A Spectacular Day Hike to Ramona Falls

On Saturday, August 26, I hiked to Ramona Falls from the Ramona Falls Trailhead in the Mt. Hood Wilderness area. We did a “lollipop loop” that took the PCT along the Sandy River and up to the falls, and the Ramona Falls Return Loop Trail on the return, which then connected with the PCT to…

Celebrating 10 Years of The Sowing

In celebration of 10 years of THE SOWING, a 10-year retrospective of THE SEEDS TRILOGY.

The Paths Between the Stars is Coming out in Hardcover

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… The Paths Between The Stars is coming out in gorgeous HARDCOVER edition, complete with a dust jacket, clothbound exterior, and a beautiful gold-embossed spine. As soon as I have photos, I’ll share them with you! It’s been a year and a half since the book launched, and it…

Cover Reveal: The Paths Between The Stars

Today is the day when I finally get to share the beautiful cover art for my forthcoming novel, THE PATHS BETWEEN THE STARS, with the world. This cover was the result of several weeks of back-and-forth with the talented designers at Bookfly Design as we found the concept, honed it in, and fine-tuned the details.…

The Paths Between The Stars

More than half a decade ago, a story was birthed here on this blog. For fans of Philip Pullman and Neil Gaiman comes my newest novel, THE PATHS BETWEEN THE STARS, a genre-bending story about a young girl finding her way after a devastating loss. Due out in 2021, I’ll offer a complimentary copy to…

Summer Evenings: A Poem

By: Amira K. September 23, 2019September 23, 2019 Compositions, Poemsblogging, creative, creative writing, dusk, evening, featured, poem, poems, Poetry, reading, summer, summer evenings, writing2 Comments

Sweet is my memory That I am not a morning person– Glorying in the dawn, the revelatory nutty scent of brewing coffee– No. I prefer dusk. Evenings, the onset of dew The fade of heat into something more gentle The smell of dry grass, ready to seed, giving way to rose petal, wet earth. For…

Who I Am

My name is Amira. I’m a writer. I’m actually a lot of different things, and it would take too much time to put them all here, but I’m three things primarily: a writer, a wine marketer, and an explorer. I’m not a blogger by trade, but I write here sometimes about things that I’m interested…

What I Write

I am on a journey to write and share powerful stories that change the way we see the world. My most recent novel, The Paths Between The Stars, is a science-fiction & fantasy crossover about a high school girl named Noomi who is haunted demons from another world but doesn’t believe they’re real – until…

Excavations: “Happiness” – Tuesday, February 4, 2016

By: Amira K. February 25, 2023

Musingsexcavation, exploration, journal, journaling, past, practice, writingLeave a Comment

I am publishing excerpts from past journal entries as a way to excavate my own history. These have been lightly edited for clarity. Edits are notated in the passages. A strange thought crossed my mind today. That despite all the vagaries of my love life and the occasional torment of work, these last six months…

Zen and the Art of Political Resistance

In the wake of 4th of July and the verdicts coming down from the Supreme Court, I have been reflecting on all that is happening in our world, especially the sense of doom and hopelessness felt by so many. There is a palpable sense that the world is heading downhill for good, that there’s nothing…

Resurrecting The Blog

By: Amira K. May 5, 2022August 14, 2023

Musingsblogging, blogs, craft, exploring, Musings, philosophy, practice, publishing, writing3 Comments

Does anyone still read blog posts? Follow blog authors? Read individual posts that come across your feed that aren’t published by Politico or Mother Jones? Are blogs still a thing? It doesn’t seem like anyone reads blogs anymore. It seems like both readers and authors have abandoned blogs in favor of Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and…

Cover Reveal: The Paths Between The Stars

On Wednesday, August 11, I will share the cover art for my forthcoming young adult novel, THE PATHS BETWEEN THE STARS, with the world. If you would like to see the cover a week before everyone else, two days from now on Wednesday, August 4, I invite you to sign up below. You will also…

Running as Solace

By: Amira K. February 1, 2021January 31, 2021

Musings, Writingexercise, hiking, loneliness, meditation, pandemic, reflection, running, solace, solitude, trail running, trailsLeave a Comment

In the face of great collective loneliness during the pandemic, spending time running on trails has offered a different kind of solitude. 2020 was a year of reckoning: with society, with our government, with ourselves. As we turned inwards to combat the pandemic, stopped seeing our friends and families, and dramatically altered our social habits,…

Heartbeats and Dragon Curves: The Birth of a Story

By: Amira K. September 12, 2019September 8, 2019

Guest Post, Writingbook, books, daryl rothman, fantasy, fiction, new book, novels, reading, the awakening of david rose, writing, YA, young adult1 Comment

Guest Post by Daryl Rothman, whose fantasy novel The Awakening of David Rose was published this Monday, September 9. Featured image by Tim Rebkavets on Unsplash What do you think of first when you hear, Jurassic Park? Dinosaurs? Blockbuster? Spielberg? Crichton? Most likely not Ekeland or Gleick. But Michael Crichton credits them in the acknowledgements of his…

10 Things I Hate About Game of Thrones Season 8 Spoilers ahead

As a writer, I care deeply about plot, pacing, and character development. It’s all critical to my suspension of disbelief, not to mention that watching a master at work is both educational and validating. Good stories have power. Watching the six seasons of Game of Thrones taught me so much about how to write complex characters with long, thoughtful story arcs, how to make bad characters tun good, and good characters turn bad. How to build a world that feels as real as our own.

Scars

On the lessons we learn as we age One of the interesting things about getting older is that you learn. You actually do learn. People older than you always talk about this learning experience, but it’s hard to believe until you see it for yourself. You actually learn things about the world as you grow…

Book Review: Kinnara by Kevin Ansbro

By: Amira K. October 3, 2018

MusingsLeave a Comment

“Why does nobody believe that I saw the evil spirit that day? They make offerings to phantoms, and yet when I offer them actual proof of one, they laugh in my face!” Kinnara by Kevin Ansbro is a charming book with a delightful tone and a happy ending. It interweaves magical realism, mythology, and travel narrative…

Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

By: Amira K. September 18, 2018

Book Review, Publishingbook review, books, Children of Blood and Bone, fantasy, reading, Tomi Adeyemi, writing, YA, young adult1 Comment

It has recently come to my attention that I really like fantasy books. Last summer, I demolished Deborah Harkness’ entire ALL SOULS TRILOGY and Nnedi Okorafor’s WHO FEARS DEATH in three months. Some people might not think that’s a lot of books, but for me, that’s a lot of books. I devoured the first two…