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<img src="https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-loaded/v1/8Py3Ac-0zmlzuGJ9K9YonaJCIqJppjfU" border=0 width="1" height="1" alt="Research Like An Academic, Write Like an Indie With Melissa Addey" title="Research Like An Academic, Write Like an Indie With Melissa Addey"> <p><strong>How can indie authors raise their game through academic-style rigour?</strong> How might AI tools fit into a thoughtful research process without replacing the joy of discovery? Melissa Addey explores the intersection of scholarly discipline, creative writing, and the practical realities of building an author career.</p>



<p>In the intro, mystery and thriller tropes [<a href="https://wishidknownforwriters.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Wish I'd Known Then</a>]; The differences between trad and indie in 2026 [<a href="https://productiveindiefictionwriter.com/trad-vs-indie-iii/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Productive Indie Fiction Writer</a>]; Five phases of an author business [<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGX7gDqtvCM" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Becca Syme</a>]; <em><a href="https://www.jfpenn.com/bones" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Bones of the Deep</a></em> &#8211; J.F. Penn; </p>



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<p>Today's show is sponsored by Bookfunnel, the essential tool for your author business. Whether it’s delivering your reader magnet, sending out advanced copies of your book, handing out ebooks at a conference, or fulfilling your digital sales to readers, BookFunnel does it all. Check it out at <a href="https://bookfunnel.com/thecreativepenn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bookfunnel.com/thecreativepenn</a></p>



<p>This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/thecreativepenn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Patreon.com/thecreativepenn</a> </p>



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<p>Melissa Addey is an award-winning historical fiction author with a PhD in creative writing from the University of Surrey. She was the Leverhulme Trust Writer in Residence at the British Library, and now works as campaigns lead for the Alliance of Independent Authors.</p>



<p>You can listen above or on <a href="https://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">your favorite podcast app</a> or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. </p>



<p><strong>Show Notes</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Making the leap from a corporate career to full-time writing with a young family</li>



<li>Why Melissa pursued a PhD in creative writing and how it fuelled her author business</li>



<li>What indie authors can learn from academic rigour when researching historical fiction</li>



<li>The problems with academic publishing—pricing, accessibility, and creative restrictions</li>



<li>Organising research notes, avoiding accidental plagiarism, and knowing when to stop researching</li>



<li>Using AI tools effectively as part of the research process without losing your unique voice</li>
</ul>



<p>You can find Melissa at <a href="https://www.melissaaddey.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">MelissaAddey.com</a>.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Transcript of the interview with Melissa Addey</h3>



<p><strong>JOANNA:</strong> Melissa Addey is an award-winning historical fiction author with a PhD in creative writing from the University of Surrey. She was the Leverhulme Trust Writer in Residence at the British Library, and now works as campaigns lead for the Alliance of Independent Authors. Welcome back to the show, Melissa.</p>



<p><strong>MELISSA:</strong> Hello. Thank you for having me.</p>



<p><strong>JOANNA:</strong> It's great to have you back. You were on almost a decade ago, in December 2016, talking about merchandising for authors. That is really a long time ago.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">So tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and self-publishing.</h3>



<p><strong>MELISSA:</strong> I had a regular job in business and I was writing on the side. I did a couple of writing courses, and then I started trying to get published, and that took seven years of jumping through hoops. There didn't seem to be much progress.</p>



<p>At some point, I very nearly had a small publisher, but we clashed over the cover because there was a really quite hideous suggestion that was not going to work. I think by that point I was really tired of jumping through hoops, really trying to play the game traditional publishing-wise.</p>



<p>I just went, you know what? I've had enough now. I've done everything that was asked of me and it's still not working. I'll just go my own way.</p>



<p>I think at the time that would've been 2015-ish. Suddenly, self-publishing was around more. I could see people and hear people talking about it, and I thought, okay, let's read everything there is to know about this.</p>



<p>I had a little baby at the time and I would literally print off stuff during the day to read—probably loads of your stuff—and read it at two o'clock in the morning breastfeeding babies. Then I'd go, okay, I think I understand that bit now, I'll understand the next bit, and so on.</p>



<p>So I got into self-publishing and I really, really enjoyed it. I've been doing it ever since. I'm now up to 20 books in the last 10 or 11 years. As you say, I did the creative writing PhD along the way, working with ALLi and doing workshops for others—mixing and matching lots of different things. I really enjoy it.</p>



<p><strong>JOANNA:</strong> You mentioned you had a job before in business. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Are you full-time in all these roles that you're doing now, or do you still have that job?</h3>



<p><strong>MELISSA:</strong> No, I'm full-time now. I only do writing-related things. I left that in 2015, so I took a jump. I was on maternity leave and I started applying for jobs to go back to, and I suddenly felt like, oh, I really don't want to. I want to do the writing. </p>



<p>I thought, I've got about one year's worth of savings. I could try and do the jump. I remember saying to my husband, &#8220;Do you think it would be possible if I tried to do the jump? Would that be okay?&#8221; </p>



<p>There was this very long pause while he thought about it. But the longer the pause went on, the more I was thinking, ooh, he didn't say no, that is out of the question, financially we can't do that. I thought, ooh, it's going to work. So I did the jump.</p>



