The Promise Is in the Premise

Readers love a good premise—that story promised on the back cover of a book that captures everything in a nutshell. They love it even more when the novel actually delivers on the promise of that premise. In this session, bestselling author Kilby Blades covers the full spectrum (e.g., how to deliver on a tried-and-true plot and trope vs. how to deliver on something unique and unforeseen) to help writers connect an amazing premise to an equally fantastic story.

Instructor: Kilby Blades is a USA Today Bestselling author of Romance and Women's Fiction. Her debut novel, Snapdragon, was a HOLT Medallion finalist, a Publisher's Weekly BookLife Prize Semi-Finalist, and an IPPY Award medalist. Kilby was honored with an RSJ Emma Award for Best Debut Author in 2018, and has been lauded by critics for "easing feminism and equality into her novels" (IndieReader) and "writing characters who complement each other like a fine wine does a good meal" (Publisher's Weekly). During her earlier career as a digital marketing executive, she moonlighted as a journalist, freelanced as a food, wine and travel writer and lived it up as an entertainment columnist. She has lived in five countries, visited more than twenty-five, and spends part of her year in her happy place—her pied-à-terre in the Andes Mountains.