Book Wrap Up & Rating All The Books I Read This Year (2022)

This post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

If you’re a returning reader, welcome back, and if you’re new here, thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out all of my Bookish Things posts if that’s your cup of tea! This post is my 2022 Book Wrap Up! Share your 2022 Book Wrap Up in the comments below!

It has been a crazy couple of years. I could say that again.

I had high hopes for 2020 and ended up completing 0 of my 20 Bookish Goals For 2020. In 2021, I set 21 goals, naturally. I should have dialed it back a bit to account for the unexpected. However, I stubbornly set 21 goals for myself and again, completed very few in comparison to the amount of goals I set. I didn’t read 52 books. I didn’t finish a single series. 

The goals I completed in 2021 include:

• Read the House of Night Series by P.C. and Kristin Cast. (I read four books from this series and decided to finally put it to rest. This was my second or third time trying to get through this series and it just wasn’t for me. The writing was inconsistent —you could tell where one author stopped and another began, and not in a good way —and the story’s premise was just all too familiar: YA vampire school romance, bleh. I think I’ve seen enough of that trope to last me a lifetime. So I added the series to my DNF (Did Not Finish) list on Goodreads and let myself off the hook.) 

• Read More Classics In 2022 (I read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, so I think this one counts as completed!)

My other 19  goals for 2021 were left sitting on the shelf, covered in dust.

This year was different. 

While many of my goals from 2020 and 2021 remained in the back of my mind, I set only one goal for myself in 2022.

Read 22 books. 

That’s it! I set out to get less than two books a month for a year and I knocked that goal out of the park. 

I knew I was capable of reading two books a month based on my track record for previous years — 16/52 books in 2021, 15/12 books in 2020, 22/20 books in 2019, and 2/12 books in 2018. But like I said, it's been a crazy couple of years. I learned my lesson the hard way, by setting unrealistic goals for myself, not completing them all, and feeling disappointed when the end of the year came and I had hardly anything to show for it. 

A graphic showing my average book rating of 3.5 stars on a 5-Star Rating scale.

2022 Reading Statistics

Number of books Read:35

Number of Re-Reads:0

Average Rating: 3.5 stars

I’ve listed all the books I read this year in the order I read them below. Each book was given a 1-5-star rating for each book based on how much I enjoyed the book overall, how well I liked the writing style, and how useful the information contained within its pages was for me. 

Rating The Books I Read In 2022

• Sweet Bitter by Stephanie Danler ⭐⭐⭐

• Smithsonian Makers Workshop:Unique AmericanCrafting, Cooking, Gardening, and Decorating Projects by The Smithsonian Institution ⭐⭐

• Loving Someone with PTSD: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Connecting with your Partner After Trauma by Aphrodite Matsakis ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Never Use Futura by Douglas Thomas and Ellen Lupton ⭐⭐⭐

• The CBD Beauty Book: Make Your Own Natural Beauty Products With The Goodness Extracted From Hemp by CICO Books⭐⭐

• Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge ⭐⭐⭐

• Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce ⭐⭐

• Oh Hell No!:And Other Ways To Set Some Damn Boundaries by Chronicle Books ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Gorilla and the Bird: A Memoir of Madness by Zack McDermott ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Wild Edible Plants of Oklahoma by Charles W. Kane ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood ⭐⭐⭐

• Pride: Celebrating Diversity & Community by Robin Stevenson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear by Carl L. Hart ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• The “I Love My Instant Pot” Free Holiday Menu by Michelle Fagone ⭐⭐

• The Forager’s Feast: How to Identify and Prepare Wild Edibles by Leda Meredith ⭐⭐⭐

• The Drama of the Gifted Child by Alice Miller and Ruth Ward ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• The Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook by Pamela J Compart and Dana GodBout Laake ⭐⭐⭐

• Foraging Cookbook: 75 Recipes to Make the Most of Your Foraged Finds by Karen Stephenson⭐⭐

• The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot by Kathy Hester ⭐⭐

• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Wingbound by Heather Trim ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• The Courage To Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga ⭐

• Consumer Economics by Wendy Reiboldt ⭐⭐⭐

• A Radical Guide for Women With ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers by Sari Solden, Michelle Frank, and Ellen Litman ⭐⭐

• Mastering Your Adult ADHD: A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program Client Workbook by Steven Safren ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• How to Write One Song: Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us Back by Jeff Tweedy ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) by the American Psychiatric Association ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Dracula by Brahm Stoker ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Learning About Dance: Dance As An Art Form And Entertainment by Nora Ambrosio ⭐⭐⭐

• I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Wingless by Heather Trim ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Buzzed: The Straight Facts About The Most Used And Abused Drugs From Alcohol To Ecstasy by Cynthia M. Kuhn, Scott Swartzwelder, and Wilkie Wilson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday ⭐⭐⭐

A screenshot of my 2022 Goodreads Reading Challenge and all the books I read this year.

Looking at this list, it's easy to say my reading interests have been aaaaall over the place. From cookbooks, to the DSM-5, to various mental health books, to classics, to textbooks, to fiction and everything in between, my reading habits this year have certainly been interesting and diverse. 

I’m proud of myself for reaching my reading goal and expanding my reading horizons too. I even managed to get a new bookshelf (2021 goal 😂). Well, actually, I just repurposed another shelf for use as a bookshelf, so I still need to get a new one, but I digress.

All this to say, yes, life has been crazy for the last few years —it’s been hectic, full of ups and downs, and many learning curves — but it does get easier. The tide always goes back out and the sun always comes up. And it is possible, through some discipline, to break out of a reading slump and reach your bookish goals. 

What were your bookish goals for 2022? How many goals did you achieve? What goals have you set for 2023? If you want to read more on this topic, check out the related topics and past blog posts below!

Bibliography

• Hayes. Payton. “A screenshot of my 2022 Goodreads Reading Challenge and all the books I read this year.” December 30, 2022 (Thumbnail photo).

• Hayes, Payton. “A graphic showing my average book rating of  3.5 stars on a 5-Star Rating scale.” December 30, 2022. 

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• Immersion Reading: Audiobooks & Ambiance

• Get Immersed in Your Reading: Writing With All Five Senses

• Active Reading Vs. Passive Reading: Using Psychology-Based Critical Reading Skills To Increase Information Absorption & Retention

• Read Like A Writer: What Analytical Reading Can Teach Us

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• 5 Contemporary Romances Everyone Should Read

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• Do We Really Need to Read the Classics?

• Spring Cleaning For Writers: 10 Things Every Writer Should Do Before The New Year! (2019)

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Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

“Twenty Little Poetry Projects” Writing Exercise by Jim Simmerman

A photo of the book The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach, by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell on a wooden coffee table. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This blog post was written by a human.

Hello readers and writerly friends!

If you’re a returning reader, welcome back and if you’re new to the blog, thanks for stopping by! In this blog post I’ll be showing you how to write a poem from a bunch of seemingly nonsensical lines. “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” is a creative writing exercise created by Jim Simmerman, and published in The Practice of Poetry, by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell. I’ve used this writing exercise a handful of times in the past and in recent projects and its always a lot of fun for writing poetry, so I’ll be showing you how to do it too! If you want to support the original sources of this exercise, consider picking up a copy of The Practice of Poetry, by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell from your favorite bookstore or checking out a copy from your local library (or through the amazing library apps at the end of this post)!

“Twenty Little Poetry Projects” by Jim Simmerman

1. Begin the poem with a metaphor.

2. Say something specific but utterly preposterous.

3. Use at least one image for each of the five senses, either in succession or scattered randomly throughout the poem.

4. Use one example of synesthesia [mixing the senses].

5. Use the proper name of a person and the proper name of a place.

6. Contradict something you said earlier in the poem.

7. Change direction or digress from the last thing you said.

8. Use a word [slang?] you’ve never seen in a poem.

9. Use an example of false cause-effect logic.

10. Use a piece of talk you’ve heard [preferably in dialect and/or which you don’t understand].

11. Create a metaphor using the following construction: The [adjective] [concrete noun] of [abstract noun]…

12. Use an image in such a way as to reverse its usual associative qualities.

13. Make the character in the poem do something he/she could not do in real life.

14. Refer to yourself by nickname and in the third person.

15. Write in the future tense such that part of the poem sounds like a prediction.

16. Modify a noun with an unlikely adjective.

17. Make a declarative assertion that sounds convincing but that finally makes no sense.

18. Use a phrase from a language other than English.

19. Personify an object.

20. Close the poem with a vivid image that makes no statement, but that echoes an image from earlier in the poem. (Simmerman)

Margo Roby’s “A Thousand And One Nights”

I will use these steps when my brain is not behaving, when I have an idea and don’t know where to go with it. There are steps I ignore, but not many. Below is the final draft as published in Lunarosity, a now defunct ezine. I was going nuts while typing the drafts from my old notes. I kept wanting to fix things and get rid of verbs of being. I also had to decipher the original below my first revisions.

I am a concrete person with my writing. When I first tried this, I was sitting on our bed, in Jakarta, because that was my work space. I was feeling downhearted with life—I wrote the first line. I had a small Persian carpet next to me I was staring at while trying to figure out how to do this prompt—I wrote the next line…

1. I am a prisoner without walls
2. among the flowers of my Persian carpet vines/weeds are beginning to sprout

Once I had a focus, a direction, I found the exercise much easier to carry out. I don’t think I can write this exercise without knowing where I am going. It would be interesting to try, though. Randomness has merit. (Roby)

With a draft to go on, I stopped worrying about the steps. I listed nouns and verbs that fit with Persian carpets and Middle Eastern fairy tales, circled words I wanted to look up for other possible meanings, and started back through this draft, trimming, adding line breaks, making the story active rather than passive. I got rid of lines that I had in only because the exercise asked for them.

I will use these steps when my brain is not behaving, when I have an idea and don’t know where to go with it. There are steps I ignore, but not many. Below [right] is the final draft as published in Lunarosity, a now defunct ezine. (Roby)

Margo Roby’s First Draft (With Each Step)

1. Begin the poem with a metaphor.
I am a prisoner without walls
2. Say something specific but utterly preposterous.
among the flowers of my Persian carpet vines/weeds are beginning to sprout
3. Use at least one image for each of the five senses, either in succession or scattered randomly throughout the poem.
They twine and curl reaching for me pulling me down into the fields of silk and wool; as I slide through warp and weft I hear the rustle of thread grasses. My nostrils fill with the pungency of sheep and goats and I taste the dryness of dust.
4. Use one example of synesthesia [mixing the senses].
The dampness of a blue silk river runs through my ears.
5. Use the proper name of a person and the proper name of a place.
Nearby, Omar Khayyam sits writing under a date palm, the white minarets of Nineveh on the horizon.
6. Contradict something you said earlier in the poem.
If a carpet can have a horizon.
7. Change direction or digress from the last thing you said.
The hunt was on; turbaned caliphs on Arabian steeds, bows and arrows slung across their backs, chased a leopard peering forever across his shoulder.
8. Use a word [slang?] you’ve never seen in a poem.
Tally ho and an arrow is loosed never hitting its mark,
9. Use an example of false cause-effect logic.
suspended eternally in mid-air by silken threads.
10. Use a piece of talk you’ve heard [preferably in dialect and/or which you don’t understand].
A thousand throats can be slit by one man running.
11. Create a metaphor using the following construction: The [adjective] [concrete noun] of [abstract noun]…
The towering trees of thought stand in an expectancy of silence
12. Use an image in such a way as to reverse its usual associative qualities.
and I stand in the trap free of danger
13. Make the character in the poem do something he/she could not do in real life.
my arms sliding around the leopard’s golden ruff;
14. Refer to yourself by nickname and in the third person.
Ducky would have run
15. Write in the future tense such that part of the poem sounds like a prediction.
to be hunted forever through threads of colour,
16. Modify a noun with an unlikely adjective.
chased by frozen horses
17. Make a declarative assertion that sounds convincing but that finally makes no sense.
trapped by a web of patterns
18. Use a phrase from a language other than English.
another playmate in the Bokharan fields.
19. Personify an object.
The arrows hum through the staring trees
20. Close the poem with a vivid image that makes no statement, but that echoes an image from earlier in the poem
and I am trapped in a web of patterns.

A Thousand and One Nights by Margo Roby

Among the flowers of my Persian carpet

vines sprout curl twine me into fields of silk

and wool. Sliding through warp and weft,

I hear the rustle of thread grasses, and

my nostrils fill with the pungency of feral cats,

I taste the dryness of dust, and the dampness

of a blue silk river runs through my ears.

A blend and blur of color mark the horizon

spots of russet and black resolving into a hunt

undisturbed by my addition to the scene.

Arabian steeds damp dark with silken sweat,

silent as Attic shapes, prance and wheel

through date palms and trees of fiery-fruited

pomegranate. Turbaned caliphs, bows slung

across their backs, chase a leopard forever

peering over his shoulder. An arrow loosed never

hits its mark eternally suspended by woven

threads. Trees stand in an expectancy of silence

as I move within zig-zags of light and shadow.

