Night Letter by Sterling Watson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Night Letter, by Sterling Watson, would be an ugly, uncomfortable read if it wasn’t for the brilliance of Watson’s skill with language. His descriptive passages are painted with dense and evocative strokes, capturing the sweaty, bug-ridden lushness of a… Continue reading
Of Sorrow and Such by Angela Slatter My rating: 5 of 5 stars Yes, Mistress Patience Gideon is a witch, but more than that, she is a woman with a woman’s life and cares. And loves. Mistress Gideon loves her adopted daughter, Gilly (who refers to her as Aunt Patience),… Continue reading
It’s cold outside. The sky’s grey with a frigid wind that cuts through layers of clothing. The half an inch of snow from last night isn’t melting. But it’s all good. I’ve got lots of wood stacked up on the porch where I can easily grab another log, and I’m… Continue reading
My neighbor saw the weather report last week and harvested her whole (large) garden all at once. It was panic city for her, but for me it was a boon — I got a huge amount of produce that she just couldn’t process, including about 1/3 of a paper grocery… Continue reading
What do you think? Is it time for me to get a boat? Nah. The rain will end, so I’ll just keep whining — er, I mean, writing about it. That’s my “driveway” right outside my gate. Considering it’s been puddly in that spot for weeks now, there’s gotta be… Continue reading
Yesterday I attended a writing workshop given by author Stephen F Havill, who not only knows a heck of a lot about writing, but also knows about lots of other cool stuff, like flying, gunsmithing, gardening, water systems, and automotive restoration (not to mention various methods of killing people and… Continue reading
Lisey’s Story by Stephen King My rating: 5 of 5 stars If any writer can immerse us in a reality of his own making, it’s Stephen King. Even when he’s not writing horror he so subtly fuzzes the line between uber-reality and the uncanny that you never can quite put… Continue reading
Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell My rating: 5 of 5 stars What a pleasant surprise Matt Bell‘s Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts was! After reading the first page or… Continue reading
So this morning I was entertaining myself taking selfies of me in my best Ranch Fashionista outfit, trying to capture exactly how I felt at the moment. I had just begun my morning chores at the barn and I had forgotten my go mug of coffee, so that was a… Continue reading
Two years ago yesterday my novel of music and magic, Evolution Device was published. Two years ago tomorrow, it was a Big Idea. THE BIG IDEA is a regular feature on Whatever, the blog of multi-award winning science fiction author John Scalzi. It features essays by authors about the ideas behind the writing… Continue reading