Thought for the Day:
I would write a book, or a short story, at least three times–once to understand it, the second time to improve the prose, and a third to compel it to say what it still must say.
~ Bernard Malamud ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Dialogue is so important to making stories work, so I always pay attention when I see a post about dialogue. HERE is a good one from Alison Williams Writing called Mastering Realistic Dialogue in Fiction. I like her examples.
Janice Hardy has a good Narrative Nugget HERE about design flaws in writing. I’ll bet you haven’t thought about design flaws in writing. I know I hadn’t.
Do you have any events coming up that will give you a chance to pitch? HERE is a great post from Lara Willard on How to Write an Elevator Pitch for a Pitching Event.
My daughter has been after me to watch a show called The Gilded Age, and I just hadn’t gotten to it, but last week I checked my library and they had the first two seasons on DVD, so I checked them out. Well, season one ate up almost my entire Saturday yesterday. I really shouldn’t do that, but once I got started, I just couldn’t stop. The show was written by Julian Fellowes, who wrote Downton Abbey, another show I couldn’t stop watching. I was so busy with it, I missed watching the Giants game, a game they won, which hasn’t happened nearly enough lately. (Sigh) Anyway, if you haven’t seen The Gilded Age, I recommend it. And on the baseball front, I thought I was going to knock park #23 off my list this week. My son-in-law and I planned to see the Padres vs. Giants game in San Diego on Thursday, but Southwest Airlines had mechanical troubles, and they had to fly in an engineer. Needless to say, our flight was delayed so much, we wouldn’t have been able to see the whole game, so we cancelled. Fortunately, I had paid a little extra so our tickets were fully refundable. But what a disappointment! I don’t know if I will get another chance this season. Eight parks left, and I will have seen games at every major league park. I will be busy in the spring.
I found THE BURNING SEASON by Caroline Starr Rose on the review list for the Seattle Book Review in the spring. I like books in verse, and I had read and enjoyed MAY B by Caroline Starr Rose, so I thought I’d give it a chance. Besides being in verse, it is a survivor story, and you know I love those, so this was a great find for me. I should have put the review up earlier, but it’s never too late to review a good book. So here is the review I wrote for Seattle Book Review.
Opal, 12, is old enough to start smoke spotter training, although living in a fire tower with her mom and grandmother, both smoke spotters, should make Opal’s training easier. But after losing her father in a fire, Opal has a tremendous fear of fire, something she keeps secret. Also, Opal would like to stay with friends in town in the fall and attend middle school rather than being homeschooled and spending all her time in the tower. It’s a lonely life for a kid. One day, Opal’s mother hikes into town, a big storm comes, and she doesn’t arrive on time. Then, Opal and her grandmother fight, and Opal runs off. Her grandmother follows and doesn’t return. Meanwhile, Opal spots smoke.
Carol Starr Rose has written a very exciting and believable story in lyrical verse. It makes for a quick read that young readers will appreciate, while also telling a very compelling story. Young readers will be completely engaged while learning a great deal about the life of a smoke spotter and the ways that fire can be beneficial and part of the natural way of things. Great characters, great writing, and a wonderful story.
I have a gently read hardback to give to one of you. All you need to do is be a follower (it’s free and easy — see the top, right corner of the post) with a US Address, and leave a comment. If you share the link to this post on social media, please let me know in your comment, and you will get an extra chance. And please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 
Thanks, Rosi, for the wonderful review!
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You are most welcome. I really enjoyed it.
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I recently binged TGA as well, Rosi. Yup…it’s a good one. As for The Burning Season, sounds like a good one too 🙂
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You will like this book, Donna. I hope you get to read it. Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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This book is a great one to be paired with Spark by Chris Baron.
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Thanks. I will be looking for SPARK. Good luck in the drawing. Thanks for the comment.
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I’d love to win this book and pass it along to one of my readers. Caroline Rose writes beautiful books!
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She does write beautiful books. Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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This sounds great and I am just about to finish reading SPARK, by Chris Baron and as another commenter mentioned it sounds like a great pairing.
I’m sorry about Southwest and not getting to San Diego. Travel is not always easy.
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Chris Baron and I are actually offering a free virtual visit to classrooms or book clubs who have read Spark and The Burning Season. Find out more here:
https://forms.gle/Pxn4v4sXv4d8svk29
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That’s fantastic! Thanks for sharing.
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You’re welcome. Thanks for reading and commenting. Good luck in the drawing.
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Thanks for posting that, Caroline. That sounds great!
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Travel seems to get less easy with every passing day. Sigh. I’ll look for SPARK. Thanks for the recommendation.
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I would love to read this one. Caroline Starr Rose was one of the writers from our last children’s author festival. I have previously considered picking up this book. I purchased May B when Caroline was here. A sad read but excellent writing. https://www.amazon.com/May-B-Caroline-Starr-Rose/dp/0385374143/
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You will like this one, Pete. May B was a sad read but I did love it. Thanks for the comment. Good luck in the drawing.
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I’m sorry that you had to miss the baseball game. Caroline’s book sounds fantastic. I’m adding it to my TBR list, but I’ll let someone who has time to read it now win.
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I’ll get to Padre’s stadium one of these days. You will like this book when you get to it. Thanks for the comment.
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I think I have a copy of this one. It sounds like a great story. I’m gonna have to squeeze it into my reading this week. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this!
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You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy reading it. I think you will. Thanks for the comment.
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I wish you could have made the baseball game. I enjoyed reading the article on design flaws!
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Glad you found a link you like. Thanks for reading and commenting. Good luck in the drawing.
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I’ve had this book on my TBR for a while! I don’t think I realized it was in verse, which isn’t my favorite, but I’m still open to reading it–it’s an intriguing story.
I was wondering about the temporal setting for the story–is it historical? I get the impression not very many fire lookouts are staffed these days; they do a lot of the spotting by aircraft now.
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I think you will like this. The verse isn’t overwhelmingly poetic. I think the story is contemporary. I guess they still have manned lookouts in New Mexico. Thanks for stopping by. Good luck in the drawing.
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The Burning Season sounds really good, I felt so much for poor Opal! Fires are terrifying, and how could she not be traumatised by losing her father in a fire? Plus she has a really lonely life! Thanks so much for the recommendation! I’m sorry you missed getting to baseball park no 23! It’s impressive you’ve done so many! Loved the English language explanation too! 🙂
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It is really good. I hope you can find a copy over there. Glad you like the joke. Thanks for always reading and commenting. I appreciate it.
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It’s always a joy to read your posts, Rosi! 🙂
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I’ve only been to 4 ballparks but San Diego is one of them. It’s a beautiful stadium and I hope you get to reschedule your trip. Thanks for the links. They all sound good but with a busy week I will save them for the weekend. With forest fires raging in the western part of Colorado right now this would be a great, timely story for young readers. The characters and desperate story line also have me anxious to give it a read. But… having recently being the winner in one of your giveaways I’ll let someone else take the prize. Thanks for being a part of MMGM tyhis week.
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I don’t think I will get to San Diego until next season. This is a timely story — in so many places.Isn’t that sad. I hope you get a chance to read this sometime. Thanks for the comment.
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Thanks for sharing about this exciting book! I love NIV and survival stories so much so I know I will love reading this novel. I shared this post on X, Facebook, Pinterest, and tumblr.
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Sounds like a book you will like. Thanks for the comment and the share. An extra chance for you. Good luck in the drawing.
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What a great topic!
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Thanks. It’s a good read. Good luck in the drawing.
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