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Boxing the Octopus: all content copyright 2008 Colleen Thompson and Joni Rodgers all rights reserved.
Wm to H'ry, Oct. 11, 1892. Age: 50
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"What a season for deaths! I've just written a short notice of poor Croom
Robertson for the Philosophical Review."
Robertson died Sept. 20, to be followed...
Understanding stuck
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Is there a human being alive who is capable of getting to an airplane who doesn't know how to buckle his seatbelt? Given that we have 100% seatbelt understan...
'RATI RETROSPECTIVE: THIS WEEK IN REVIEW. . .
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MONDAY - MEMORIAL DAY . . . AGAIN
by Pari
*Every year at this time, I think about writing a new post regarding
Memorial Day
. . . and every year, I find t...
Summer's Here!
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by
Scott D. Parker
The sun! The heat! No school! Long days with little to do but while away
the hours, daydreaming about what shapes the clouds look like...
Author Blog: The Joint
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*Earlier this week, Leslie Maitland wrote about reconnecting branches of
her family separated by the Diaspora of the Nazi years. Her blog posts are
featu...
The Not-Quite-So Starving Artist
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You know what I’m really good at? Landing jobs that pay roughly zilch per
hour. Seven years into my career as a high school English teacher, for
example, I...
The 500 Dark Pools
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Like everyone else, I love a great “origin story.” Especially since I’m in
the middle of one myself (Black Irish Books). These kinds of stories focus
on th...
Exercise During Cancer Treatment
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The ACS document, Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines for Cancer Survivors, highlighhts the therapeutic value of exercise during primary cancer treatm...
Love is Murder: the Art of the Short
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This week is the release of the International Thriller Writers' ITW’s new
romantic suspense anthology *Thriller 3: Love is Murder*.
Edited by Sandra Bro...
Shrayan - Abha Iyengar
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Abha Iyengar's novel *Shrayan* - an adult fantasy tale - explores an
individual’s quest for acceptance in an unfamiliar and unforgiving world:
Shrayan eme...
LETTERS TO KURT REVIEW
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A classic example of counter-programming: My review of Eric Erlandson's
Letters to Kurt is now live at the excellent Los Angeles Review of Books. I
include...
the war of the potatoes
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One morning I was watching a cloud that looked like a tiny potato. Then it
got bigger. Then a potato hit me in the face.
Two days later a piece of broccol...
At Fifth and Market
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An old woman sits at a window. A street runs below her. It once
shuttled fattened taxis past her building. Now buses, on natural fuel, run
silent...
Buy This Book: Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream
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Fiction is full of characters but they are seldom as individual or as
memorably rendered and irresistible as Clementine Pritchard is in Ashley
Ream’s boldl...
Amazing and Humbling News…
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I know it hasn’t been but a moment since I forswore blogging (and talking
like an Elizabethan). But doesn’t it just go to show that as soon as you
swear of...
Final Thoughts
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by Dennis Abrams I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who
have been following Project D this year, who have been reading Dostoevsky
along ...
Tricky Virtue
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Well folks, I was going to write about the latest issue of Poets and
Writers called “MFA Nation”, but Jon beat me to it! (In a way, with the
anti-MFA Miss...
I Love a Parade
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Today two of my favorite parents in the world gave their son, Diego, a
parade. That's what he wanted for his fourth birthday, and that's what he
got. We al...
Oprah’s Book Club is Back! WILD is First Pick
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This just in from the New York Times “Media Decoder” blog — Oprah is
reviving her book club, specifically because she loves the book Wild: From
Lost to Fou...
Francisco Goldman, Mexico City
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A series on what writers from around the world see from their windows. My
desk is snugly ensconced in a front corner of the living room, facing wall
and bo...
Review: Good Tidings by Terri Reid
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This past month has been my time to catch up with my series reading.
I finally made time to read *Good Tidings*, the second book in *Terri Reid*'s
*Mary O'...
Druid Fact or Druid Fiction?: Thore D. Hansen Knows
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In his debut novel, The Celtic Conspiracy, Thore D. Hansen weaves a thrilling tale of international intrigue, religious oppression, and treasure-hunting, all...
Guest Posts as a Platform Tool
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*This post, by Jean Oram, originally appeared on her site on 5/28/12.*
Lately I’ve been working on using guest posts on other blogs to increase my
platfo...
What’s your relationship to silence?
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Unfolding. Agitation. Crunchy. Relishing. Golden. Home. Safety.
Expansiveness. Awakening. How do you feel with quietness? Do you seek it?
Do you avoid it? ...
Unconventional friendships of the Internet variety
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The official description of my new novel,* The Long Way Home, *reads like
this:* **I**n this heartwarming and humorous novel, four strangers brought
toget...
Go to VossandEdwards.com
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It’s been a crazy crazy crazy crazy year. And while I intend to return to
this site at some point, I have decided to mothball it for a while. In the
meant...
5 months ago
BLBH now on Kindle!
"Thoroughly enjoyable, idiosyncratic and funny... an uplifting celebration of life." London Daily Mail
Colleen's epic fantasy now on Kindle!
A wayward lady in waiting, a mysterious highland count, magic, mayhem and one last chance for a desperate people.
People Roundup, June 2012
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PEOPLE Skip Prichard will step down as President and CEO of the Ingram
Content Group, June 8. Ingram Content Chairman John Ingram will assume
Prichard’s du...
