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A collection of 29 posts

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Author Biography Book Review: Star Child by Ibi Zoboi

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi My rating: 4 of 5 stars A very readable and compelling biography of Octavia Butler told in prose and poetry. Written for middle-grade readers, it focuses on the author’s childhood and the historical forces that shaped her

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Author Interview: Sofiya Pasternack

I’ve been using my writing time lately to meet some grant and contest deadlines, so I got behind on posting this interview I did for New Moon Girls with Sofiya Pasternack, author of Anya and the Dragon. One thing I love about doing these interviews is that they always

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Interview With Author Melissa Hart

If you love books (and if you don’t, I’m not really sure what you’re doing here), you might want to check out the Luna’s Reading Corner interview I did for New Moon Girls with author Melissa Hart. Melissa wrote Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books to

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Writing Book Review: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card

How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card My rating: 3 of 5 stars There are so few books that specialize in writing science fiction & fantasy that I try to read the few that exist. I admire OSC’s storytelling even if I disagree with his

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Writer Biography Book Review: Shaggy Muses - The Dogs Who Inspired Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Bronte, Emily Dickinson, Edith Wharton, and Virgi

Oh, how I yearn for those 10 degrees (F) and above days during which I could walk my dog!   Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Bronte, Emily Dickinson, Edith Wharton, and Virginia Woolf by Maureen Adams My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book was comprised

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Advice I Need to Put in Practice ...

“I’m saying that you should send out, today, the best work you are capable of doing today. Of course you’ll do better a year from now. But a year from now you should be writing the story that you care about and believe in at that time — not

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My Visit to the Emily Dickinson House, and a Review

Over a year ago, reading Lives Like Loaded Guns planted the idea in my head that I would like to visit Emily Dickinson’s home in Amherst. A week and a half ago, I made that idea a reality. It is a rare experience when one can read a book,

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A Writer's Pilgrimage

Tonight, I sleep in Amherst. Tomorrow, I tour Emily Dickinson’s home. This is the reason I came to the eastern edge of the United States when it was “my turn” to choose a vacation destination. I can’t wait to get a glimpse into Emily’s world.

Artist's Dates

An Artist Date? I Took My Artist on a Romantic Getaway!

Ever since I finished my A Year in the Life project, I’ve been working through the writing exercises in Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write. Last week, the chapter “The Well” prescribed taking yourself on an “artist date” — but NOT writing about it afterwards. According to Julia, the

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5 Things Ryan Eggold Doesn't Know About Writers

When I was in my parents’ bathroom over the weekend, I picked up the copy of Women’s Health hanging out by the toilet and read 5 Juicy Questions for Ryan Eggold. Here’s his response to question #4: What’s one profession that you find extremely attractive? A writer.

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Indie Book Review: Unforgettable by Paulette Bates Alden

Now that I’ve officially entered the realm of indie publishing, I’ve decided to showcase high-quality self-published offerings when I come across them. These are the books that are slowly eroding the stigma attached to self-publishing, so they deserved to be noticed! Below is my review of Unforgettable: Short

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On Death and Writing (or, On Reading George RR Martin)

I’m almost finished reading George RR Martin’s A Storm of Swords, and I knew from people’s gossip about the third season of the TV series that there would be some Very Upsetting Deaths. Thus, I braced myself throughout the book for a beloved character to be killed

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Beware the Unruly Catholic Woman on the Train

Last week, I traveled about 48 hours round-trip by train/bus/car, spent $300 on said transportation(s), and didn’t get a full-night’s rest for four nights to attend a reading of Unruly Catholic Women Writers in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday. Train and bus schedules were such that

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Writing as Nourishment

“My friend thinks of writing as digestion. For me, it is that and more. For me, writing is food itself. I need a certain amount of writing to stay healthy.” – Julia Cameron, “This Writing Life,” The Right to Write. And this reminds me of something Jacqueline West said earlier this

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The Luxury of Mood

“It is a luxury to be in the mood to write. It’s a blessing but it’s not a necessity. Writing is like breathing, it’s possible to learn to do it well, but the point is to do it no matter what.” – Julia Cameron, “Begin,” The Write to

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The Main Reason I Write

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Some Thoughts After a Writing Retreat

I’m back from a three-day weekend spent at a cabin in the Black Hills on a little “writing retreat.” I got two full days of writing in, and discovered … that two full days wasn’t big enough for my ambitions. I so rarely get the chance to get away

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Writing Book Reviews in the Age without Boundaries

As is my habit on Sunday nights, last night I got caught up on my book-review writing. My Goodreads account is connected to my Twitter, so this morning I found that M.D. Waters had “favorited” the tweet that linked back to my review of her book, Archetype. The review

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My Marketing Revelation

Last week, I went to a community ed class about how to market your book put on by Sarah J. Pepper, a local author who has achieved success through both traditional and self publishing. I always wonder when I show up at these things whether I’ll learn anything new,

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Orson Scott Card's Plea for "Tolerance" is not Enough

“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him.” – A.E. Wiggin Warning: this post contains Ender’s Game spoilers; proceed with caution unless you’ve already read the book, seen the movie, or

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Writing and the Immeasurable Payout

Recently, I subscribed to Holly Lisle’s e-newsletter on a recommendation from Publishing E-books for Dummies, which I’m reading as part of my Rumpled ebook project. Although my inbox is full with newsletters and updates that I often don’t have time to read, I’m glad I took

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Speculative Fiction ... Literary Fiction's Best-Kept Secret

A couple weeks ago, I commented on a newly published author’s implication that the reason many writers are not getting published is because they’re writing stories with fantastical elements (and received a very insightful comment from one of my readers that the nature of this particular author’s

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Fantasy ... Less Worthy of Publication?

Through my library work, I have access to Penguin’s “First Flights” program, which features interviews with first-time authors. A little over a week ago, I was listening to the interview with Derek Sherman, author of Race Across the Sky. During these chats, the interviewer almost always asks the author

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Don't Write Until You're Excited?

The September 2012 issue of Writer’s Digest features an interview with Chris Cleave, author of the best-selling Little Bee. When asked for his advice to writers, he says this: “Make sure you’re excited about your work. When you research a story, it should feel like life and death.

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Get it Written

While I was traveling after my wedding, New Moon Girls members were chatting with Victoria Holmes, better known as Erin Hunter (or the “main” Erin Hunter, as it were, since Erin Hunter is a pen name for a team of writers), author of the popular Warriors series for middle grade