Birthdays: Wilkie Collins (1824), Linnie Marsh Wolfe (1881), Storm Jameson (1891), Dennis Wheatley (1897), Peter Taylor (1917), Charles Tomlinson (1927), Alexandra Ripley (1934), Stephen Hawking (1942), Terry Brooks (1944), Nancy Bond (1945), Karen Tei Yamashita (1951)

Linnie Marsh Wolfe won the 1946 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for “Son of the Wilderness: The Life of John Muir”

Peter Taylor won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “A Summons to Memphis”

Alexandra Ripley is best known for her book “Scarlett”, a sequel to “Gone with the Wind”

Quote: “I have always held the old-fashioned opinion that the primary object of work of fiction should be to tell a story.” – Wilkie Collins

         “I still approach each book with the same basic plan in mind: to put some people under severe stress and see how they hold up.” – Terry Brooks

Tip: Keep at it. And grow a thick skin. Writing is not easy and rejections and bad reviews hurt. A lot. Learn to take it. You can spend a day wallowing, but then, let it go. You have to or it can stall you. Keep going.

I adore Terry Brooks books. Especially his “Shannara” series. Found out though that while I can read them, I can’t handle watching the series. However, his “Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold” is and will always be one of my favorite fantasy books.