My arms slide round the leopard’s golden

ruff and I am bound by threads of color

to be hunted forever through fields of silk and

wool, chased by frozen horses, another

player in the weaving fields of Bokhara. (Roby 2014)

My First Poem Written Using Jim Simmerman’s “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” In 2018

In 2018, my creative writing class did this writing exercise and below is my poem that resulted from it. I tried my hand at this exercise again in 2022, which you’ll see in the next example further on. I don’t have my earlier drafts of the poem from 2018, so I’ll show you my writing process line by line with my more recent poem from 2022, like Roby did with hers. This poem was published in Rose State College’s annual literary journal, Pegasus XXXVII, in 2018. It was inspired by Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. If you’ve read the series, let me know if you catch all the references! (I have no idea who Caroline Janeway is, by the way. I cannot remember who or what this name is referring to but it’s definitely a reference to… something.)

A photo of page 61 of Pegasus XXXVII with the poem “Angel” by Payton Hayes. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Angel by Payton Hayes

You were an angel

but feathers fall like bowling balls

when the air is missing from the room,

from your lungs.

You gasped when I called you out, a

baffled sound, surprised more so, only by

the startling sensation of your wings being torn off.

Though, that warranted bloodcurdling screams,

and rightfully received them.

You had us all fooled with silken lies,

but Caroline Janeway saw you in the back of Al’s

Pool Hall in Roseville, Minnesota, back in 1994.

And last I checked, heaven wasn’t in the back of Al’s Pool Hall.

She said that you were glued to the lips of some chick in a miniskirt,

that you looked like you’d had one hell of a time.

That’s when I put it all together: you weren’t an angel, you never were.

You’ve always been good at bending the truth, though.

Here I was thinking that you’d fallen from heaven,

but really, I’d just fallen for you.

Solitary walks through silent city streets seem to clear the air for me.

You needed to become a part of my past, but how

do I fix the damage that’s been done?

You had a broken halo and I, a broken heart.

I never knew you could be so savage.

The glittering look of endearment in your eyes was

lust and nothing more. I saw so much more.

You, Cupid, loose an arrow; though it sticks I can

no more than despise you, now.

I pluck it from my side, warm, sticky blood

running down in streams.

Janie would have fainted at such a sight.

I’d stand frozen, watching it all unfold before me.

Your bloodied, pristine, feathers litter the ground.

There I stood, trapped by a web of lies.

Yet, la mia anima è libera, my soul is free.

I feel more weightless, now, than any feather ever could.

Though, I suspect that they feel freed from you as well.

You were never an angel but you fell from grace.

I hand you the arrow, dried blood covering the silver tip.

(Hayes 2018, 61)

Revisiting Jim Simmerman’s “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” Writing Exercise In 2022

As mentioned, I tried this writing exercise out again for the second time in 2022. Although both rounds of working with this writing exercise got my poetry published in local literary journals here in Oklahoma, I personally feel the second poem is significantly more personal, eloquent, and sophisticated compared to the first poem. The poem I wrote back in 2018 was most definitely a concept poem and based heavily off of my favorite book series (at the time) and this poem from 2022 is rooted in my authentic, lived experience.

My First Draft (With Steps)

1. Begin the poem with a metaphor.

My father is a rock. He is strong, stable, and enduring. 

2. Say something specific but utterly preposterous.

My family stands trapped, smiling behind the glass.

3. Use at least one image for each of the five senses, either in succession or scattered randomly throughout the poem.

The jagged shards are sharp, threatening to cut me and the irony is not lost on me.  Holding up the frame to my nose, it smells of old and the figures behind the cracks are quiet and stock-still. 

4. Use one example of synesthesia [mixing the senses].

I could almost taste the film of dust around its edges. 

5. Use the proper name of a person and the proper name of a place.

The Payton of San Antonio is not the Payton of Oklahoma City, though she takes their riverwalks with her.

6. Contradict something you said earlier in the poem.

My father is crumbling.

7. Change direction or digress from the last thing you said.

My mother is fluid like a river. Fluid, taking up the shape of any container she occupies

8. Use a word [slang?] you’ve never seen in a poem.

Some would call her flexible, others call her flakey. 

9. Use an example of false cause-effect logic.

I’ve made it this far without a mother, I must be fine without her.

10. Use a piece of talk you’ve heard [preferably in dialect and/or which you don’t understand].

She was just ‘round the corner. Just ‘round the corner.

11. Create a metaphor using the following construction: The [adjective] [concrete noun] of [abstract noun]…

The fathomless abyss of my childhood trauma gapes before me.

12. Use an image in such a way as to reverse its usual associative qualities.

I stand at the precipice, intrigued by its enormity and dreadfulness.

13. Make the character in the poem do something he/she could not do in real life.

I dive like a heron, fishing in its depths for the panacea that will restore my soul.

14. Refer to yourself by nickname and in the third person.

Peaches desires more  —ambrosia. 

15. Write in the future tense such that part of the poem sounds like a prediction.

And the soul food she will soon get, but it’s not what she expects. 

16. Modify a noun with an unlikely adjective.

Her just desserts have the gall to be simultaneously acidic and sweet. The second time around, the tequila feels more like a prison than an escape. 

17. Make a declarative assertion that sounds convincing but that finally makes no sense.

Atlas reborn, she carries a burden that is far too heavy for her to bear. 

18. Use a phrase from a language other than English.

Mi familia es mi fuerza y mi debilidad -my family is my strength and my weakness.

19. Personify an object.

The bottle gazes up at her from the floor.

20. Close the poem with a vivid image that makes no statement, but that echoes an image from earlier in the poem.

My Second Draft (Untitled)

My father is a rock. He is strong, stable, and enduring. 

My family stands trapped, smiling behind the glass.

The jagged shards are sharp, threatening to cut me and the irony is not lost on me.  Holding up the frame to my nose, it smells of old and the figures behind the cracks are quiet and stock-still. 

I could almost taste the film of dust around its edges.

The Payton of San Antonio is not the Payton of Oklahoma City, though she takes their riverwalks with her.

My father is crumbling.

My mother is fluid like a river, taking up the shape of any container she occupies.

Some would call her flexible, others call her flakey. 

I’ve made it this far without a mother, I must be fine without her.

She was just ‘round the corner. Just ‘round the corner.

The fathomless abyss of my childhood trauma gapes before me.

I stand at the precipice, intrigued by its enormity and dreadfulness.

I dive like a heron, fishing in its depths for the panacea that will restore my soul.

Peaches desires more  —ambrosia. 

And the soul food she will soon get, but it’s not what she expects. 

Her just desserts have the gall to be simultaneously acidic and sweet. The second time around, the tequila feels more like a prison than an escape. 

Atlas reborn, she carries a burden that is far too heavy for her to bear. 

Her family watches her, sip after sip, frozen behind the glass. 

Mi familia es mi fuerza y mi debilidad -my family is my strength and my weakness.

The bottle gazes up at her from the floor. 

A photo of the poem “Trypophobia” in a two-page spread from pages 19-20 of the chapbook, Stories For The Road: Trauma and Internal Communication, Vol. 1. sitting on a brown wooden coffee table. Photo by Payton Hayes.

After I wrote the first draft, I left my poem alone for a few weeks so I could come back to it with fresh eyes. I chipped and chiseled away at it, cutting phrases in some lines and adding new thoughts in others. As I drafted this poem, its core message gradually became clearer with each new iteration.

Trypophobia by Payton Hayes

My father is my rock. He is strong, stable, and enduring—a stone statue against the dawn.

I stare at the relic of a bygone family—shattered, they stand trapped, smiling behind the glass.

The jagged shards are sharp, threatening to cut me open and the irony is palpable. 

Holding up the frame to my nose, it smells of old and the figures peering through the cracks are motionless, silent.

I could almost taste the film of dust around its edges.

The Payton of San Antonio is not the Payton of Oklahoma City, though she takes their riverwalks with her.

And now, my father is crumbling. 

My mother is fluid like a river, taking up the shape of any container she occupies.

Some would call her flexible. 

Others call her flakey. 

I’ve made it this far without a mother, I must be fine without her.

She was always just ‘round the corner, just ‘round the corner.

The fathomless abyss of my childhood trauma gapes before me.

I stand at the precipice, intrigued by its enormity and dreadfulness. 

The liquid gold calls out to me, inviting me in with a false sense of courage.

I dive like a heron, fishing in its depths for the panacea that will restore my soul.

Peaches desires more—ambrosia even.

And the soul food she will soon get, but it’s not what she expects. 

Her just desserts have the gall to be simultaneously acidic and sweet. 

The second time around, the tequila feels more like a prison than an escape. 

Atlas reborn, she carries a burden that is far too heavy for her to bear. 

Her family watches her, sip after sip, frozen behind the glass. 

She is swallowed up by the pit.

Mi familia es mi fuerza y mi debilidad—my family is my strength and my weakness.

The bottle gazes up at her from the floor. 

(Hayes 2022, 19-20)

As you can see from all the examples above, Jim Simmerman’s “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” Writing Exercise provides an excellent framework for writing poetry. When you follow this process step by step, you end up with at least twenty lines of creative writing to serve as the foundation for a truly powerful message and concrete poem.

You may not necessarily keep them all or keep them in order. But surprisingly,  this structured writing exercise allows creativity to flow freely. Once you have the rough draft, you can rearrange lines and edit the poem to your liking. I always enjoy working with this exercise and if you try this exercise or any of the other exercises in the book, please let me know what you think of it in the comments! If you want to find more amazing poetry writing exercises, consider picking up a copy of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell from the links below or checking out a copy from your local library.

If anyone can find the webpage with Margo Roby’s post with her process on the exercise and poem, “A Thousand and One Nights” in Lunarosity, or information on the 2004 edition of Lunarosity, please let me know!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. “Angel” Pegasus XXXVII. Midwest City, O.K.: Rose State College, 2018. (Page 61).

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the book The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach, by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell on a wooden coffee table.”  March 18, 2025.

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of page 61 of Pegasus XXXVII with the poem ‘Angel’ by Payton Hayes.” March 18, 2025. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the poem ‘Trypophobia’ in a two-page spread from pages 19-20 of the chapbook, Stories For The Road: Trauma and Internal Communication, Vol. 1. sitting on a brown wooden coffee table.” March 18, 2025. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A sideways photo of the book The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach, by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell on a wooden coffee table.” March 18, 2025 (Thumbnail photo).

• Hayes, Payton. “Trypophobia” Stories For The Road: Trauma and Internal Communication, Vol. 1. Edmond, O.K.: The University of Central Oklahoma, 2022. (Pages 19-20).

• Roby, Margo. “A Thousand And One Nights” Lunarosity, 2004. 

• Roby, Margo. “A Thousand And One Nights” Margo: Roby: Wordgathering. (Blog).

• Simmerman, Jim. Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds. “Twenty Poetry Projects” The Practice of Poetry. New York, N.Y.: First Collins Reference, 2005. (Pages 119-122)

Further Reading

• Purchase a preowned copy of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach online from Chegg.com, accessed March 18, 2025.

• Purchase a preowned copy of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach online from Thriftbooks.com, accessed March 18, 2025.

• Purchase a new e-book or paperback copy of the The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach online from Barnes & Noble, accessed March 18, 2025.

• Purchase a new or used copy of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach in various formats online from Amazon.com, accessed March 18, 2025.

• Add The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach to your Read, Currently Reading, or Want To Read shelves on Goodreads.com, accessed March 18, 2025.

• You can also check out a copy of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach Read through your local library with apps such as Overdrive, Libby, Libro.fm, Borrowbox, Hoopla, or you can purchase an e-book or audiobook through Google Books, Audible, or Kindle. 

Related Topics

• Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

• Writing Exercises from Jeff Tweedy's Book, How To Write One Song

• Why Fanfiction is Great Writing Practice and How It Can Teach Writers to Write Well

• Screenwriting for Novelists: How Different Mediums Can Improve Your Writing

• Experimentation Is Essential For Creators’ Growth (In Both Art and Writing)

• Blank Pages Versus Bad Pages: How To Beat Writer’s Block

• Know The Rules So Well That You Can Break The Rules Effectively

• Writing Every Day: What Writing As A Journalist Taught Me About Deadlines & Discipline

• Let’s Talk Amateur Author Anxiety: 7 Writer Worries That Could Be Holding You Back 

• 8 Reasons Why Having A Creative Community Matters

• The Importance of Befriending Your Competition

• How To Overcome Writer’s Block

• When Writing Becomes Difficult

• 5 Reasons Most Writers Quit

• Self-Care Tips for Bookworms

• 5 Healthy Habits For Every Writer

• Yoga For Writers: A 30-Minute Routine To Do Between Writing Sessions

• 20 Things Writers Can Learn From Dreamers

• Check out my other Writing Advice, Writing Exercises, and How To Get Published blog posts!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Writing Exercises from Jeff Tweedy's Book, How To Write One Song

This blog post was written by a human.

Hello, readers and fellow writers! Welcome back to the blog, and if you're new here, thank you for visiting! We’ll be discussing how to write a poem or song from a bunch of common words. By tapping into our subconscious and embracing unpredictability and imperfection, we can craft unique and compelling lyrics.

