 This post originally appeared in Deborah’s blog and is used here with permission.
One of the best pieces of writing advice I’ve ever heard is this: if you want to have a character react with an emotion, take a moment and act out that emotion. For example, for anger, you might think really, really hard about something that makes you angry, so that your whole body reacts—and then you observe. How has your face moved? What are your hands doing? What are your legs doing? Your feet?
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 Happy New Year! We’re starting off 2026 with another guest list! Our friend Ann recommends the following fantasy books that she says are perfect for reading in winter with their nice, clean, cozy vibes.
 Today we’re recommending some classic books we love, many but not all of them speculative fiction.
You don’t have to be a student, professor, or a fancy person to enjoy classic literature. You might have to school your attention a little bit, but at least you don’t have to give yourself homework! Some books feel like home; some take work to get through. Whatever suits your fancy, grab your snack of choice and curl up with a riveting read! Perhaps one from the list below . . .  I like to think of action, dialogue, and description as the three “macronutrients” of writing. Just like with nutrition, when all three are present, you digest the scene much better. So today I’m going to discuss how to balance dialogue, description, and action in your book to make it more palatable to readers.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)  Wondering what to get for the nerd(s) or geek(s) in your life? Or what to buy with the gift cards you receive as holiday presents? Well, look no further, because we’ve compiled a massive list covering more than a dozen different popular fandoms!
(By the way, we don’t say “nerd” and “geek” pejoratively. We’re proud geeks, and not just the bookish kind. We’re into most of the fandoms listed below!)  If you’re looking for edge-of-your-seat mysteries and thrillers with a speculative twist, you’ve come to the right place! Whether that place be a locked room, a haunted mansion, or some other manor of setting . . . Without further sus-puns, let’s get to the list!
 Spooky season is here! We love Halloween because it’s the perfect excuse (if you need one) to cosplay, and it fits our love of all things fantasy and science fiction. As the days grow darker, we like to read books that are a little darker, too. So today we’re recommending some excellent dark fantasy and sci-fi.
 Today I’m going to finish talking about how to write great description in your book. In Part 1 of this double post, I talked about how description provides an anchor point for the reader, sets the pacing, and adds beauty to the text. In this second part, I’ll conclude with the other two things description does and how to use them effectively.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)  “Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December / And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.” And of course my favorite line: “And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain / Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before.” . . . Let’s talk about writing great description in your book.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)  This week we bring you a list of excellent fantasy books featuring characters—not necessarily the main character—with a disability or chronic illness. This topic is near and dear to our hearts because two of us have a chronic illness, and one of us has a husband with a disability. (For the sake of a shorter title, we’re including chronic illness under the umbrella category of disability.) See this blog post for what we mean by “good representation.”
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