Ask the Author: Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Answered Questions (7)
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Yes! I just launched my first author newsletter, and its first issue comes out July 2, 2025 (with its first exclusive giveaway!). It's called Your 2-Minute Escape, because it delivers a biweekly breather from your everyday grind, right to your inbox. Subscribers get first looks, bonus content from the universe and characters of my stories, and, as stated, exclusive giveaways. If you're interested, please sign up from my website, https://www.clarissajeanne.com/, or directly at: https://subscribepage.io/COJNaA.
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Past tense, to me, feels more like someone sitting down and telling me a story, since it's what happened to them. Present is supposed to put the reader in the moment, but I actually like the idea that I'm NOT in the moment when I'm reading!
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
They do! In the Unanticipated Dimension Universe (UDU), an ancient entity keeps watch over a town called Whimsy, NY, as across the country her descendant fosters troubled souls living in mysterious Lark Harbor, OR, and a blogger back in Applewood, CT, chronicles forces of good and evil. Read more about the UDU characters in my novels Christmas In Whimsy and The Paramour Pawn, and my blog Sketches from the Café Confictura (https://medium.com/sketches-from-the-...).
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
She woke up in the old bones of the house down on the street called Tierney Drive, which the neighborhood kids had long dubbed Terror Drive. Spider webs covered her, a disembodied voice croaked in the air next to her--as a ghost hunter, she faced all of this fearlessly--but then came the most terrifying thing she'd ever known, something so unimaginable to her that she bolted from the house: her cell phone had read "No Service," and she was cut off momentarily from her social media newsfeeds.
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Just keep writing. I ran into some serious block with my third novel (due out later this year), and the best thing to do is keep trying ideas, and don't get discouraged. Eventually, one of two things will happen: either you'll hit on the next place to go in your novel, or you'll start coming up with ideas for an even better novel.
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
Read, read, and read some more in your chosen genre! But make sure you're doing it mindfully and not just flying through book after book. Writing is a craft. It takes time to learn all the elements that go in to telling a story that grabs readers. If you have never studied literature in a college course, spend some time taking/auditing classes that focus on reading, not on writing. If you want to be a storyteller, you need to pick apart great stories to learn what makes them great. When you do start writing, always be learning, be it from your continued reading, editors' advice, or your own work. Don't be afraid to "kill your darlings"--every writer worth her beans does it. Sometimes it means cutting what you think is a beautiful turn of phrase, and sometimes it means throwing out whole novels before beginning again (I threw out three novels before finding success with Christmas In Whimsy). Most importantly, don't rush your development as a writer. Beginning stories are where you want to make your mistakes: they're derivative, they're overly descriptive or muddled, they're thinly veiled diary entries. These are not stories ready to be published! But you as a writer can grow from these efforts. Respect them, therefore, for what they are: building blocks. They are just as important as your future published book. Think of it this way: It takes many years to become an expert in any field, whether that's becoming a surgeon, partner at a law firm, or a CEO. Writing compelling, effective, clear stories that engage your reader is no different.
Clarissa J. Markiewicz
I recently finished my third novel, which is a follow-up to my first (Christmas In Whimsy: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...)! I'm so excited to share the next phase of Whimsy's story. It will be out later this year, and beginning in July I'll be officially releasing the title, storyline, cover, and more, complete with giveaways. Stay tuned!
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