Spring, at least where I live, is just around the corner, but winter appears to be hanging on till the end, reluctant to release its grip. I’m excited for the last flakes of the season to fall, but as I write this, I’m still wrapped in a warm blanket.

I imagine you might be, too, so keep the kettle boiling, pour a hot cup, and join us for what I’m even more excited for: the semiannual 10K Novel Writing Challenge at ChapterBuzz! That’s right—it’s time to either attack that blank page or blow the dust off your half-finished manuscript and make 10,000 words’ worth of progress on it.

You’ll be in good company. As we speak, writers from all over the world are gearing up to jump right in and get a huge head start on their novels in next month’s “10K.”

Awards are up for grabs, too. If you happen to win one, you’ll join the very top echelon of ChapterBuzz authors, along with past award winners Kaitlyn Abdou, Dacia M Arnold, and Bexx Matthews. It starts March 1st, so be sure to get in on the action!

I know you’re eager to explore this month’s issue, so please welcome our contributors:

One of the toughest things to do in writing, according to professional book editor Michael Mohr, is to create strong, believable tension. But once you master these tricks, you’ll keep your readers hooked from the very first page.

Novelist Piper Punches talks about when she was writing her second book and a little voice inside her head kept telling her that “it was trash, and I wasn’t creative or smart enough to pull it off.” How did she get past this? I’ll let her explain.

Finally, around here, we can never get enough of author and poet Allison Marie Conway. Not only does she write our monthly Art & Soul column, she’s also gracing our cover this month.

Once you’ve read Allison’s secret to deciding what to do next (in writing and in life), be sure to read her feature interview article to hear about how she’s finding her truth every day, how she comes up with those gorgeous poems, and about her (very surprising) first word that she totally trusts her parents on.

(Quick note: if you’d like to be one of our featured contributors, please see our submission guidelines. I look forward to sharing your work with our community!)

Dig in! There are enough thought-provoking, awe-inspiring, smile-producing stories in this month’s issue of Books & Buzz Magazine to help you forget all about those last few shivers of winter.

Happy reading,

Timothy Pike
Editor-in-chief, Books & Buzz Magazine