This archive contains book reviews written by myself and guest writers. Topics are all over the board: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plus size related, writing related books and more.
“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” ~ Anna Quindlen
Book Review Why We Write is a collection of essays from 20 authors*, edited by Meredith Maran. The essays are written by authors who “have written books that sell in the kinds of numbers that make publishers send them flowers and leather-bound first editions. And most importantly, new book contracts.” Maran calls them the successful ones,…
Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks has the rather ambitious subtitle “Everything You Need to Know, from Crafting the Idea to Getting Published”. For the most part, the book lives up to its promise. Regina Brooks covers all the essentials of writing great books for young adults, such as plot, character, setting…
Dani Shapiro’s Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life is a gentle companion, filled with a myriad of antidotes that helps the writer on their own personal journey. The book is not a how-to guide in the least. It does not go over grammar, writing a sentence, or the like. It does, however,…
Who is Kaz Cooke and why haven’t I heard of her? Cooke is another creative artist from down under. The Australian writer, cartoonist, filmmaker and columnist has a slew of works to her name. She is the creator of Hermoine the Modern Girl, a colourful caricature who’s also featured between the pages of Real Gorgeous….
Book Review As National Novel Writing Month approaches, you only have to browse on Amazon to see that the annual challenge has resulted in a host of guides for getting the most out of the month-long novel writing marathon. Many of them are valuable and interesting. For me, none will ever replace the original NaNoWriMo…
She became an internet sensation among young adult book readers when she started publishing her vampire books online (LuLu/Amazon/Barns & Noble) and marketing them herself, many for only .99 cents. Within a year she had sold a million books before she was picked up by a traditional publisher. I learned about Amanda Hocking earlier this…
This past month Blue Dot Literary sent the latest book by Paul Batista, a “premier criminal trial lawyer”, to review. Extraordinary Rendition is a legal thriller centred around the issues of Homeland Security. Bryon Johnson is a high-priced Manhattan lawyer who has been working in corporate law for thirty years and is a well-respected partner…
An Insightful Primer on the Art of Dramatic Writing Book Review by Laura Roberts Although taking advice aimed at playwrights may seem like a strange idea to a novelist or writer of short fiction, one of my go-to writing advice books is Stuart Spencer’s The Playwright’s Guidebook. With the subtitle An Insightful Primer on the…