Why words? Because I believe all words have their own music and along with that music, I believe words contain worlds of words and meanings that are more often than not, locked beneath the surface. Poetry is what happens when words are opened up and those worlds within are made visible, and the music behind the words is heard. (Tweedy 2020, 65)

I first encountered this concept through Logan from vib3.machine on TikTok, who explained Jeff Tweedy’s Word Ladder Method from his book How To Write One Song. It’s called the Word Ladder Method because of the way you write out the words and physically link them together on paper. 

Keep the words simple

I’m not talking about expanding your vocabulary. I mean, that’s always a nice thing to do in the name of self-improvement, but fancy, multisyllabic words aren’t going to make a lyric better.They’re very often the thing that breaks the spell being cast by the melody being cast when I listen to music….In fact, I would say that most of my favorite songwriters consciously stick to common, simple, and precise language, but they don’t use it in a common and simple way within a song or melody. (Tweedy 2020, 68-9)

He gives John Prine as an example of someone who uses concise, simple, language effectively, that he “didn’t use a log of big words or flowery language and when he did, he always stayed true to the song and what needed to be said over any desire to make himself sound smart or poetic.” (Tweedy 2020, 69)

Word Ladder: Verbs and Nouns

The 6 Steps For Songwriting Using The Word Ladder

• Step 1: Come up with a label or word for a specific job

• Step 2: List out 10 Verbs to describe the label or job

• Step 3: List out 10 nouns you currently see in the space around you

• Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected

• Step 5: Write a poem with these connections

• Step 6: Rearrange and edit the lines to your liking

Jeff Tweedy’s Word Ladder

Step 1: Come up with a label or word for a specific job.

Tweedy selected 'physician' for his example, listing ten verbs associated with a physician and ten nouns from objects within his line of vision.

Step 2: List out 10 Verbs to describe the label or job

1. Examine

2. Thump 

3. Prescribe

4. Listen

5. Write

6. Scan

7. Touch

8. Wait

9. Charge

10. Heal

Step 3: List out 10 nouns you currently see in the space around you

1. Cushion

2. Guitar

3. Wall

4. Turntable

5. Sunlight

6. Window

7. Carpet

8. Drum

9. Microphone

10. Lightbulb

Jeff Tweedy’s word ladder. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected. 

1. Examine→ Lightbulb

2. Thump→ Microphone

3. Prescribe→ Cushion

4. Listen→ Window

5. Write→ Sunlight

6. Scan→ Carpet

7. Touch→ Turntable

8. Wait→ Drum

9. Charge→ Wall

10. Heal→ Guitar

Step 5: Write a poem with these connections.

“Now take a pencil and draw lines to connect nouns and verbs that don’t normally work together. I like to use this exercise, not so much to generate a set of lyrics but to remind myself of how much fun I can have with words when I’m not concerning myself with meaning or judging my poetic abilities.” (Tweedy 2020, 73)

Jeff Tweedy’s first draft:

the drum is waiting 

by the window listening 

where the sunlight writes 

on the cushions

prescribed

thump the microphone

the guitar is healing 

how the turntable is touched

charging in the wall 

while one lightbulb examines 

and scans the carpet (Tweedy 2020, 73-4)

I find it almost always works when I’m finding a need to break out of my normal, well-worn paths of language. (Tweedy 2020, 74)

Below is Tweedy’s revision of the poem. He says, you don’t have to use every one of the verbs and nouns or put any restrictions on your writing at this point. The goal of this exercise is to warm up your creative muscles. 

Tweedy’s revised poem:

The drum is waiting by the windowsill

Where the sunlight writes its will on the rug

My guitar is healed by the amp charging the wall

And that's not all, I’m always in love (Tweedy 2020, 74)

That’s still a little awkward, but it's enough to jumpstart my brain to where words and language have my full attention again. (Tweedy 2020, 75)

Logan’s (Vib3.machine) Word Ladder

Step 1: Come up with a label or word for a specific job.

The word Logan picked for his example was “astronaut.” He listed out ten verbs to describe an astronaut and then ten nouns from objects in his room.

Step 2: List out 10 Verbs to describe the label or job.

1. Explore

2. Discover

3. Float

4. Wait

5. Voyage

6. Travel

7. Learn

8. Fly

9. Land

10. Journey

Step 3: List out 10 nouns you currently see in the space around you. 

1. Basket

2. Letters

3. Books

4. Art

5. Kitchen

6. Camera

7. Floor

8. Watch

9. Fan

10. Bike

Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected.  In his captions, Logan said, “Having your subconscious constantly finding creative unique phrases while you aren’t actively TRYING is super powerful. It’s a habit [I’]m [trying] to develop.” (00:45-1:00)

Logan’s word ladder. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Logan connected his verbs and nouns like this:

1. Explore → Basket

2. Discover→ Kitchen

3. Float→ Floor

4. Wait→ Fan

5. Voyage→ Books

6. Travel→ Letters

7. Learn→ Bike

8. Fly→ Watch

9. Land→ Art

10. Journey→ Camera

Step 5: Write a poem with these connections. Don’t worry if it still doesn’t make sense. Right now, we’re just writing; we’ll edit it soon!

Logan says in regard to lyric writing, to make it as conversational as possible because it’s more relatable. (Logan 2022, 1:30-1:45)

Here was the poem he came up with from those connections:

I explored your basket 

And discovered us in the kitchen

We floated on the floor 

And waited next to the fan

You voyaged through this book 

And traveled every letter

So I can learn to bike 

And fly through this watch

You landed in my art 

And the camera we journeyed (Logan 2022, 2:36-2:50)

He said, “I know this sounds like nonsense, but we just wrote something without thinking about it.”  (Logan 2022, 2:30-2:35)

Step 6: Rearrange and edit the lines to your liking. For full-length songs and longer poems, continue the process with each stanza. Consider sticking with a common theme, for your first 10 words each time you start the process within one poem or song,  but change the words you use for this process with each stanza. Try to avoid unintentional repetition. For poems, see if you can create a rhyme scheme with the words and themes present and make use of the elements of poetry. 

I wrote a poem using the Word Ladder exercise

I was substituting for a high school drama teacher when I tried this exercise so, you might notice a theme.

Step 1: Come up with a label or word for a specific job

I picked “Actress”

Step 2: List out 10 Verbs to describe the label or job

1. Perform

2. Practice

3. Dance

4. Project

5. Articulate

6. Memorize

7. Act

8. Pantomime

9. Smile

10. Transform

Step 3: List out 10 nouns you currently see in the space around you

1. Podium

2. Mirror

3. Pen

4. Curtain

5. Piano

6. Spotlights

7. Screen

8. Tape

9. Carpet

10. Garbage

My word ladder. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected

1. Perform→ Spotlights

2. Practice→ Tape

3. Dance→ Carpet

4. Project→ Podium

5. Articulate→ Piano

6. Memorize→ Spotlights

7. Act→ Garbage

8. Pantomime→ Mirror

9. Smile→ Curtain

10. Transform→ Screen

Step 5: Write a poem with these connections

The performance begins with the spotlights 

The practice tape is peeling up as I 

Dance across the carpet

My teacher projects from the podium and 

The piano’s keys articulate a melody

I’ve memorized my position beneath the spotlights

Inside, I hope my acting isn’t total garbage

My classmate pantomimes in the mirror

I plaster on a smile as the curtain opens

We transform from stage to screen

Step 6: Rearrange and edit the lines to your liking

The performance begins with the spotlights 

The practice tape is peeling up from the stage

Dancing on the painted wood is nothing like the carpet in our classroom.

For a breath, I think back to rehearsal —the director projecting ques from the podium

The pianos keys articulate the melody of the opening coda

I’ve memorized my lines a million times beneath these spotlights

And still, I hope that my acting isn’t total garbage

The other actors pantomime one another like reflections in mirrors

I plaster on a smile as the curtain opens

We transform from students on a stage to actors on a screen

Here is my final poem:

ACTRESS

The performance begins with the spotlights 

The practice tape is peeling up from the stage

Dancing on the painted wood is nothing like the carpet in our classroom.

For a breath, I think back to rehearsal —the director projecting cues from the podium

The pianos keys articulate the melody of the opening coda

I’ve memorized my lines a million times beneath these spotlights

And still, I hope that my acting isn’t total garbage

The other actors pantomime one another like reflections in mirrors

I plaster on a smile as the curtain opens

We transform from drama students in a classroom to actors on a stage

As you can see this process is easy, effective, and creatively freeing. It takes the pressure of your shoulders to create something perfect, especially with the first draft. Having this skill is a great resource for writers both new and seasoned because it gets the words out of our heads and onto the paper and it gives us something to work with. You can edit a bad page but you can’t edit a blank page.

Exercise 4: Word Ladder Variation (using adjectives)

Don’t let adjectives make you think you’re being poetic. An “impatient red fiery orb loomed in the whiskey-blurred, cottony-blue sky is rarely going to hit me anywhere near as hard as “I was drunk in the day.”...Of course, it’s strange how adding words to paint a clearer, more specific image often muddies the image you’re trying to expose. The problem is when they are used to spice up a vague verb or noun instead of replacing that with precise language….”I was extremely frightened by the very large man behind the counter” versus “I was petrified by the colossus working the register. (Tweedy 2020, 86)

1. Step 1: Come up with a location

2. Step 2: List out 10 adjectives to describe that location

3. Step 3: List out 10 nouns in your line of vision or that pop into your head (and aren’t related to the location you picked) 

4. Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected

5. Step 5: Write a poem with these connections

6. Step 6: Rearrange and edit the lines to your liking

Step 1: Come up with a location

Tweedy selected “outer space” for his location.

Step 2: List out 10 adjectives to describe that location

1. Circular

2. Distant

3. Ancient

4. Haloed

5. Cold

6. Vast

7. Bright

8. Frozen

9. Silent

10. Infinite

Step 3: List out 10 nouns in your line of vision or that pop into your head (and aren’t related to the location you picked)

1. Ladder

2. Kiss

3. Daughter

4. Hand

5. Pool

6. Summer

7. Lawn

8. Friend

9. Blaze

10. Window

Jeff Tweedy’s word ladder variation. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected

1. Circular→ Summer

2. Distant→ Hand

3. Ancient→ Blaze

4. Haloed→ Daughter

5. Cold→ Kiss

6. Vast→ Pool

7. Bright→ Window

8. Frozen→ Ladder

9. Silent→ Lawn

10. Infinite→ Friend

Step 5: Write a poem with these connections

Tweedy’s poem came out as:

there is a distant hand

on a frozen ladder

climbing through 

a bright window

a vast pool waiting

beside a silent lawn

where a daughter haloed

lives a circular summer

one cold kiss

from an infinite friend

away from an ancient blaze (Tweedy 2020, 87)

It’s not a perfect poem, but it took me only about fifteen minutes to complete, and I really do enjoy some of the imagery that emerged. I actually found a few bits of language that I’ve been looking for to complete a song I’ve been working on. (Tweedy 2020, 87)

Exercise 2: Steal Words From A Book

This is the second writing exercise in Tweedy’s book. It’s a bit more free-form than the first exercise and can be helpful for getting you used to working with lyric fragments. (Tweedy 2020, 77)

• Step 1: If you have a melody, keep it at the forefront of your mind as you read

• Step 2: Skim over a page and see what words jump out at you

• Step 3: Highlight the words that strike you   

• Step 4: Keep going until you have a collection of words that sound right with your melody

• Step 5: Use an anchor word if one strikes you and pair other melodic words you find with it

Tweedy explains that this process helps put his ego securely in the backseat and forces him to surrender to a process that puts language/words in front of his creative path and he feels free to find them as though they’ve come from somewhere else. He feels more free to react with surprise and passion or cold indifference than he is able to when his intellect begins treating his lyrical ideas like precious jewels. (Tweedy 2020, 78)

He recommends using anchor words if any jump out at you and to find words that go well together sonically. He uses “catastrophe” as an anchor word and uses it to create the following lines:

wouldn’t you call it a catastrophe

when you realize you’d rather be

anywhere but where you are

and far from the one you want to see? (Tweedy 2020, 79)

Tweedy advises “overdoing it” in terms of coming up with lyrics you like. “Coming up with more than you need is almost never going to make a song worse. Sometimes every good line doesn’t make it into the song you’re working on. But that doesn’t mean you have to throw those lines away. I go back and look at the pages of lyrics I’ve written with this process…and find things I love, even ones I never used, frequently. It helps for there to be some length of time between when they were written and revisited, especially for it to be long enough for the initial melody to have faded. At this point you’re not committing yourself to anything. You’re just creating building blocks. (Tweedy 2020, 79-80)

Exercise 3: Cut-Up Techniques

Grab something you’ve been working on and write it all down on a legal pad. Or if you have access to a printer, print it out double-spaced… The easiest cutting strategy is line by line, but word by word or phrase by phrase can provide equally interesting results. Once you’ve cut up your text, you can either put the strips in a hat or turn them over and pull each line/word/phrase randomly. Then scan your chosen poem construction for unexpected surprises. (Tweedy 2020, 81) 

Tweedy says he almost always finds “at least one newly formed phrase or word relationship” that “moves” him or makes him “smile.” (Tweedy 2020, 81)

“Another way to use your cut-up strips is to forget about trying to make random associations and just use them as moveable modules of language. It’s always fascinating to me how much more alive lines I’ve written become when I’m able to have a simple tactile experience reorganizing the order and syntax of the lines and phrases.” (Tweedy 2020, 81-2)

Tweedy provides a comparison of the initial order and finalized order of a set of lyrics from his song, “An Empty Corner”

Version 1:

In an empty corner of a dream

My sleep could not complete

Left on a copy machine

Eight tiny lines of cocaine (Tweedy 2020, 82)

Version 2:

Eight tiny lines of cocaine

Left on a copy machine

In an empty corner of a dream

My sleep could not complete (Tweedy 2020, 83)

“[The second] version is so much more powerful and better overall that I can’t believe I ever tried to sing these lyrics in any other order…Take the time to play with your words. Allow yourself the joy of getting to know them without being precious about directing everything they are trying to say.” (Tweedy 2020, 83)

Exercise 5: Have A Conversation 

In Chapter 12 of Tweedy’s book, he advises trying another liberating writing exercise. He says to record yourself and someone else having a conversation to see what lyrics can emerge from common conversational language. He shows two examples of this exercise in action and it’s actually brilliant. For the sake of brevity, I’m only including the steps for this exercise but I highly recommend you try it.

