Looking at my “to-read” bookshelf for something to read after slogging through Nora Roberts’s Northern Lights… Would someone remind me: why exactly am I reading this? I’m nearing the end, but the end can’t come quickly enough. Right now, I’m rating it at about 2½ out of 5, because the prose needs momentum and the characters need personality. (All except for Bing, who actually does have personality. But he’s not even a secondary character.)

Looking at my “to-read” bookshelf, for an intelligent and engaging novel to enjoy, I discover that I have precious few books by the kind of authors I have most enjoyed: indie authors, unknown authors, and mid-list authors. These are authors of the kind who have blogs, and Twitter and Facebook accounts, who enthusiastically engage with fans, who would love for me to mention them here.

So I will.

Here are some of the authors whose work I have enjoyed, and which I expect to enjoy:

In a story, starting a fight is an easy way to make the mood tense. But conflict can do more than just make a story feel tense, suspenseful. Conflict engages the audience. It makes us sympathize with the characters and root for them. And it heightens other emotions in the story.

How do you write moody stories? How do you imbue your prose with overwhelming emotion? It’s all about manipulating the feelings of the audience. Over the next couple of weeks, I want to look at different ways to set the mood. This week, using expectations to set the mood.