<p><strong>JOANNA:</strong> That's great. I did something similar and took a massive pay cut and downsized and everything back in the day. Having a supportive partner is so important.</p>



<p>The other thing I did—and I wonder if you did too—I said to Jonathan, my husband, if within a year this is not going in a positive direction, then I'll get another job. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">How long did you think you would leave it before you just gave up? And how did that go? </h3>



<p>Because that beginning is so difficult, especially with a new baby.</p>



<p><strong>MELISSA:</strong> I thought, well, I'm at home anyway, so I do have more time than if I was in a full-time job. The baby sleeps sometimes—if you're lucky—so there are little gaps where you could really get into it.</p>



<p>I had a year of savings/maternity pay going on, so I thought I've got a year. And the funny thing that happened was within a few months, I went back to my husband and I was like, I don't understand. </p>



<p>I said, all these doors are opening—they weren't massive, but they were doors opening. I said, but I've wanted to be a writer for a long time and none of these doors have opened before.</p>



<p>He said, &#8220;Well, it's because you really committed. It's because you jumped. And when you jump, sometimes the universe is on board and goes, yes, all right then, and opens some doors for you.&#8221;</p>



<p>It really felt like that. Even little things—like Mslexia (a writing magazine) gave me a little slot to do an online writer-in-residence thing. Just little doors opened that felt like you were getting a nod, like, yes, come on then, try.</p>



<p>Then the PhD was part of that. I applied to do that and it came with a studentship, which meant I had three years of funding coming in. That was one of the biggest creative gifts that's ever been given to me—three years of knowing you've got enough money coming in that you can just try and make it work.</p>



<p>By the time that finished, the royalties had taken over from the studentship. That was such a gift.</p>



<p><strong>JOANNA:</strong> A couple of things there. I've got to ask about that funding. You're saying it was a gift, but that money didn't just magically appear. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">You worked really hard to get that funding, I presume.</h3>



<p><strong>MELISSA:</strong> I did, yes. You do have to do the work for it, just to be clear.</p>



<p>My sister had done a PhD in an entirely different subject. She said, &#8220;You should do a PhD in creative writing.&#8221; I said, &#8220;That'd be ridiculous. Nobody is going to fund that. Who's going to fund that?&#8221; She said, &#8220;Oh, they might. Try.&#8221;</p>



<p>So I tried, and the deadline was something stupid like two weeks away. I tried and I got shortlisted, but I didn't get it. I thought, ah, but I got shortlisted with only two weeks to try. I'll try again next year then.</p>



<p>So then I tried again the next year and that's when I got it. It does t...

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I&#8217;m publishing a sequel to Not Quite Lost! Join my possibly bonkers art project to celebrate the launch of Turn Right At The Rainbow. Share your version of &#8216;home&#8217; and you could win signed books and a limited edition gift. Here’s an interesting truism: you think you’ll never write a memoir, then you find you’re&#8230; <a href="https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2026/02/03/turn-right-at-the-rainbow-my-new-memoir-is-out-5-march-will-you-help-me-make-a-home-collage/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Turn Right At The Rainbow: my new memoir is out 5 March — will you help me make a &#8216;home&#8217; collage?</span></a>

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A UN fact-finding mission issued the report after investigating the capture of el-Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces.

Recent deadly incidents in California and Europe are putting avalanches - and how to avoid them - in the spotlight.

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The judge in the case objected to a shirt worn by one of the defense attorneys which contained images of Civil Rights Movement leaders.

