PEN IN HER HAND

Paranormal Novel Review: Neverwhere

May 22, 2012 Deb Comments 14 comments

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman Harper Collins, 386 pages This isn’t a traditional ghost story such as I usually review. This is more of a ghost-as-metaphor-for-the-forgotten-ones story. But that’s actually a quest I seek in the ghost stories I read, the yearning that drives one to cross barriers and struggle to connect. You’ve wondered, I know you have, what would happen if one day you went left instead of right, if one day you stopped because a street person asked for…

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Ghost Novel Review: The Séance

May 7, 2012 Deb Comments 2 comments

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…

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What Does It Cost to Self Publish My Book?

April 18, 2012 Deb Comments 4 comments

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…

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Soapbox Rant: The Hunger Games

April 3, 2012 Deb Comments 2 comments

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…

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Indie Publishing: Budget Line Items

March 19, 2012 Deb Comments 0 Comment

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…

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Ghost Novel Review in Honor of Read an Ebook Week: Ghost Island

March 7, 2012 Deb Comments 0 Comment

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…

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Ghost Novel Review: Midnight Bayou

February 28, 2012 Deb Comments 0 Comment

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…

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Author Deadlines Are Good for You

February 20, 2012 Deb Comments 8 comments

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…

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Ghost Movie Review: The Woman in Black

February 6, 2012 Deb Comments 4 comments

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…

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Self-Publishing: The Journey Begins

January 29, 2012 Deb Comments 8 comments

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…

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Ghost Novel Review: In Honor of Lunar New Year

January 22, 2012 Deb Comments 2 comments

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…

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Should You (Or I) Self-publish? Decision!

January 12, 2012 Deb Comments 5 comments

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…

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Ghost Novel Review: The House Next Door

December 31, 2011 Deb Comments 0 Comment

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….

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