Under “Fiction” – Take a look at my 5 Sparkler review of “Arborview” by Karen Guzman. An amazing book about life and surviving all it can throw at you.
Under “Romance” – A 4 Sparkler review of “Redeemed by Fire” by CJ Bahr – a paranormal romantic suspense that will give you chills.
Under “Fantasy” – the fourth in a series but definitely a stand-alone. “Windmaster Golem” by Helen B. Henderson is a 3 Sparkler, but it’s a really good story.
Remember the saying “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans”? Well, that’s what’s been happening to me and I apologize for not getting reviews posted faster. But I am reading as fast as I can among everything else I need to do. So… here are the new reviews for this week:
Under Nonfiction: Gluten Free Instant Pot Cookbook by Pamela Ellgen – a really good GF book to add to your cookbook shelves.
Under Fantasy: The Angel by the Tower by Marla White – a great fantasy with angels and demons and legends and more.
Under Mystery:
The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder Mystery by Marla White – a cute, short murder mystery with a satisfying ending.
Under Romance:
Covert Exposure by Valerie J. Clarizio – not bad but definite editorial issues and a steamy bedroom scene. Romantic Suspense.
Craving Vengeance by Valerie J. Clarizio – not bad, but not great. Second in series and has the same issues.
Birthdays: Cecelia Ahern (1981), Eileen Chang (1920), Laura Esquivel (1950), Margie Orford (1964), Ta-Nehisi Coates (1975), Tea Obreht (1985), Truman Capote (1924), Edgar Parin d’Aulaire (1898), W.S. Merwin (1927), Elie Wiesel (1928), Carol Fenner (1929), Jurek Becker (1937), S.M. Stirling (1953), Nicola Griffith (1960)
Tip: Tighten your manuscript by cutting adjectives and adverbs, wordy passages, and personal opinion.
Thought for the day: “I say write what moves you. Write what you feel compelled to write about. Unless they come naturally to you, ignore trends such as vampires and erotica just because they’re popular and focus on what you feel your heart has to say. It’s important to write for yourself, move yourself and then the reader will hopefully feel your passion and identify with those emotions.” – Cecelia Ahern
Jumpstart: You’re on your way to Bermuda for a vacation, complements of your boss for a big deal you finalized. Then a strange storm comes up out of a clear sky and…
When the recipe for a new life is bittersweet…
Ellen Cahill’s financial future rides on the success of her new pastry shop. A bruising divorce has drained her bank account, along with her spirit. A man enters her life promising love, but Ellen, haunted by the past, questions whether she can pull off this new beginning.
College student Rosa Escamilla has her own culinary dreams—and a difficult mother who’s dead set against them. Rosa won’t be deterred. She scrapes up the money to enroll at a prestigious culinary school, setting out to prove everyone wrong.
When hidden betrayals by the people they love most surface for both Ellen and Rosa, can they overcome the blows they never saw coming on the road to where they want to go?
Buy links
Author bio
Karen Guzman is a fiction writer and essayist. Her new novel, Arborview, is being published on September 29 by The Wild Rose Press. Her debut, Homing Instincts,was published by Fiction Attic Press in 2014. Karen’s short fiction has appeared in a number of literary magazines, and her story collection, Pilgrims, was a finalist for the St. Lawrence Book Award. Karen is a regular contributor to the Collegeville Institute’s Bearings Online magazine. She is the recipient of a 2021 writing fellowship at the Collegeville Institute.
Karen has worked as a journalist at the Hartford Courant in Hartford, Connecticut, and at the News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is presently a writer at the Yale School of Management.
You can find Karen’s books on herAmazon author page.
Birthdays: Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856), Piper Kerman (1969), Rosario Ferre (1938), Simon Leys (1935), Simon Winchester (1944)
Tip: If you must use brand names in your story, be sure they’re used in a positive light and acknowledge the trademarks in the front matter. When possible, use generic terms instead of actual brand names. For instance: sports drink instead of Gatorade.