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<p>Critics say Washington should walk away from a $210 million contract for Israeli-made weapons.</p>
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<img src="https://www.alternet.org/media-library/u-s-president-donald-trump-and-lady-melania-trump-depart-for-travel-to-texas-to-tour-areas-affected-by-deadly-flash-flooding-f.jpg?id=61333586&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C281%2C0%2C282"/><br/><br/><p><strong>Here in America</strong>, before the royal formerly known as Prince Andrew was arrested in the UK, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/americans-believe-epstein-files-show-powerful-get-pass-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-02-18/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Reuters reported</u></a> the results of a new public survey. Ipsos, the pollster, found nearly 70 percent of Americans believe the system is rigged, allowing elites to act with impunity.</p><p>Reuters:</p><p><em>Some 69 percent of respondents in the four-day poll, which concluded on Monday, said their views were captured "very well" or "extremely well" by a statement that the Epstein files "show that powerful people in the U.S. are rarely held accountable for their actions." </em></p><p>Then came news this morning of <a data-linked-post="2675286441" href="https://www.alternet.org/king-trump-andrew/" target="_blank">Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor</a>, the brother of King Charles III, being arrested “on suspicion of misconduct in public office” – what American media might call insider trading. </p><p>Andrew allegedly shared “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/britain-epstein-andrew-former-prince-arrested-fb0b9e738bf7ede10651914ee3f3583d?user_email=02b9ea1b0091994aa5bc64b3e4dba276a8bd0caefce0c63c06e45806eb6cda49&utm_medium=APNews_Alerts&utm_source=Sailthru_AP&utm_campaign=NewsAlert_Feb19_2026_05:25AM&utm_term=AP%20News%20Alerts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>confidential trade reports</u></a>” with Jeffrey Epstein in 2010 when the former prince was the UK’s special envoy for international trade. Their correspondence was part of the latest cache of Epstein-related emails released by the US Department of Justice.</p><p>The news appears to be the beginning of a kind of accountability. There’s probably enough evidence for British authorities to bring a massive sex-crimes case against Andrew. But that would be devastating to the king’s image. Better to bring Andrew up on discrete and boring white collar crimes than risk greater public scrutiny of who in the royal family knew about his reputed predilection for underaged girls.</p><p>In other words, it’s justice through the backdoor, if you can call it justice, but even that is more than anyone can say in America.</p><p>In Europe, “heads are rolling over the Jeffrey Epstein revelations,” <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/06/epstein-europe-america-fallout-00769506?cid=apn" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>according to</u></a> Politico earlier this month. A prominent diplomat in Norway was suspended. A member of the British House of Lords was forced to resign. Andrew can no longer be called the Duke of York.</p><p>The British prime minister apologized for hiring Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US after it was revealed that Mandelson, in addition to keeping up his relationship with Epstein after Epstein’s 2008 conviction, gave him “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/03/met-police-to-launch-investigation-into-alleged-mandelson-epstein-email-leaks" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>sensitive government information</u></a>.”</p><p>But the fallout faced by political elites over their association with a convicted sex offender and alleged child-sex trafficker has stood in contrast to the near-total absence of accountability in America. The taint of Epstein can rock the European continent, but not American elites, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/us/politics/trump-howard-lutnick-epstein.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>especially those close</u></a> to the president of the United States.</p><p>And, per Reuters, Americans are noticing the difference. We don’t agree on much of anything, but a <em><em>vast majority</em></em> of us agree “powerful people in the US are rarely held accountable for their actions”</p><p>Here, I want to suggest a few things. </p><ul><li>One, that this and other polls point to a growing awareness of the gathering unfairness that has shaped American life since at least the 2007-2008 financial crisis and proceeding Great Recession. </li></ul><ul><li>Two, that this awareness has been gaining momentum over those years and has now reached a tipping point. Data journalist G Elliott Morris said the new swing voter is an “<a href="https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/meet-americas-new-swing-voter-the" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>anti-system voter</u></a>.” In his latest, he cites new research identifying “a key bloc of swing voters who distrust both parties, believe elites are corrupt and think the political system is rigged against people like them.”</li><li>Third, that a majority, or a near-majority, now equates unfairness with Epstein and is opposed to a rigged system that rewards elites, including Donald Trump, while despoiling everyone else.</li></ul><p>I don’t think voters have a full understanding of the various forces bearing down on them. But unlike when we had mostly abstractions to argue for change, we now have, for the first time in the 21st century, a human face to put on an inhuman system rigged against the people.</p><p>Here’s how US Senator Jon Ossoff put it recently:</p><p>“Now you remember, we were told that maga was for working-class Americans. But this is a government of, by and for the ultra rich. It is the wealthiest cabinet ever. <em><em>This is the Epstein class</em></em>” (my italics). </p><p>He went on:</p><p><em>They are the elites they pretend to hate. Prices are up. Jobs are going away. Medicaid and school lunches are slashed. Nursing homes are getting defunded. If you’re Steve Bannon and your pitch was Trump for “the forgotten man and woman,” how do you sell any of this? </em></p><p><em>Trump was supposed to fight for the working class. Instead, he’s literally closing rural clinics and hospitals to cut taxes for George Soros and Elon Musk. He was supposed to end globalist world police foreign policy. Instead, we’re doing war-for-oil and nation-building again, and threatening to conquer Greenland. He was supposed to “drain the swamp.” Instead, this is the most corrupt administration of all time and everybody knows it. Everybody knows it.</em></p><p>Will there be justice for Epstein’s victims? Will the elites who conspired to bring us despoliation face a jury? Frankly, I doubt it. In South Korea, justice means leaders of insurrections <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02/19/world/yoon-korea-martial-law-president" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>go to prison for life</u></a>. Here, it means <a href="https://www.graveinjustice.news/p/john-roberts-invention-of-criminal?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=4641516&post_id=188539698&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyNjI4MTMsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE4ODUzOTY5OCwiaWF0IjoxNzcxNTMyMzE4LCJleHAiOjE3NzQxMjQzMTgsImlzcyI6InB1Yi00NjQxNTE2Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.4nyXvym8R9rKvUp9PXEe6PLlH2yLXLrI40_inv4R-jQ&r=5msd&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>they get criminal immunity</u></a> to continue their insurrections. </p><p>That said, there is some hope. As the Democrats prosecute their political case against the president, binding him and his allies ever more tightly to Jeffrey Epstein, they are probably going to end up grinding to dust the reputations of elites associated with his crimes.</p><p>For instance, Les Wexner. The billionaire former owner of Victoria’s Secret was named in the Epstein files as a “<a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/18/les-wexner-epstein-oversight-deposition" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>co-conspirator</u></a>,” though he never faced criminal charges. Epstein managed his fortune <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/18/les-wexner-epstein-oversight-deposition" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>until nine months</u></a> before his 2008 conviction on sex-with-minors charges. This week, House Democrats deposed Wexner as part of their investigation. </p><p>This is what Robert Garcia, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said about Wexner: “We should be very clear that there would be no Epstein island. There would be no Epstein plane. There would be no money to traffic women and girls. Mr. Epstein would not be the wealthy man he was without the support of Les Wexner.”</p><p>With sufficient time, Les Wexner’s reputation could become collateral damage in the Democrats’ larger fight against Trump and his party. </p><p>That’s not enough justice. No one should be satisfied.</p><p>But like the white-collar charges against Andrew for giving Epstein secret trade reports, it is the beginning of a kind of accountability.</p>

