From film critic to poet, Linda Kraus has an eye for detail. She enjoys shining a light on frequently unseen aspects of life and showing their worth. Her poem Redefining Beauty examines an ancient pottery practice that makes once unsightly broken shards into works of art, and naturally she uses her knack for detail to create masterful lines in this work. Redefining Beauty won First Place for Published Poetry in the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Learn more about Linda’s … Read More »

The journey to becoming an author isn’t always a straight path. Melody Dean Dimick has been pushed off course several times by lack of opportunity, tough critiques, and rejection. But she refused to let that deter her from her love of writing and her dreams of creating stories for young adults. She understands and connects with the emotional journey of that age group and harnesses that knowledge to write layered and impassioned stories high school students love. Melody is also … Read More »

Can your first book be an award-winner? It absolutely can! That was the case for Michael A. Gabriel with his biography The Force of Destiny. Inspired by his father’s fascinating life, Michael penned his work after he retired from his career as an airline pilot. He learned quite a bit during this first writing journey, most importantly that he truly enjoys being an author. His career has kick-started with a book that won First Place for Published Biography in the … Read More »

Writing is a risky venture. We expose part of ourselves with each story and must swallow our fear when sending our work out into the world. But with great risk can come great reward. Tricia Pimental has taken many risks with her writing: sharing personal information, tackling tricky subject matter, and submitting her work to contests. One of those contests she entered has paid off for her again. Tricia took home her fifth Royal Palm Literary Award, this one for … Read More »

What is leveling behavior? A Bachelors in English and a Masters in Psychology have given Loren Leith the background to create stories featuring specific behaviors written in crisp prose. Her piece Basement Level includes not only the basement as a metaphor, but also a depiction of “leveling behavior” that traps her characters. It won First Place for Unpublished Short Creative Nonfiction in the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Loren talks about the effects of behavior, writing routines, and the importance … Read More »

Creating deep characterization in a novella length is no common skill. Joan North first dove deep when she penned her memoir and explored the layers of her own character. She combines the skill of crafting complex characters with her ability to write a tight story to create masterful novellas. Her most recent one, Under the Surface, won First Place for Unpublished Novella in the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Joan talks character, the mind, and digging deep on this week’s … Read More »