• Step 1: Record a conversation or rewrite it as accurately to life as possible

• Step 2: Take the important and surprising snippets from the conversation 

• Step 3: Arrange those snippets to amplify or give them new meaning

• Step 4: Read it aloud

• Step 5: Rearrange and edit as necessary

Other Writing Exercises In Tweedy’s Book

Some other exercises Tweedy recommends in his book include playing with rhymes (in an unexpected and new way) and pretending to be someone else and channeling their essence when writing songs or poems, which takes the pressure to be vulnerable and perfect off the writer’s shoulders. He also recommends songwriters collect pieces of music, either in the form of mumbled songs, hummed tunes, instrumentals you play yourself or digitally, or music from other artist’s songs and advises songwriters to learn other people’s songs like the back of your hand, so you can take them apart and create something new with those parts. 

Additionally, he advises writers to “steal” elements of songs such as themes, lyric fragments, chord progressions, and melodies from existing songs and make them your own. He strongly advises writers to loosen their judgment and allow the creativity to flow freely. 

He explains writer’s block as he sees it and provides four conflicting tips for combatting the “stuck” feeling that comes with being creatively blocked: “1) start in the wrong place, 2) start in the right place, 3) put it away, and 4) don’t put it away.” (Tweedy 2020, 144-49) By all of this, he means rearrange song parts until they sound like a good fit for that part of the song, work on fragments or start from the end if the beginning is stumping you, walk away from the piece if its just not working and “keep punching” until you push through to the lyrics you’re looking for. 

That’s it for my guide, on writing a song or poem using writing exercises from Jeff Tweedy’s book, How To Write One Song. I hope you enjoyed it and that this process inspired you to try this in your own writing. If you do try this method, post your work in the comments below so I can see how it helped you! Make sure to check out Jeff Tweedy’s book and Vib3.machine’s TikTok for more information on songwriting! Thanks for reading!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. “How To Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy.” Thumbnail Image, November 6, 2022.

• Hayes, Payton. “Jeff Tweedy’s word ladder.” November 6, 2022. 

• Hayes, Payton. “Logan’s word ladder.” November 6, 2022. 

• Hayes, Payton. “My word ladder.” November 6, 2022. 

• Hayes, Payton. “Jeff Tweedy’s word ladder variation.” November 6, 2022. 

• Logan, Vib3.machine. “Word Ladder” Tiktok.com. 2022. 

• Tweedy, Jeff. How To Write One Song. New York: Dutton, Penguin Random House LLC, 2020. (65, 68, 69, 73-83, 244-49)

Related Topics

• Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

• “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” Writing Exercise by Jim Simmerman

• Why Fanfiction is Great Writing Practice and How It Can Teach Writers to Write Well

• How To Write Poems With Artificial Intelligence (Using Google's Verse by Verse)

• Screenwriting for Novelists: How Different Mediums Can Improve Your Writing

• Experimentation Is Essential For Creators’ Growth (In Both Art and Writing)

• Writing Every Day: What Writing As A Journalist Taught Me About Deadlines & Discipline

• Know The Rules So Well That You Can Break The Rules Effectively

• Blank Pages Versus Bad Pages: How To Beat Writer’s Block

• How To Overcome Writer’s Block

• When Writing Becomes Difficult

• 5 Reasons Most Writers Quit

• Self-Care Tips for Bookworms

• 5 Healthy Habits For Every Writer

• Yoga For Writers: A 30-Minute Routine To Do Between Writing Sessions

• 8 Reasons Why Having A Creative Community Matters

• The Importance of Befriending Your Competition

• 20 Things Writers Can Learn From Dreamers

• Check out my other Writing Advice and Writing Exercises blog posts!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Book Review: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

This post was written by a human. This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager reminded me of American Horror Story’s Hotel season, where patrons of the hotel go suddenly missing under mysterious circumstances. The Bartholomew was an entity and character of its own and I couldn’t help feeling like I simultaneously wanted to visit the spooky hotel and stay a million miles away from it forever. The unsettling events that occurred behind closed doors were absolutely chilling to the bone. I found myself wishing I could shake the main character and tell her, run Jules, run!

This heart-pounding, breath-catching, page-turner of a thriller kept me hooked start to finish. I listened to the audiobook version of this novel and I was completely enthralled the entire time.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager follows a young woman whose new job apartment sitting in one of New York’s oldest and most glamorous buildings may cost more than it pays

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew's sordid past and into the secrets kept within its walls. What she discovers pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent (Sager 2019).

The entrance to the Dakota where John Lennon was shot. Photo by Encircle Photos.

The Dakota as seen from Central Park west. Photo by Michelle Young.

Something Riley Sager is known for in his books, is the central plot twist—a storytelling element he does very well. I didn’t see the major twist coming and when my original theory was flipped on its head, I was astonished. However, the twist made sense, once all the clues he laid out beforehand were explained.

Sager employs a history, both real and invented to weave a thrilling tale that feels equal part as urgent and realistic as present-day and equal part ancient and enchanting as The Dakota, the upscale apartment building in New York upon which the elegant Bartholomew is based! Lock Every Door is an intoxicating tapestry that is every bit as disquieting as the bizarre wallpaper in Jules’ apartment in the Bartholomew and the unsettling events it has witnessed.

“I wanted the building to be seductive yet sinister, elegant yet also creepy…I wanted people to really want to live there but at the same time, to be terrified while they’re living there.” —Riley Sager on Lock Every Door.

The Bartholomew, the setting of the story, a character as much as the people in the story, evolves as the story progresses, observed initially as sophisticated and whimsical, and eventually becoming increasingly more sinister and mysterious. From elegant, gilded cage elevators that carry patrons from the top floor to the bowels of the building, to watchful gargoyles perched on the exterior, elements of the setting grow more and more unsettling and oppressive as Jules uncovers one dark secret after another.

This story is a gripping read cover-to-cover that teeters precariously between thriller and horror and stupefies readers with a chilling plot twist that doesn’t come completely from left field.

“There’s plausibility in a thriller. No matter how weird they may get, it’s something that could potentially happen in real life… It never gets otherworldly, so to speak…it is always grounded in some sense of reality. With horror, it seems like there’s a tear in the fabric of reality and that inexplicable things are going on and that just makes it even more frightening...I like to walk that fine line between the two.” —Riley Sager on Lock Every Door.

The quotes from Riley Sager about his book is from the “Interview with Best-Selling Author of Lock Every Door: Riley Sager” on the No Thanks, We’re Booked Podcast Hosted by Mollie from Mollie Reads and Katie from Life Between Words. Check out the rest of the interview here.

“Move over Rosemary’s Baby, urban paranoia has a deliciously gothic new address.” —Ruth Ware

This book makes me want to a) read more of Riley Sager’s writing, b) read Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin, and c) get into more urban paranoia.

In July of 2019, Paramount Television, Sugar 23, and Anonymous Content announced plans to adapt Lock Every Door into a television series, and I am so stoked to see how it turns out. I cannot wait to draw comparisons between the film adaptation and AHS: Hotel.

And that’s it for my review of Riley Sager’s Lock Every Door. Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Have you read any of Sager’s other works? I cannot wait to check out Final Girls by Riley Sager to see more of Jules’ story and where it goes from here. Will you be watching the film adaptation? Let me know what you thought of this book and this review in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Encircle Photos. “John Lennon Murdered at The Dakota in New York City, New York.” Web article, (Photo) accessed September 19, 2021. 

• Hayes, Payton. “Lock Every Door Audiobook on Google Pixel.” (Thumbnail photo), September 19, 2021. 

• Sager, Riley. Lock Every Door. New York: Dutton, 2019. Amazon. 

• Young, Michelle. “The Top 10 Secrets of NYC’s Iconic Dakota Apartments.” Untapped New York article, (Photo) accessed September 19, 2021.

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• How to Read More Books

• 10 Tips For Planning Your Reading Challenge (2020)

• How I Got Started Reading When I Hated It

• How I Read A Book: My Book Reading Routine

• Self Care Tips for Bookworms

• Get Immersed in Your Reading: Writing With All Five Senses

• Read Like A Writer: What Analytical Reading Can Teach Us

• Reading Slump Emergency Kit: 15 Surefire Ways To Break Out of a Reading Slump!

• Check out more of my Bookish Things and Bookworm Life blog posts!

Before You Go

• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Book Review: Goodbye Again by Jonny Sun

This blog post was written by a human. This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi Readers and writerly friends!

This week in the Bookish Things category, we’re talking about Jonny Sun’s book, Goodbye, Again, which I read a couple of weeks ago and just loved!

I read this book after watching Katherout’s video on YouTube, “I no longer aspire to have a career” where she discussed the idea of a “dream job” and how she no longer dreams of labor —She is one of many speaking up on this greater discussion about laziness, productivity, burnout, mental health, and being overworked and I’d recommend giving her video a watch.

Goodbye, Again is a profoundly sentimental, immensely reflective, and introspective read. It touches on sensitive subjects such as loneliness, the end of the world, the rat race and losing yourself by getting caught up in the working world, depression, self-care, and the like, but not just for the sake of discussing these difficult topics. Sun handles these subjects with care and grace and carves out a space for the reader to feel less alone in their experience with loneliness, belonging, and burnout.

Goodbye, Again came into my life this spring, after I had failed three out of four of my senior college courses (not because of capability, but rather due to burnout and poor mental heath). I had gotten so caught up in school and producing content online at such a rate that it was unsustainable and quickly doomed to crash and burn. That’s exactly what happened. I lost sight of myself and what I wanted out of life and ended up being forced to take time off to focus on my mental health. All of this to say, that Goodbye, Again arrived just when I needed it to.

Goodbye, again by Jonny Sun. Photo by Jonny Sun.

Until I’d read this book, I never realized that I used productivity to cope with loneliness. Sun strives to "fill the blankness" of weekends in the city; but "instead of turning to people, or to hobbies, or to Going Places or Seeing Things, I find it easiest to turn to doing more work to try to fill, or perhaps keep at bay, that emptiness and that feeling I can't ever fill that emptiness enough," he writes. In a lighthearted tone, he confronts this learned response of coping with loneliness through productivity and invites the reader to do the same. This discussion was initiated through his alien character Jomny in his 2017 graphic novel, Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too — however this time around, he works through burnout in his own voice with his own personal experiences. In this way, his specificity actually gives way to reader relatability.

"Whenever I am in an unfamiliar place, it has become a coping mechanism for me to look for plants that I recognize from elsewhere, and to look for plants that I've never seen before anywhere else but that I can start recognizing as familiar," he writes —his words serving as a metaphor for feeling rooted in his communities and a reminder for what we can learn from them: rest is a necessity; growth takes time; some things don't change —paring these ideas with illustrations of succulents on the joining page.

The layout of the book is divided into six parts which allows the reader to take breaks between any of the stories, should they need to. It’s rare that a book will physically accommodate what the writer himself seeks to accomplish by writing the book —to create a space for the reader to sit with loneliness and burnout, even if it means you’re temporarily leaving his world to do this.

Without sharing too much, I’d like to show you a couple of my favorite sections of the book. In one titled “Playlist For A Funeral” Sun says “The playlist for my funeral is 252 songs long now, and I feel like it’s not done yet. I feel like it’s still missing pieces, or that I haven’t found the perfect single song that I love more than any of these other songs that would render my list obsolete. And I think that means I want to keep adding to it. And I think that mean, that this is some sure sign, that I want to be alive.”

This is a passage that really hit close to home for me, especially recently as I’ve been going through a major depression. Reading this section of the book made me feel validated in my thoughts and feelings and the book overall, made me feel like it was okay to feel lonely. Loneliness is neither a bad nor good emotion —it doesn’t have any particular connotation or denotation attached to it. However, people like to view loneliness as a bad emotion because it doesn’t exactly feel good to be lonely. Solitude on the other hand, is viewed as a good emotion, because it seems like the loneliness is intentional or self-imposed. Lastly, positive solitude is the state or situation of being happy or content to be alone. I’ve learned that the difference between all of these instances of loneliness is mindset. If you no longer look at loneliness as a bad emotion, but just an emotion, like any other that comes and goes, then it becomes easier to sit with it rather than trying to shove it down with substances, distractions, or toxic productivity.

