Today I’m participating in a mass blogging! WOW! Women On Writing has gathered a group of blogging buddies to write about family relationships. Why family relationships? We’re celebrating the release of Therese Walsh’s debut novel today. The Last Will of Moira Leahy, (Random House, October 13, 2009) is about a mysterious journey that helps a […]
Don’t Let Them Eat (Rice) Cake Read Post »
I spent time last night talking with a friend, Ben Curnett, who I don’t see that often. The conversation turned to books and he threw out a couple of books he had read and enjoyed. He mentioned Bernard Cornwell’s Arthur Books and Patrick Rothfuss’s Name of the Wind. I look forward to checking them out.
What I Decide to Read Read Post »
Book trailers are no longer novel (that pun’s free of charge). However, they still bear discussion because of their continued widespread use and debatable effectiveness. I finished Anathem, by Neal Stephenson, about a week ago. Great book. I loved the juxtaposition of cloistered monastic life with raging 21st Century (and beyond, really) culture outside the
Book Trailer Shakedown Read Post »
I just found out from Teresa Frohock at Helluo Librorum that I won a copy of The Gentling Box by Bram Stoker Award Winning author Lisa Mannetti. I’ve been intrigued by this book since I came across it on a blog review (Unfortunately I cannot remember which one). Thanks to Teresa for her interview with
The men loved his company as much as they feared and admired and envied him. The women’s love of Jacques was more primal.
After the Golden Times Read Post »
The imagery of this post’s title is awful, but I like the meaning. I’ve hared off and slung a whole bunch of words down on my laptop and am close to wrapping up the first draft of my first novel. Part of me thinks I should have studied more about the craft: plot, characterization, setting,
More than One Way to Skin a Cat Read Post »
I finally finished Neal Stephenson’s Quicksilver a few weeks ago. I had planned to hit Don Quixote next, but, for reasons too complicated and too boring to recount, I opted for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I’m a little over half way through and I have to say that I’m getting more and more resentful
Drifting through the ether of the interwebs, I’ve come across numerous accounts of what makes a good story. Here. Here. And here, for example. Commentors weave common answers related to plot, characterization, diction and so forth into the ongoing discussion. Along with techniques, style and the story itself, the reader’s predilections also determine what makes
What Makes a Good Story? Read Post »
Came across this from Bibliophile Stalker. I dig this particular Q & A from this Robert Freeman Wexler interview: In your own words, how would you describe your style of writing? Or is Robert Freeman Wexler his own sub-category? Every interesting writer is their own sub-category, and every interesting writer has been influenced by a