Joan Fernandez

It was a moment born from that seven-year pursuit—a pivot from the structured mandates of Corporate America to the uncharted territory of curiosity. I traded the 'shoulds' of a boardroom for the 'could' of a blank page, battling the inevitable imposter syndrome along the way.

How historical fiction authors can navigate "Presentism" to protect their work—and their characters—from the buzzsaw of cancel culture. I joined sister authors at the History Through Fiction Conference for our panel on “Historical Fiction and Presentism.” From top, me, Shelley Blanton-Stroud, Jody Hadlock and Terri Lewis is in front. In today’s cancel culture how does a historical fiction author walk the tightrope of writing accurately about past attitudes without insulting today’s reader?...

The Ghost in the Feed: Why I'm Cleaning Up My Clicks The real threadbare “Baby” ultimately disappeared. . .no doubt still adventuring 30 years later! Photo by Lutz Stallknecht on Unsplash I’ve had storytelling on my mind lately—specifically, the moment I realized I was the villain in my three-year-old’s bedtime story The Accidental Villain: Lessons in Bedtime Lore When I was a young mom I used to make up stories for my son when tucking him into bed. I’d describe his favorite stuffed...