<img src="https://www.alternet.org/media-library/u-s-house-speaker-mike-johnson-r-la-hands-president-donald-trump-a-gavel-after-trump-signed-his-signature-bill-of-tax-breaks.jpg?id=61169663&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C209%2C0%2C209"/><br/><br/><p>President Donald Trump is vowing that the controversial SAVE America Act voter ID bill will pass into law, "one way or another."</p><p>"We are going to have the Save America Act, one way or the other, after approval by Congress through the very proper use of the Filibuster or, at minimum, by a Talking Filibuster, à la 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,'" he <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116099119307195442" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">wrote</a> on Truth Social on Thursday.</p><p>The legislation, which narrowly passed the House, is currently sitting in the Senate. For it to pass will require 60 votes under current filibuster rules, which — given staunch Democratic opposition — does not appear to be possible in its current form, or under current Senate rules.</p><p>Republican Majority Leader John Thune could attempt to alter Senate rules, though such major changes are typically debated at the start of a new session rather than mid‑Congress. He has indicated opposition to doing so.</p><p>Democrats oppose the bill in part because it requires a passport or birth certificate to register to vote — something tens of millions of Americans do not currently have, according to voting rights groups. It also narrows generally acceptable forms of photo ID to vote.</p><p>Others oppose it because it requires states to run their voter rolls through federal immigration databases, which reportedly have a high error rate. Critics also say that creates a large unfunded administrative burden for states.</p>

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<img src="https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-loaded/v1/8Py3Ac-0zmmGc_0kZMjsrqJCIqJppjfU" border=0 width="1" height="1" alt="Managing Multiple Projects And The Art of the Long-Term Author Career with Kevin J. Anderson" title="Managing Multiple Projects And The Art of the Long-Term Author Career with Kevin J. Anderson"> <p>How do you juggle multiple book projects, a university teaching role, Kickstarter campaigns, and rock albums—all without burning out? What does it take to build a writing career that spans decades, through industry upheavals and personal setbacks? Kevin J. Anderson shares hard-won lessons from his 40+ year career writing over 190 books.</p>



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<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://www.thecreativepenn.com/kwl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="1024" height="176" src="https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/KWL-Primary_Colour-1024x176.png" alt="" class="wp-image-35982" srcset="https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/KWL-Primary_Colour-1024x176.png 1024w, https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/KWL-Primary_Colour-300x52.png 300w, https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/KWL-Primary_Colour-768x132.png 768w, https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/KWL-Primary_Colour-1536x264.png 1536w, https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/KWL-Primary_Colour-2048x352.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>



<p><a href="https://www.thecreativepenn.com/kwl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a>This podcast is sponsored by <a href="https://www.thecreativepenn.com/kwl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kobo Writing Life</a>, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the <a href="http://kobowritinglife.com/category/kwl-podcast/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kobo Writing Life podcast</a> for interviews with successful indie authors.</p>



<p>This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/thecreativepenn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Patreon.com/thecreativepenn</a> </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://wordfire.com/" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer noopener"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="351" src="https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Kevin-J-Anderson-1024x351.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-36694" srcset="https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Kevin-J-Anderson-1024x351.jpg 1024w, https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Kevin-J-Anderson-300x103.jpg 300w, https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Kevin-J-Anderson-768x263.jpg 768w, https://www.thecreativepenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Kevin-J-Anderson.jpg 1458w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>



<p>Kevin J. Anderson is the multi-award-winning and internationally bestselling author of over 190 books across different genres, with over 24 million copies in print across 34 languages. He's also the director of publishing at Western Colorado University, as well as a publisher at WordFire Press, an editor and rock album lyricist, and he's co-written <em>Dune</em> books and worked on the recent <em>Dune</em> movies and TV show.</p>



<p>You can listen above or on <a href="https://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">your favorite podcast app</a> or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights, and the full transcript is below. </p>



<p><strong>Show Notes</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Managing multiple projects at different stages to maximise productivity without burning out</li>



<li>Building financial buffers and multiple income streams for a sustainable long-term career</li>



<li>Adapting when life disrupts your creative process, from illness to injury</li>



<li>Lessons learned from transitioning between traditional publishing, indie, and Kickstarter</li>



<li>Why realistic expectations and continuously reinventing yourself are essential for longevity</li>



<li>The hands-on publishing master's program at Western Colorado University</li>
</ul>



