Is it just me, or is learning to write fiction just a series of questions and answers that lead to more questions? The longer I spend with other writers, the more I realize I still have to learn. This book will discuss some of the many questions I have had (or still have) about writing. I'll also answer some questions people have asked me. How do I write good stories? How do you write so many words so fast? What genre is it anyway? Do I really NEED to do it that way? Is there a way to find readers for my work? What is a critique partner? How can you know what you don't know? The list goes on. I'm sure I'll come up with even more while I'm writing the book. Which is why I don't know exactly where this book will take me. I just know I'll learn a lot and, hopefully, give you something of value as well. Join me as I write about what I've learned so far and ask the questions I'm still working through. Share your own knowledge in the comments. Ask questions you want the answers to. No matter who you are or how long you've been writing (or if you're just thinking you might want to start), this is your place, too. Welcome.

Canadian Piper Ouellet is going to Paris. She knows the language, she knows the city, and most of all, she knows her ballet. Offered a place in the corps de ballet in the most prestigious ballet in the world, Piper and her best friend Rafael don't even think twice before they accept. They cannot wait for the grand adventures they'll have. Only problem is they can't afford them. The house hunt in Paris is cut-throat and impossible. In their price range, even on a good day the pickings are slim. And they've left their search for the last minute, so they have no other option than to rent the small one-bedroom flat operated by a grumpy old woman who only speaks Spanish. The catch? She'll only rent to one of them. Unless they are married. A coin flip will decide their fate. Heads, he gets the apartment; tails, she does. But what happens when the coin gives them an answer they don't want? ~ * ~ * ~ This is one of the novellas I'm writing for ONC 2023. You can find the rest on my profile! For this story, I've selected prompt # 5. "Flip a coin and make a life choice with it. Two choices, one coin, and no turning back. Do you dare?"

Free-spirited homebody Erica doesn't want to be queen. Which is fine, because her single, independent older sister Gemma is more than ready for the job. But their father doesn't care about any of that. He thinks a queen ought to be married and producing heirs (Yes, he really says producing heirs) if she is to take the throne. No matter how hard the girls try to convince him, the king will not budge. Gemma needs to get married at her upcoming birthday ball or he passes her over in favour of her sister being the next queen. Desperate to turn their circumstances back right-side-up, the two concoct a plan to find someone for Gemma to choose who will definitely not choose her back. But in order to do that, Erica is going to have to work together with her longtime crush. Who doesn't know she exists. She'll have to keep her feelings in check if she's going to convince him to help, but she might want to offer him a little something in return. ~ * ~ * ~ This is one of the five novellas I'll be writing for this year's ONC! You can find the rest of the stories (Hang it Up, Christmas at the Cabin, Love Lies & Red Eyes, and Runaway Fiances) on my profile! This story is based on prompt #49: "Master the rules of the game until you can play it better than they can."

Determined and quick thinking, Amelia Conti is okay on her own. She's also an expert in outdoor sports. So when her boss offers her the winter hike of a lifetime, she says yes even before she knows who she'll be guiding. Or how much it will pay. If she'd taken the time to research the man who bought the last-minute premium tour, a demanding CEO named Damien Serrano, she might have reconsidered her answer. Well, maybe not. It is an absurd amount of money. He's grumpy to her sunshine, Christmas-lover to her Christmas dread, and the kind of man used to getting what he wants. Arrogance might work in a boardroom, but on the side of a mountain in the middle of winter, it's a hazard. If Damien can't learn to relinquish some control, they might not make it to the end of the hike alive. But everything comes to a head when an unexpected weather event pushes them even closer together. Water meets fire and something has to give. The question is, who will bend first? ~ * ~ * ~ This is one of the novellas I'm writing for ONC 2023. You can find the rest on my profile! This story is based primarily on prompt 13. "You were at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and now you are running for your life!"

Arturo Banderas is a cadejo on the run. Framed for crimes he didn't commit, he has to escape his home for the human world, but in order to hide, he'll need to learn their culture, not just their physical form. Doctora Lidia Gutierrez wants to be the first person to understand the culture of the mysterious cadejos. No one has ever found them in the daylight, and those who survived their encounters at night weren't sober enough to explain anything. At least, none who were willing to talk to Lidia. When Arturo discovers Lidia's research he proposes a trade. If she'll teach him how to blend in, he'll tell her everything he knows about the cadejos. And it works just fine until a monster in the forest pushes them closer together. Working together is the only choice they have, but every moment spent together makes it harder to imagine a time when they'll be forced apart. And they will be, unless there's a way to stop the past from catching up with them. ~ * ~ * ~ This is one of the novellas I'm writing for ONC 2023. You can find the rest on my profile! For this story, I've selected prompt #52. "There is someone you dream about every night, but you never imagine meeting them in real life."

