Writing and Book Reviews
Charlie Tyler created a story on the backbone of what many trauma survivors know: sometimes what you've believed to be your truth turns out to be a lie. We are dropped into a kitchen, a young girl named Lily returning home. It seems like any other teenager's life; the parent asking where the young girl… Continue reading The Cry of the Lake
COMING FEBRUARY 2021 from THOMAS & MERCER Guys, I love a thriller. Legal thrillers? Yes, even more love for those. This is my first Methos book and when I started it, I didn't realize it was number two in a series. I wish I'd known that before beginning because I enjoy reading a series in… Continue reading Crimson Lake Road
It wasn't until my second son was born and keeping me up all night that I read WUTHERING HEIGHTS. I can't imagine what drove me to choose it as my escape at two in the morning while my new baby refused to sleep anywhere but my chest. Sleep for me was only a memory at this… Continue reading Catherine House
I took a break from my Joseph story to finish the novel I've been writing for the past nine years. Yes. Nine. Technically, I finished writing it last year. I realized I needed to add about ten thousand words, though, and went back to work on it about a month ago. I've finished now and… Continue reading Currently Writing: 5
By Min Jin Lee "History has failed us, but no matter."- first line of Pachinko I want to branch out, read different genres and writing forms. I want to open myself to LGBTQ stories and what they can teach. Authors that don't look like me, love like I do, speak my language, are writing important… Continue reading Pachinko
By Amy Greene One of the best things I can do for myself as a writer is read. Good writing is such a wonderful teacher. Bad writing can teach, too, of course, but who wants to read it? The best lessons come from writers who write for the love of a story. Bloodroot is… Continue reading Bloodroot
By David Sedaris Genre: Creative Nonfiction Essays/Memoir I'm in love with David Sedaris. It happened in high school. I think it was when I read Me Talk Pretty One Day that I realized writing could be funny. Of course I'd read Twain, and yes, he was funny, but Sedaris was alive and breathing. He was… Continue reading Calypso
The Conclusion: "These days, Paris was a woman screaming." (p.447) This quote is it for me. All of the women left behind in the towns, the protectors, scrounging for food, turning on each other, lying to save lives, going hungry, going mad. Will they have peace? What kind of peace does the end of war… Continue reading The Nightingale: Journal 3
One of the struggles for Vianne and Isabelle is their conflicting views on what is "right" during this war. Is it right to protect your child and do whatever it takes even if that means having the enemy sleep in your home? Is it right to fight, to resist, to risk everything including your life… Continue reading The Nightingale: Journal 2
The Nightingale By: Kristin Hannah Genre: Historical Fiction I'm a sucker for historical fiction. Add to that multiple points of view and smart writing - I'm sold! I read this book in a week, which isn't easy to do when you have unneeded interruptions from hungry children. Like they need to eat or something. As… Continue reading The Nightingale: Journal 1