Buzzy Summer Suspense: Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl”
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The new buzzy suspense book of the summer comes out on June 5th: Gillian
Flynn’s Gone Girl. Flynn’s latest suspense novel is a dark, twisted
psychological ...
Clarion West Write-a-thon
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From a recently-received press release: Sign up now for Clarion West’s
ninth annual Write-a-thon! The ninth annual Clarion West Write-a-thon is
open for pa...
The Bare Necessities–Amy Reading [THE MARK INSIDE]
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The Bare Necessities is a series in which authors and book industry
professionals share annotated reading lists of books they love. Amy Reading
is the auth...
Are SF writers "slacking off"?
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SF Signal has a mind meld posted today entitled "Is SF Still The "Big Idea"
Genre?" which posits the question:"Are SF writers "slacking off" or is
science ...
The Blogger In Draft Blog Is Being Retired
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*
*
*Cross-posted from the Blogger in Draft blog*
*In 2007, we introduced Blogger In Draft, a special version of Blogger
where new features could reach use...
Looking for Answers
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There are a lot of people debating the pros and cons of the DOJ suit. That’s not what this post is. I have a question that has come out of what I’ve been rea...
A Writing Life or a Life That Includes Writing?
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Here is an excellent Author Guest Column in Chuck Sambuchino's blog that
speaks to a real issue for writers: *How can you write, meet deadlines,
pursue p...
What you need to include in your email signature
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As a book publicist, I often correspond with journalists and bloggers, via
email as likely as not, these days. If I’m reaching out to someone with an
unsol...
Hiatus
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As you may have noticed, lords and ladies, I haven't quite been bringing my
"A" game the past couple of months. Between increased responsibilities at
work ...
The Value of Experimentation
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I've recently come to know and appreciate Brad King's work, both as an
innovative media professional, as well as a university professor.
So I've been ke...
Think Like a Journalist
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One of the best things you can do, when promoting your book, is to think
like a journalist. You have a beat to cover and that beat is you and your
writing....
Editing An Anthology
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by Sarah Cortez Thanks for asking me to write about the process of editing
an anthology of crime fiction. So far, I’ve edited three, one for Akashic
Books ...
What You Can Do To Further Your Publicity Campaign
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I think everyone can agree that no two books and no two authors are alike.
In the same way that no two books are alike, no two book publicity
campaigns a...
What to See This Weekend: “Fake It So Real”
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[image: fake-it-so-real.jpg]
As Sam Grobart wrote in yesterday’s *Times*, DVDs are on their way to
following CDs over the edge of obsolescence and giving...
Fiction Podcast: Dave Eggers Reads Roddy Doyle
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[image: 080428_r17320a_p465.jpg]
On this month’s fiction podcast, Dave Eggers reads “Bullfighting,” a
story by Roddy Doyle about four middle-aged Iris...
Pure Products of America Go Crazy
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(First summer comes, and he’s the only one I ever feel like reading—)
Statement
“The greatest work of the twentieth century will be that of those who are...
Orbit at Book Expo America!
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Come by the Orbit booth (#*3633*) at BEA for giveaways, free books, and
exclusive signings!
*Wednesday, June 6
1 PM*: N.K. Jemisin signing *The Killing M...
How to get children to love books...
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If you’re reading the Penguin blog then it’s very likely that you’re an avid reader and know the virtues of getting kids reading from a young age. We all kno...
My First App
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*I have a dilemma regarding ebook publishing. I am a seasoned graphic
designer/illustrator trying to break into the kidlit industry with an
author/illust...
Fawlty Premises --the new hotel for certain writers
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Troglodad said... Query Shark- just found your site. I look forward to
reding some of your responses. But since you say you keep repeating
yourself, poin...
#223
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Dear QueryShark:
Forty years after her “death,” superstar recording artist Emmy Starlight
emerges from exile for the biggest show of her life. Her fans are...
Some Books I Have Been Reading Lately
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Esi Edugyan
Half-Blood Blues
336pp. Picador.
9781250012708
This book is made out of a new language, I'm not kidding. There are
sentences in here that ...
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Recently, I was asked to define an indie publisher and what an indie
publisher can offer beyond that of a regular publisher. In my opinion, the
term ind...
Dusting off this blog....and a question for YOU!
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Yeah, I know, I know. I've been a slacker at blogging the past six months.
But I'm getting ready to dust this thing off, and relaunch The Swivet. I'm
getti...
And So We Say Good-Bye
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In 2006 I had the idea to start a blog. Not a lot of thought went into this
idea other than the fact that blogs were the hot new medium for marketing
and i...
Gathered Dust and Others
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Among the countless horror authors inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and adding
stories to his Mythos, one of the more distinctive and noteworthy is W.H.
Pugmire,...
New Yorker Magazine; Fiction; Keywording
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You’re reading a novel. “What’s it about?” somebody asks. What do you say?
The question grates; there’s no good answer for it, no easy way to address
it. B...
Texas Pages to be reincarnated
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In the very near future, the books blog you are reading will cease to exist. But books blogging is not going away -- you'll find it on a new fine arts-relate...
5 comments:
HA! thanks for the laugh....so true!
Oh dear. That is hideously hilarious.
HAHAHAHAHA! As an author with a book coming out on Wednesday, I wish I could be a puppy now.
Congrats on the new book, Jen.
You could always tie a puppy to your signing table and put up a sign "Free wags and kisses with any book purchase."
Maybe I'll just show up, open a box of puppies and sit back. Thanks!
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