Gifts for Writers (Just an idea. All we really want is your happiness...)
We welcome payola in the form of pies, cakes, neatly folded laundry and free books!
In accordance with FTC regulations, we're required to inform readers that we receive books from publishers, authors, and PR folk for review. We'd like to receive money via an offshore bank account, but that hasn't happened yet. When my dad was in radio back in the '50s, a local baker used to sneak over in the dead of night and fill the back seat of his car with bread and pastries. We would NOT object to this. Please review our review policy here. And let us know if we should leave the car outside the garage tonight.
To encourage and inform emerging writers, support books and authors we love, dialogue with peers in the publishing biz, and reflect on a life and living made of books.
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Boxing the Octopus: all content copyright 2008 Colleen Thompson and Joni Rodgers all rights reserved.
Originally from Virginia, Kathryn Paterson just completed her Ph.D. in creative writing and literature from the University of Houston, where she has worked with such writers as Chitra Divakaruni, Alex Parsons, Edward Albee, and Dan Stern. A recepient of the UH Barthelme fellowship in fiction writing, she is currently revising her dissertation, which is a gothic realist novel tentatively titled A Perfect Room for Sleeping.
A former writer-in-residence for Writers in the Schools, Kathryn now teaches writing, research and literature courses at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She also freelances for business and government publications, and serves as teacher and mentor to students in a Texas state prison. She lives with her husband and two cats in an old house in a small town.
Author Blogs: Borrowed Words
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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...
Writing and Karma
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Therese here. Today, returning guest Jen Haupt is with us. Jen is a
frequent contributor to such publications as O, The Oprah Magazine,
Parents, and Reader...
Wm to H'ry, April 11, 1892. Age: 50
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"There's a great comedy yet to be made out of the University newly founded
by the American millionnaire...He is a real Balzackian figure -- a regular
porke...
"Perhaps your anxiety is specific to magicians"
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I found that quote in a strangely-translated instruction manual for an obscure but beautiful trick. But it has wide applicability. Perhaps your anxiety is sp...
The Hero’s Journey as Boot Camp
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With apologies to readers who are getting tired of these “hero’s journey”
posts (this is the fourth in as many weeks), I can say only, “Hang in
there, baby...
The Azreal Deception
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By Steve Weddle
I got the chance to chat with Chad Rohrbacher about his newest book, THE
AZREAL DECEPTION.
*
*
*THE AZREAL DECEPTION*
*
*
*After the Res...
Rock On, Big Red
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By David Corbett
Memorial Day is a good time to reflect on what heroism means. That hit home
with particular force this year as, last Thursday, one of t...
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...
"Doctor, I Use Dietary Supplements"
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What are Healthy Survivors to do if they want to go against their physicians' medical advice and take dietary supplements? I have no easy answer for the dile...
Are you a Cumberbitch?
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Alexandra Sokoloff
If you know what I’m talking about, you know what I’m talking about. If
you don’t, you’ve somehow been missing out on the biggest th...
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...
Queen of the Web
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Queen Elizabeth has put Queen Victoria’s complete journals online. (Well,
in collaboration with Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries and ProQuest.) The 141
journals...
Not Going to BEA? Enjoy the Virtual Show.
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Even if you’re not attending BEA next week, there are ways to be part of
it. To find out about the big books of the show, check these guides: – LJ’s
Barbar...
My Foray Into Making Audiobooks
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*This post, by Michael Hicks, originally appeared on his site on 10/11/12.*
I’ve been asked by a number of readers if my books were ever going to be
avai...
Cheryl Bolen: A Stunning Anniversary
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This morning I welcome my friend *Cheryl Bolen* to *SlingWords*. Cheryl is
celebrating her 1 year anniversary as an Indie Author. Take it away, Cheryl!
*A...
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.
Great Choices for Book Groups, New in Paper
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Most book groups prefer to choose titles available in paperback in an
effort to protect the budgets of their members. It’s a good policy, not
only because ...
Anime At Large: NYAF Folds Into NYCC
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Since New York Comic Con and the New York Anime Festival were first
co-located now three years ago, the two shows have been positioned closer
and closer t...
Part 2 of My FIFTY SHADES Review
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I know the wheels have been slow here at ye olde Book Lady’s Blog of late.
And I promise, I have some original, not-previously-published-anywhere
posts in ...
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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*
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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...
Writing Web Copy
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Copywriting for the Web for a wide audience by James Guill More and more
freelance writing opportunities occur in the digital realm, as more print
publicat...
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...
“B”s in the Bonnet
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[image: b-movies.jpg]
I saw something of my own childhood, albeit at a decade’s remove, in Colson
Whitehead’s memoir of growing up in the seventies with ...
The First Church of Marilynne Robinson
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[image: marilynne-robinson.jpg]
Martin Amis, in his *New Yorker* review of Don DeLillo’s “The Angel
Esmeralda,” argued that any time we claim to love a w...
On Our Radar: The Iron Man Steam Iron
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If you need to press your pants, shirt, skirt, or anything, we couldn’t
think of a better way to look sharp. We saw this image on *Blastr*, but
we’re not...
Amy Allen — ‘Mommy Wars’ Redux: A False Conflict
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Amy Allen discusses Elisabeth Badinter's The Conflict and shows why we
should really be concerned about the economic policies and cultural norms
that make ...
Bob Dylan | Bob Dylan
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Robert Allen Zimmerman (b. May 24, 1941)
GEMINI
GEMINI
GEMINI
GEMINI
GEMINI
“Oh, the streets of Rome are filled with rubble,/Ancient footprints are
...
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...
Why 50 Shades of Grey Makes Agent Lives Harder
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STATUS: The appointment schedule is firming up! Get ready for some posts on
what editors will be looking for in 2012.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod righ...
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...
A quotation from Stefan Zweig's Confusion
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And so it was that the two of us, out of a shared and confused hatred,
performed an act that looked like love, but while our bodies sought each
other an...
Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance
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The swift, often personal form of justice known as vengeance is such a
perennial ingredient of crime fiction that it’s a wonder an original
anthology of sh...
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...
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