<p>You can find Kevin at <a href="https://wordfire.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WordFire.com</a> and buy his books direct at <a href="https://wordfireshop.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WordFireShop.com</a>.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Transcript of Interview with Kevin J. Anderson</h3>



<p><strong>Jo:</strong> Kevin J. Anderson is the multi award-winning and internationally bestselling author of over 190 books across different genres, with over 24 million copies in print across 34 languages. </p>



<p>He's also the Director of Publishing at Western Colorado University, as well as a publisher at WordFire Press, an editor, a rock album lyricist, and he's co-written Dune books and worked on the recent Dune movies and TV show.</p>



<p>Welcome back to the show, Kevin.</p>



<p><strong>Kevin:</strong> Well, thanks, Joanna. I always love being on the show.</p>



<p><strong>Jo:</strong> And we're probably on like 200 books and like 50 million copies in print. I mean, how hard is it to keep up with all that?</p>



<p><strong>Kevin:</strong> Well, it was one of those where we actually did have to do a list because my wife was like, we really should know the exact number. And I said, well, who can keep track because that one went out of print and that's an omnibus. So does it count as something else? </p>



<p>Well, she counted them. But that was a while ago and I didn't keep track, so&#8230;</p>



<p><strong>Jo:</strong> Right.</p>



<p><strong>Kevin:</strong> I'm busy and I like to write. That's how I've had a long-term career. It's because I don't hate what I'm doing. I've got the best job in the world. I love it.</p>



<p><strong>Jo:</strong> So that is where I wanted to start. You've been on the show multiple times. People can go back and have a listen to some of the other things we've talked about. I did want to talk to you today about managing multiple priorities.</p>



<p>You are a director of publishing at Western Colorado University. I am currently doing a full-time master's degree as well as writing a novel, doing this podcast, my Patreon, all the admin of running a business, and I feel like I'm busy. </p>



<p>Then I look at what you do and I'm like, this is crazy. People listening are also busy. We're all busy, right. But I feel like it can't just be writing and one job—you do so much. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">So how do you manage your time, juggle priorities, your calendar, and all that?</h3>



<p><strong>Kevin:</strong> I do it brilliantly. Is that the answer you want? I do it brilliantly.</p>



<p>It is all different things. If I were just working on one project at a time, like, okay, I'm going to start a new novel today and I've got nothing else on my plate. Well, that would take me however long to do the research and the plot. </p>



<p>I'm a full-on plotter outliner, so it would take me all the while to do—say it's a medieval fantasy set during the Crusades. Well, then I'd have to spend months reading about the Crusades and researching them and maybe doing some travel. </p>



<p>Then get to the point where I know the characters enough that I can outline the book and then I start writing the book, and then I start editing the book, which is a part that I hate. I love doing the writing, I hate doing the editing. Then you edit a whole bunch.</p>



<p>To me, there are parts of that that are like going to the dentist—I don't like it—and other parts of it are fun. </p>



<p>So by having numerous different projects at different stages, all of which require different skill sets or different levels of intensity—</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">I can be constantly switching from one thing to another and basically be working at a hundred percent capacity on everything all the time. </h3>



<p>And I love doing this. So I'll be maybe writing a presentation, which is what I was doing before we got on this call this morning, because I'm giving a new keynote presentation at Superstars, which is in a couple of weeks. </p>



<p>That's another thing that was on our list—I helped run Superstars. I founded that 15 years ago and it's been going on. So I'll be giving that talk. </p>



<p>Then we just started classes for my publishing grad students last week. So I'm running those classes, which meant I had to write all of the classes before they started, and I did that.</p>



<p>I've got a Kickstarter that will launch in about a month. I'm getting the cover art for that new book and I've got to write up the Kickstarter campaign. And I have to write the book. I like to have the book at least drafted before I run a Kickstarter for it. So I'm working on that. </p>



<p>A Kickstarter pre-launch page should be up a month before the Kickstarter launches, and the Kickstarter has to launch in early March, so that means early February I have to get the pre-launch page up. So there's all these dominoes. One thing has to go before the next thing can go.</p>



<p>During the semester break between fall semester—we had about a month off—I had a book for Blackstone Publishing and Weird Tales...

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<a href="https://www.writingforward.com/storytelling/narrative-point-of-view-in-storytelling" title="Narrative Point of View in Storytelling" rel="nofollow"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/narrative-point-of-view-300x225.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="narrative point of view" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 15px;max-width: 100%;" link_thumbnail="1" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></a><p>Today’s post includes excerpts from What’s the Story? Building Blocks for Fiction Writing, chapter six: “Narrative Point of View.” Enjoy! The terms story and narrative can be used interchangeably, meaning a sequence of events, real or fictional, that are conveyed through any medium ranging from prose to film. However, when we talk about narrative, we’re...<a class="read-more" href="https://www.writingforward.com/storytelling/narrative-point-of-view-in-storytelling">Read More</a></p>
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Traditionally the writing world is split between planners and pantsers. Planners like to prepare an outline before they start writing; pantsers see the writing as a voyage of discovery, letting the story and the characters unfold as they go. In reality, we’re probably all a mixture of both. Many planners discover new things they want&#8230; <a href="https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2026/02/09/four-shades-of-planning-and-pantsing-and-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-chosen-writing-method/" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">Four shades of planning and pantsing… and how to get the most out of your chosen writing&#160;method</span></a>

