Oh, we love our pets at Five Directions Press. We love them so much that we wrote our hearts out describing them, and now have to share the resulting “dish” in two parts! Courtney J. Hall John [June 16, 2:14 pm]: There’s a gray cat in our yard. Me [June 16, 2:19 pm]: Go pet it! John [June 16, 2:20 pm]: But it might bite me. It was an inauspicious beginning to what would turn out to be a lasting love affair between a man and a cat (and me, when the cat lets me), but six years

According to online urban dictionaries, BFF has a variety of possible meanings, at least one of which is vulgar. Rest assured; here at Five Directions, where we are all women who were once little girls, BFF can only mean one thing: Best Friends Forever! Ariadne Apostolou: She was nine. I was seven. She introduced herself on the day we moved into our new home in our new country, Canada. She showed off her new permanent of short corkscrews, the result of having failed to “trai

“Anything worth doing is worth overdoing,” Mick Jagger has said. And we agree. To a point. Regarding some things. C. P. Lesley: Indulgences. Well, there’s chocolate, of course. And wine and cake and days at the beach. And coffee—really good coffee that tastes the way it smells. But much as I love those things, the Achilles’ heel of my willpower isn’t food, drink, or leisure. It’s books. Yes, I love books the way Imelda Marcos loves shoes. Old books, new books, e-books, print

Since newer writers are always asking us old-timers for hot tips, this month we are dishing about the psychology of villains, the importance of minor characters, the art of great dialogue, the importance of critique, and how to be the happiest writer on Earth. Courtney J. Hall: “Even the worst villain loves his mother.” I’m not sure where I first heard this; since I started writing seriously, I’ve read so many books, articles, and blog posts on character development that it

This month Five Directions Press authors have gone deep to dish about what it means to be in touch with the esoteric side of life: past life regression, serendipity, Scottish superstitions, and Tarot are all covered here. Courtney J. Hall on past life regression: I’ve never been someone who claims to have all the answers about where we go when we die. There are lots of nice ideas, but I’ve never been drawn to any single story in particular, nor have I ever been presented with

Last month 5DP authors dished about saying goodbye to characters not of our own making. This month we’re honing in on the real deal, the pain of saying goodbye to our very own beloved (and sometimes not so much) creations. Ariadne Apostolou: How can I say goodbye to Ashiri, an indigenous Ainu woman in my recently completed novel, One Sky Above Us? I hold great affection for her, though we share no common language, come from different cultures, and live in different time perio

Never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now Never can say goodbye Today 5DP Authors are standing around the proverbial water cooler singing The Jackson 5’s Never Can Say Goodbye while they reminisce about favorite characters (not of their own making),* whom they never quite managed to let go. Our chitchat takes us from Heathcliff (twice venerated!) to a sexy Viking dude to the cast of the Netflix series Six Feet Under … and more. *Watch for next month’s Dish to get 5DP author

What a lovely topic 5DP Authors have chosen to dish about this month. Once we got going, we realized that a special place can be anything from an ancient structure rich in significance in a faraway world to the tract along a sheer cliff face, to the wild blue yonder itself, to the little bit of heaven that thrives in every well-loved reading nook. C. P. Lesley: Historians live with one foot in the past. We are time travelers by nature, dipping into the diaries of long-dead lo

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays 'Cause no matter how far away you roam When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze For the holidays you can't beat home sweet home! Whether you prefer the (really) old Perry Como version or the more recent one by Cyndi Lauper/Nora Jones, you probably know the tune. And if singing along with it triggers a spark of nostalgia (or a shudder!), you are not alone. Here at Five Directions Press we’re dishing this month about h

Foodies are at their best this time of year, when the Thanksgiving leftovers are still taking up too much space in the fridge and the figgy pudding lies just ahead. What better time for 5DP authors to ask themselves this question: What is the most unusual food you’ve eaten (or failed to eat) and did it wind up in any of your books? Denise Allan Steele: As Scotland’s first vegetarian (not really, but I’m claiming it!) I have never ever and never will eat a haggis! A haggis is