The Official Blog of A. E. Costello

A. E. Reads [A Song Below Water] Book Review

A Song Below Water is a 2020 YA novel written by Bethany C. Morrow. It features two high school black girls as main characters, Tavia and Effie. You’d think they’d be so-called “normal” but they aren’t. Tavia is a siren, and in this story, sirens have been black women for the past seventy-five years. However…

Nothing About Writing : Easier to be Evil

This is my very first Nothing About Writing post, which is a post where I talk about something that honestly…is basically off-topic. My blog is about writing, writing life, publishing, being an author, things like that. Nothing About Writing is a post that has…nothing to do with writing. Sometimes a thought takes hold in my…

The Genealogy of Zippy Mae

National Novel Writing Month has begun! I’m not participating this year, but I’ve got to say so! In light of National Novel Writing Month, I decided I’d start my first blog of the month on… The Genealogy of Zippy Mae. Zippy Mae is the main character of the Zippy Mae series that I am working…

On Writing: Criticism

Hello, A. E. here. On this blog I’ve talked about how constructive criticism is better than praise. Today’s On Writing post is about criticism as a part of writing life. If you’re a writer, you need to get criticism. First though, what is a critic? A critic doesn’t have to be a bad thing. You’re…

What Is Fanfiction, anyway?

“But what is fanfiction?” My hairstylist questioned me this last week while I sat in her chair with her hair iron steaming my hair straight. Myself, my mother, my hairstylist’s daughter and the hairstylist were talking about Twilight and Fifty Shades of Gray and discussing my book. As most people should know by now, Fifty…

On Writing: Words

A. E. here, and today’s “On Writing” advice post is about Words. You know, what you write down if you want to be a writer. And as a writer, you need to write a lot of words. However writers are individuals, and we don’t all write the same way nor do we all write at…