#CurrentWordsPublishing
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Loneliness: One of Life’s Strangest Contradictions
We spend much of our lives searching for connection. Friendships. Family. Romance. Community. We want to know that someone sees us, understands us, and is glad we’re here. Yet after enough disappointment or heartbreak, something curious can happen. Solitude begins to feel safer than closeness, and the walls we built to protect ourselves become increasingly…
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Vicissitude
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Pumpkin Spice? I Don’t Think So.
So what scares you? That’s really the question. Maybe you want something Gothic and atmospheric. Maybe you prefer monsters. Maybe you like your horror funny. Maybe blood doesn’t bother you, but the suggestion that there is something standing just outside the bedroom doorabsolutely does. Maybe what frightens you isn’t supernatural at all. That’s the beauty of…
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Surprisingly Useful Things I Learned from Incredibly Dodgy Spam (So You Don’t Have To)
#1: Readers Aren’t Searching Your Book Title. Why I’m Opening the Bombs…. I get a lot of spam. Some of it is ordinary spam. Some of it is publishing spam, which is its own peculiar species. These emails tend to begin with flattering observations about a book, an author, or my company and end, eventually,…
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Why Is Current Words Publishing on TikTok?
When most people think of TikTok, they think of dance videos, recipes, or adorable pets. But over the past few years, it has also become one of the world’s largest communities of readers. That’s why we’re there. Our TikTok channel is another way to introduce readers to the wonderful books our authors have written. You’ll…
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ARC Readers: We Have Something Special for You!
Dr. Bertina M. Hooks has lived more than one life. She’s a physician, healthcare executive, entrepreneur, mother, and disability advocate. In 2022, a life-threatening medical crisis put her on the other side of the physician-patient relationship and resulted in the loss of her right leg below the knee. Now she’s telling the story in From Fire…
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Instant Noodles Volume 6, Issue 2: AL DENTE is live!
The newest issue of Instant Noodles Lit Mag is officially out in the world. AL DENTE brings together poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, photography, and multimedia from writers and artists around the world, all responding in their own wonderfully clever and beguiling ways to a theme that started with two little words: al dente. The result is funny, sharp, surprising,…
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Have a Writing Question? Bring It to the Chat.
One of the reasons we created the Current Words Publishing Subscriber Chat is simple: writers have questions, and those questions don’t always need to wait for the next blog post. Maybe you’re wondering whether you should self-publish or pursue traditional publishing. Perhaps you’re trying to figure out Amazon keywords, book reviews, editing, cover design, ISBNs,…
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What’s New On Substack?
The final installment of our Can I Do That? copyright series is now available. In Part Four, we look at a question every author should understand: How do you protect your own copyright? We’ll cover when copyright begins, why registration matters, when it makes sense to register, and why understanding your rights is an important part of…
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A New Series for Poets at Old Scratch Press
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There Are Days When the World Feels Overwhelming.
What if you could simply sleep through it all? The headlines never seem to stop. Problems pile on top of one another. Work, family, finances, politics, the environment, technology, expectations. Every generation has imagined what it might be like to step away from it all, even if only for a little while. A long vacation.…
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Linger
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You Can Go Home Again. It Just Won’t Be the Same.
There’s an old saying that you can never go home again. Whether or not that’s true depends on what we mean by “home.” Most of us carry two versions of the places where we grew up. One exists in memory, populated by familiar faces, favorite streets, and routines that once felt permanent. The other exists…
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Celebrating the Release of The Valley of the Blue Moon
Today is one of the reasons we love what we do. At Current Words Publishing, every publication day is a celebration—not just of a finished book, but of the months (and often years) of dedication that brought it to life. Today we’re delighted to celebrate the release of C.K. Bougae’s debut novel, The Valley of the Blue Moon.…
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Creatures of Habit Receives a California Book Watch Recommendation
One of the greatest pleasures of independent publishing is watching a book continue to find new readers long after launch. We’re delighted to share that Creatures of Habit by Alexander Brito has been featured in the July 2026 issue of California Book Watch, where it received a thoughtful and generous recommendation from the reviewers at the Midwest Book Review. Rather…
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Your Work Has Value Before It’s Published
Protect Your Own Copyright, Too Most writers spend a lot of time worrying about accidentally infringing someone else’s copyright. Far fewer spend time understanding their own. The final installment of our “Can I Do That?” series turns the conversation around. We’ll look at when copyright begins, why your first draft already matters, what registration does (and doesn’t)…
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Please Stop Quoting….
Every writer has experienced it. You’re working on a scene when the perfect song lyric pops into your head. It says exactly what your character is feeling, and suddenly you’re wondering whether you can borrow just a line or two. Unfortunately, copyright law isn’t quite that simple. In Part Three of our “Can I Do That?”…
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Why We Never Really Outgrow Ghost Stories
Every family seems to have one. It might be the story of an abandoned house no one wanted to enter after dark. The old neighbor who claimed to see something impossible. The stretch of road everyone drove a little faster. The unexplained sound that became a favorite tale at holiday gatherings. Whether we believe these…
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Today is the Last Chance to Join the Avengers of the Sun Advance Reader Team!
There’s still time to request a complimentary Advance Reader Copy of Avengers of the Sun, Ken Davis’ historical novel of espionage, betrayal, and romance during the Roman civil war between Constantine and Maxentius. If you enjoy historical fiction, military history, political intrigue, and unforgettable characters, we’d love to have you join the advance reader team. Advance…
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Almost Every Bad Decision Begins as a Favor.
Most of us would like to believe we’d recognize the moment our lives were about to change forever. We imagine dramatic crossroads: a life-or-death decision, an unexpected diagnosis, a winning lottery ticket, or an opportunity too good to refuse. Fiction often trains us to expect these turning points, complete with flashing warning signs that tell…