Lots of great books this week!

Under LGBTQ+ for adults:

THIS TIME FOREVER by Andrew Grey – 5 Sparklers for this fan favorite author

Under Mysteries:

THE DIVA SAYS CHEESECAKE by Krista Davis – 4 Sparklers for this delicious cozy

POLLY’S LIST by Kim Ligon – 5 Sparklers for this mix of romance and cozy mystery

Under Nonfiction:

ZEN MINDFULNESS WORKBOOK by Ingrid Yang – 4 Sparklers for this informative book.

ACT (ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY) JOURNAL by Josie Valderrama – 5 Sparklers for this useful book

28-DAY LIVER HEALTH WEIGHT LOSS SOLUTION by Jinan Banna – 5 Sparklers for this healthy cookbook

BEAUTIFUL WRITERS by Linda Silversten – 3 Sparklers for this take off of her podcasts

SEWING LOVE by Sanae Ishida – Learn to love your body and make your own clothes that fit in this 5 Sparkler book

New reviews coming later this morning, so keep checking back. 🙂

Birthdays: Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743), Charles W. Chesnutt (1858), Lillian Hellman (1905), Josephine Winslow Johnson (1910), Anthony Buckeridge (1912), Paul Muldoon (1951), Vikram Seth (1952), Robert Crais (1953), E. Lynn Harris (1955)

Josephine Johnson won the 1935 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for “Now in November”

Paul Muldoon won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Quote: “As man sows, so shall he reap. In works of fiction, such men are sometimes converted. More often, in real life, they do not change their natures until they are converted into dust.” – Charles W. Chestnutt

Tip: Stay away from modern slang if possible. It changes too fast and what’s hot today may not be by tomorrow, which will date your book.

Jumpstart: Finish this: The noise grew ever louder, pounding, pounding… (use: willow, tarot, quilt)

Birthdays: Blaise Pascal (1623), Elbert Hubbard (1856), Laura Z. Hobson (1900), Pauline Kael (1919), Tobias Wolff (1945), Salman Rushdie (1947), John Ralston Saul (1947)

Quote: “The last thing we decide about a book is what to put first.” – Blaise Pascal

Tip: You should be able to answer any question about your main character, and by the end of the book, you reader should know them almost as well as you do.

Jumpstart: You’ve been locked in a store overnight and can’t get out. What do you do? Does the kind of store make any difference (department, grocery, book)? Why? What about security?

Birthdays: Philip Barry (1896), Gail Godwin (1937), Russell Ash (1946), Chris Van Allsburg (1949), Vivian Vande Velde (1951), Richard Powers (1957), Angela Johnson (1961), Lidia Yuknavitch (1963),

Chris Van Allsburg is a two-time winner of the Caldecott for “The Polar Express” and “Jumanji”.

Quote: “I write for what’s left of the eight-year-old still rattling around inside my head.” – Chris Van Allsburg

Tip: Don’t be afraid to promote your books in unconventional places. Link your story to something or somewhere special and use that for promo purposes. I have a friend whose cozy mysteries center around a funeral home. She’s made friends with them and they have been promoting her work. Do you have dogs or cats in your book? Go to vets, animal shelters, pet stores and see if they’ll promote your stuff.

Jumpstart: It is the middle of the night and your phone rings. The voice on the other end says: “You won’t get away with it. I’ll see that you pay.” There is a scream and a loud crack… and the line goes dead. Caller ID is “unknown”. What if anything do you do? Did you deserve the call? Why?

Birthdays: James Weldon Johnson (1871), John Hersey (1914), Harry Browne (1933), Newt Gingrich (1943), Art Bell (1945), Celia Rees (1949), Kerry Greenwood (1954), Alan Taylor (1955), Deanna Raybourn (1968),

John Hershey won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1945 with his first novel “A Bell for Adano”.

Alan Taylor was a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner in History.

Quotes: “If you lift the romantic element out of my plots, you still have fully formed mysteries. In the same fashion, if you pull the mystery out of a historical romance, you are left with a perfectly satisfying story.” – Deanna Raybourn

“If I ever saw my muse she would be an old woman with a tight bun and spectacles poking me in the middle of the back and growling, “Wake up and write the book!” ― Kerry Greenwood

Tip: Check your facts, especially if you’re writing historical fiction. No anomalies please. Zippers didn’t exist in the 1700s. Things you may think have been around forever—haven’t.

