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darlingaxe.com
Darling Axe Editing
@darlingaxe.com
13K followers 12K following 1.6K posts
Novel development & editing services. Our editors are industry experts and award-winning writers. Take your manuscript to the next level.

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Attempting to make some reels!
November 9, 2025 at 3:12 PM
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The First Page Challenge 2025—2nd place

CLOUDIA WITH A CHANCE OF DARKNESS by Melissa Grant

"It was her 11th birthday, and the sky had the nerve to be blue."

darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/f...

#writingcommunity #writingcontest #booksky
A girl with balloons running away
October 28, 2025 at 12:18 AM
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Photo by Matt Hard via Pexels
“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” — Robert Frost
October 7, 2025 at 7:38 PM
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The First Page Challenge closes TOMORROW 🧐

Hit us with your best opening! Make us want to turn the page!

Only $5 CAD to enter. $1000 CAD prize pool.

Contest closes September 30 at midnight PST.

darlingaxe.com/pages/first-...
An illustration of a magical book with a world growing out of it
September 29, 2025 at 4:01 PM
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Photo credit: Ithalu Dominguez via Pexels
“Good stories are not written. They are rewritten.” — Phyllis Whitney
September 18, 2025 at 8:53 PM
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Photo credit: Fai Kackme via Pexels
“Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.” — Elmore Leonard
September 9, 2025 at 9:14 PM
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Did somebody say WRITING RETREAT?!

We have one room left! And it's a good one: the main-floor queen in the carriage house.

Location: Roberts Creek (north of Vancouver)
Dates: Feb 9 to 13, 2026

More info here:
darlingaxe.com/pages/author...

#writingcommunity #booksky
A sunset on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia
September 7, 2025 at 1:46 AM
darlingaxe.com
The First Page Challenge: a writing contest for novelists

Only $5 CAD to enter

Deadline: Sept 30

darlingaxe.com/pages/first-...

#writingcommunity #booksky
a magical book covered in water and trees with mountains and sky in the background
August 28, 2025 at 12:13 AM
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Photo by Eberhard Gross via Pexels
“I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine.” — William Faulkner
August 22, 2025 at 8:56 PM
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#writingcommunity #booksky
“Characters reveal themselves in motion, not in introspection.” — Robert McKee
August 15, 2025 at 8:19 PM
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🧐

#writingcommunity
#bcwriters
#vancouverwriters
#booksky
Join the Darling Axe at WRITE ON BOWEN next month! Writeonbowen.com for more information
August 13, 2025 at 8:15 PM
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#writingcommunity #booksky
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.” — Bertolt Brecht
August 12, 2025 at 6:57 PM
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Photo by Blaque via Pexels ❤️
“The function of freedom is to free someone else.” — Toni Morrison
August 8, 2025 at 4:32 PM
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Some resources:

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a burning house
August 7, 2025 at 12:13 AM
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Confessions of a First-Time Book Signer

Every book signing is one step forward—practice for the next connection.

darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...

#booksky #writingcommunity
a colorful pencil with wings
August 2, 2025 at 3:31 AM
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Read on!

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A woman reading a book twice her height
July 30, 2025 at 5:33 PM
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✒️✒️✒️
Quote on top of image of water: “Write what should not be forgotten.” — Isabel Allende
July 29, 2025 at 7:06 PM
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Book Broker—an interview with Rebecca Lawrence

"There are many elements to a good submission, but the main one is making sure you put the unique aspect of your story first and foremost in your query."

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#amquerying #mswl
Book Broker—an interview with Rebecca Lawrence
July 27, 2025 at 5:41 AM
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🌴
“Get your character up a tree. Throw rocks. Then get them down.” — James Scott Bell
July 26, 2025 at 11:50 PM
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Book Broker—an interview with Elizabeth Kaplan

"As always, it’s about the writing. Always."

darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/b...

#amquerying #mswl
Book Broker—an interview with Elizabeth Kaplan
July 26, 2025 at 2:00 AM
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Story Skeleton is having a great run over on NetGalley. Reviews are starting to roll in 😎

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"This would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home library reference, or book clubs."

darlingaxe.com/pages/story-...
Story Skeleton: The Classics (Book cover)
July 14, 2025 at 2:41 AM
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Not Another Wardrobe: Why Portal Fantasy Is a Tough Sell

It’s a super common entry point into a fantasy novel: the protagonist steps through a portal or is somehow transported into another world.

darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/p...

#writingcommunity #amwriting #amwritingfantasy
Illustration of a boy who has just passed through a portal
July 2, 2025 at 4:28 PM
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We have ONE ROOM LEFT at our Rainforest Writers Retreat in February.

Fancy a trip to the rugged Pacific Northwest this winter?

darlingaxe.com/pages/author...
The Sunshine Coast north of Vancouver, Canada
June 29, 2025 at 10:52 PM
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Darling Axe editors Michelle Barker and David Griffin Brown will be presenting at Write On Bowen this September 🤩🧐

Writers in the area should come check it out!
Write On Bowen, festival for readers and writers, Sept 12-14, 2025. Discounted early bird registration now open (QR code)
June 28, 2025 at 2:33 AM
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World-Building Questionnaire: Geography and Environment

Your story world's geography and environment affect the culture, economy, and daily lives of your characters.

darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/w...

#writingcommunity #worldbuilding #sff
June 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM