<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Author Nikoleta Ivanova]]></title><description><![CDATA[Ghostwriting fiction books. Crafting captivating stories and bringing your ideas to life with a touch of enchantment in every word.]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 03:49:10 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[What I Learned While Preparing My First Novel for Publication: Part 1]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello, dear readers, As I like to say: Writing the book was the easiest part. Not because I didn't spend countless nights pulling my hair out while trying to figure out the story, the world, the characters, rewriting scenes, and wondering why something simply wasn't working. No, that part was incredibly difficult too. In fact, I think anyone who has finished writing a book is a hero. But then comes the next stage. The book has to reach people, and that's something I'm still learning how to...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/what-i-learned-while-preparing-my-first-novel-for-publication-part-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a201ad043116cbc2f785f18</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:20:49 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_773f42f9bc10435e94e7f0c020f301a6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Readers Fall in Love With Characters, Not Plots]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello, dear readers, If you spend any time on social media and follow book-related content, especially BookTok, you've probably noticed something interesting. People rarely talk only about a book's plot. Instead, they talk about the characters. They create fan art of them. They admire them. They argue about them. They fall in love with them. The term "book boyfriend" wouldn't be nearly as popular if those characters weren't written so well. And that's a very good indication of where a...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/why-readers-fall-in-love-with-characters-not-plots</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a1d1adc7ab417a19fbf83e3</guid><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 06:05:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_3ebcc8e8170447379d213b7dff1d6d41~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Fantasy Is the Perfect Genre for Exploring Human Nature]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello, dear readers, I couldn’t wait to talk about this topic because this is truly my area of expertise. It’s literally the foundation of my writing style. Not just the fantasy genre itself, but the deep exploration of characters’ minds and psychology. That’s why you’ll often, almost always, see me writing in first-person POV, because for me it’s important to stay inside the character’s head the entire time, like a tiny dictator, exploring everything happening inside them. Pressing the...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/why-fantasy-is-the-perfect-genre-for-exploring-human-nature</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a185260145da5e38306ae55</guid><pubDate>Thu, 28 May 2026 14:42:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_4f7c1fb0674041a8b93bde64124e0ea0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Writing Other People’s Stories Taught Me About My Own]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello, dear readers, This is one of my favorite topics to talk about because my work as a ghostwriter over the past seven years gave me the foundation to write a novel I’m genuinely proud of. Of course, while writing The Puppet King, there were moments when I was afraid, moments when I cried, and moments when I doubted my own abilities completely. But now that the book is finished and fully edited, it has become something I cannot wait to finally share with all of you. And honestly, a huge...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/what-writing-other-people-s-stories-taught-me-about-my-own</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a14573c4ad1e926d85923cc</guid><pubDate>Mon, 25 May 2026 14:29:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_143bab3d36284345950d67e3bfade124~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How I Balance Creativity and Discipline as a Writer]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello, dear readers, Ever since I started building my social media platforms and website, more and more people have started reaching out to me. Some are readers interested in my upcoming debut novel The Puppet King, while others are writers trying to find their place in the world of storytelling. And I realized something very quickly, there is a huge amount of gatekeeping surrounding this career. Not only around becoming an author, but also around ghostwriting, which is something I’ve been...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/how-i-balance-creativity-and-discipline-as-a-writer</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a0dbe6b43dc65892e5c8583</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 14:16:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_f05e5c92069f4574a45efbead747bcae~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Makes a Fantasy World Feel Real in Books?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello, dear readers, I’ve written so many fantasy stories over the years that sometimes I genuinely feel like an expert on the subject. Beyond my own book, I’ve also worked on many fantasy projects as a ghostwriter, which pushed me to explore worldbuilding in depth. Because when you create an entirely new universe, you have to think about everything. Politics. Magic systems. Laws. History. Culture. Geography. Even the physics of the world itself. How do things work? Why do they work that way?...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/what-makes-a-fantasy-world-feel-real-in-books</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a0b2ef58ba6aec9a810393b</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2026 15:35:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_68bab6bf0d194c1ca5a0e418a6ea9ea0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Some Stories Stay With Us Long After We Finish Them]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello, dear readers, I think this is a topic that matters both to writers and readers alike. I believe we’ve all finished a book at some point and then just sat there for a while, staring into empty space, trying to process what we had just read. And honestly, I think that’s what makes a story truly successful, when something from it stays with the reader long after the final page. I can’t even count how many times a book has inspired me or changed the way I look at life. The most recent...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/why-some-stories-stay-with-us-long-after-we-finish-them</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a05ce2f50e75aec049cc81b</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2026 13:32:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_055932066efc4238bdde5e4236149210~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Yearning Is More Powerful Than Instant Romance]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello, dear readers, Recently, someone asked me what makes me stop reading a book and put it down completely. And honestly, even I was surprised by my answer. Instant romance. Yes, I probably have the opposite problem. I take too many pages to develop relationships and sometimes make my romances painfully slow. But rushed love feels so unrealistic to me that it immediately pulls me out of the story. The last time I read a romance subplot like that, the characters had barely exchanged more...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/why-yearning-is-more-powerful-than-instant-romance</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a021c8412afbdb2d976dba1</guid><pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 18:22:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_dd225199c65145d6a7bd521b46ef097c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How Ghostwriting Changed Me as a Writer]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello, dear readers, Being a ghostwriter has taught me many things. Not only did it force me to write more, but it also taught me discipline. Writing stopped being something that only happened when inspiration suddenly appeared and became part of my daily life instead. I also learned how to work with genres I normally would never write on my own, and honestly, that became one of the most interesting parts of the job. I’ve written thrillers, horror, spicy romance, and many other kinds of...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/how-ghostwriting-changed-me-as-a-writer</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69fb7fa87c50fb68b37eae02</guid><pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 17:54:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_3afc6ea59c7f48279edb6e826f1c053b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[This Scene Almost Broke Me While Writing It]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello, dear readers, Let me start with this, there are scenes in my book that aren’t for everyone. There is violence, there is weight, there are moments that aren’t easy to write. And honestly, every one of those scenes took something from me. But despite all that, the hardest moment wasn’t the one I expected. It wasn’t the physical punishment. It wasn’t the humiliation. It wasn’t even the pain that my main character goes trough. That was manageable because he always fought back. With anger....]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/this-scene-almost-broke-me-while-writing-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69f8c9075caf4ed272ba8aaf</guid><pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2026 16:33:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_9e62d03bdc9645019c0d120601a7e5a5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Kind of Love Story I Wanted to Write]]></title><description><![CDATA[Oh, I’m genuinely excited to write about this one. Love stories have always been my favorite thing to read, and one of my favorite things to write. Even though the romance in The Puppet King is a subplot, that does not mean it is small. To me, a powerful love story needs time. It needs space to grow, to deepen, to become something real. That’s one of the reasons there is no spice in the first book. (That doesn’t mean there won’t be any in the second ). I wanted the relationship between my...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/the-kind-of-love-story-i-wanted-to-write</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69f21c60abc9d99d7cf287fb</guid><pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:16:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_5d5bf50aa42442c9a84cc93ff7c56b30~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_768,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Readers Never See Behind One Finished Book]]></title><description><![CDATA[Alright, this might be a slightly whiny post, so please prepare to feel deeply sorry for me.  One thing I think readers often don’t see when they pick up a finished book is just how much work exists behind those pages. And honestly, people often say that writing the book is the easiest part. They’re right. Writing The Puppet King took me years. There was the plot, the characters, the world, the magic system, the emotional arcs, and all the invisible pieces that have to come together before...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/what-readers-never-see-behind-one-finished-book</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69ef6d7824f9d3e5cd6d5229</guid><pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:13:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_b9677aada9fd4a7db3fc603979207fa9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why I Love Morally Gray Characters]]></title><description><![CDATA[I think everyone has noticed the trend lately—morally gray characters are everywhere, and readers can’t seem to get enough of them. Honestly, I understand why. These characters challenge us to see the world as something more than black and white. More than simply good or evil. They force us to look at the shades in between. Because if we’re being honest, most people placed in a desperate situation, especially one where survival is at stake, would make choices they never imagined making....]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/why-i-love-morally-gray-characters</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e8c6c3b17cf497ceb0d212</guid><pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:18:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_7a77ef014ed44ad6a9adb3674553762c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Hardest Part of Writing The Puppet King]]></title><description><![CDATA[I think behind every piece of art stands an artist who cried in the shower first. Anyone who takes art seriously and wants to turn it into a career will probably understand me here. Because it is one thing for art to be your hobby—something personal, something that helps you breathe, something that belongs only to you. But the moment you decide to share it with an audience, everything becomes more complicated. That is when imposter syndrome appears. The constant doubt. The feeling that...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/the-hardest-part-of-writing-the-puppet-king</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e62db78e63193b95d2f426</guid><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:54:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_35463b5182ba409a8a27f88ae1263217~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Writing My Book Taught Me About Myself]]></title><description><![CDATA[I think everyone experiences the world differently. People process life in different ways. We all have our own outlets for what happens to us, for the emotions we carry, for the things we don’t fully understand yet. Writing has always been that for me. Through writing, I’m able to make sense of things I often don’t even understand at the moment. Sometimes they are feelings I can’t explain. Sometimes they are memories that feel distant or blurred. But the more I write, the more I begin to...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/what-writing-my-book-taught-me-about-myself</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e0fb4a9e117b67ff822920</guid><pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:32:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_ef9893ce558343279320856f0016f6b9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why I Named My Book The Puppet King]]></title><description><![CDATA[I’ve always struggled with names. I want them to make sense. I want them to carry symbolism, sound right, and fit the world they belong to. In the past, I’ve spent hours trying to choose the perfect name for a character. But this book was different. The Puppet King  is not the first completed and edited book I’ve written. Besides working as a ghostwriter and finishing many books and projects throughout my career, I’ve also written two personal novels of my own over the years. The difference...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/why-i-named-my-book-the-puppet-king</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69de4b0c934ce577916b22ed</guid><pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:43:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_bf5452794ebf475aa311e70d77f1dc1a~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[If You Like These Tropes, You’ll Love This Book]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Puppet King  is a book that some readers might find quite dark, but it’s not dark just for the sake of being dark. Honestly… the fact that my mom read it and didn’t faint? I count that as a win. She’s a relatively new fantasy reader, so the fact that she actually enjoyed it feels like the highest form of praise. Now, you might say, “Well, she’s your mom, she has to say that.” And maybe you’re right. But what matters more to me is what you  will think. Because this story isn’t soft. There...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/if-you-like-these-tropes-you-ll-love-this-book</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d63ad6803e1156065d2e7c</guid><pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:46:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_873f6e727a604f95b880f2aeba8bfd14~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Worst Thing I Did to My Character]]></title><description><![CDATA[Let me start with this: my book will probably need a very long trigger warning. Which should already tell you one thing: my characters suffer. A lot. And before you decide I’m a sadist, or that I did it just for shock value… no. That was never the point. What I wanted to explore was something else. How far can a person go when they were never given the chance to have a normal life? How much can someone endure before they break? And is there really such a thing as a point of no return? The...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/the-worst-thing-i-did-to-my-character</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d3a15a838edf8f8dd2dda3</guid><pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:16:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_3bd8338d08b845de84e7edec558025c6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meet Alistair: The Prince Who Was Never Meant to Be a Hero]]></title><description><![CDATA[As you might have already guessed, Alistair is the main character in my book The Puppet King , which is now very close to being released. In a previous post, I shared how the idea for Alistair first appeared. But this time, I want to go deeper into his psychology, and into the reason he was never meant to be a hero. So why isn’t he one? Not because he’s a villain. Not because it’s “cool.” Not because he’s another gray character screaming “mine”  in the face of the person he loves — although…...]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/meet-alistair-the-prince-who-was-never-meant-to-be-a-hero</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69cd53f540e74dbec4fba979</guid><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:35:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_f5253676a2104c4ab7c9945e441a5249~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Does a Ghostwriter Actually Do?]]></title><description><![CDATA[“What does a ghostwriter do?” is something people ask me often when they find out what I do for a living. There are millions of articles on this topic, so instead of repeating the same answers, I’ll explain it the way I see it. As a ghostwriter, my job is to understand your vision, step into your story, and turn it into a complete book, one that’s ready to move forward to editing. Over the years, I’ve worked with all kinds of clients. Some want to be involved in every step of the process....]]></description><link>https://www.nikoletaivanovabooks.com/post/what-does-a-ghostwriter-actually-do</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69ca7b15e7de3cb00606ab41</guid><pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:39:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e1b530_5f9a69028ff2417e8b77f4c5b0df6615~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nikoleta Ivanova</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>