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<p>State leaders in Texas, Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma want teachers to face consequences when they facilitate student protests.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/educators-are-being-targeted-for-student-ice-protests/">Educators Are Being Targeted for Their Students&#8217; ICE Protests</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>

<p>The FDA, under RFK Jr.'s leadership, has taken down a webpage warning about therapies and products making false claims of treating autism.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-fda-no-longer-warns-against-these-discredited-autism-treatments/">The FDA No Longer Warns Against These Discredited Autism Treatments</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.truthdig.com">Truthdig</a>.</p>

&ldquo;This executive order reads like it was drafted in a chemical company boardroom,&rdquo; one MAHA critic said.

The UK is investigating whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor shared confidential government information with Epstein.

<img src="https://www.alternet.org/media-library/members-of-the-military-attend-a-meeting-convened-by-u-s-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-at-marine-corps-base-quantico-in-quan.jpg?id=64964621&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C261%2C0%2C261"/><br/><br/><p><a href="https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2026-02-19/va-rule-change-evaluative-rating-halted-enforcement-20805900.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stars and Stripes reports</a> Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins announced the VA was ending a controversial policy that lowered a veteran’s disability rating and subsequent monthly compensation.The administration of President Donald Trump began enforcing the rule after a <a href="https://www.alternet.org/msn-uk/donalds-trump-va-cuts/" target="_blank">series </a>of policy <a href="https://www.alternet.org/veterans-trump-doge/" target="_blank">decisions </a>that <a href="https://www.alternet.org/va-cuts/" target="_blank">riled </a>veterans in Trump's first year.</p><p>The rule had gone into effect Tuesday without prior notice, reports the Pentagon-funded news services, and was quickly condemned by major veterans groups.</p><p>“DAV is extremely disappointed and alarmed by VA’s decision to issue an interim final rule today that could potentially reduce disability compensation for millions of disabled veterans,” said Coleman Nee, national commander of Disabled American Veterans.</p><p>Carol Whitmore, national commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars, described the rule change as having “unforeseen and harmful downstream effects for veterans,” which demands “serious public scrutiny and possible legislative clarification from Capitol Hill.”</p><p>Specifically, the rule required VA medical and associate examiners to calculate the improvements that veterans derive from taking medication when determining ratings, despite recent court rulings ordering the VA to instead base a veteran’s disability level on the severity of the condition they are suffering from.</p><p>After a mere 48 hours of public rancor, Collins <a href="https://x.com/SecVetAffairs/status/2024555974862786684?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announced on X that</a>: “Effective immediately, VA is halting enforcement of the interim final rule, Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication.”</p><p>Collins added in his social media post that the VA “does not agree with the way this rule has been characterized,” but assured that the department “always takes Veterans’ concerns seriously.”</p><p>The DAV issued a statement Thursday afternoon applauding the decision, <a href="https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2026-02-19/va-rule-change-evaluative-rating-halted-enforcement-20805900.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to Stars and Stripes</a>.</p><p> “We appreciate the secretary listening to and acting on the concerns of those who have served and sacrificed for this nation,” said Nee. “No veteran should ever have to worry that taking medications they need due to their illnesses and injuries could result in the reduction of their benefits.”</p>

<img src="https://www.alternet.org/media-library/u-s-president-donald-trump-reacts-in-the-oval-office-at-the-white-house-in-washington-d-c-u-s-september-19-2025-reuters.jpg?id=64964562&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C260%2C0%2C261"/><br/><br/><p><a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/02/trump-doj-confession-new-jersey-court-deportations-ice.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Slate reports</a> that on Jan. 26, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz not only <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72185933/kumar-v-soto/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">prohibited Homeland security agents</a> from illegally moving a detainee out of state but also demanded President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice attorneys pen a list of all the violations they committed while defying his orders.</p><p>Under the argument of seeking to craft a “remedy” against further Homeland Security insubordination, Farbiarz demanded a thorough act of self “investigation” to pinpoint where DOJ’s chain of command broke. In a rarely recorded act of law 101, the judge also requested DOJ lawyers “enumerate each instance” where the department had “violated an order issued by a judge of this district” since Dec. 5.</p><p>Last Friday, associate deputy attorney general <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/27174862/jordan-fox-declaration-1-1.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">delivered the goods</a>.</p><p>Slate reporter <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/02/trump-doj-confession-new-jersey-court-deportations-ice.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dahlia Lithwick said</a> Fox admitted the department had “violated at least <em>56 court orders</em> since <em>December alone</em>, all related to the Trump administration’s unlawful policy mandating the indefinite detention of noncitizens legally entitled to a bond hearing.”</p><p>The confession, first reported by Politico’s Kyle Cheney even accompanied <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/27174861/jordan-fox-letter-1-1.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a letter</a> declaring that department representatives “regret deeply all violations” while insisting all were “unintentional and immediately rectified once we learned of them.” </p><p>“This story illustrates the mix of incompetence and malice that is defining the administration’s mass detention campaign,” <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/02/trump-doj-confession-new-jersey-court-deportations-ice.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said Slate court reporter Mark Joseph Stern</a>, describing a government that arrested an individual with no criminal record or order of removal. It then hustled him to Texas, where his lawyers had to go find him and serve a writ of habeas corpus to return both him and is property.</p><p>“The government did neither. It released him in Texas, not Minnesota, and withheld all of his property, including his driver’s license and other identification paperwork. So he was just dumped and abandoned. His lawyers had to go … and tell her that her order had been flagrantly violated, which is when she scheduled the hearing,” said Stern.</p><p>Homeland security had yet to return his identification cards long after the detainee made it back home, forcing an attorney to hold the JAG lawyer in civil contempt until the cards were returned, with the $500 daily sanction against federal attorneys.</p><p>“What will it take to make ICE comply with the law? The answer is dragging JAGs into your courtroom and holding them in contempt,” said Stern. </p><p>Lithwick commented that the DOJ has lost so many employees under Trump that “the caseload is impossible.”</p><p>“Nobody can do this volume of work. If you are a government lawyer thinking, Step aside … because I can do this better next time, just know you’re being set up to pay $500 a day for the privilege,” said Lithwick said.</p>

