Julia J Simpson's Blog

The Importance of Story

In which I wax poetic about the Oscars, actually…

I realized the other day that the Academy Awards are tonight. I feel weird about watching them these days… there are so many good reasons not to. All that glitz, glamor, and privilege feels intensely wrong in the face of… well… (I gesture broadly at everything.) People are dying in genocides. People are dying from exploitation. People are dying from disease and poverty because their governments are run by greedy...

Thoughts on Being an Author

The first time I ever “met” an author, I was eleven years old, pajama-clad, sitting in the back of my mom’s blue station wagon while Romancing the Stone played on the giant screen in front of me. The author’s name was Joan Wilder. She was a romance author. And she looked like this:

I was too young to pick up on all the non-glamorous things about Joan’s life. The image of the alluring, successful author was forever fixed in my head, and it stayed there eve...

5 Indie Pub Myths (That Drive Me Bonkers!)

Myth #1 – Indie Authors Couldn’t Get Traditionally Published

There was a time, long ago, when self-publishing was mostly used as a publishing backup route for writers who couldn’t land a publisher, but today those writers are in the minority. Now, most indie authors choose to indie publish instead of pursuing traditional publishing. For many, it’s about maintaining rights, having more control over content and publishing timeline, and keeping a...

Welcome to the inaugural edition of my new blog, Twilight Tea! Thanks for being here… Writerly Shenanigans: As August reaches the midpoint, I’m nearing the end of my current draft of The Land Beneath the Skies, a magical adventure in an imaginary world, about a woman hiding a misunderstood ability and a man who goes… Continue reading 5 Indie Pub Myths

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ Some books are so rich and decadent they demand to be savored—and boy, did I savor this book! I took longer to read this book than any book I’ve ever read… a year and a half! Yes, it’s a thick book, approaching...

I binge-watched HBO’s The Gilded Age (created by Julian Fellowes of Downton Abbey fame) over the past couple weeks, and I have thoughts: I LOVED IT! Since I’m seeing some mixed feelings about this show from other period drama fans, I thought I’d share what I loved–and the one thing I’m a little weird about.

The Story is Set in America
As much as I adore British settings in period drama, it’s fun to have a “Victorian Era” drama set in 1800s New York. It takes place about a decade after Edith Wh...

One of my bookish pet peeves is when people proudly declare that they don’t read a particular genre or type of fiction. “I don’t read romance/YA/comic books/memoirs/…” Weird flex, but okay?

I firmly believe people should read–and not read–whatever they want without judgement from others. But taking pride in what we don’t read (and haughtily announcing it as often as possible) just comes across like we’re calling people idiots if they do read it.

Maybe I’m extra sensitive to it because I’m...

Rating:

When I heard Julia Blake was writing a steampunk retelling of Snow White, I thought two things:

“Steampunk” isn’t the first thing I think of when I think “Snow White…”OMFG THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN!

And IT WAS!

Julia Blake is a master at crafting intriguing but believable settings, and filling them with vibrant characters you can’t help but adore. With the Dwarvians of Black Ice, in particular, I fell in love completely and genuinely wanted to be part of their close-knit band...

I hoped to start 2021 with a post about big plans for the year. The stressors of 2020 felt like water under the bridge, and I was sure things would be better. Then January actually happened, and my 2020 stress levels were back in spades. The good news is I had all year to figure out how to make progress even when I’m stressed out of my gourd, so here are some of my favorite tips. I hope they help you, too!

#1 Writing Space Ambience – One thing I learned in 2020 is that having a cozy, welcomin...

Rating:

I was intrigued by the blurb of Knight in Paper Armor, which promised a dystopian thriller with unusual characters battling familiar humanitarian issues and a villain that sounds shockingly believable in the modern landscape of corporate greed over human welfare. On that promise, this book delivered in spades. The story and setting were imaginative and compelling, and the two main characters were unique and well rendered. It’s so unusual to read about a Jewish protagonist outside of ...