Why Be Normal?

*Psst* Yeah, you. Come over here.

Are you looking for something different? Something unexpected? Something not normal?

You’ve come to the right place. You’ve discovered the website for Jami Gold, paranormal author. She writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy tales, often mixing in elements of suspense and women’s fiction to create “Beach Reads with Bite.” Her stories range from dark to humorous, but one thing remains the same: Normal need not apply.

Both Treasured Claim and Pure Sacrifice are completed and ready for submission. Check out Books for more information.

Are you looking for Jami’s writing tools? Check out her collection of beat sheets and checklists or sign up for her workshops.

Scroll down for some of her recent posts and sign up for her newsletter to receive all the latest news about her stories.

Four Tips for Beta Reading in Other Genres

May 21, 2013 Writing Stuff
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Recently, a good friend of mine asked for my help in identifying the issues with her story. She’d struggled with it on and off for years and was wondering if she should just chuck the whole thing. I offered to take a look at it, even though her story’s genre isn’t one I know well. [...]

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How Success Raises the Stakes…in Our Life

May 16, 2013 Over-Achieving Perfectionist
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In writing, we always want the stakes to increase over the course of a story. The problems get bigger, the risks get bigger, and the reasons the characters need to succeed get bigger. The same concept can apply to real life. When we first start a blog, it doesn’t matter if we fall flat on our [...]

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Does Good News Make You Worry?

May 14, 2013 News
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Being a writer can often feel like living on a rollercoaster, with huge hills and dips around every curve. Writer’s block, rejections, low sales figures, pirated books, and other bad news can make us feel heavier than gravity itself. We might wish we could sink through the floor and disappear. On the other hand, good [...]

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Is This the New Breed of Vanity Publishers?

May 9, 2013 Writing Stuff
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A few weeks ago, author David Mamet announced he’ll be self-publishing his next book through his literary agency. Some think this is big news, some don’t, and some wouldn’t call David’s plan self-publishing at all. Regardless, this news means we’re seeing the second wave of self-published authors. While the first wave was comprised of early-adopting, [...]

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Do You Want to Be a Famous Author?

May 7, 2013 Random Musings
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Every once in a while, I come across an article about figuring out our goals as an author. Heck, I’ve written posts along those lines. As we learn more about the industry and grow as authors, our goals might change, so it’s smart to revisit the question occasionally. But there’s a Step Two to that self-analyzing process that [...]

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Three Tips for Better Storytelling

May 2, 2013 Writing Stuff
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Last time, we talked about how good storytelling can salvage even a poorly written book. As I mentioned in that post, storytelling skill is different from writing skill. Many people have a hard time defining what makes good storytelling—and that makes it difficult for us to improve. Yet I’d argue that storytelling ability isn’t as [...]

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Why Is Storytelling Ability So Important?

April 30, 2013 Writing Stuff
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What makes some poorly written books fall flat on their face while others succeed despite their flaws? One common answer is “storytelling ability.” But what is storytelling? The concept can seem vague and immeasurable—rather like “voice.” A recent experience with two poorly written books gave me insight into how a deeply flawed story can still [...]

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Why Do You Enter Writing Contests?

April 25, 2013 Writing Stuff
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A couple of weeks ago, someone (I won’t name who because I don’t want to embarrass her) asked me what score I’d received in a writing contest. I didn’t want to answer at first. I worried about making her feel bad or seeming like I was bragging. Yet I could understand her question. She’d noticed I [...]

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