I have reviewed a lot of books over the years. Folk tales, mysteries. Space Operas. Heaps of fantasy novels. There have been several good stories among them. And nearly thrice as many bad. It is however the rare work that can squeeze any emotion out of my dark, dream crushing heart. Carnival of Heaven, a unique mix of memoir and fantasy by Ryan Olson, is one of these.
[Read more…] about Rev Request: Carnival of Heaven, by Ryan Olson
A bit random to have a recipe here, eh? Well, those who know me…As it were, here by popular request is the Feta Melon Salad I mentioned, by my lovely wife:
[Read more…] about A nice, easy summer dinner. Feta Melon Salad, Alessandra Reeves
I received this book for an honest review. All expressed opinions, sarcastic or otherwise, are my own.
Oh, historical fiction, how we love thee. It’s always been one of those deceptively difficult genres to write in. Fantasy authors like myself tend to poo-poo it because it, on the surface, doesn’t require direct world building. But think about it a little deeper, and you realize that narrative is a misleading. Good historical fiction is both blessed and cursed by facts. On one hand you are buoyed by a real setting to ground your story in. On the other, the information we have on your chosen era may be incomplete, or just plain wrong. History is a living medium, and our knowledge of it is ever changing. Plus, licenses must be made to make it readable. In the end you are either going to tick off your average reader or be put into the crosshairs of a history nerd. Hard to win.
That out of the way, Tony Morgan’s A Pearl of York, Treason and Plot, is a respectable undertaking.
[Read more…] about Rev Req: The Pearl of York, Treason and Plot, by Tony Morgan
This is a part two of a TBD point posting about Marketing. As with the other posts in the writer’s drawer series, this is not going to be about how to do something right. Not directly at least. This is more of a post on what I did, have done, or am doing – and hopefully some of the information (my mistakes) here may be helpful. Now today we are talking about Newsletters, and not a historical context. [Read more…] about Newsletters: From the Writer’s Drawer
Firewing by Jennifer Povey crawls, and scurries. It scrapes, and it plods. But unfortunately, despite some effective world building, the novel – unlike its protagonist – does not fly.
