I never expected to be saying these words, but after 15 years of marriage (plus five for dating), I’m getting a divorce. I don’t expect to come back here, but I’ll leave it up for now in case it’s useful…
Blog Archives
Review: “Writing Deep Scenes,” Alderson and Rosenfeld
Pros: Wonderful tips Cons: A couple of… miscalculations Rating: 4 out of 5 I have mildly mixed feelings about Writing Deep Scenes: Plotting Your Story Through Action, Emotion, and Theme (by Martha Alderson and Jordan Rosenfeld). It feels very mechanical…
Review: “How Not to Write a Novel,” Mittelmark and Newman
Pros: Useful AND funny as hell! Cons: A little inconsistency Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman give us a handy guide: How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them–A Misstep-by-Misstep…
Review: “Break the Block,” Leslie Watts and Alyssa Archer
Pros: Primarily process prompts; interesting photos Cons: There are so many prompt books out Rating: 4 out of 5 Review ebook provided free by publisher. Okay, admission time: No matter how many writing prompt books I read (and I’ve…
Posted in Reviews, Writing Tagged with: Alyssa Archer, Leslie Watts, writer's block, writing, writing prompts
My rant about why many series books should be able to stand alone
I’m working on a review of a book that is quite a ways on in a series—a series that I’ve never read from before. I already know from experience that some of the people who read my review will be…
"This Is Not A Book," Keri Smith
Pros: Very freeing; highly unusual; childlike and playful Cons: Needs a few more blank pages to keep exercises from interfering with each other Rating: 4 out of 5 Review book courtesy of Penguin Group. Keri Smith’s Wreck This Journal…
Author Excellence
Sorry about the recent lack of reviews—it’s been a sort-of mid-summer vacation. You’ll start to see more again later this week. In the meantime, since there have been so many spectacular internet author meltdowns regarding reviews this summer, let me…
Posted in Writing
"Beyond Heaving Bosoms," Wendell & Tan
Pros: Laugh-out-loud tears-in-your-eyes funny and highly educational! Cons: … Rating: 6 out of 5 NOT a publisher- or author-provided review book. (Purchased). If you ever thought that romance novels were just “chick porn,” the Smart Bitches (Sarah Wendell and…
Cyborg Name
Get Your Cyborg Name O frabjous day: we have a new book reviewer over at the reviews blog—Rene! She’s great, and has already posted a handful of reviews. Here are hers so far: Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith, Pride…
Authors/Publishers and Bloggers
Just had to point anyone who hasn’t seen it yet to the discussion over at Mrs. Giggles’s blog on Do bloggers need that much love and attention from authors? She makes some wonderful points. The line has been blurred a…
Posted in Writing