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Author: Deb

Once Upon a Time Challenge: Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough

Once Upon a Time Challenge: Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough

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  Ghost Novel Review: Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough Folklorists trace the origins of the Long Lankin legend and ballad to 15th century Scotland. Later the Scots brought the tale to the US when they settled in Appalachia during the 18th century. There is also an English version of Long Lankin that flourished in Northumberland. The folklore of Long Lankin is interesting because there are so many interpretations, both Scottish and English. Essentially, Lankin is a mason stiffed by a…

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Once Upon a Time Challenge: Messenger by Lois Lowry

Once Upon a Time Challenge: Messenger by Lois Lowry

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This is my second post for the 2013 Once Upon a Time challenge over at Stainless Steel Droppings. (The first was Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin.) As I mentioned, I’m doing Quest the Second, which calls for the reading of one mythology, folktale, fairy tale, and fantasy book. After reading Messenger by Lois Lowry, I dithered over classifications and finally decided to put this novel in the fairy tale category. I think the forest was the tipping point. Midsummer Night’s…

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Cigar-smoking salesman offers peanut butter to man in grave.
Students with Peanut Allergies: What Should the Schools Do?

Students with Peanut Allergies: What Should the Schools Do?

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(photo credit) Peanut Allergies and Schools I’m an easygoing kind of person. Most of the time. Sometimes I get a little testy. Today is one of those days. We’ve been focusing on ghost novels and writing experiences here. As you know, I wrote a ghost novel, read ghost novels, and review ghost novels. I want to be the go-to girl (okay, not exactly a girl) when it comes to ghost fiction of all types—literary, mainstream, romance, suspense, horror. (But not…

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Once Upon a Time Challenge: Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin

Once Upon a Time Challenge: Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin

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I’m a little late to the party, but I’m catching up fast. My goal is to achieve Quest the Second status in the Once Upon a Time Challenge over at Stainless Steel Droppings. Check it out! For this category, you must read 4 books: 1 folklore, 1 fairy tale, 1 fantasy, 1 mythology. On my list are Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler, for folklore; Messenger by Lois Lowry, for fairy tale; and Practical Magic or Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman,…

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Appreciate Your Teacher May 7!

Appreciate Your Teacher May 7!

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Teacher: Can anyone tell me what the Dog Star is? Pupil: Lassie! Cute, huh? Okay, corny. I found that joke on the website St. Aiden’s Homeschool Resources. Check it out. You’ll find many other cute (or corny) teacher jokes there. I dedicate this Teacher Appreciation Day to: Mrs. W, the elementary school teacher who first encouraged me to write. High School Teachers Miss Hansen and Mr. Zook who pushed me to probe books for meaning and made me think about…

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The Introvert’s Guide to World Book Night

The Introvert’s Guide to World Book Night

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This week in celebration of World Book Night, daughter Manda and I, along with thousands of other “givers,” took to the streets and offered free books to strangers. World Book Night officials report that in the US last year volunteers distributed “half a million books to light and non-readers in 5,800 towns and cities across the country.” I chose to hand out The Language of Flowers—a book loved by three generations of my family—my mother, Manda, and I (although I…

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Stardust Read-a-long

Stardust Read-a-long

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As a (ahem…tardy) member of Carl’s Once Upon A Time Challenge, I’m excited to participate in the Stardust read-a-long over at Stainless Steel Droppings. As you know from previous posts, of late I’ve become a Neil Gaiman fan, having read (along with Carl and the gang) Neverwhere and The Graveyard Book. And you also know, knowing me, there has to be a ghost in there somewhere. I love what Neil Gaiman said at the end of The Graveyard Book when…

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777 Novel Project

777 Novel Project

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(photo credit) It’s funny the ways in which we as writers and readers are connected, ways that are not always visible. For instance, this 777 Novel Project idea came to my attention via Roxanne Crouse, who received it from Patricia Zick, whom I contacted so that I could credit the originator.  Patricia said she had no notion who started this chain train, but she also had seen it on a variety of sources. I guess the point is that when…

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Read-an-Ebook Week: One Reviewer’s Experience

Read-an-Ebook Week: One Reviewer’s Experience

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A funny thing happened this week. I received the following email from Amazon regarding my novel Moonlight Dancer: “We are writing to let you know that at least one of your readers has reported some problems with your book.” Uh-oh. Was Amazon planning to pull my book? Don’t laugh, I’ve heard stories. Gulp. I read on. “There are typos in your book…‘Hunter’ s BMW’ should be ‘Hunter’s BMW’.” Did you catch the problem? I didn’t at first. There’s an extra…

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The Snake Revisited

The Snake Revisited

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We have a winner! Thank you to everyone who left snake messages in February in honor of The Year of the Snake. At last the wait is over. I drew a slip of paper out of the hat featured above and Voila! The winner is…Cindy Hull Congratulations Cindy! I will send off your gift card today. Now as we bid adieu to the snake (for the moment), let’s enjoy a poem by one of my favorite poets. Can you guess…

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Giveaway In Honor of the Year of the Snake

Giveaway In Honor of the Year of the Snake

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I like snakes. Always have. This is a bit ironic when you consider my debut novel features Korean characters, and Koreans, as a rule, hate snakes. They even have separate snake words indicative of size (and hence, scariness)–small snake, big snake, etc. Not only that, my Korean/Caucasian protagonist Kendra is pursuing a career in herpetology with an emphasis on reptiles. Oh, well, consistency is boring, right? In North America, many are not overly fond of the critters either. Recall the…

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Serendipity: Writing Lessons from the Universe

Serendipity: Writing Lessons from the Universe

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The assignment: provide a narrative flow to your blog post. Nervous, I looked around the room at the other participants. How am I supposed to do that? I asked myself. It was my first meeting of the Breakfast Blogging Club, and Beth Barany was facilitating. As a fiction writer, I’m very comfortable with narrative elements, but Beth urged us to use a traditional (though truncated) hero’s journey for our blog writing. You’ve probably heard this stuff before—inciting incident, call to…

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Working Dogs: Canines in Fiction

Working Dogs: Canines in Fiction

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Today I am guest blogging “Working Dogs: Canines in Fiction” over at The Writer’s Drawer where Beryl Belsky generously promotes writers. Mouse yourself on over and discover essays, short stories, book reviews, and poetry by a myriad of authors as well as pieces by Beryl. I hope to see you there!