It’s been a long time since I’ve posted (or done book reviews), but I’m going to try to get back to them here. (Full disclosure—I did work on this project as a book coach, but I’m going to apply the same rubric I always use for reviews to see how it stacks up against others … Continue reading Book Review – Riven Calyx
Tag: Reading
I'm not sure new year resolutions are the best option, but starting another "journey 'round the sun" is a great time to think about what you did last year and what you'd like to accomplish this year. For me, it's been far too long since I've posted, so that's one of my goals this year—blogging … Continue reading What Do You Hope to Do This Year?
As soon as you sit down to market your work, you need to know what it is that you've written. You may have some idea from comparing your work to other people, but it helps to know what you've written from your writing itself, as just "having romance" in your story doesn't make it a … Continue reading Commercial Fiction vs. Literary Fiction—Which Do You Write and How to Tell the Difference?
Nowadays, you can go from "I've got a great idea" to "PUBLISHED" without involving anyone besides yourself. You can do your own editing and proofreading, formatting, cover design, and blurb writing (I'm not saying you should, but it can be done). Now, we've talked about the need for good cover design, and we discussed what … Continue reading Why Your Book Needs Beta Readers
Title: Dawn of a Legend Author: R. K. Lander Genre: Fantasy Blurb (as taken from Goodreads): Book three in The Silvan, a best-selling series by award-winning author R.K. Lander. “Page-turning epic fantasy you will not be able to put down.” A past to claim A power to wield A destiny to fulfil To the enemy, … Continue reading Book Review – Dawn of a Legend
Having just finished a read-through of Les Misérables, I've been struck by the writing. It's a long book at well over 600,000 words, so I definitely wouldn't recommend writing a modern novel of that length, but it's a classic nevertheless. It's been made into dozens of movie versions, beginning in 1897 and continuing onward, with the most … Continue reading Writing Lessons from Les Mis: Plotting and Subplotting
I've been thinking about the romance genre lately, trying to explain what it is that "happens" in a romance story. Obviously, it's about a couple finding each other (or realizing that they already know each other) and reaching their happily-ever-after moment (whether it does or doesn't last is another matter entirely, but unless you write … Continue reading Romance: Two Best-Selling Plot Types
Title: Shadows of Tomorrow Author: Ryan Lanz Genre: Dystopia Short Stories Only One Mask: Nob only trusts two things: his knife and his breathing mask–the latter because he has to. Ever since the world went crazy, he feels like he’s always on the run. Running from those who want to kill you. Running from those … Continue reading Book Review – Shadows of Tomorrow
Title: Road of a Warrior Author: R. K. Lander Genre: Fantasy Book Blurb from Goodreads: A light in the forest, a king returned, a past to claim … Fel’annár is an immortal half-blood warrior from the Deep Forest, an orphan whose questions were never answered. With a dream of becoming a Silvan captain in an army … Continue reading Book Review: Road of a Warrior
Every so often, I will review a book I coached or edited (particularly if the author asks it of me). This may sound tremendously biased—who can evaluate a book they were involved with—but hear me out. First, I don't publish my reviews on Amazon. Their policy would see me as biased, to where I would … Continue reading Why I Can Review a Book I Coached (or Edited)
Andrea Lundgren 