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THE FRINDLE FILES — Review

Thought for the Day: “Character is destiny. Change, growing from within and forced from without, is the mainspring of character development.”~ Rita Mae Brown ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: When I read wish lists from editors and agents looking for middle-grade books, the word "adventure" is almost always there. HERE is a good article… Continue reading THE FRINDLE FILES — Review

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IN THE SHADOW OF SUNRISE — Review

Thought for the Day: "Keep working on a plan. Make no little plans. Make the biggest you can think of, and spend the rest of your life carrying it out."~ Harry S. Truman ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: We all know how important the openings of our stories are. HERE is a good article… Continue reading IN THE SHADOW OF SUNRISE — Review

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ELSETIME — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day: "If writing is thinking and discovery and selection and order and meaning, it is also awe and reverence and mystery and magic." ~ Toni Morrison ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Voice, voice, voice—that elusive characteristic of writing comes up so often. HERE is an excellent post from Lydia Netzer with… Continue reading ELSETIME — Review & Giveaway

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SAFE HARBOR — Review

Thought for the Day: “Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.” ~ G.K. Chesterton ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: We all have bad habits, including crutch words we sprinkle freely throughout our manuscripts. HERE is a good… Continue reading SAFE HARBOR — Review

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THE GIRL WHO FOUGHT BACK: VLADKA MEED AND THE WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING — Review

Thought for the Day: "Mostly it's lies, writing novels. You set out to tell an untrue story and you try to make it believable, even to yourself. Which calls for details; any good lie does."
 ~ Anne Tyler ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Our characters have to have relationships with other characters. HERE is… Continue reading THE GIRL WHO FOUGHT BACK: VLADKA MEED AND THE WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING — Review

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NOT NOTHING — Review

Thought for the Day: "I shall live badly if I do not write, and I shall write badly if I do not live."~ Francoise Sagan ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Backstory is something we all need to deal with, but how? Too much and we bury our story in it. Too little and we… Continue reading NOT NOTHING — Review

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FREE PERIOD — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day: "The first duty of the novelist is to entertain. It is a moral duty. People who read your books are sick, sad, traveling, in the hospital waiting room while someone is dying. Books are written by the alone for the alone." ~ Donna Tartt ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Writing… Continue reading FREE PERIOD — Review & Giveaway

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THE HOTEL BALZAAR — Review

Thought for the Day: "Never forget that writing is as close as we get to keeping a hold on the thousand and one things—childhood, certainties, cities, doubts, dreams, instants, phrases, parents, loves—that go on slipping, like sand, through our fingers." 
~ Salman Rushdie ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Many years ago, I was in… Continue reading THE HOTEL BALZAAR — Review

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COYOTE LOST AND FOUND — Review

Thought for the Day: "There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they'll take you." 
 ~ Beatrix Potter ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Excellent character description can add so much to a story. HERE Rebecca McClanahan, writing for Writer’s Digest, gives us 11 Secrets to… Continue reading COYOTE LOST AND FOUND — Review

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TRASHED — Review

Thought for the Day: "Keep working on a plan. Make no little plans. Make the biggest you can think of, and spend the rest of your life carrying it out."~ Harry S. Truman ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Naming of characters can carry a lot of water for writers. HERE Becca Puglisi of Writers… Continue reading TRASHED — Review