Evan Swensen
- Author, Book Publisher, and Developer of Author Masterminds
- Author Masterminds Charter Member
- Host of Alaska Outdoors Magazine Podcast
Articles
Why Mediocrity Has No Place in Writing
“There are certain things in which mediocrity is intolerable: poetry, music, painting, public eloquence.” Jean de La Bruyère’s words strike like a warning bell for …
Writing in the Dark
The biggest mistake an author can make isn’t a weak opening line or a sagging middle—it’s waiting until the book is published to find an …
The Gift That Changed Literature
Have you ever received a Christmas gift that changed your life? Maybe it was a childhood bicycle, a book that sparked a lifelong love of …
The Power of Criticism
“It is, I think, as clear as daylight that literature can only be kept alive by criticism.” Henry James, a master of psychological realism, understood …
The Art of Letting Readers See
There’s an old saying in writing circles—probably scrawled on a thousand sticky notes across the desks of aspiring authors—that commands, Show, don’t tell. The phrase …
The Novel That Never Used ‘E’
Some people run marathons. Others climb mountains. But in 1939, one man decided to challenge himself in an entirely different way — by writing an …
The Wordsmith’s Drug
Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” – Rudyard Kipling Language is no mere tool. It hypnotizes, soothes, incites, and heals. Kipling …
Writing the Right Book for the Right Readers
There’s a moment every writer faces—when the words are flowing, the pages are stacking up, and then it hits—that nagging question. What genre is this? …
A Ban Worthy of the Queen of Hearts
Imagine waking up one day and finding out that a whimsical tale about a girl chasing a white rabbit was considered too dangerous to read. …
The Peril and Power of Words
“Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately after they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish.” — …
Thick Skin and Open Ears: A Writer’s Guide to Criticism
The first time I received a harsh critique, it was a gut punch, the kind that lingers in your chest long after you’ve read the …
Happily Never After
Once upon a time, in a world before Disney sprinkled its magic on everything, fairy tales weren’t the warm, fuzzy bedtime stories we know today. …
Podcasts
Evan, who lives in Anchorage, has 9 children, 25 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren. As a pilot, he has logged more than 4,000 hours of flight time in Alaska, in both wheel and float planes. He is a serious recreation hunter and fisherman, equally comfortable casting a flyrod or using bait, or lures. He has been published in many national magazines and is the author of four books.