Uncategorized - Lacey Louwagie (Page 5)

Retelling Book Review: The Real Boy by Anne Ursu

The Real Boy by Anne Ursu My rating: 4 of 5 stars I liked this book even better than Ursu’s critically acclaimed Breadcrumbs, which was a pleasant surprise, especially since the source material (Pinnochio) is less appealing than The Snow Queen was. Although I shelved this book with “retellings,

article writing

Cheryl Klein Plot Master Workshop - Go If You Can

I’m not real big into writing conferences. I tend to skip over pages about conferences in writing magazines, and my mind sort of shuts off when I read advice about how to pitch at conferences, or how they are a good way to “get your foot in the door.

article writing

In Which I Make a Story Map

This weekend, I am taking a YA and middle-grade novel class with Cheryl Klein, and I’m going to be cramming my “homework” all week. I’m about 1/3 of the way through “story mapping” my middle-grade novel, Ever This Day. Below are the instructions for the exercise: For

book reviews

Writing Book Review: Publishing E-books for Dummies by Ali Luke

Publishing E-Books for Dummies by Ali Luke My rating: 4 of 5 stars I found this book to be superior to APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. How to Publish a Book as a handbook for self-publishing, and it was indispensable as I worked on the release of Rumpled, especially in the

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Finish Novel by October 31? Challenge Accepted

A library friend of mine asked me to come to the library in October to share “tips” on completing NaNoWriMo since I’ve “won” it several years in the past. I agreed. And then I realized that if she is asking this of me now, November is not very far

book reviews

Fairy Tale Retelling Book Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge My rating: 3 of 5 stars This mash-up of Greek mythology and Beauty & the Beast retelling is somewhat lackluster. It reads more like a paranormal romance than a fairy tale, right down to the “Beast” being described in a such a way that you

Catholicism

I'm a Librarian Again!

One of the best jobs I’ve ever had was as a teen services librarian for a rural library. It was incredibly fulfilling, as working with youth is often rewarding, not to mention FUN, and I got paid to know lots of stuff about Young Adult Literature. On top of

fairy tales

Rumpled free on Kindle August 1-5

My retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpled, is free on Kindle from now through August 5.

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Indie Book Review: Night Sweats by Laura Crossett

Night Sweats: An Unexpected Pregnancy by Laura Crossett My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book started as a blog for friends about a professional single woman’s unplanned pregnancy (REALLY unplanned, as in the IUD failed, which is really rare.) It still reads like a blog, but since I’

blogging

There's More Than One Way to Objectify a Woman

My latest post is up at Young Adult Catholics, and it’s sure to be inflammatory with its implication that women should be able to make their own decisions regarding their sex lives. I know, shocking.

Book Reviews

Indie Book Review: Soul Comfort for Cat Lovers by Liz Eastwood

Soul Comfort for Cat Lovers: Coping Wisdom for Heart and Soul After the Loss of a Beloved Feline by Liz Eastwood My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book, although only 125 pages, took me six weeks to read. Not because it wasn’t good, but because it WAS. I

book reviews

Retelling Book Review: Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

&lTill We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis My rating: 4 of 5 stars A friend recommended this as his favorite retelling when he found out I liked them, and another friend seconded his suggestion. I acquired a copy from Paperbackswap soon after, and then, of course, let it

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In Which Congregants Take Over Worship

My latest post, a reflection of the burden Catholicism places on priests and laity alike when it restricts who can administer the sacraments, is up at Young Adult Catholics now. Check it out!

honest writing

On the End of 100 Happy Days

I hope that I still have many happy days to come, but this last weekend marked the official end of my participation in the #100happydays meme. The meme challenges you to take one picture a day of something that makes you happy, and post it to your network of choice

authors

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.

Catholicism

Making the Invisible Visible Releases Today

A little over a year ago, I traveled to New York to attend a colloquium about the intersection of bisexuality and faith. The Religious Institute was calling together bisexual ministers and people of faith from diverse religious backgrounds to start a discussion that would ultimately inform their creation of Bisexuality:

authors

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

book reviews

In Which I Ponder Fan-fiction

I recently read Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl (you can read my review here.) It brought back a lot of memories for me — memories about college, because Rowell writes about the college experience (at least, the way it feels to anxious introverts) very well. And also memories about writing fan-fic. I

journaling

Rumpelstiltskin, Rapunzel, and the Grief Journey

Over the weekend, this article about Rumpled was published in the Marshall Independent, my hometown newspaper. I did the interview last Monday. Beware, though: there is a spoiler in the interview (which the reporter quoted from the acknowledgements page at the END of Rumpled — I didn’t give any spoilers

journaling

When You Can't Write Around It, Write Through it

In this writing lecture by Brandon Sanderson, a woman asks how to continue writing when you’re going through something traumatic. Sanderson’s answer is a little less-than-adequate (although honest), in that he says he’s never experienced that because a) nothing very bad has ever happened to him; and

Book Reviews

Retelling Book Review: Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel My rating: 4 of 5 stars There were so many things I really liked about this book. I loved the idea of the Peter Pan story being retold with the lost boys as a group of runaways hiding out in abandoned houses on the

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Love, Identity, Transformation: Why I Love Retellings

Below is a copy of my guest post, which went up today on Andi’s book reviews. Visit her blog for an excerpt and more info, too. Like many children, I grew up on fairy tales. My sisters and I wore out our “The Little Mermaid” picture book long before

blogging

My Interview with Deal-Sharing Aunt

While I was up in Duluth taking long walks along the shores of Lake Superior with my best friend, Deal-Sharing Aunt’s interview with me went up on her blog. I’ve pasted a copy below. Where are you from? Currently, I live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I grew

blogging

My Mythical Books Interview

Below is a copy of my interview posted over at Mythical Books today. Cremona asked some great questions, and I love that she included some traditional artwork from the original Rumpelstiltskin story in her post. I’ve kept that with my repost below. Why a retelling? What makes an author

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Familiarity and Strangeness: What Makes a Good Retelling?

Below is a copy of my guest post featured on Corey’s Book Reviews:When my husband told one of his friends that I’d recently released a book that was a retelling of “Rumpelstiltskin,” his friend asked, “When is she going to start writing her own stuff?”I wanted