Member Spotlight: Cori Sykes

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is an expression of love. Whether it helps readers to unwind, laugh, learn, or relate, that’s love.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? I absolutely love music. Songs tell fantastic stories and can really get the creative brain running full speed.

What is your favorite time to write? I am a mother, wife, a full-time worker and I own a publishing company. My favorite time to write is whenever I can find a quiet, distraction free moment. I used to love writing in the evenings but now I’m too tired. Writing in the mornings is what I’ve started doing but it goes against my natural creative flow.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? The best writing advice I’ve learned along the way is to learn and stay in your writing voice. As much as I could try, there’s no way I could ever write like Stephen King or Toni Morrison and that’s okay. My audience awaits my unique voice and contributions.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I love that there are so many ways to perfect your craft and get your work out to the world! Everyone can take their writing to the world through classes, workshops, YouTube and more. Then we can sell across platforms as our own bosses.

Cori Sykes’s Curiously Cara Meets Pharaoh Hatshepsut, written under her pen name Karen Mae and illustrated by Robb King is out now with Write and Vibe Books.