book-review

  • When the Middle Unlocks the Magic: Creating Harmony from Chaos

    The Story Behind Introducing My Second Protagonist By Peggy Arthur Greetings! When I first started writing The Pretender’s Game, I tried giving every chapter a different character perspective. It seemed ambitious and artistic, until it completely stumped me. Instead of one novel, I suddenly had multiple stories pulling me in different directions. Too many voices, too…

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  • How I Use Artificial Intelligence to Shape The Pretender’s Game

    By Peggy Arthur Greetings! Artificial intelligence, or AI, has become one of my most valuable tools as I craft the world of The Pretender’s Game. I use it in three key ways: research, planning and plotting, and formatting. Research While The Pretender’s Game is a work of fantasy, it’s deeply rooted in reality. And contrary to popular belief – I don’t…

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  • Because the Journey Is Meant to Be Shared: An Interview with Book Coach Dianne Pearce

    By Peggy Arthur Greetings! I had the opportunity to interview my Book Coach, Dianne Pearce of Current Words Publishing. I met Dianne at the 2025 Atlanta Writers Club Self-Publishing Conference this past March, and she helped me gain confidence in myself as a writer. Please allow me to share this inspiring conversation with you especially if you’re an…

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  • Rooted Reads: The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

    Greetings! The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of those rare novels that merges history, memory, and mysticism into something deeply transformative. It’s a book that doesn’t just speak about freedom, it moves through it, pulsing with ancestral rhythm and remembrance. The Story At its heart, this is the story of Hiram Walker, a young man…

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  • Rooted Reads: Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

    Greetings! This novel stirred so much inside me. It reminded me that women’s rights have been restricted for generations. That what remains undiscussed in the home is most certainly not taught in schools. So where, when, and from whom do we learn these hidden truths? We learn from courageous authors unafraid to share the truth…

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  • Rooted Reads: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

    By Peggy Arthur Greetings! This Rooted Read stretches forward in time but remains deeply anchored in the past. Unlike the previous books I’ve recommended, Parable of the Sower was written in 1993 and at the time, set in the future, 2024. But not the far-off, flying-cars kind of future. No, the world Octavia Butler imagines…

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