If you’re dealing with depression, struggling to cope with loneliness, or just looking for a lovely book to read, I would highly recommend Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun. Summer is here, bringing with it fun, sun, and warmer weather and the reminder that we should all slow down, take time to rest for the sake of resting, and practice taking care of ourselves. Even as the pandemic comes to a close, there’s no shame in taking a break from reading if you need it, but if you’re feeling ready for a new, meaningful but lighthearted summer read, I suggest starting out with Goodbye Again. Trust me, you won’t regret letting Jonny Sun into your life.

Have you read Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun? What did you think of it? Do you have any recommendations based on this book? What did you think of this review? Let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Berry, Katherine. “I No Longer Aspire to Have a Career.” YouTube video. Posted by Katherout, May 12, 2021.

• Hayes, Payton. "A Photo of Me Holding a Hardcover Copy of Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun  In a Sunny Window Near A Pothos Plant."  Photo.

• Sun, Jonny. Goodbye, Again: Essays, Reflections, and Illustrations. New York: Harper Perennial, 2021. 

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This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Hi readers and writerly friends!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This blog post was written by a human.This is a spoiler-free review.

This week in Bookish Things, I’m sharing my thoughts on Erin Morgenstern’s dazzling novel, The Night Circus. I was wholly and completely enchanted with this stunning young adult fantasy, centered around a mysterious nocturnal, travelling circus.

Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in The Night Circus, the spellbinding New York Times bestseller that has captured the world's imagination.

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance. (2012, Amazon Synopsis)

The first page of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I cover this more in-depth in the Freelancing counterpart to this blog post, “Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel,” but this story is told from multiple points of view and from different story tenses as well. The narrative jumps from past to present to future seamlessly and seemingly magically to give readers a whimsical, realistic, yet ancient-feeling story. It bounces between second person and third person point of view, a storytelling method that makes reader feel like they are watching the character’s stories unfold one moment and walking through the caramel-and-vanilla-laden paths of the circus grounds the next.

While I do wish this book’s romance had been more prominent (because I just love romance and can’t get enough of it) I do appreciate that the romance present in the story both served to drive the plot in an organic, uncontrived way, and added to the whimsy of the circus itself while not taking place within the circus the entire time.

All of the characters—from the circus itself, to the performers and circusgoers—are alluring, multidimensional, complex characters. These morally-grey, deeply flawed characters are relatable, realistic, and easily loveable—a rarity in books like this one, that have a very large cast of characters. The way Morgenstern seemingly effortlessly weaves so many intriguing character arcs into a single story is truly mystifying—every character has a part to play.

The pacing of this novel is just superb. Some complain that it is a bit of a slower read, but I, charmed by the fantasy of the circus, could not devour this story faster! The way the skips through time are entwined with alternating points of view made for a remarkably interesting story structure and a pacing that never felt boring or dull. The Night Circus is a story of hope, wonder, magic, and love. If I had to pick one word to describe it, I would choose Dreamy, because the imagination and spirit of this story continues to leave me spellbound long after I’ve turned the last page.

That’s it for my review of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Would you visit the Night Circus? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. "The first page of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern." January 15, 2021 (Thumbnail Photo).

• Hayes, Payton. "The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. " January 15, 2021.

• Morgenstern, Erin. The Night Circus. New York: Anchor Books, 2012.

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• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Book Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

This blog post was written by a human.This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week, in Bookish Things, I’m doing an in-depth review of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and ooh-hoo-hoo do I have so much to say about this book. So, let’s dive right in!

Station Elven Paperback by Emily St. John Mandel with votive candles. Photo by Payton Hayes.

For starters, I must admit that reading this pandemic dystopian fiction in 2020 has absolutely influenced my opinion of it. The subject matter and premise felt more tangible and less like words on a page after existing during COVID-19. Station Eleven book will forever hold a special meaning for me because it represents a lot of my worst fears about how the pandemic could potentially spiral into a full-blown apocalypse scenario. This severity doesn’t seem so far-fetched. I think, if everyone read this book when the pandemic began, we’d be in a much better state right about now.

This is your friendly reminder to stay home and wear a mask if you have to go out. Trust me, we don’t want things to play out like they did in the story.

I’ll try and wrangle all my complicated feelings about this novel, but truly I feel awed and speechless. Reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is a lot like slowly peeling back the layers of a yellow onion— tearing it away, bit by bit until you’ve reached the center. It’s a little savory, a little sweet and it lingers, but oh, it stings, that tiny sun in your palm. The layers of this story seem to unfold all at once, past and present interwoven together like the wedded roots of a great tree—the way the overlapping storylines finally, finally click into place with the final page.

On page, 144, in paragraph 3, Mandel writes:

Hell is the absence of the people you long for. (2015)

Woof.

Station Eleven is a story thick with nostalgia both for what once was and for what could have been. It’s a painfully realistic image of what life might be like thirty years after a devastating pandemic, and an economic collapse, people all over the globe desperate to survive. It’s a story of longing, sorrow, isolation, remembrance, and grief, but it’s also a story of preservation and perseverance—hope buzzing like the spark of electricity humming to life in a city just over the horizon, like a well-kept secret unleashed after decades of silence. It’s a story about survival, resilience.

On page, 233, in paragraph 1, Mandel writes:

These taken for granted miracles that had persisted all around them. (2015)

Naturally, the most poignant theme in this story is who and what we take for granted. With the parallels of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it was impossible to read this book and ignore it’s impact. During the pandemic, I came face-to-face with the ordinary people, places, and privileges I’d taken for granted—grocery stores and overnight stockers and bag boys. Before, I was never one for braving the crowds during peak shopping times or travelling in rush hour traffic, but I’ve found whimsy and respite in the short, yet essential outings to my local grocery store. Few and far between, those brief stints out into the world, following quarantine have renewed my appreciation for the little things—like clean water, electricity, modern medicine, microwavable dinners—and instilled in me an overwhelming sense of respect and gratitude for all those folks that compose the backbone of America.

On page, 178, Mandel writes:

On silent afternoons in his brother’s apartment, Jeevan found himself thinking how human the city is, how human everything is. We bemoaned the personality of the modern world, but that was a lie it seemed to him; it had never been impersonal at all. There had always been a massive delicate infrastructure of people, all of them working around us, and when people stop going to work, the entire operation grinds to a halt. No one delivers fuel to the gas stations or airports. Cars are stranded. Airplanes cannot fly. Trucks remain at their points of origin. Food never reaches the cities; grocery stores close. Businesses are locked and then looted. No one comes to work at the power plants or the substations, no one removes the fallen tress from electrical lines. (2015)

Chills. Absolute. Chills.

I think of the grocery store clerks and nightly stockers “masking up” to make sure we’ve got access to food despite our collective isolation. I think of my dad who— recovered from a high-risk surgery in one of the biggest hospitals in Oklahoma during the peak of the pandemic—was a member of the “society’s most vulnerable” club, yet quarantined alone in his hospital room for more than a month, without ever getting COVID-19. I think of the healthcare workers with breakouts on their jawlines and angry, red indentations where the elastic on their N95s wore a rut in their cheeks. I think about what pictures play on the screen behind their eyes when they go to sleep at night. I think of the refrigerated trucks.

On page, 178, Mandel writes:

No one comes to work at the power plants or the substations, no one removes the fallen tress from electrical lines. (2015)

The last line hit particularly close to home for me. It was during the 2020 ice storm and literally as I was reading this book, the power all along our street went out—a rogue tree limb had fallen over on one of the main powerlines in our neighborhood. The dreary winter afternoon paired with the power outage, isolation, and pandemic in the periphery, I felt like a forgotten dweller of the Undersea, longing for light and warmth where it seemed none was promised.

Station Eleven book cover photo. Found on npr.org.

The scariest thing about this story overall is most certainly the way Mandel explains how the collapse happened— how the pandemic spread across the globe like wildfire, consuming entire cities, and leaving crumbling civilizations in its wake, how phones and the internet went down and then electricity, and finally how gasoline staled and left people with zero communication and zero transportation. But then again, where could they go? The entire world was affected. It’s a very real possibility— a horror story rooted more so in reality than in the fantastical.

It's a story about what we leave behind, what we carry with us—baggage from a life and world before, and new beginnings and just what else this awakening world might contain.

And then there’s the unwillingness to comprehend the outbreak and the severity of it, even as it is presented by the news, the unwillingness to comprehend what it meant. The panic. After getting an alarming phone call from his nurse friend Hua, Jeevan rushes to the local store and fills seven shopping carts with groceries before pushing them miles through the snow to his brother’s apartment where they hole up there for weeks. Sound familiar?

On page, 239, in paragraph 2, Mandel writes:

He woke at 3:00 in the morning, shivering. The news had worsened. The fabric was unraveling. It will be hard to come back from this, the thought, because in those first days it was still inconceivable that civilization might not come back from this at all. (2015)

Station Eleven is an impeccably cleverly written glimpse into the not-so-far-off future of modern society following a terrible pandemic. The way Mandel lays out the puzzle pieces before the reader so that as the pages turn, the parts fall into place is beyond exceptional. I can typically see plots like this from a mile away and usually have the story figured out by the time I reach the last page. Mandel kept me guessing and wondering what all the interconnecting pieces meant. When it all came together, I was astonished.

And that’s it for my review of Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven! Have you read this book? What are your thoughts on it? How does it make you feel after the COVID-19 pandemic and everything that’s happened in 2020? Let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. "Station Elven Paperback by Emily St. John Mandel with votive candles." January 1, 2021 (Thumbnail Photo).

• Mandel, Emily St. John. Station Eleven. London: Picador, 2015.

• Mandel, Emily St. John. Station Eleven book cover. Photograph. NPR..  Accessed January 1, 2021. 

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• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 31, 2025

Series Review: The Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly

This blog post was written by a human.This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

A photo of my left hand holding a paperback copy of Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly on the 7th floor of a building in OKC. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This week in the Bookish Things category, I’m doing an in-depth review on L.A. Weatherly’s Angel Trilogy! This is a series I have been meaning to read for so long, picked it up in the summer of 2019, and didn’t finish it until just before the end of 2020! After reading Hush, Hush, I needed a new paranormal romance to do with angels and I honestly thought this one was going to be my next fave. I had such high hopes for this trilogy, and even skipped reading Hush, Hush this year, to make sure I knocked it out before 2021!

“It’s worth it you know,” said Alex, smiling into my eyes.

“What is?” I said.

His thumb moved slowly over my cheek. “All of this. Having you. It’s worth—anything.” (Weatherly 2012)

I’m going to start off with my least favorite parts of the series and then end on some positives. This biggest issue I had with the story was the romance. It just didn’t do it for me. I enjoyed the characters and felt like they really meshed well together, but the romance was just lacking and left me wishing we’d gotten to see more of it. However, I understand this series leaned more on the young side of YA Paranormal fiction, than adult.

“There is no greater universe than holding you…” (Weatherly 2012)

Secondly, I hated the angels. I know that was the point of the story—they’re not exactly the good guys in this one! But I almost found the passages that had to do with the angels themselves to be unbearable and I often wondered, did we really need to read this? But of course, we did, it was in fact, important to character development and progressing the plot. I just couldn’t hardly stand reading about them because I despised them SO MUCH.

A photo of a paperback copy of Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly open in my lap. Photo by Payton Hayes.

On the other hand, though, the characters in this series were SO GOOD. The main character was certainly a refreshing take on the special girl trope, as were her peers. I found myself enchanted and enamored with all of the characters and was often rooting for them. There were times that this series hurt my feelings as I read because the characters would say or do something to each other and I couldn’t help but think, oh, my heart. Did you really have to say/do that? And of course, they did have to say/do that because tension and plot devices.

Another story element that L.A. Weatherly does well in her Angel trilogy is she really created a new, refreshing depiction of angels that I’ve never seen before. In Angel Burn, Angel Fire, and Angel Fever, angels are malicious, otherworldly beings who feed on human life forces and leave the people they’ve fed from irreparably damaged in their wake. In the story, AKs, or Angel Killers hunt angels by shifting their consciousness up through their chakra points so they can see the angel’s halos—their Achille’s heels—and then they shoot them down. The way angels (monsters) and angel killers (monster hunters) are portrayed in the Angel trilogy really give a new presentation of the monster hunter theme often seen in YA paranormal fiction.

The prose was expertly crafted, and the characters voices felt believable and unique. The protagonists garnered reader investment and the villains warranted loathing, as they should have. The story’s premise was a new and refreshing delineation and the mythology easily believable and digestible. The narration alternates between both Alex and Willow smoothly and seamlessly. The romance albeit lackluster aptly served to drive the plot along rather than simply being romance for romance’s sake. Overall, if I had to rate this series on a 5-star scale, I’d give it a 3.5, only for the fact that the romance just didn’t cut it for me. To be fair, I was measuring it up against Hush, Hush, and of course, it didn’t stand a chance in hell (yes, pun intended.)

And that’s it for my in-depth review of the Angel trilogy by L.A. Weatherly! Have you read this series? What did you think of it? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback box set of The Angel Trilogy L.A. Weatherly laid flat on a black background.” December 25, 2019 (Thumbnail Photo).

