Birthdays: George S. Kaufman (1889), Joan Lindsay (1896), Jean Fritz (1915), José Saramago (1922), Chinua Achebe (1930), Elizabeth Drew (1935), Rick Atkinson (1952), Robin McKinley (1952), Andrea Barrett (1954), Anne Holt (1958), Tahir Shah (1966)

Jose Saramago won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Rick Atkinson has won the Pulitzer Prize in both journalism and military history.

George Kaufman won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for “You Can’t Take It With You” and “Of Thee I Sing”. He also won a Tony Award as director for “Guys and Dolls”

Jean Fritz won a Newbery Award for “Homesick: My Own Story” about her childhood in China.

Quote: “Storytellers are a threat. They threaten all champions of control, they frighten usurpers of the right-to-freedom of the human spirit — in state, in church or mosque, in party congress, in the university or wherever. It is the storyteller who makes us what we are, who creates history. The storyteller creates the memory that the survivors must have – otherwise their surviving would have no meaning.” – Chinua Achebe

“One of the biggest, and possibly the biggest, obstacle to becoming a writer is learning to live with the fact that the wonderful story in your head is infinitely better, truer, more moving, more fascinating, more perceptive, than anything you’re going to manage to get down on paper.” – Robin McKinley

Tip: Ensure vs. Insure: You ensure that something is done (to make certain of); you insure a car. They are not interchangeable.

Jumpstart: What I really want is… (finish this for yourself or your character)

Birthdays: Gerhardt Hauptmann (1862), Marianne Moore (1887), Richmal Crompton (1890), David McCord (1897), Thomas Williams (1926), J.G. Ballard (1930), Daniel Pinkwater (1941), Carole Nelson Douglas (1944), Rick Atkinson (1952), Liane Moriarty (1966)

Gerhardt Hauptmann won the 1912 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Marianne Moore won the 1951 National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for “The Poems of Marianne Moore”.

Rick Atkinson won prizes in both History and Journalism.

Quote: “Never argue with a librarian; they know too much.” – Carole Nelson Douglas

“Think of nothing else but your story – not the world of publishing, or what makes a best-seller, or should you self-publish or not, or should it be more erotic or funnier or sadder, or how will you make sure nobody else steals your ideas – just lose yourself in the pleasure of writing your story. Then edit, edit, edit. THEN and only then should you think about all that other stuff.” – Liane Moriarty

Tip: Numbers between twenty and ninety-nine are usually spelled out, and always hyphenated: twenty-one, ninety-nine. After 100, they are usually written as numbers: 101, 199. Note: I said “usually” – there are exceptions, such as when writing an address: 35 North Main Street – and others.

Jumpstart: I stared at the stars overhead. They were amazing. Then, one got bigger…

Birthdays: Frederick Jackson Turner (1861), Astrid Lindgren (1907), William Steig (1907), Eric Malpass (1910), George Bizos (1928), Karen Armstrong (1944), Gary Provost (1955), Nancy Tafuri (1946), P.J. O’Rourke (1947), Cara Black (1951),

Frederick Turner won the 1933 Pulitzer Prize for History for “The Frontier in American History”

Astrid Lindgren is best known for her “Pippi Longstocking” books.

William Steig is best known as the creator of “Shrek”

Quote: “A childhood without books – that would be no childhood. That would be like being shut out from the enchanted place where you can go and find the rarest kind of joy. I want to write for a readership that can create miracles. Children create miracles when they read. That’s why children need books.” – Astrid Lindgren

“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with the energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals – sounds that say listen to this, it is important.” – Gary Provost

Tip: Please use the Oxford or serial comma. There has been a lot of debate about this, but it is important to use it to alleviate any confusion: She used pink, yellow, and blue feathers. Not: She used pink, yellow and blue feathers. The second one (without the comma) implies that the second feather was a combination of blue and yellow and not two separate feathers, each a different color.

Jumpstart: It was drawn on the back of an old envelope. I stood there with it clutched in my hand…

Birthdays: George Dillon (1906), Roland Barthes (1915), Marjorie Shamat (1928), Michael Ende (1929), John McGahern (1934), Janette Turner Hospital (1942), Tracy Kidder (1945), Michael Bishop (1945), Katharine Weber (1955), Neal Shusterman (1962), Naomi Wolf (1962), Damon Galgut (1963), Richelle Mead (1976),

George Dillon won the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Marjorie Shamat is best known for her “Nate the Great” series

Michael Ende is best known for his epic fantasy “The Neverending Story”

Tracy Kidder won the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction for “The Soul of a New Machine”

Quote: “Even the most brilliant natural writer needs to know rules of grammar and punctuation before she breaks them.” – Katharine Weber

Tip: Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it means: crunch, roar, pop, tick-tock. They can make your writing stronger when used correctly.