Thought for the day: “This may sound silly, but I attach a little counter to the corner of my computer so I know I have to produce, say, 100,000 words by December. If I’m ahead one day, I take a break; if I’m behind, I keep working.” – Simon Winchester
Jumpstart: You were in a horrible accident and have been in a coma. What nobody knows is that you can hear everything they say. What do you hear from various friends, relatives, doctors?
Birthdays: Martin Handford (1956), Bernard Waber (1924), Grazia Deledda (1871), Nicholas Mordvinoff (1911), Louis Auchincloss (1917), Ernest Becker (1924), Paul Goble (1933), Irvine Welsh (1958), Jim Thompson (1906), Jonathan Evison (1968), Katie Fforde (1952)
Tip: Different types of editing include: Developmental (checks for weak scenes, boring parts, plot inconsistencies, structure—the big picture); line editing (word choice, sentence construction, tags, etc.); copyedit (nitty gritty of grammar, punctuation, spelling, trademarks, etc.), and proofread (final overall look). If you hire an editor to go over your work, be sure you know what you’re getting.
Thought for the day: “If you are prepared to persevere, listen to good advice, recognise bad advice, read a lot and accept it may take many years, you probably will get published, eventually.” – Katie Fforde
Jumpstart: You wake up one morning, ready to start the day, but when you go into the bathroom, there’s a message on the mirror in your handwriting. It tells you not to go out. There are more notes over the house warning you not to go out. But it’s a beautiful day and you’ve been cooped up for days. What do you do? When did you write the notes and why?
Birthdays: TS Eliot (1888), Max Ehrmann (1872), Jane Smiley (1949), Mark Haddon (1962), Bernice McFadden (1965), Minette Walters (1949), Will Self (1961)
Tip: Remember that setting can reveal character. There’s a big difference between someone living in squalid conditions and a posh high rise. The setting helps define the character. Especially if there is a disconnect—someone raised in luxury now living on the streets or someone living in a mansion who grew up in squalid conditions will have very different opinions than someone who’s been there all their lives.
Thought for the day: “While plot and theme and pacing and every other element in fiction are important, the really key element in fiction is characters. Because if you’ve got characters that come alive, they tell your story.” Jean Auel
Jumpstart: You’re listening to the local news while cooking dinner. A news flash comes up about a dangerous criminal who’s wanted by the police…and it’s your name and picture they’re flashing. What do you do?
Birthdays: Jim Murphy (1963), James Ransome (1961), Charles Edward Russell (1860), William Faulkner (1897), Robert Laxalt (1923), Shel Silverstein (1930), Luanne Rice (1955), Kristin Hannah (1960), Bell Hooks (1952), Carlos Ruiz Zafon (1964)
Tip: Don’t make enemies of other authors by doing selfish things that benefit only you and hurt others. It will come back to haunt you and only give you a bad reputation among your peers.
Thought for the day: “Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of writers come and go — published and unpublished — and what I’ve learned is that the ones who make it keep writing no matter what. When life is tough, they write; when the kids are sick, they write; when rejections pile up, they write.” – Kristin Hannah
Jumpstart: You’ve been named in the will of someone you didn’t even know. A very rich someone. You will inherit everything, but only if you…(what?) and why did they leave it all to you?
Birthdays: David Drake (1945), Eavan Boland (1944), Eleanor Catton (1985), F. Scott Fitzgerald (1940), Horace Walpole (1717), Richard K. Morgan (1965), Robert Lewis Taylor (1912), John Brunner (1934), John Kessel (1950)
Tip: Figure out the GMC (goal, motivation, conflict) in your story. Every story should have this. In fact, each scene should have this. Try: (who) wants (what) because (why) but s/he can’t because (why not). For instance: Dorothy wants to go home because there’s no place like home but can’t because she needs to defeat the wicked witch and learns running away doesn’t help.
Thought for the day: “All fine prose is based on the verbs carrying the sentences. They make sentences move.” F. Scott Fitzgerald
Jumpstart: “I’d never have done that with you if I’d known…”
Sparkling Book Reviews 