Ladykiller by Katherine Wood

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood

Book Review: Ladykiller by Katherine Wood My favorite part of Ladykiller by Katherine Wood is the opening. I love the omniscient, slightly wry writing of the first chapter. I mean how can you go wrong beginning a novel of friendship and secrets and betrayal with a cheetah devouring a warthog? Plus, the opening of Ladykiller really reminded me of the opening of The Group by Mary McCarthy that I loved in my youth–both novels presenting gatherings (a funeral and a…

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My Three Favorite Reads of 2023

My Three Favorite Reads of 2023

It’s that time of year for lists. Lists abound. The best restaurants of the year. The best hair salons. The best dog groomers. And the best (or, at least, favorite) books of the year. The folks over at the Shepherd book site gave me (and a bunch of other authors) the opportunity to opine about the three favorite books of 2023. Check out what I said about my three favorite reads. And be sure to check out Shepherd’s listing of the…

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Book Challenge by Erin 19.0

Book Challenge by Erin 19.0

It’s book challenge time! It’s been a while since I posted (as in stating the obvious). I’ve been busy. I know, I know, you are, too. Hey, thanks for reading! What have I been up to? you ask. Or even if you didn’t. Writing-wise, I’ve done some lackadaisical agent querying for my upper middle grade novel and am working on my new women’s fiction contemporary WIP. I’m about 20k words into the new novel and now have a BIG pile…

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The Puzzle Master

The Puzzle Master

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni Angie Kim, author of the bestselling novel Miracle Creek, describes The Puzzle Master as “The Da Vinci Code + The Silent Patient + sprinkle of Stephen King.” I can’t speak for The Silent Patient, but I’ve read The Da Vinci Code and my share of Stephen King. After finishing The Puzzle Master I had to think about why Kim references Stephen King and came up with King’s novel The Institute (a fantastic read, by…

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Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Review of Hello Stranger. Joy. Heart. Laughter. That’s what you get when you read a book by Katherine Center. And the author wouldn’t have it any other way. In her essay “Read for Joy,” Center explains, “When I talk about reading for joy, I’m talking about reading from the heart.” Katherine Center continues the joy-heart-laughter triage with her newest novel Hello Stranger. Sadie is a struggling portrait artist living in the rooftop storage room of an apartment building owned by…

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My Eczema Journey

My Eczema Journey

Navigating eczema. So, you probably noticed already (because you are very sharp) that this post does not exactly fall under my usual three R’s: reading, ‘riting, or ranting. Nope. Today I will be discussing eczema–primarily hand eczema–so if this is not a concern for you, you may want to skip this post. But actually, my eczema is related to writing because it affects my hands–bad news for a writer. The other way eczema is related to writing is that writers…

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Book Challenge by Erin 17.0

Book Challenge by Erin 17.0

The new Book Challenge by Erin 17.0 approaches! In case you don’t know what this is, Book Challenge by Erin 17.0 is a reading challenge [you guessed that, right?] that runs from July through October. For more information and to join in the fun, check out Erin’s Facebook page. As usual, I had lots of fun coming up with books to fit the categories. If you enjoyed participating in scavenger hunts as a kid, you know the thrill that comes…

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Book Challenge by Erin 16

Book Challenge by Erin 16

It’s Book Challenge by Erin time. And I’m already more than one month in. Cleary, I’ve been remiss in posting. As my fifth grade teacher used to say, “Fifty lashes with a wet noodle.” That done, here are the categories of the book challenge and my choices and comments so far: 5 points:  Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages A Trick of the Light/Penny Finished. I returned to this series after an absence, partly because…

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Book Banning and Burning…it’s back!

Book Banning and Burning…it’s back!

Book banning  Book burning. The Nazis did it in the 1930’s. The Red Guard did it during the Cultural Revolution. Want to know when the earliest recorded state book burning occurred? China in 213 BCE. Yep, that long ago. Emperor Qin Shi Huang burned books he deemed uncomplimentary to his regime. And since then, many countries, states, and provinces have joined in book banning and book burning. Journalist Daniel Schwartz details this history in his article, “The Books Have Been…

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The Castle of Otranto

The Castle of Otranto

Every October I participate in a common read of the Supernatural Fiction Readers over at Goodreads. The group selection this time is The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. We have been having a super lively discussion of this supernatural classic. Check out the discussion here. And great news! You can read The Castle of Otranto for free here on Gutenberg. The Castle of Otranto is supernatural lite, the paranormal elements consisting primarily of a giant helmet and a haunted painting….

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Summer Book Challenge!

Summer Book Challenge!

It’s time to announce my selections for Book Challenge by Erin 15.0! Book Challenge by Erin 15.0 is a reading challenge (you guessed that, right?) that runs from July through October. For more information and to join in the fun, check out Erin’s Facebook page. Here are the book categories and my selections: 5 points:  Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages Mary Coin by Marisa Silver 10 points: Read a book whose first word starts…

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Good in Everything? part two

Good in Everything? part two

Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head; And this our life, exempt from public haunt, Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks, Sermons in stones and good in everything                                        ~William Shakespeare I’ve been thinking about some of the bad stuff that’s happened in the last year—the…

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Exit by Belinda Bauer

Exit by Belinda Bauer

Book review of Exit by Belinda Bauer My first completed book for Book Challenge by Erin 14! Exit is about a man who belongs to a dedicated group of people called Exiteers. (No, I’d never heard that term before.) Felix aka John lives alone, is seventy-two, and watches people die. An Exiteer is a volunteer who witnesses euthanasia and then clears the scene of all evidence—the most damning item being a canister of nitrous oxide. Who knew nitrous oxide could…

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