The era of personal blogging has come to an end for me and it's time to say au revoir!

Is this sad news? Hell no!

I have to admit, this is quite bittersweet, as I started this blog way back in 2010 and met some of the most fabulous people through here whom I remain in touch with today (and some I've even met face-to-face!)

Please do not be alarmed, I am not disappearing from social media, and The Artist Unleashed has a new home! If you have written for The Artist Unleashed on this blog in the past, please rest assured that all posts will be migrated to the new website. I will also write my own posts on The Artist Unleashed now and again too, but keeping within the theme and focus of the site: to provide a wealth of information and inspiration for writers and artists.

Also, if you're worried about losing touch, please don't! I'm hardly here as myself anymore, and I am prolifically active on Facebook and Twitter, so connect with me there. You can also subscribe to my newsletter, if you haven't already, to stay up-to-date with my news. Oh, and there is always email!

And just for fun, here is the link to the very first blog post I wrote on here. Can you imagine if I had kept up this alliteration?!?!?

Well, that's all from me ... over and out ... and now I'm crying ... dammit.

The Artist Unleashed: MOST ADVICE FOR WRITERS IS DANGEROUS by Alexander M Zoltai

These days, writing advice is cheap, even free on the Web. Cheap also in the sense, “of little worth because achieved in a discreditable way requiring little effort”.

Many of my blog posts have cautioned folks about the flood of "tips" streaming on the ‘Net that’s actually dangerous and will absolutely block their best efforts…

The word “dangerous” has the root meaning “power to harm”, based on the Latin dominus, “lord” or "master".

How could advice from authors considered masters harm a writer? Primarily, I feel, by being accepted as hard and fast “rules” or “laws”.

For every “rule” in the books, some creatively written story has successfully “broken” it :-)

I’m a writer and folks might think I’d be encouraging others to write.

Well, I do; but…

Sorry for the interruption, but The Artist Unleashed posts have moved to a new domain. Please click HERE to read the rest of this post and for the opportunity to comment.

The Artist Unleashed: FINDING A COMMUNITY, by Kate Tilton

With reminders of the holiday season all around I have been thinking a lot about community, a place where you belong. Growing up I spent years in private school and homeschooling leading to an interesting transition back into the public school system when I was in the 6th grade. I spent most of my first school year back in public school trying to fit in.

It didn’t work.

I quickly learned that I wasn’t a part of the community of my peers. They had grown up together and had been in the same classes for years. I just simply wasn’t able to compete with that. So I found my own community online.

My first experience with community was ...

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The Artist Unleashed: LEADING A WRITERS' CONFERENCE WORKSHOP by Madeline Sharples

Writing and getting a book published are really less than half the battle.

Since my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On was published in 2011, I’ve spent most of every day marketing to keep my book in the public’s eye. I maintain a blog, Choices. I tend two Facebook pages. I’m connected through LinkedIn and Twitter. I speak at book clubs and library events. I sign books at book fairs and at our local indie bookstore. I’ve participated in virtual and live book tours. I also write regularly for several websites. In addition, I’ve been on panels and led workshops at writers conferences.

I recently co-led, with Eleanor Vincent, ...


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The Artist Unleashed: FIVE TIPS TO NURTURE CREATIVITY by Janice Phelps Williams

Creativity abounds! Everywhere we look people are painting, writing, sewing, knitting, baking, and recording music from their homes. Still, there are parents who would like to encourage creativity, but they’re not sure how to go about it. Here are five tips to encourage creativity in your family.

1. NOURISH THE IMAGINATION

The creative home begins with parents who nourish the imaginations of their children. "Without the playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable." ~Carl Jung

2. SAY “YES!”

Say yes to your child whenever possible. Children who hear yes most of the time develop ...

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The Artist Unleashed: WRITING A FRESH TWIST ON A CLASSIC TALE by Catherine Stine

I write YA and NA novels and also teach college lit part time. When I was assigned to teach Christopher Marlow's Doctor Faustus, I alternately balked and thrilled at the challenge. The story is about a brilliant college professor who, after earning what is now equivalent to a PhD, is bored and asks the medieval version of "Is this all there is?" He has noble ideas: he wants to enrich public education, find cures for dreadful diseases—even raise the dead. Hey, rewind ... you need superpowers for that, right?!

You sure do. Thus, he falls into temptation when he calls up Mephistopheles to grant him these superhuman powers. Dr. Faustus thinks he has nothing to worry about. He doesn't believe in the devil, or hell. He's a modern man of science. Damnation, piffle! He makes a vow with the devil's ...

Sorry for the interruption, but The Artist Unleashed posts have moved to a new domain. Please click HERE to read the rest of this post and for the opportunity to comment.

Online Chat with Bestselling Authors: November 15th!

On Saturday, November 15th I'll be taking part in a Goodreads online chat about the heroines we love, unlikely heroines, and stereotypes of women in fiction, alongside the following ALLi award-winning authors ...

J.F. Penn | Bette Lee Crosby | Orna Ross | Patricia Sands | Christine Nolfi | Linda Gillard | S.R. Johannes | Rasana Atreya | Joni Rodgers

We’re also giving away paperbacks in a variety of genres: suspense novels sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, contemporary literature to warm your heart and literary gems from authors across the globe!

You can sign-up to the event HERE, and follow me on Goodreads HERE.

Hope to see you there! We're very much looking forward to chatting with you all!

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