Jumpstart: Your favorite candy maker is going to create a candy bar in your honor. What would it be? How would it look? What would it have in it? What would you call it?

Birthdays: Adam Smith (1723), Murray Leinster (1896), Katharine Graham (1917), Isabelle Holland (1920), John Howard Griffin (1920), Erich Segal (1937), Joyce Carol Oates (1938), Deb Caletti (1963), Andy Weir (1972), Evie Wyld (1980)

Katharine Graham oversaw The Washington Post during the Watergate scandal and her memoir “Personal History” won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1988.

Quote: “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. Don’t wait for an inspired ending to come to mind. Work your way to the ending and see what comes up.” – Andy Weir

Tip: Keep a contact list of people who like your work for newsletters. But don’t overwhelm them with something every day—or even every week. Some don’t like that much intrusion.

Jumpstart: A group of geese is called a gaggle. A group of fish is a school, but what about a group of snakes? Or ravens? Go in search of as many “groups” as you can find and use one or more in a scene.

Birthdays: Edward Channing (1858), William McFee (1881), Erik Erikson (1902), Wilbert Awdry (1911), Amy Clampitt (1920), Gene Roberts (1932), Brian Jacques (1939), Xaviera Hollander (1943), Elvira Woodruff (1951), Adam Rapp (1968)

Edward Channing won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for History for is six-volume History of the United States.

Erik Erikson won the Pulitzer and National Book Award for “Gandhi’s Truth”.

Wilbert Awdry is known as the creator of “Thomas the Tank Engine”.

Gene Roberts won the 2007 Pulitzer for “The Race Beat” (with co-author Hank Kibanoff).

Quote: “Look around you. Absorb and remember, use the things you know well and adapt them to your work. Above all, paint the picture with words.” – Brian Jacques

Tip: Be sure to keep an eye on your story timeline. If something happens on Wednesday and three days later, it’s Monday—you have a problem. Also check your timing of actions and time of day.

Jumpstart: Your car has come to life and is taking you on a journey. Where is it taking you and why? Do you sit back and enjoy the ride, or fight against it?

Title: One for the Money

Continue reading “Spotlight: Skye Warren” →

Birthdays: Frances Burney (1752), William Butler Yeats (1865), Tyler Dennett (1883), Fernando Pessoa (1888), Dorothy L. Sayers (1893), Mark Van Doren (1894), Whitley Streiber (1945), Audrey Niffenegger (1963), Marcel Theroux (1968)

William Butler Yeats won the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature for his poetry.

Tyler Dennett won the 1934 Pulitzer Prize in Biography for his book “John Hay”

Mark Van Doren won the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Audrey Niffenegger is best known for her book “The Time Traveler’s Wife”

Quote: “My advice for other writers is to get out in the writing world, take some classes, form a writing group, submit things to litmags… and then, once you have finished your manuscript, follow the leads your writer friends will give you to help you find an agent.” – Audrey Niffenegger

Tip: Know the market. Are you writing Amish vampire erotica? Find out where they’re selling. Who are other authors in your genre? Look at Amazon sales rankings and see what’s selling.

Jumpstart: Put your character in an ancient explorer’s time. If given the opportunity, would s/he sail off to the wilds with them? Why or why not? Does s/he get seasick? What would be his position on the ship?

Birthdays: Charles Kingsley (1819), Johanna Spyri (1827), Djuna Barnes (1892), Anne Frank (1929), Trevanian (1931), Rona Jaffe (1932), Helen Lester (1936), Tess Gerritsen (1953), Jim Goad (1961)

Johanna Spyri is best known for her book “Heidi”

Quote: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ― Anne Frank, Anne Frank’s Tales from the Secret Annex: A Collection of Her Short Stories, Fables, and Lesser-Known Writings

“I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. But, and that is the great question, will I ever be able to write anything great? Will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, for I can recapture everything when I write, my thoughts, my ideals, and my fantasies.” – Anne Frank

Tip: Go to writer’s conferences when you can. The classes and networking can be a great boost to your career. When you’re there, don’t just sit in corner waiting for others to come to you. It may not be easy, but get out there and meet others.

Jumpstart: On June 12, 1969, Niagara Falls stopped. It was an engineering feat never before seen, but what if it had been done by magic? Your character is a mage who must stop the water–but he’s a bit inept. What happens?