"If they do not write the kind of books we want to read, we shall have to write them ourselves." -C.S. Lewis
...you finish a novel! Of course, you're never really "done" with a novel until it's been printed, but I can confidently say that for the first time ever I have finished writing and editing (two rounds) of a novel that I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year. I didn't realize how difficult it would be… Continue reading That wonderful moment when…
I think we all have that one book that spoke louder to us than any other book we've read. A book that inspired us, sparked a fire within us and transported us to new worlds far beyond our imagination. For millions of people, myself included, across several generations and continents, that book was and is… Continue reading Happy Hobbit Day!
I received an ARC of "Paris in the Present Tense" by Mark Helprin. Thank you to W.W. Norton. I really have a mixed review here. I have heard good things about Helprin's writing and I was not entirely disappointed on that front. On one side Helprin's writing is phenomenal. He has this incredible ability to… Continue reading Upcoming Books: “Paris in the Present Tense” by Mark Helprin
When I lived in Annapolis, Maryland, I did not encounter abandoned homes like I have after moving to North Carolina. The writer in me craves to know the secrets behind these monuments. Whether it be a grand old mansion, an average two-story house, or a double-wide, I always want to know the answers to the… Continue reading Abandonment
November is National Adoption Awareness month. I am one of the leaders of the College, Career, and Coffee Book Club, a themed book club out of the Iredell County Public Library in Statesville, North Carolina. More importantly, I am also adopted. I was adopted when I was two days old, so adoption is a topic… Continue reading November is National Adoption Awareness Month
The College, Career, and Coffee Book Club is a monthly book club that meets at the Iredell County Public Library in Statesville, North Carolina. I've talked about the concept of a themed book club here, and it was very well received. If you are local to the Statesville area, STOP BY! Or join the discussion here… Continue reading Themed Book Club: September Blue Books
This was a wonderful book that covers the very controversial topic of the North Carolina Eugenics Program which lasted until the 1970s; longer than any other state in the nation. I had mixed emotions throughout this entire book. On the one hand, I was not opposed to the option of sterilization, especially for those women… Continue reading Book Review: Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain
A few years ago, I started doing "visual exercises" where I took an image and created a scene with it. I want to get back into doing that for two reasons: The last time I did these, one post inspired me to write my first fantasy novel, which I'm trying to finish this year. Maybe… Continue reading Visual Writing
[WARNING: Game of Thrones SPOILERS are in this post, so only continue reading if you are caught up in the books and the show.] This is a post relating specifically to Game of Thrones, but generally to any story long enough to expose its readers to multiple characters in various different lights. I have been… Continue reading Shifting Alliances in Reading
Plato's analogy of "The Cave" asks the important question: if we are only ever exposed to one type of life, can there be anything else? If a man is born within the walls of a cave, knows no light, no sound beyond the echo of his own voice on the cave walls, no human beside… Continue reading Book Review: Room by Emma Donaghue
