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PERSPECTIVE Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day: More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer is rewriting. I wouldn’t say I have a talent that’s special. It strikes me that I have an unusual kind of stamina. ~ John Irving ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: I have been asked to… Continue reading PERSPECTIVE Review & Giveaway

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WHAT HAPPENED THEN — Review

Thought for the Day: There is a difference between a book of two hundred pages from the very beginning, and a book of two hundred pages which is the result of an original eight hundred pages. The six hundred are there. Only you don’t see them. ~ Elie Wiesel ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends:… Continue reading WHAT HAPPENED THEN — Review

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OOH LA LA! KIDS COOK FRENCH — Review

Thought for the Day: "Write yourself silly. Write yourself mad. Write yourself blind. Trust the excitement that builds within you when the idea is good and the writing is superb. You can do it, but that's the hell of it as well as the exultation of it. You have to do it."
~ Elizabeth George ~… Continue reading OOH LA LA! KIDS COOK FRENCH — Review

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RISK, RESILIENCE, and REDEMPTION — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day: "Your eloquence should be the servant of the ideas in your head. Your rule might be this: If a sentence, no matter how excellent, does not illuminate your subject in some new and useful way, scratch it out." ~ Kurt Vonnegut ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Fidgeting is a character… Continue reading RISK, RESILIENCE, and REDEMPTION — Review & Giveaway

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SECRETS OF THE DEAD — Review

Thought for the Day: "I'm always aware of writing around things I can't do, and I've come to think that that's actually what 'style' is - an avoidance of your deficiencies."
~ George Saunders ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: More on comp titles, this time from Phoebe Morgan at the Honest Editor. HERE you can… Continue reading SECRETS OF THE DEAD — Review

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THE HONEST TRUTH — Review

Thought for the Day: "A writer - and, I believe, generally all persons - must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our… Continue reading THE HONEST TRUTH — Review

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THE BURNING SEASON — Review & Giveaway

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… Continue reading THE BURNING SEASON — Review & Giveaway

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THE KING OF JAM SANDWICHES — Review

Thought for the Day: "Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be." ~ Mark Twain ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: I don’t think I pay as much attention to my secondary characters as I should. In fact, a… Continue reading THE KING OF JAM SANDWICHES — Review

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THE BLOSSOMING SUMMER — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day: “Imagine tension like holding a reader’s feet under water; you don’t want to pull them down until they drown. You have to let them come up for air.”~ Lauren Magaziner ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Sarah (Sally) Hamer has a wonderful post HERE on Writers in the Storm about How… Continue reading THE BLOSSOMING SUMMER — Review & Giveaway

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QUEENIE IN SEVEN MOVES — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day: “Think of your main characters as dinner guests. Would your friends want to spend ten hours with the characters you’ve created? Your characters can be lovable, or they can be evil, but they'd better be compelling.”~ Po Bronson ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: I posted an article by Jan Fields… Continue reading QUEENIE IN SEVEN MOVES — Review & Giveaway