaking about self-doubt in my own work) these kids were dialed in! I left time at the end for Q&A, fully prepared for no takers. I thought about how typically self-conscious kids are at this age among their peers. Was I wrong. There were more questions than we had time for. These kids surprised me over and over. The questions gave me a glimpse into what’s on their minds:

Are there male authors? (this introduced a quick history lesson on the use of pseudonyms) 

When can you call yourself a writer? (this question is also popular among adults)

Should we use impressive words in our writing as much as possible? 

I’m available for middle school and high school visits as my schedule allows. If you’re interested in me visiting your school, send me a private message!

Obsession #3

The Morristown Festival of Books (or any book festival if I’m being honest . . .) This year’s Morristown Festival of Books was a little rainy, but nary a dampened spirit could be found! So many great author talks and panels, but my favorite was a conversation between Renée Ahdieh author of PARK AVENUE and Jemimah Wei author of THE ORIGINAL DAUGHTER, moderated by Darcey Gohring. This one was a highlight for me because the audience witnessed in real time what started as a panel discussion, became not only a conversation, but what I believe sparked an important friendship between two authors who discovered a mutual admiration and curiosity for each other’s creative journey, writing process, research, worldview, subject matter. So often a panel discussion never really becomes a conversation; each author answers the question and whether or not they are listening to each other, it doesn’t become an exchange between creatives like this one did. (I hope I’m right about their new friendship!) We creatives always need to find our people so that we feel understood by like minds, supported and inspired. The books from these two authors sound fascinating as each explores what happens when ambition meets a messy family. Both are novels but clearly mined from the lives of each author. They are currently hovering around the top of my TBR!

Speaking of TBR . . . what are you all reading? Here are a few on my list . . .

Next up for me: WORKHORSE by Caroline Palmer, as I am a former PR exec in the cosmetics industry, I’m obsessed! with this one, SPEAK TO ME OF HOME by Janine Cummins, author of AMERICAN DIRT, PARK AVENUE by Renée Ahdieh and THE ORIGINAL DAUGHTER by Jemimah Wei.

Are you on Goodreads? Let’s be friends so we stay up to date on our favorite reads. Eva on Goodreads.

See you all next month. Until then, wishing you all good reads,

Eva