fiction

  • 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…

    Read more →

  • Man, Myth, and The Pretender’s Game

    By Peggy Arthur Greetings! One cannot separate man from myth or myth from man. Each feeds the other, like a two-headed snake endlessly consuming itself. Mythology has always lived at the edges of our lives, shaping how we understand good and evil, right and wrong, light and shadow. It’s not just ancient tales carved into…

    Read more →

  • 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…

    Read more →

  • Review: Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell

    By Peggy Arthur Greetings, writers and readers! When it comes to the art of writing novels, there are countless methods. Some resonate, some don’t. Recently, I had the unique experience of not only reading Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell but also attending a live Zoom session hosted by the Atlanta Writers Club,…

    Read more →

  • Ten Years in the Making: What Writing a Novel Has Taught Me About Myself

    By Peggy Arthur I’ve spent nearly a decade writing, editing, rewriting, and starting over. Honestly, I’ve lost track. Year 9? Year 10? At this point, time feels like a blur stitched together by pages, paragraphs, and characters who refuse to be quiet. But here’s what I do know: this year, I’ve accomplished more than in all…

    Read more →

  • 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…

    Read more →

  • Where to Find Writing Inspiration: 4 Essential Places

    By Peggy Arthur Greetings! As a Southern fiction author, inspiration doesn’t always arrive on command—it’s something I seek out intentionally. When I need to refill my creative well, I go to the source. 1. The Local Library One of my favorite places to find inspiration is my local library. There’s something grounding about being surrounded…

    Read more →