Author Archives: Kelly J. Ford

About Kelly J. Ford

Kelly J. Ford is the Anthony-nominated author of Real Bad Things; Cottonmouths, a Los Angeles Review Best Book of 2017; and The Hunt. Kelly writes crime fiction set in the Ozarks and Arkansas River Valley. Find out more at kellyjford.com, on Twitter, and on Instagram.

Friday Feast: A Cooling Mist of NaNoWriMo Flavored Novel Writing Advice, How to Review a Trans Book as a Cis Person, Taking Your Writing Deeper, a Reading Guide for Those in Despair about American Politics, and Why Book Pre-Orders Matter

Sometimes, you think: there’s no way I’ll meet this deadline. My brain is fried. My eyes burns. My motivation is at a low point. My fingers feel like fists on the keyboard. And then something magical happens. 12 hours later,…

Friday Feast: 10 Books Featuring Subversive Women, 10 Must-Reads for Donald Trump, on Receiving and Accepting Novel Feedback, That Uncomfortable Feeling When Writers Don’t Write, and What Happens When a Debut Author Won’t Join Social Media?

My Grandma Sue lived alone in the middle of a rice field in southern Missouri. The electricity would flicker if the wind blew too hard and the water smelled like lead. She stole all her dad’s savings and ran away…

Friday Feast: Why Writers Are the Worst Procrastinators, Writing Tips from Tana French, 6 Tips for Writing outside Your Own Culture, Laura Albert on the Elena Ferrante Identity Reveal Controversy, and the Snarling Girl

I submitted something due tomorrow 20 minutes ago. I feel incredibly ahead of the game. I’m usually sweating it until one minute before the deadline. It only took four loads of laundry and multiple checks of social media to focus…

Friday Feast: The Luke Cage Syllabus, Money Talk in MFA Programs, How to Become a Novelist in Ten Easy Steps, Boomers Take to Bookselling, and the National Book Award Finalists

I haven’t had a chance to binge-watch Luke Cage yet. I’m still binge-watching Smash to take my mind off revising my latest shitty first draft while waiting for my I-hope-it’s-not-shitty-please-let-it-be-final draft from my editor. Life motto: hope for the best, expect the worst….

Friday Feast: The Literary Wilderness; The Slut-Shaming of Romance Novels; How to Publish a Book; On Solitude, Compromise, and Publishing That First Novel; And Tips on Writing Book Reviews

My big deadline this week entailed completing and submitting my author questionnaire. In this document, you outline some basic facts, like your name (important), publishing and media contacts (most important, which is sad, because I have none), and digital outreach…