What Frasier Can Teach Authors About Memorable Characters
By: Ginger | Posted on October 16, 2026
Memorable characters can keep readers coming back even when the stories themselves follow familiar patterns. Their interpersonal rivalries and individual idiosyncrasies shape reader expectations, while each new situation still offers a chance to surprise the audience. In this week’s blog, Ginger explores why Frasier remains funny thirty years later, and what its lasting appeal can teach authors about building characters whose relationships keep generating compelling storylines. Following his recent look at the rules behind Star Trek: The Next Generation, Ginger explores how a very different approach can work just as well when writers commit to it. The key is remaining consistent with the rules you’ve defined for your characters and resisting the temptation to change their behavior simply to make a scene work. Adhering to a strict set of rules can feel confining, but as long as you fully commit to them, you may find those boundaries become one of… Read More >
5 Book Cover Checks to Attract the Right Readers
By: Evan Ye | Posted on October 9, 2026
A professional cover can catch a reader’s eye and still send the wrong message about your book. If the design suggests a dark thriller but the story delivers a lighthearted mystery, even readers who enjoy your writing may feel disappointed by what they find. In this week’s guest blog, Evan Ye explores the implicit promise your cover makes to potential readers, and why attracting the right audience takes more than striking artwork. Drawing on his research into book cover design, Evan shares five practical checks to help you spot mismatches between your cover, genre, blurb, and the reading experience your book delivers. From comparing your design with others in your subgenre to recognizing patterns in ARC feedback, he suggests ways to test what your book’s packaging communicates. Together, these checks can help you identify where reader expectations go astray and whether the cover, blurb, or another part of your book’s… Read More >
What Star Trek: TNG Teaches Authors About Writing Books That Last
By: Ginger | Posted on October 2, 2026
A clever hook can get readers to pick up your book, but what makes them want to read it again years later? For authors trying to build a lasting readership, that distinction matters, especially when chasing the latest trend can seem like the quickest way to attract attention. There are few franchises as enduring as Star Trek, and some of that longevity can be traced to the rules originally imposed on its writers. This week, we’re looking specifically at Star Trek’s The Next Generation (TNG) and how its approach to storytelling can help authors give their books similar staying power. As Ginger explains, the heart of the TNG approach was the mandate to create drama without relying on disputes between the main characters, which pushed the writers to build compelling storylines that embraced the science fiction heart of the show. Comparing that approach with the more novelty driven episodes of… Read More >