<img src="https://www.alternet.org/media-library/donald-trump-and-king-charles.jpg?id=61615775&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C258%2C0%2C259"/><br/><br/><p>Police in the United Kingdom have arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew and Duke of York, on suspicion of misconduct in public office—after the disclosure of emails between Mountbatten-Windsor and the late disgraced banker Jeffrey Epstein. As I write this, Mountbatten-Windsor remains in custody.</p><p>We don’t know yet the specific charges. But we do know that the late Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein victim, accused Mountbatten-Windsor of raping her.</p> <p>We also know that Mountbatten-Windsor was the UK’s <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/trade" target="_blank">trade</a> envoy between 2001 and 2011, and appears to have forwarded to Epstein confidential government reports from visits to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/vietnam" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vietnam</a>, Singapore, and China, including investment opportunities in gold and uranium in Afghanistan.</p><p>Prime Minister Keir Starmer says, “No one is above the law.” The family of Virginia Giuffre says, “No one is above the law, not even royalty.” Britain’s chief prosecutor says, “No one is above the law.”</p><p>Instead of bureaucracies, America now has a royal entourage. Instead of institutions, we now have royal prerogative.</p><p>All of which raises awkward questions about the people implicated on this side of the pond, including the person in the Oval Office who loves to be treated like a king, and who appears in the Epstein files <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1,433</a> times (that is, the files that have been released so far). Prince Andrew appears in them <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1,821</a> times.</p><p>America likes to believe we gave up kings almost 250 years ago and adopted a system in which “no one is above the law.”</p><p>But President Donald Trump’s foreign policy has become a personal tool for him to channel money and status to himself and his closest associates. Since the 2024 election, the Trump family’s personal wealth has increased by at least <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-family-business-visualized-6d132c71?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqc2gl-YteA0oEadO6T7oM63GA2Xowa6GuTHTyTpfE5c5nxuHr2JvkjifrA0maA%3D&gaa_ts=6962ff33&gaa_sig=8a5DYPV6s0lp1jThpgHGu2dSuCwm2DNOw-dg37dPD3l48MSjQMmY2qBVKP3ot7U6Hl-JwwKU0i_VGmxlQvcO5g%3D%3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">$4 billion</a>.</p><p>As with the British royalty of the 16th century, it’s all personal with Trump—all about expanding his power and enlarging his and his family’s wealth. Proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan oil? “That money will be controlled by me,” he says. The gift of a plane from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/qatar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Qatar</a>? “Mine.” Investments by Middle-East kingdoms in his family’s crypto racket? “Perfectly fine.”</p><p>Like the British royalty of yore, King Trump has arbitrary power. He raises Switzerland’s tariff from 30-39% because its former president Karin Keller-Sutter “just rubbed me the wrong way.” He imposes a 50% tariff on Brazil because Brazil refused to halt its prosecution of Trump’s political ally, the former Brazilian President <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/jair-bolsonaro" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jair Bolsonaro</a>, who was found guilty of plotting a coup. Vietnam <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/fistful-dollars-rice-vietnam-farmers-displaced-15-billion-trump-golf-club-2025-08-11/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fast-tracks</a> approval of a $1.5 billion Trump family golf course at the same time it seeks to reduce its tariff rate.</p><p>Trump claims that Greenland is “psychologically needed,” although the United States already has a military presence there and an open invitation to expand its bases. He muses about making Canada the “51st state.” These are throwbacks to the 16th-century age of empire.</p><p>***</p><p>Meanwhile, Trump has created a system of tribute and allegiance that would make Henry VIII jealous.</p><p>Apple’s Tim Cook <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/08/07/trump-tim-cook-gift-white-house-apple/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">delivers</a> a gold-based plaque and a donation to Trump’s planned ballroom. Swiss billionaires <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/21/swiss-gold-and-rolex-gifts-to-trump-raise-questions-over-personalisation-of-us-presidential-power" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bring</a> a gold bar and a Rolex desk clock to the Oval Office. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/jeff-bezos" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jeff Bezos</a> backs a vapid movie of Melania and hands her a check for $28 million.</p><p>Trump pardons Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire mogul who pled guilty to money-laundering violations in 2023, after which time Zhao’s Binance digital-coin trading platform becomes the engine of the Trump family’s crypto business, World Liberty Financial.</p><p> King Trump was evidently involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s nefarious doings. We don’t know exactly how because there’s been no criminal investigation. But shouldn’t there be?</p><p>Elon Musk’s humongous quarter-billion-dollar contribution to Trump’s 2024 campaign earns Musk a dukedom—a “department of government efficiency”—and the keys to the kingdom in the form of sensitive US Treasury Department software systems used to manage federal payments.