Always willing to put herself last, Catalina Juárez has never rocked the boat. But that all changes when her father insists she marry a man she cannot stand to be near. Hopping into a carriage for hire, she spends the last of her money on a ride to nowhere. Because this mysterious carriage has one rule: you go where it takes you. Well, that was a waste of money, because she isn't even to the edge of town before she's unceremoniously dumped off at a train station. With no money to buy a ticket and no time to think of another plan, Catalina pushes through the crowd and onto the train. Marcos Caballero has never met a problem he didn't want to solve. Traveling alone on a ticket meant for him and a woman who didn't want to be with him, he's taken in by the scared, doe-eyed look of the woman in the dining carriage. She's ticketless and alone; he's lonely and has an excess ticket. Stepping in to save her, he claims her as his wife, not really expecting her to play along past the point of danger. But she quickly steps into the role with ease, acting as if they've known each other their whole lives. Somehow, it seems like they might have. But being on the run from troublesome and powerful fathers isn't without its struggles, and Catalina and Marcos are going to have to decide how much they are willing to risk to put love ahead of duty. ~ * ~ * ~ This is one of the five novellas I'll be writing for this year's ONC! You can find the rest (Hang it Up, Christmas at the Cabin, Love Lies & Red Eyes, and I Don't Want to be Queen) on my profile! For this story, I selected prompt 9. "There's an urban legend that's been circulating for years about a taxicab that doesn't take you where you want to go, but where you need to go. One night, you stepped into this cab." Except make it pre-car-era.

Lorena Martinez is tired of games. After a revolving door of ridiculous men playing her like a fiddle, Lorena had her life built on something more stable: her job. And it was going just fine until she got fired. With nothing to lose, she takes a shot at her dream role as a travel agent and writer. Instead of an interview, she has to plan an epic week of adventures for her friend's wedding week on the beautiful island of Roatán, Honduras. Before she has the chance to get a foothold on the island, she falls off a wharf and is rescued by the charming, handsome, and exceedingly rich Honduran fútbol star, Óscar Calderón. His deep brown eyes are all she can think about until he ruins it by trying to take over her role as trip coordinator. When the bride and groom refuse to choose between Lorena and Óscar, they take matters into their own hands. Working together is impossible, so maybe the solution is a competition. It turns out Lorena might not be all that tired of games, after all. New chapter every other Wednesday! ~*~ This is Book Two of the Love Travels Collection. Book One, Vegas Knot, is complete and available on my profile. ~*~

Alexander is ready to find love. But his socially awkward, analytical nature makes it hard to find just the right person. And when his analysis reveals he may be the problem in his relationships, he sets out to do what any math-loving nerd would do: solve the problem. Step one is to find a sexy costume for a masked Halloween party. And who better to help him than the prettiest girl Heartsbrook's Haunted Halloween has ever seen? Jaqueline's determined to take back control of her life. After her ex used his influence to have her fired, she refuses to let him manipulate her into one more thing she doesn't want to do or say or wear. And now that she's found a new job, there's only one thing left to do: get even. So when she lands face to face with a man who has exactly the security clearance she needs to enact her plans, it must be fate. They are the perfect solution to each other's problems. And it all seems so easy until their friendship of convenience develops into a love neither of them saw coming. ~ * ~ A Kiss in Costume is a Halloween Romantic Comedy, the first book in the Holidays in Heartsbrook series, a collection of small-town holiday romantic comedies.

This book is filled with all the wonderful things I want to share with you about my plans, goals, upcoming works, and everything else I can think of. More detailed description to come as I fill this book with amazing nonsense and chaos in the weeks and months to come. It is my goal to update this no less than once a month! I hope you enjoy the little peek behind the veil at my chaotic writing life. ~Eliza

Thirty days. The countdown has started, North America shivers under the shadow of a massive alien spacecraft, and humanity is hurtling toward an unknown future that lurks at the end of the timer. Somewhere, somehow, the heroes are making their plans to fight the extraterrestrials. But this isn't about them. From the team at WritersConnX comes a new anthology about the rest of us - the average, the ordinary, the unassuming - and the many paths we run when our time is cut short. And no damn aliens! Written by: WCX Writers & Creators Rodney V. Smith, M.B. Dalto, Jane Peden, A.B. Channing, Eliza Solares, Jinn Tiole, Crystal Scherer, Cayleigh Kennedy, C.C. Starfield, Nova Nicalynn, Leigh W. Stuart, Franklin Barnes, Mags Lorang, Evelyn Hail, Lorraine Tramain, Fiora Voss, Wren Arrior, J.A. Jumphol, Bethany Swafford, Jamie Lemon, Mittu Ravi. Julia Esposito, Cardin Watts, Mikaela Bender, Jovi R, Sam Camp, Mhavel Naveda, Brittannie Charmintine, Van Carley, Henry Scott, Melody Grace Hicks, David J. Thirteen, C. S. Solarys, Hannah J Nelson, Vee Lozada, Eli Gregory, Kristin Jacques, Ben Sobieck, Bianca Di Cocco Compiled by: Rodney V. Smith, Van Carley, Eliza Solares, Ina Ramos