The Séance by John Harwood I decided to participate in a reading challenge run by Laura at Laura’s Reviews—my second ever! (The first was R.I.P. at Stainless Steel Droppings.) I recommend reading challenges to all you avid readers and writers out there. Anyhow, Laura’s challenge is Victorian related novels and movies, as in the setting takes place or the author lived between 1837 and 1901. Check it out here. Of course, me being me (or is it…
Baby, take a bow. For those of you in the under 40 set, this is an allusion to the Shirley Temple movie Stand Up and Cheer. As a child, my favorite pastime was to watch and watch again and watch some more Shirley Temple black and white movies. For me, Shirley Temple embodied optimism, that pick-yourself-up-and-dust-off-your-dotted-swiss-voile-and-shake-out-your-petticoats mentality. One of my most treasured Christmas presents was a petticoat that Santa brought. I entered the room filled with anticipation and there it…
Forgive me. I’m going to break rank. Instead of the book review you were expecting, I’m going to talk about a movie. A movie that derived from a book, yes, but it contains not a single sheet-waving, chain-dragging spectral presence. But more than that, I’m going to climb onto a soapbox for a good old-fashioned rant. Creak. There, I’m settled. The movie: The Hunger Games. Who would have guessed that, in this century, in this country, myopic movie viewers would…
Okay, I’m going back on my word. Sort of. Is it possible to sort of go back on your word? I had promised to give you my budget for this edition of Writer Unleashed. However, in working the budget and presenting it for review to my Numbers Savvy Husband, a few line items jumped out and surprised us. One large expense was the annual web hosting fee. Therefore, we decided to ask our IT/website designer friend to search for a…
Ghost Island by Bonnie Hearn Hill Kindle e-book So, you’ve been hearing a lot about ebooks and are wondering if you should try one. But wait, you’ve also heard ebooks are sophomoric, self-indulgent, self-promoting drivel by authors who couldn’t get a traditional publisher’s attention if they handed out manuscripts clad in red spike-heeled pumps and see-through raincoats. Let’s talk about it. Normally, today’s post would be Writer Unleashed, but in honor of Read an E-book Week (March 4-10), I’m shuffling…
Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 352 pages. This book encapsulates Roberts’ strengths as a writer: eerie setting, mysterious mansion, endearing characters. Declan Fitzgerald renounces a glam, power-packed lawyer’s existence for decaying Manet Hall on the edge of New Orleans. Of course, New Orleans with its French Caribbean history is the perfect locale for all things surnaturel. And, in fact, ethnic and class conflict is the basis for the murder that preceded the hauntings. Declan, in the…
Here’s the thing about deadlines. Deadlines are good because they force you to do stuff. I picture myself called to the principal’s office to account for my conduct. Below are the tasks I vowed to accomplish in the last Writer Unleashed post. Egads! Did I really use the word vow in my post? I did. Finish my budget Upload more reviews to Goodreads Attend my beta group meeting Create my author page at Amazon So, I accomplished three out of…
The night finally arrived when I set out accompanied by daughter Manda to view the movie The Woman in Black. We found ourselves in a state of high excitement. We were not alone. The parking lot was packed. The theater was filled to capacity. I had predicted, after reviewing Susan Hill‘s novel The Woman in Black in an earlier post, that I might prefer the movie version of this story. It’s a close call, but I think I do prefer…
Yesterday on the freeway, I spied a hay truck speeding along in the opposite direction. For those of you non-conversant with agronomist lore, you should know that when you see a hay wagon, you make a wish. I know this because in her youth my mother was a farmer, and we trace our roots (ha ha) to Scottish potato growers. By the way, the name of my fledgling publishing company is New Potato Press. You like? Marilyn Ross and Sue…
I wanted to get a review out in time for Lunar New Year, which begins tonight. Notice I didn’t say Chinese New Year. In addition to China, Lunar New Year is celebrated in Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea. As they say in Korea, “Sae hae bok manhi pah de saeyo!” (May you receive many blessings in the new year!) In honor of Lunar New Year, I had planned to review Water Ghosts and dutifully read that novel. But in my reading…
I have reached a decision in the self-publishing issue we’ve been discussing: Should You (or I) Self Publish Parts One and Two. Drum roll, please. With the encouragement of my husband, I have decided to self publish my novel Moonlight Dancer. Yikes! Many factors informed this outcome including the current turmoil of the traditional publishing industry and the unworkable delays in securing an agent/publisher. I’ve been thinking a lot of the book The Animal Family by the renowned poet Randall…
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons Simon & Schuster, Inc., 356 pages. Colquitt and Walter Kennedy pursue a complacent lifestyle in an idyllic suburban enclave. Stimulating workdays. Patio cocktails. Garden parties. Tennis doubles. You get the idea. All that is threatened when an outsider buys the adjacent wooded lot, hires a brilliant architect and erects an imposing structure. Colquitt frets and bemoans the disruption of her perfect life and unobstructed sylvan view until I wanted to strangle her….
Welcome back to part two of our self vs. traditional publishing discussion in which we endeavor to toss together disparate musings/factoids and grind out a new truth. Since our last communication, another eminent author has crossed over to the indie side–John Edgar Wideman. (If you’ve never read his novel Sent For You Yesterday, convey yourself post haste to book store or reading device for your very own copy.) In an interview at Goodreads, Wideman points to a blockbuster mindset in…