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of my left hand holding a paperback copy of Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly on the 7th floor of a building in OKC.” December 25, 2019. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of a paperback copy of Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly open in my lap.” December 25, 2019. 

• Weatherly, L. A.. (Angel, The Angel Trilogy), paperback box set ed. (Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2012). 

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• Check out more of my Bookish Things and Bookworm Life blog posts!

Before You Go

• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1,, 2025

Book Review: Ghosted By Rosie Walsh

A photo of a paperback copy of Ghosted by Rosie Walsh laying on top of a pink and green plant with blue fabric in the background. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This blog post was written by a human.This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in the Bookish Things category, we’re discussing Ghosted by Rosie Walsh.

Almost every one of us can relate to the sour feeling and phenomenon of being “ghosted” and what it feels like to never hear from someone again. For those who have read Gillian Flynn’s psychological romantic thriller, Gone Girl, Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce and/or anything by Llane Moriarty, then you may have heard about (previously titled) The Man Who Didn’t Call or Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. This book is a romantic thriller from cover to cover and I devoured this fantastic summer contemporary like it was candy. Or perhaps, honey is the better word; the prose is so smooth and sweet, and it draws you in and keeps you hooked until the end. I ate up this short 174-page whirlwind of a tragic love story within the span of a single day, if that tells you how truly wrapped up in it, I was.

There’s no better feeling than picking up the perfect book for your current season of life—the ideal read you’re just craving. I nabbed this book just before summer started and left it sitting on my shelf for weeks before I realized what gold lay in store or me within its pages. I picked it up around July and was left hungering for more as soon as I’d put it down. Ghosted was sweet, to be sure, but it was also equal parts heartwarming, and heartbreaking, gushworthy, swoonworthy, and it’s a story I will always look back fondly on.

This contemporary romance has everything you could ever want—complex relationships that make your heart ache, flawed, yet deeply loveable, compelling characters, multiple layers of secrets/intrigue guaranteed to keep the pages turning, a pacing that you’ll find makes you hold your breathe one moment and sigh out of relief the next, and a premise that is just utterly dazzling. The twist was so, so good.

“Seven perfect days. Then He disappeared. A love story with a secret at it’s heart” (Walsh, 2019)

An underlying theme in this book, much like Walsh’s other works is the protagonist who is not what he or she seems. Layers of mystery woven together pull readers in ever deeper the longer they read and leaves them eager for more even after the mystery is solved. Walsh makes clever use of Facebook posts and text messages to build suspense— an apt strategy for creating a compelling and relatable read for many readers today.

Although it was hard to break away from the story, I found myself having to put the book down a few times because certain scenes were just so raw and deeply moving to me. And I would chalk this up to personal response, however after a quick glance at other reader’s reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, it’s clear I am not the only one who felt this way.

“I was ready to hate this book. I didn't pick it up for an entire day, not wanting the story to go the way I thought it was. But it called me to just see, just see how it ends. And I couldn't put it down until it was though!” (Angie, 2018)

A photo of a paperback copy of Ghosted by Rosie Walsh laying flat on blue fabric, with a plant. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I was honestly touched by the unforeseen way mental illness was portrayed and the kind of dysfunctional relationships that can be wrapped up in it. I had a lump in my throat throughout these scenes because Walsh just gets it. It is always refreshing to read an author that is able to examine something from multiple perspectives, especially subjects as complex as mental illness, loss, bitterness, and tragedy. Walsh lovingly and honestly wrote around these sensitive topics with great empathy and care.

This book gets a lot of criticism for having a contrived plot, unrealistic characters, and cringe-inducing writing. I simply have to disagree. From the outside looking in, someone being “ghosted” may seem obsessed, childish, and naïve. However, I implore these readers to think back to when they were treated this way (or imagine it, if they have never experienced this) and consider how painfully unyielding this experience truly is. Closure is never promised and although people joke endlessly about “ghosting” each other on social media, its wound for some, that may never truly heal.

“This plot is focused and squeezes its reader into the manic grip of Sarah’s growing insanity, dragging us on a journey that is both obsessive and dryly comical.” (Kristin, 2018)

I should also say that I typically see plot twists coming from a mile away. I’m the kind of reader who has to cover the bottom-half of the page with my hand to keep my eyes from darting down as I read, eager to know whether I’ve figured out the twist just before it happens. However, this plot twist shocked me. If you think you know where this story is going, you’re wrong.

Ghosted is a real hold-your-breath-squeal-as-you-read-grit-your-teeth-can’t-stop-smiling kind of book and is absolutely the perfect summer read. (Also great for the fall if you love cozying up with a sweet read and your favorite warm beverage.) If you love Liane Moriarty’s writing, I am confident you will also love Ghosted.

And that’s it for my review of Rosie Walsh’s Ghosted. What do you think of this novel? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Angie. Review of Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. Amazon, July 28, 2018. (accessed December 4, 2019).

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of a paperback copy of Ghosted by Rosie Walsh laying flat on blue fabric, with a plant.” December 4, 2019

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of a paperback copy of Ghosted by Rosie Walsh laying on top of a pink and green plant with blue fabric in the background.” December 4, 2019 (Thumbnail Photo) 

• Kristin. Review of Ghosted, review on Goodreads, July 13, 2018, Goodreads, (accessed December 4, 2019).

• Walsh, Rosie. Ghosted. Paperback ed. New York: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, 2019.

Related Topics

• Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

• Book Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

• Book Review: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

• Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

• Book Review: Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun

• Series Review: The Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly

• Double Book Review: Before The Storm by Christie Golden and Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux

• Series Review: Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight

• Book Review: Good Morning Good Life by Amy Schmittauer Landino

• Book Review: Brother By Ania Ahlborn (My Book Of The Year For 2019)

• How to Read More Books

• 10 Tips For Planning Your Reading Challenge (2020)

• How I Read A Book: My Book Reading Routine

• How I Got Started Reading When I Hated It

• How I Read A Book: My Book Reading Routine

• Self Care Tips for Bookworms

• Immersion Reading: Audiobooks & Ambiance

• Get Immersed in Your Reading: Writing With All Five Senses

• Active Reading Vs. Passive Reading: Using Psychology-Based Critical Reading Skills To Increase Information Absorption & Retention

• Read Like A Writer: What Analytical Reading Can Teach Us

• Questions You Should Ask Yourself As A Reader or Critic

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• Check out my other Book Reviews, Bookish Things, Bookworm Life, Reading Recommendations, and Reading Challenges blog posts!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1,, 2025

Double Book Review: Before The Storm by Christie Golden and Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux

This blog post was written by a human.This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in bookish things, I’m doing something a little different. I decided I wanted to cover two books in one review because I wanted to compare the writing style of the two authors, the way these stories set the tone for the two World of Warcraft expansions that followed them, and my thoughts on the way these authors wove virtual game lore into a palatable, fully fledged storyline. These books are part of the World of Warcraft canon. There will be links to everything mentioned throughout and at the end of this blog post for your convenience.

A photo of hardcover copies of Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux and Before the Storm by Christie Golden side-by-side against a black background. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I am so excited to finally discuss these books. I’ve read books from the Warcraft universe before and I’ve very much enjoyed them, but these books were different from the War of the Ancients trilogy or the Stormrage book and other novels by Richard A. Knaak. I unfortunately was out of the loop when previous Warcraft novels came out as storyline precursors to their following expansions such as Christie Golden’s Warcrimes that came before the Warlords of Draenor expansion. But this time around I was able to read the two most recent books that tie into the storyline and set the pace before the coming expansions.

My first run in with reading a book that precedes their video game counterpart was Christie Golden’s Before The Storm, which I absorbed via the audiobook while it was available for free on Blizzard’s YouTube channel. I really enjoyed reading this novel and it certainly amped up my own excitement for the following expansion, Battle for Azeroth to come out shortly after. While I wouldn’t say Battle For Azeroth was my favorite expansion by any means, it was really neat to get a look at the upcoming storylines and to get a better understanding of the overall tone and direction of the expansion in preparation for release.

Since I had such a great experience with reading previous Warcraft novels as well as Before the Storm, I thought why not read Madeline Roux’s Shadows Rising as well. I, as well as many of my friends and guildies were incredibly excited for this next expansion to come out, and while the news of the delay was not what many players wanted to hear, I can’t deny that I personally, was pleased to have more time to finish reading Shadows Rising before Battle For Azeroth is officially over. Now that I’ve finished reading it, I’d like to discuss my thoughts on the two books and how they compare.

Before The Storm by Christie Golden. Photo from Amazon.

Before the Storm by Christie Golden

As mentioned, this was my first time reading a Warcraft novel in preparation of an upcoming expansion and I very much enjoyed it. Even though I did read it via audiobook, Josh Keaton did a wonderful job narrating the story in a clear, enunciated way so I could easily digest what I was hearing. Personally, I think the novel was expertly written, the pacing was excellent and kept me hooked the entire time, and Golden aptly captured the essences of all our beloved fantasy characters. However, as someone who plays the game on both sides (Horde and Alliance)I can very clearly see why many readers complained about the Horde side of the story not being adequately portrayed or there at least not being enough page time for the Horde experience. I personally agree that the story overall leaned quite heavily into the Alliance perspective and that of the Horde experience that was depicted, was mostly negative and revolved around Sylvanas being a bad person. I am not sure how much of this was intentional since the game itself receives a lot of criticism from Alliance players who believe Blizzard favors the Horde and therefore typically tends to give them the better stories, but I can’t help but feel for Horde readers who were looking for more out of this book. Overall, I would give it a 4-star rating since the writing is excellent, there are many heart-felt relatable moments, and the story is very well crafted. But it is true that the story leans heavily in favor of the Alliance perspective.

---

Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux. Photo from Amazon.

Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux

This book was phenomenal. The writing incredible, the characters believable and compelling, and the story felt very, very well balanced between the Horde and Alliance perspectives. I really enjoyed playing through the Horde story in Battle For Azeroth and getting to see all the characters I came to love throughout that story come to life again in the novel was really great. I read this book via the audiobook and the hardcover and although Susan Wokoma’s character voices took some getting used to, her narrating was spectacular. I would give this book a 5-star rating because everything—from compelling characters and enchanting settings, to expertly woven plotlines and pager-turner pacing—was on point and that Horde/Alliance balance was certainly there as well. While I don’t necessarily think this novel contained anything we particularly needed to know for the upcoming expansion, it served to revamp my own excitement for Shadowlands.

A photo of hardcover copies of Before the Storm and Shadows Rising amidst Warcraft comics and poetry books on my shelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I really enjoyed both of these Warcraft novels and I will likely read more of them in the future. I don’t think either writer is better than the other—they simply had different writing styles and different stories to tell. I think it is important for video game lore like with the Warcraft novels, that if there are two sides to the story, readers from either side feel equally included and there is equal coverage of the Horde and Alliance perspective throughout. If I had to pick one over the other, I would say Shadows Rising would be my favorite of the two. Perhaps I am just biased towards our Zappy boy.

One thing is true for both of these novels and that’s that they got me really excited for the expansions following in their wake. Before the Storm sowed the seeds of Sylvanas’ treachery and established Anduin’s altruism and Shadows Rising shows how the Horde and Alliance tries to mend themselves after the fourth war and sets the stage for players and readers alike to venture into the Shadowlands. Both stories serve as a hype device, but they also tie up loose ends in the stories, lend insight into character motivations, and help establish the tone and direction for the coming expansion.

And that’s it for my double book review special covering Before the Storm by Christie Golden and Shadows Rising by Madeleine Roux. What did you think of these novels? If you haven’t reads them yet, please check them out at the links below. How did the make you feel about the expansions coming after them? Are you excited for Shadowlands? Let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Golden, Christie. “Before The Storm” (Book cover). Amazon.com. Accessed October 9, 2020.

• Hayes, Payton. "A photo of hardcover copies of Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux and Before the Storm by Christie Golden side-by-side against a black background."  October 9, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton. "A photo of hardcover copies of Before the Storm and Shadows Rising amidst Warcraft comics and poetry books on my shelf. " October 9, 2020. 

• Roux, Madeline. “Shadows Rising” (Book cover). Amazon. Accessed October 9, 2020. 

Further Reading

• Before The Storm by Christie Golden

• Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux

• War of the Ancients by Richard A. Knaak

• Warcrimes by Christie Golden

• Stormrage by Richard A. Knaak

• World of Warcraft Shadowlands Expansion Delayed

• World of Warcraft Shadowlands 

• Blizzard Watch’s list of all Warcraft stories in print 

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Before You Go

• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1,, 2025

Series Review: Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight

This blog post was written by a human.This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi readers and writerly friends! Below is my review of the Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight! Check out my other book reviews here!

A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight in a gold wire basket. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This book review starts with my first-ever book hunt in my Midwest City Dollar-Tree. I was shopping for some containers and noticed the store had an awful lot of books and many of them I’d either seen before, heard of the authors before, or the covers were just so gorgeous that I couldn’t help myself. I think I left the store with 20+ books. And guess what book just happened to be amidst all those tomes I scurried out of the store with? That’s right—the aforementioned Wildefire by Karsten Knight. I had no clue what this book was about. I’d never heard of the author or the title and the only reason I bought it was because the lovely cover sucked me in, and the punchy writing kept me hooked. It’s true, I totally judge books by the cover.

