Every inch of the cozy 1200 square foot home had been painstakingly preserved to reflect, as much as possible, the original splendor of its 1988 purchase. Aside from the carpets that had been left threadbare and stained by decades of pets and so could not possibly be kept, all flooring, wallpaper, and furnishings were present, … More A Museum
The room was filled with vacant seats, save for one. Front and center. His back was to her. Fierce curls splayed in a perfect crown, caramel skin juxtaposed with pristine white fabric. She needn’t see his face to know it was him, as impossible as that was. Her hands trembled at her sides as she tried, in … More Beautiful Spectre
Yes, you read that correctly: Othello on the Playground! In New Boy , the latest and quite possibly the greatest in the Hogarth Shakespeare collection, famed author Tracy Chevalier transforms the Shakespearean tragedy into an elementary school saga, rife with nostalgia and heartbreak. Chevalier expands upon the themes of Othello- racism, jealousy, and revenge, to name … More Othello on the Playground: New Boy by Tracy Chevalier
One night Kim’s beautiful, blonde three-year-old son went to sleep. And never woke up. During a time of utter despair, Kim found Christ and began to study the gospel. In His Last Words, she draws upon her insight as a grieving mother and fledgling Christian (at the time), to lead women through a biblical study … More A Mother’s Grief Transformed Through the Gospel of John: His Last Words by Kim Erickson
Man, oh man- this gentleman is brilliant! I might have guessed an “American author, bioethicist, physician, lawyer and social critic” according to Wikipedia, would produce some stellar writing, but still wasn’t prepared for how fully invested I’d be in each story in Jacob M. Appel’s The Topless Widow of Herkimer Street! The characters are … More Brilliant Stories from a Brilliant Mind: The Topless Widow of Herkimer Street by Jacob M. Appel
As I have likely mentioned before, I’m a sucker for a short story collection–something about unraveling the thread that links the seemingly disparate characters and tales– so I all but jumped at the chance to review Josh Barkan’s Mexico: Stories. In it, Barkan, a celebrated writer and Creative Writing professor who lives part-time in Mexico … More An Outsider’s Perspective: Mexico by Josh Barkan
As discussed in my previous post, I have been writing–randomly and erratically–but writing all the same! Current word count for actual first draft of novel: 23, 199. We live baby, yeah! Now that I have my plot outlined, I’m currently working on developing the back-story of my protagonist. Here is an excerpt (that admittedly … More An Excerpt
One day in the not-too-distant past, I sat down and made myself start writing a novel. There was an internal storm that had been gathering within for some time that I was too lazy and defeatist to do anything about–ideas, diatribes, inspirations, musings left to swirl around in under-utilized recesses. But for no specific reason, … More A Novel Approach: Writing Literary Fiction in Reverse
Family secrets, a decadent and possibly haunted mansion, and an abundance of literary references?! Be still my heart! The Barrowfields, the brilliant debut novel by Phillip Lewis, is a beautifully done southern gothic with all the intrigue, romance, and twists one could hope for. Phillip’s highly-detailed narrative and soothing prose draw readers deep into the … More A Delightful Southern Gothic: The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis
If you’ve never heard of Margaret Atwood , welcome to the planet Earth. Please allow me to show you around. I jest, but the woman has nothing short of 40 major works under her belt, ranging from dystopian fiction, to children’s books, to literary criticism and other non-fiction books on writing … More A Tempestuous Read:Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
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