</p><p>But when the Duke of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/doge" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DOGE</a> starts becoming more visible than King Trump, the king banishes him and revokes his dukedom. When the banished Musk begins openly criticizing Trump, the king threatens to cut off Musk’s head in the form of cutting him and his SpaceX off from valuable government contracts. This puts an end to Musk’s impertinence.</p><p>The new TikTok (on which Trump has more than 16 million followers) will continue operating in the United States—but now with the financial backing of Trump ally Larry Ellison’s Oracle;Trump’s allied Emirati investment firm MGX (which has already invested in the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company); and Silver Lake, teamed up with the private equity firm founded by Trump’s son-in-law <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/jared-kushner" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jared Kushner</a>.</p><p>Trump allows Nvidia to sell chips to the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/united-arab-emirates" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">United Arab Emirates</a> and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/saudi-arabia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Saudi Arabia</a> and extends military guarantees to Qatar—all of which have invested in the Trump family empire. (Emirati-backed investors <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/politics/trump-uae-chips-witkoff-world-liberty.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">plowed</a> $2 billion into World Liberty Financial.)</p><p>Instead of national glory, Trump demands personal glory—to get the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/nobel-peace-prize" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nobel Peace Prize</a>, to put his name on the Kennedy Center and Penn Station, and other major monuments and buildings.</p><p>If his commands are not met, he punishes. Because Norway didn’t give him a Nobel (it wasn’t Norway’s to give anyway), he “no longer feels obliged to think only of peace.” Because performers refuse to appear at the “Trump-Kennedy” Center, he shutters it.</p><p>Instead of bureaucracies, America now has a royal entourage. Instead of institutions, we now have royal prerogative. Instead of legitimacy based on the will of the people, there’s divine right (“I had God on my side,” “God was protecting me,” “God is on our side”).</p><p>***</p><p>We will march against King Trump on the next “No Kings Day” on March 28—hopefully making it the biggest <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/protest" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">protest</a> in American history.</p><p>But the arrest of the former Prince Andrew raises an issue that goes way beyond protesting and marching. King Trump was evidently involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s nefarious doings. We don’t know exactly how because there’s been no criminal investigation. But shouldn’t there be?</p><p><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/pam-bondi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pam Bondi</a> obviously won’t investigate Trump because she’s part of King Trump’s court. But what about a group of state attorneys general?</p><p>Trump has also been enriching himself and his family through his public office, violating multiple laws about conflicts of interest.</p><p>If the UK can arrest the former Prince Andrew on evidence of such wrongdoing, why shouldn’t America arrest King Trump? If no one is above the law in the UK, not even royalty, presumably no one is above the law in the US, not even a president.</p><p>Pam Bondi obviously won’t investigate Trump because she’s part of King Trump’s court. But what about a group of state attorneys general?</p><p>Almost 250 years after we broke with George III, the question must now be faced: Are we a monarchy or a nation of laws?</p><p><em>Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at <a href="https://robertreich.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://robertreich.substack.com/</a>.</em></p>

Drop Site Daily: February 19, 2026

Security equipment and alarms were installed by the Israeli government at a notorious Manhattan residence frequented by former PM Ehud Barak.

By Roxann Wedegartner / The Rag Blog / February 14, 2026 Royalston, Maine, resident, author, and journalist, Allen Young, is at it again. His latest book, From the Octagon – People, Places, News, Views, is an informative, delightful, easy-read collection &#8230; <a href="https://www.theragblog.com/roxanne-wedegartner-book-review-from-the-octagon-people-places-news-views-by-allen-young/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>

By Mariann Garner-Wizard / The Rag Blog / January 27, 2026 Robert Pardun was born June 30, 1941 and passed away January 16, 2026 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s Disease.&#160;&#160;The following is an excerpt from the cover of Robert &#8230; <a href="https://www.theragblog.com/mariann-garner-wizard-remembrance-robert-bob-pardun-beloved-prairie-radical/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>

By Michael Meeropol / The Rag Blog / January 17, 2026 The following is a version of a commentary delivered over WAMC-FM by Michael Meeropol, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Western New England University on January 9, 2026. This version &#8230; <a href="https://www.theragblog.com/michael-meeropol-economics-are-there-signs-of-serious-problems-in-the-economy/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>