It’s been on my to-be-read list for quite some time now, and I fear I might not have seriously picked it up if it weren’t for COVID-19. But I am so glad that I did, because once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. I binged the series in less than a week and found myself highlighting passages because the writing was just. that. good.

A photo of the paperback copy of Wildfire by Karsten Knight in a gold wire basket. Photo by Payton Hayes.

As per the Wildefire Goodreads page:

Every flame begins with a spark.

Blackwood Academy was supposed to be a fresh start for Ashline Wilde. A secluded boarding school deep in the heart of California’s redwood forests, three thousand miles from her old life—it sounded like the new beginning she needed after an act of unspeakable violence left a girl in her hometown dead. But Blackwood is far from the peaceful haven Ashline was searching for. Because terrifying, supernatural beasts roam the forests around campus. Because the murderer from Ashline’s hometown—her own sister—has followed her across the country. Because a group of reincarnated gods and goddesses has been mysteriously summoned to Blackwood...and Ashline’s one of them. (Knight)

A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight laid out flat on a white bookshelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.

A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight stacked atop a white bookshelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.

A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight leaning in a gold wire basket atop a white bookshelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I can confidently say, that if you enjoyed reading any of Rick Riordan’s mythological fiction, you would likely love this series. I would categorize it as a mythological thriller because it revolves around reincarnated gods and goddesses from all different kinds of mythologies including Norse, Greek, Roman, Polynesian, Japanese, Mayan, and Aztec, and it was an absolute page turner! Without spoiling, the YA fiction is centered around the main protagonist Ashline Wilde and her newfound friends at Blackwood Academy in Southern California. She and her friends find themselves face-to-face with some unsettling foes—the seemingly nefarious cloak, inky, black creatures with singular blue flames for eyes. They are all given unique quests to carry out as they familiarize themselves with their own newly realized god/goddess abilities and struggle to fit in with their mundane, human classmates. However, school life quickly becomes the least of their worries when Ashline’s treacherous older sister appears out of the blue, other gods force Ashline and her friends to go on the offensive, and schoolmates end up caught in the crossfire.

A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight shelved with other YA books on a white bookshelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I of course, don’t want to give too much away because I implore you, dear readers, to please give this series a try. The pacing was fantastic (and kept me turning pages into the wee hours of the night), the characters were compelling as all-get-out, and the prose was simply exquisite.       

I can only describe Wildefire by Karsten Knight, through the title—a ruthless wildfire that swept through me, a ravenous hunger to breathe, sleep, eat, and drink in the entire story until I’ve had my fill. Unfortunately, now that I’ve actually finished it, I can’t help but want more. This story was a whirlwind of romance, mythos, angst, and a deep desire to belong. It was a wild ride and I enjoyed every second of it.

Every one of the characters are carefully constructed. You can clearly tell that Knight took his time fleshing out each character from the names down to their personality traits and compelling developments over the course of the trilogy. Everything was intentional. At times, I saw myself in Ashline Wilde, and at others, she felt like my best friend—as if we’d known each other forever and I was just now embarking on this insane journey with her. Books that achieve this level of relatability in the character-reader relationship can hard to find. Each and every character is meaningful and when some of them leave the story, it comes like a punch to the gut.

If you need more reasons why I loved this series, I’ve left a few below:

• The writing—duh! Fantastic, believable, well-written prose laced within an excellent premise that upsets me for the sheer fact that I had not come up with it first.

• Compelling, relatable characters that make you swoon, cry, and grit your teeth.

• Knight’s expert ability to weave and interweave plots within plots to create a constantly enthralling and complex storyline that is guaranteed to keep you turning pages.

• The mythology. Like I said, if you enjoyed Percy Jackson or any of Rick Riordan’s prose, you would likely enjoy this series simply for the employment of many different kinds of mythologies. The mythos used in Karsten Knight’s Wildefire is well-researched and expertly infused within believable character development. It doesn’t seem forced at all and where creative license is used, it is minimal and justified.

• While it’s a paranormal YA fiction, set (initially) against the backdrop of a boarding school, Knight’s take on centuries’ old mythology and paranormal romance is new, interesting, and refreshing.

And that’s it for my spoiler-free review of Karsten Knight’s Wildefire trilogy. It honestly means the world to me. If you enjoyed this post, please consider signing up for my newsletter below! Tweet me or comment below if you decide to read this book and let me know what you thought of it!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight in a gold wire basket.” September 25, 2020 (Thumbnail Photo). 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback copy of Wildfire by Karsten Knight in a gold wire basket.” September 25, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight laid out flat on a white bookshelf.” September 25, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight stacked atop a white bookshelf.” September 25, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight leaning in a gold wire basket atop a white bookshelf.” September 25, 2020. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the paperback set of The Wildfire Trilogy by Karsten Knight shelved with other YA books on a white bookshelf.” September 25, 2020. 

• Knight, Karsten. Wildefire. Goodreads. Accessed September 25, 2020.

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• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1,, 2025

Book Review: Good Morning Good Life by Amy Schmittauer Landino

Amy Landino’s author photo from Instagram.

This blog post was written by a human.This is a spoiler-free review.

Good morning, good life, readers and writerly friends!

When life gives you lemons, you write a book review, right? No? Just me?

In any case, I hope you all are doing well and being safe during this COVID-19 mess and I hope things will start to brighten before long. If you’re new to this site, I encourage you to stick around and check out some of my other blog posts! (You’ll find out pretty quickly that I am part of the Amy-llion club too!) No need to be sour about this book—let’s get into the review! 🍋🍋🍋

If you’ve followed me for any considerable amount of time, then you know I RAVE about Amy Landino. Honestly, I can’t get enough of her and all of the wonderful, actionable advice she puts out into the world. And not to mention—she has SUCH an aesthetic. Like, wow, I’m living for the berry pink and lemon vibes.

Amy Landino is known for her incredibly useful lifestyle-type videos on YouTube—one of which, titled “*ACTUALLY* WAKE UP EARLY | my 7 tips” has garnered her a lot of attention from viewers and aspiring entrepreneurs around the world. She’s an award-winning YouTuber, bestselling author, lifestyle coach, entrepreneur and fabulous podcast host. She claims she’s obsessed with helping people go after the life they want and is also the founder of her own company dedicated to doing so—GATLUW House. She’s helped thousands of people (including myself) redesign their lives their way.

So, after reading her first book, Vlog Like A Boss, and becoming a lifelong fan/follower of hers, it’s safe to say I was definitely picking up her next book. Good Morning, Good Life released in December of 2019 and now that we’ve all had a few months (and not to mention extra time thanks to COVID-19) to pick up this book and sink our teeth into it, let’s get into the tea—or lemon water if you’re a true fan. 🍋💦

The digital copy of the front book cover of Good Morning Good Life by Amy Landino from Amazon.

The digital copy of the back book cover of Good Morning Good Life by Amy Landino from Amazon.

I am absolutely obsessed with everything to do with habits, habit-change, productivity, and routines, so when Amy said she was writing a book focused on helping people go after their perfect mornings, I was stoked! I pre-ordered my copy of GMGL, and when it arrived in the mail, I was ready to crack open the cover and get reading. Not only did I get the paperback version, but I also purchased the audiobook as well, so I could read them in tandem. (I have a whole blog post about immersion reading with audiobooks and you can check it out here!)

The book starts off with a behind-the-curtains look at what life was like for Amy before she became the thriving businesswoman, we all know from her YouTube channel. She talks about her experience working a 9-to-5 job, trying out for a marathon race, and the pivotal, aha-moments in her life that pushed her in the direction of her success. Layered on top of this insightful narrative, is Amy’s actionable advice for crafting a truly magical morning.

 The book is broken up into five sections—Decide, Defy, Rise, Shine, and Thrive. Throughout these sections, she offers action steps that ask probing questions to get the reader thinking, “What’s a moment that you remember being truly excited about something?” or “On a scale of 1-to-10, how well do you sleep?”. She includes writing exercises to get readers truly motivated and ready to make a difference in their mornings and ultimately, their quality of life. Additionally, she includes “Good morning” stories from her colleagues, and fellow YouTubers to offer up extra insight into the mornings of successful people she’s come to know over the years.

I Gave Good Morning Good Life 3 Stars ⭐⭐⭐

The novel has been dubbed an Amazon bestseller and has garnered rave reviews from readers across the globe, both on Amazon and Goodreads. However, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows in the comments. Many readers have come out saying that the book isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Readers with children argue that Amy’s advice is not really applicable or useful for them since she doesn’t have children herself and doesn’t know what it is really like to try and design a morning around them. In the book, she acknowledges this fact and urges readers to hear her out and set aside any excuses they may have in order to give her advice an honest try.

I personally enjoyed the book on a surface level—knowing it was content that Amy created and by reading it, I was getting to know her better and I was able to support her. However, despite my love of Amy’s style and content, I found the book did not live up to the hype. But before you all come for me, I just want to clarify, if you’ve never seen any of Amy’s work and have never heard her advice, this book is everything.

It really does give you a great look into how to design a morning that works best for you, that gives you time for yourself, and ultimately allows you to practice self-love in whatever form it comes. And as a woman in her twenties without children, I found this book to be extremely insightful and useful. But in reading this book, I quickly realized, it had no new information to lend readers. With that being said, aside from the actual advice, Amy gives us a little narrative and peek into her life before YouTube and being a business owner which I enjoyed.

My Goodreads review of Good Morning Good Life

So, what did you think of Good Morning Good Life? Was it helpful to you? What did you think of this review? Do you agree or disagree with anything I said? Let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. "My Goodreads review of Good Morning Good Life" (Graphic made with Canva) Accessed May 29, 2020. 

• Landino, Amy. “The digital copy of the front book cover of Good Morning Good Life by Amy Landino from Amazon.”Accessed May 29, 2020.

• Landino, Amy. “The digital copy of the back book cover of Good Morning Good Life by Amy Landino from Amazon.”Accessed May 29, 2020.

• Landino, Amy. “Amy Landino’s author photo from Instagram.” Accessed May 29, 2020.

Further Reading

• Amy Landino's "*ACTUALLY* WAKE UP EARLY | my 7 tips" YouTube Video

• Vlog Like A Boss: How to Kill It Online with Video Blogging by Amy Landino on Amazon

• Good Morning Good Life: 5 Simple Habits To Master Your Mornings and Upgrade Your Life by Amy Landino on Amazon

• Connect with me on Goodreads!

Related Topics

• Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

• Book Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

• Book Review: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

• Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

• Book Review: Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun

• Series Review: The Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly

• Book Review: Ghosted By Rosie Walsh

• Double Book Review: Before The Storm by Christie Golden and Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux

• Series Review: Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight

• Book Review: Brother By Ania Ahlborn (My Book Of The Year For 2019)

• 5 Contemporary Romances Everyone Should Read

• 5 Supernatural Romance Reads for February

• Classic Romance Reading Challenge for February

• How to Read More Books

• 10 Tips For Planning Your Reading Challenge (2020)

• How I Read A Book: My Book Reading Routine

• How I Got Started Reading When I Hated It

• How I Read A Book: My Book Reading Routine

• Self Care Tips for Bookworms

• Immersion Reading: Audiobooks & Ambiance

• Get Immersed in Your Reading: Writing With All Five Senses

• Active Reading Vs. Passive Reading: Using Psychology-Based Critical Reading Skills To Increase Information Absorption & Retention

• Read Like A Writer: What Analytical Reading Can Teach Us

• Questions You Should Ask Yourself As A Reader or Critic

• Reading Slump Emergency Kit: 15 Surefire Ways To Break Out of a Reading Slump!

• Check out my other Book Reviews, Bookish Things, Reading Recommendations, Reading Challenges, and Bookworm Life blog posts!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1,, 2025

Author Interview: Melanie Martins (Author of Blossom In Winter)

Melanie Martins Blossom In Winter Press Kit Photo.

This blog post was written by a human. This is a spoiler-free review.

“There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for.” —Elizabeth Elliott

Hi reader friends, meet Melanie Martins, author of Blossom in Winter, on romantic thrillers, the writing process, becoming an author, and upcoming news!

Melanie Martins has been quickly gaining attention and avid readers within the bookish community and specifically, the romance community for her spicy, controversial, and heart-wrenching romantic thriller, Blossom in Winter. Known by many as one of the most followed Luxury Travel Influencers on Instagram, Melanie flipped her corner of the internet on it’s head by changing her career path so dramatically—from travel blogging to novel writing—that’s quite a leap!

She did an interview with Thrive Global (see Further Reading) that gave us insight into the change in her career path, self-publishing and so much more. Now, I’ve gotten the incredible opportunity to sit down with her and discuss her debut novel, Blossom in Winter, which has earned her a 4.7/5-star rating on Goodreads and 4.1/5-star rating on Amazon. Considered on Goodreads as a “real page turner”, “engrossing and addictive” and a “damn roller coaster”, Blossom in Winter is definitely a must-read for Romantic Thriller enthusiasts everywhere.

Will you write more romantic thrillers?

