Don’t You Forget About Me is free on Kindle June 10 through June 12. Mary Catherine Whelihan dreaded the reunion at Our Lady of the Seven Dolors School. She, her former classmates and neighbors gathered to bury the dead. The exact number of funerals had yet to be determined. […]
Cheerleading! Mutually Beneficial Author Support
There are a lot of us out there. Authors. With great books to share. Too often, though, we feel alone in our endeavors, trying to get readers to notice us in the roiling sea of other great books. This is a great time to be a writer! It’s more possible […]
The Sisters of the Last Straw: The Case of the Haunted Chapel, by Karen Kelly Boyce
Rejection, unrealistic expectations and behavioral issues often brought frowns to the faces of children. The Sisters of the Last Straw addressed these issues, firmly and lovingly; inspiring and consoling their young readers with their examples. The Case of the Haunted Chapel, in stories and drawings assured that there […]
A Subtle Grace, by Ellen Gable
Kathleen O’Donovan gazed out her bedroom window, wondering if at the ripe old age of nineteen, she was doomed to spinsterhood, but soon she found herself the center of attraction, not all of it welcome. A Subtle Grace (O’Donovan Family #2) set in the late 1890s, is much […]
The End: Sweet Words for an Author, Sweet Experience for a Reader
The end. Two of the most satisfying words a writer can tap onto a keyboard. We’ve all dreamed of typing those six letters, and many of us have been fortunate enough to have achieved that particular success. In my past few posts, we’ve discussed beginnings and middles. Let’s talk about […]
Sisters of the Last Straw: The Case of the Missing Novice, by Karen Kelly Boyce
A caricature can reveal more truth than a photograph. The Sisters of the Last Straw, reminiscent of the antics of Don Camillo in the stories by Giovannino Guareschi (1908-68), were in fact human. Thank God. Each had her own “fault,” be it a temper, an obsession or an addiction. […]
Books, and Toned Middles
Last month, I talked about beginnings and how important they are to drawing the reader in to your book. It seems appropriate to continue on to story middles today. Middles ought to be pretty simple. After all, it’s the stuff that happens between the beginning and the end. Many authors, however, struggle […]
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
A nerd geneticist went looking for a wife using the latest scientific advances. Yes, the story involved DNA analysis. The Rosie Project skulked through the dark recesses of the human mind where behavioral genetics loomed even more fantastic than sci-fi. The protagonist, Donald Tillman, PhD reminded me of Spock […]
In the Beginning…
The most important part of your novel, short story, or even nonfiction piece is the beginning. What compels the reader to keep reading? How do you craft a beginning that doesn’t bog down, one that keeps the reader engaged? There are several schools of thought regarding beginnings. Depending on the […]
Flavia 006: The Dead in their Vaulted Arches, by Alan Bradley
Trains, planes and automobiles, along with Winston Churchill and a military escort greeted Hillary de Luce upon her return to her husband, her daughters and her ancestral estate: Buckshaw. Thus began episode 006 of the Flavia de Luce Mystery Series. Alan Bradley had left Flavia, his protagonist, the youngest of […]