Jumpstart: I stood and took my place in line, my stomach flipping like crazy. Ahead, they opened the door to the…

LAST STOP WYLDER by Barbara Bettis

Fiction, Historical, Romance

5*****

Blurb: Gunman Morgan Dodd is headed to a new life in California, where no one knows his name. Or his reputation. Just one last job to raise money for his fresh start-gunhand for a railroad agent in Wyoming. Easy enough. Until he meets the woman who could change everything. After ending her engagement, Emily Martin longs for independence. She sets out for Wylder, Wyoming, to help her brother with his newspaper. But when she arrives, she finds he’s off investigating a story. Well, then. She’ll simply publish the paper herself until he returns. Emily’s prepared to face challenges, but not the dangerous stranger who ambushes her heart. The same man hired to destroy her livelihood. When a common enemy threatens, Morgan and Emily must find a way to defeat danger and save their budding love. But a gunman’s word is his bond, and a lady’s trust can shatter.

Thoughts: After breaking her engagement, Emily Martin heads to Wylder, Wyoming to visit her brother David, who owns the local newspaper. But David isn’t there when she arrives and the business is in shambles. Emily refuses to back down and is determined to get the paper back up and running for her brother until he returns. But she is a city girl and not used to the rough way of life in Wylder. She can’t even make her own tea! 

Morgan Dodd’s new job and his new boss make him uneasy, but he is honor bound to do what he was hired to do. But he’ll do it his way. Especially when he meets the pretty newspaper woman, Emily. He and Emily end up ensnared in a nasty cattle rustling/land grabbing conflict that puts them both in danger.

 This is a great addition to the Wylder series of stories. The secondary characters are almost as good as the main ones and the story reads well. This is a great historical with lots of interesting notes about frontier towns, voting rights, newspapers, and more and told in such as way as to not be boring. A really good Western romance.

Recommended.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in
Advertising”

11/10/22

LOVE AT FIRST by Kate Clayborn

Fiction, Contemporary Romance

5*****

Nora and Will are perfectly messed up people who find their way past their pasts to a hopeful future. Nora lives in a small condo building, having taken over her grandmother’s apartment when she died. Nora spent all her summers there while growing up so knows everyone in the building. They are family. When Will inherits one of the apartments from his deceased uncle, everything starts changing. And change is something Nora doesn’t deal with well. 

Will doesn’t want anything to do with his uncle’s unit. His uncle had turned him away when he was a young teen and the resentment is still there. Nor does he have any feelings for the people who do live there.

At least, not at first. But as Nora and Will both discover, change does happen—and sometimes that can be a good thing.

Definitely recommended.

This is not your typical cozy mystery. First of all, it’s set in Italy with locals, not Americans visiting or living there. So you get all the fun that goes with sometimes stereotypical Italian families. And it is fun – the family arguments along with the closeness, especially at Christmas.

There are two mysteries here – but no dead bodies. The one has a satisfying and happy conclusion, the other…not so much. I can only assume that it will be solved in a later book, but it left me slightly unhappy that it was not settled.

Still, there are great characters and interesting settings. I will note that I had a little trouble getting into the story at first, but my attention was quickly caught up and I finished it in a single day.

Recommended for those looking for something different in their cozy mysteries.

CHRISTMAS AT TALL PINES by DeLuca

Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Holiday

4****

Blurb: Melanie Beck is searching for an idyllic Christmas like the ones her
small family used to have. Traveling solo and still grieving the loss of her
parents, she’s counting on cozy Tall Pines Lodge tucked into the mountains of
Utah to provide the elusive holiday feels with merry music, stunning
decorations and traditional Christmas feast in a beautiful frosty setting. But
a blizzard turns the winter wonderland into a hazard, and a chance encounter
with a now-famous high school crush has her reeling with emotions she’s never
quite gotten over. Tyler Shaw, a Hollywood heartthrob and silver screen
star, is so over a grueling film schedule and persistent paparazzi. In disguise
and using a fake name, he comes to Tall Pines to escape the spotlight and get
some much-needed rest. He’s hoping the adrenaline rush of downhill skiing at
the nearby slopes will give him the reboot he’s looking for. Instead, he’s
stuck at the lodge and is shocked to run into an old high school friend that he
left behind more than a decade ago. He’s even more surprised to discover how
much he’s missed her. As their past and present collide, can an old flame
ignite some Christmas magic?

Thoughts: Settle in with a cup of hot cider and get ready to enjoy this
lovely Hallmark-type romance story. There’s all kinds of tropes here – old
friends reunited, friendship to love, Christmas, and more. And it all works.

What I liked: The interaction between Melanie and Tyler. They’re old friends
reunited, but he’d left a hole in her life when he ghosted her (not his fault,
but still…). Now, she doesn’t know whether to trust him again or not. Plus,
he’s a big-time movie star with fans and paparazzi after him all the time. How
can she compete with that? Their conflict is real. And their attraction is real.
Plus I loved that they’re going to try to provide some Christmas for kids at
the snowed in resort.

What I didn’t like: The ending was just a tad too rushed for me. I’d liked
to have seen some of the threads tied up, maybe in a short epilogue to show
that Melanie’s book did become a series, that she got to meet Tyler’s family
(and his father wasn’t a complete meanie), that her doubts are put to rest and
they become an actual couple. The story has a “happy-for-now” ending that hints
at a “happily-ever-after” theme, but it’s not quite there yet.

Recommendation: Even with those few nits, I definitely recommend this as a
feel-good Christmas romance. Plus, it’s a novella, so quick and easy to read.
Pick this one up.

Disclaimer: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with
the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a
review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am
posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part
255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in
Advertising”