Blossom in Winter very clearly falls into the romantic thriller genre.  What do you think of romantic thrillers both as a reader and a writer? Have you ever written in this genre before? Will you write more romantic thrillers?

Blossom in Winter is actually the first novel I ever wrote. I did write a short novel in Portuguese when I was seventeen but it was just for fun and it never saw the light of day. Although it also had an age-gap and a judge in it. I personally love writing thrilling love stories full of mystery, secrets, and twists and turns—it makes the story-line so much more engaging and different than the usual romantic plots which only focus on the development of the relationship between the main characters. As a reader, I feel much more hooked and entertained when there is an underlying plot going on, leaving me on the edge of my seat, which is probably why I’ve a hard time to connect with a predictable romances that only focus on the relationship with no real external conflict.

Are you planning a sequel?

Yes, Blossom in Winter is the first book of a series and the second book “Lured into Love” will have even more thrilling events, twists, and difficult choices our main characters will have to make. Actually, the second book will be even more unpredictable and my goal is to make sure no reader will figure out the ending. 

What do you think makes a compelling romantic thriller?

The build-up of events that take unexpected turns is definitely a must, along with creating some mystery around a particular character, event, or situation. This is something we see a lot in Blossom in Winter, especially around the Van Dieren’s family. In sum, when the reader thinks she’s got everything figured it out, and the unexpected happens leaving the reader surprised (and sometimes even shocked) is what makes, in my personal opinion, a great thriller. 

Can you tell me a little bit about where you drew your inspiration while writing this book?

Romeo & Juliet, first and foremost. It’s by far my favorite story because of the eternal question “How far would you go for Love?” We may question if it was Love or pure lust, but in my opinion, Shakespeare wanted to explore, on a deeper level, the human nature and how far we can go for what we believe in and care about. I adapted the story to fit a contemporary romance, but there are a lot of resemblances—from the forbidden relationship between Petra Van Gatt & Alexander Van Dieren and all the external events that make it even more forbidden, to the ending. The quote from Elizabeth Elliott at the beginning of the book says it all: “There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for.” which would’ve been the perfect opening quote for Romeo & Juliet too.

What is your writing process like?

I always start with creating a board with the story-line, the external conflicts, the inner-trouble/worries, the characters’ personalities and bios, and how the ending is going to be. When it comes to the writing itself, I never wrote from start to finish, but rather by scenes. I might do the Prologue first and then jump to write a scene on Chapter 15. Since I knew the story-line and how it would go, I wrote the most important scenes first, and then the connecting ones. 

Is there anything you’d do differently with your writing process next time?

Not with the writing process itself but rather with the post-writing, which is when the first draft of your manuscript is done. 

What did you learn from working through various stages of editing and how do you think it made you a stronger writer?

In an interview with Thrive Global, you advise aspiring writers to write for their readers as opposed to themselves, but I’ve heard quite the opposite from many other writers. I know by this; you mean all works of writing can benefit from a second set of eyes. What did you learn from working through various stages of editing and how do you think it made you a stronger writer?

I worked with 3 editors; my development[al] editor is a creative writing professor at the University of New York and former-executive editor at Harlequin, and the two others worked at Penguin and Simon & Schuster, and even today I’d consider myself an amateur. The best way you learn is actually through your readers and by reading in your genre. And by readers I mean your paying readers— those who pay to read your work. This is where I received the best advice ever. They were cold, harsh critiques but important nevertheless, to improve and become a better writer. I believe editors are great, but sometimes they don’t tell you all the harsh, cold truths you need to hear (they might not even know about them themselves). The more your novel is read, the more opinions you can gather and some of them can be as valuable as the opinion of an editor (and sometimes even better).  

What tea can you spill about your launch in February?

I’ve heard you are planning a launch for February, what details, if any, can you give me about that?

I did what is called a soft launch on October 28, which is when you launch the e-book first. The idea of a soft launch is to gather as much feedback as possible and make any necessary adjustment before it goes to print (this is when you do offset/traditional printing of your book, not print-on-demand). On Valentine’s Day, I’ll have the 1st Edition of Blossom in Winter available on paperback which is an offset print. As a new self-published author, I’m a firm believer on gathering as much genuine feedback as possible before it goes to print and the best way to do so is by readers who [willingly] paid to read your work.

Will you continue to do Luxury Travel Influencing or is writing your focus for now?

I know you made quite a career shift, from travel blogger to self-published author. Now that you’ve taken the plunge into writing, do you notice any overlap? Will you continue to do Luxury Travel Influencing or is writing your focus for now?

Melanie Martins at the Myconian Avaton Resort in Mykonos.

I’m actually a writer at heart. When I was nineteen and a Law school student, all I wanted was to travel to exotic places (think Morocco, Egypt, Maldives, French Polynesia, Seychelles, etc.) and escape my rather boring college life, so becoming a travel blogger seemed the right path to achieve it. My boyfriend and I purchased a camera and we started to create content for hospitality/travel brands allowing us to travel and build my personal brand out of it. However, writing fiction is what I enjoy the most. Eight years ago, I would’ve never been able to write a novel in English since my level was quite basic (I’m French and Portuguese, English is my fourth language). For now, writing and the business aspect of self-publishing is what I want to focus on, but I will definitely continue to collaborate with some of my favorite brands such as the Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton, etc. in the future. 

What advice would you give to new writers?

First, find your writing style. I realized after finishing my first manuscript of Blossom in Winter (a 125k words manuscript) that I hated reading it on the 3rd person and past-tense. It was so impersonal that I had to change it. I changed from 3rd person to first person but something was missing. Then I changed the past-tense to the present-tense and that was my eureka moment. Multiple first-person points-of-view became my writing style. Second, plan your story. There is nothing worse than not having a planned story-line; you will get stuck and not know what to write about. I wrote my first manuscript in three months because I had everything figured it out beforehand. Third, once you have a first draft, hire a development/line-by-line editor. A development editor will check everything from plot holes, pacing, characters development, etc., and might even do some copy-editing (if it’s a line-by-line editor). Your first manuscript is always horrible, believe me. Once you have a revised version, hire a copy-editor and lastly, a proofreader. It’s an investment, but if you are serious about your writing career, you should do it. Also, read as much as you can in the genre you want to write about.

What book are you reading right now? Do you have a favorite?

I’m currently reading The Kiss Thief (an arranged marriage novel by L. J. Shein and it’s the first time I’m reading from this author). I read mostly dark erotic romances, so one of my favorites is The Dark Duet series by C. J. Robert (for the plot—not the writing style, though). An easier read for me was Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas, but both of them explore Stockholm syndrome which I find fascinating.

Where can readers find and follow with you?

I’m mostly active on my Facebook group Blossom in Winter (by Melanie Martins) but they can also find me on Instagram and Facebook under @melaniemartinsblog.

In closing, I’ve included my own Amazon review of the Blossom In Winter. I highly recommend it to every romance reader out there and especially if you enjoy reading romantic thrillers.

Thanks for reading my interview with Melanie Martins! To check out the books mentioned in this post, see the Further Reading section below. Have you read Blossom in Winter? If so, what did you think about it? And if not, why not? Get on with it already! I know you’ll love it! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Blossom In Winter by Melanie Martins (Front Cover).

Blossom In Winter by Melanie Martins (Back Cover).

Bibliography

• Elliot, Elisabeth. "There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for." Goodreads quote. Goodreads. Accessed January 31, 2020.

• Martins, Melanie. “Melanie Martins Blossom In Winter Press Kit Photo.” (Thumbnail photo). Instagram, @melaniemartinsblog. February 25, 2020. Accessed January 31, 2020. 

• Martins, Melanie. “Melanie Martins at Myconian Avaton Resort in Mykonos.” Instagram, @melaniemartinsblog. August 11, 2019. Accessed January 31, 2020. 

• Marins, Melanie. “Blossom In Winter by Melanie Martins (Back Cover).” MelanieMartins.com. Accessed January 31, 2020.

• Martins, Melanie. “Blossom In Winter by Melanie Martins (Front Cover).” MelanieMartins.com. Accessed January 31, 2020.

Further Reading

• Read John Pring’s Interview with Melanie Martins for Thrive Global here

• Click here to view The Kiss Thief by L. J. Shien on Amazon

• Click here to view Captive in the Dark (The Dark Duet Book 1) by C. J. Robert on Amazon

• Click here to view Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas on Amazon

• Click here to view my review of Blossom in Winter on Goodreads

• Click here to view Blossom in Winter by Melanie Martins on Amazon

• Click here to view Blossom in Winter by Melanie Martins on MelanieMartins.com (Free worldwide shipping)

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• Making Space With Oklahoma Contemporary: Interview With Pablo Barrera

• Check out more of my Interviews!

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• Book Review: Ghosted By Rosie Walsh 

• 5 Contemporary Romances Everyone Should Read

• 5 Supernatural Romance Reads for February

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Before You Go

• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Guides, Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes. | Originally published on January 31, 2020. | Last Updated: September 7, 2025.

Book Review: Brother By Ania Ahlborn (My Book Of The Year For 2019)

This blog post was written by a human. This is a spoiler-free review. Content warning: this book review briefly mentions dark topics such as all types of abuse, cannibalism, abduction, and thoughts of necrophilia. Although these are just brief mentions, I urge you to skip this blog post if you think these topics will negatively impact you. Please take care of yourself and skip to the next book review post in the meantime. 

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Today, I’m discussing my favorite read of 2019, Brother by Ania Ahlborn (which came out in 2015, but I’m late to the game, oh well).

“We don’t have hardly anything.”

“We gotta make do with what the land gives us.” (Ahlborn)

This book left me hungry for more…

Okay, maybe not the best way to start out a review over a book that deals with many very dark topics such as cannibalism, abuse, abduction, and (thoughts of) necrophilia, to name a few. I am probably as astounded as you are to know this was my book choice for my favorite book of 2019 —I don’t know whether or not this says anything good about me as a person, but I couldn’t put the book down. (Okay, in some parts, I HAD to put the book down, especially when some of the more messed up scenes got a little too detailed.)

One Amazon user, Gorilichis writes about Brother:

“Brother by Ania Ahlborn is a brutal, bloody, beast of a horror novel that leaves readers considering bleaching their eyes and brains out after reading about some of the dark topics present in the story.” (Gorilichis)

While the subject matter itself is pretty heavy, the story is really about the relationship between two brothers who through no fault of their own found their way into a family filled with darkness and their twisted obsession with cannibalism, abduction, and physical abuse. This story is not for the faint of heart, but I have to agree with Publisher’s Weekly in saying that it was nearly impossible to put the book down.

The thriller takes place in the 60’s in the Appalachian woods and is centered around the Morrow family and their youngest son, Michael who never really felt part of his dysfunctional family and their dark, twisted, practices. He desires normalcy and one day he hopes to see what the rest of the world has to offer. He meets a girl named Alice at the local record shop and they hit it off immediately. He almost forgets about his messed-up family and the monster he is, but his older brother Reb, is always there to remind him of the darkness following him in West Virginia.

I too, felt like I needed to bleach my brain after reading some of the passages of this novel, but it was a truly enthralling story. Ahlborn’s ability to share and hold back just the right amount of detail at just the right time is what makes her a phenomenal horror writer. She expertly crafts scenes that make you jump right out of your skin and for good reason. All the awful things that happen in the story are made even scarier by the fact that they’re all completely possible events that could actually happen in real life. Yikes!

I also read Seed by Ania Ahlborn and Lock Every Door by Riley Sager and although they were also pretty creepy in their own rights, neither rivaled the astounding amount of horror, gore, and twisted events present in Brother. I’ve read quite a few horror stories in my life, and so far, this one takes the cake—or rather —the carcass. Too soon?

I would recommend Brother by Ania Ahlborn to anyone who likes getting really scared, but like I said, it isn’t for the faint of heart. I can’t watch surgeries without fainting and this was a rough read in some parts. However, it really is a beast of a horror novel, terrifying psychological thriller, and I have to agree with the general consensus that the twist at the end will leave you saying, whaaaaat?

And that’s it for my pick of the year, Brother by Ania Ahlborn! What do you think? Have you read this book? Did you have a similar reaction? If you enjoy reading horror novels, where would you rank this one among your faves? Let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Ahlborn, Ania. Brother. New York: Gallery Books, 2015.

• Gorilichis. Brother by Ania Ahlborn. Amazon Review. Accessed November 27, 2019. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the book, Brother by Ania Alhborn laying on a gray carpet next to a girl wearing gray socks.” (Image created with Mockup Generator.) November 27, 2019. 

More Like This

• Book Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

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Related Topics

• How to Read More Books

• 10 Tips For Planning Your Reading Challenge (2020)

• How I Read A Book: My Book Reading Routine

• How I Got Started Reading When I Hated It

• Self Care Tips for Bookworms

• Immersion Reading: Audiobooks & Ambiance

• Active Reading Vs. Passive Reading: Using Psychology-Based Critical Reading Skills To Increase Information Absorption & Retention

• Reading Slump Emergency Kit: 15 Surefire Ways To Break Out of a Reading Slump!

• Check out more of my Bookish Things and Bookworm Life blog posts!

Before You Go

• Looking for your next read? I've got you covered. See my Reading Recommendations and Reading Challenges for ideas about what to read next!

• Oh, and don't forget to Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1,, 2025