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
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
Sorry, I’m just empty. I’ve completed another round of editing of my !@#$%^! crime novel and I’m waiting for the feedback from my suffering but nevertheless loyal beta readers before the manuscript goes back to the editor. I feel like I’ve been seriously ill for a long, long time and… Continue reading
Autumn’s my favorite time of year, but only if I’m outside enjoying it. I try to haul myself away from the computer but things just pile up. November is NaNoWriMo and I’m way behind this year. Had a time-out for a week due to eye issues. It was scheduled, but… Continue reading
Celebrating the multi-faceted heritage, history, and hope of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples are not the past. They are living, powerful, and loving today. Elders, children, activists, teachers, leaders, community, and so many among the missing. ~ Bernice King, on #IndigenousPeoplesDay Evolution Device‘s main character is Warm Springs Apache, but he… Continue reading
They say good fences make good neighbors. That might be so, but here’s a fence that stands alone, not between me and anything. It’s not a particularly “good” fence, in that it’s not all spiffy, not something that zoning regulations would approve of. It’s a fence that’s no better… Continue reading