When author, Jo Chandler, posted a comment about her novel This Side of Forever in a Goodreads group, I was immediately interested. She described her book as about alcohol addiction and redemption. Those of you who have read my first novel will know it contains the same themes. The similarities don’t end there – both books have female protagonists whose … Read More
The Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler – a Review
“The strangest thing about my wife’s return from the dead was how other people reacted.” I don’t think I could start this post with anything better than the opening sentence Anne Tyler chose for her novel, The Beginner’s Goodbye. Occasionally an opening comes to me fully formed and never needs changing, but more often, I find openings the hardest part … Read More
On Writing by Stephen King – a Review
I have never read any of Stephen King’s novels and as far as I am aware, I haven’t seen the film version of any of them either. So you could probably say I’m not a fan. In a way that’s good when it comes to reading and reviewing his book On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft, … Read More
Mind Over Medicine by Lissa Rankin MD – a Review
At first glance it might seem that a book called Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself has nothing to do with writing. However, there’s at least two reasons why I think that it is an important book for writers. Everything in one way or another has something to do with writing. What we learn about life … Read More
The Friday Review: The Economist Style Guide
A book on writing by The Economist magazine may not seem the obvious choice for someone who mainly writes fiction. And yes, I am pretty sure The Economist Style Guide is primarily aimed at writers of articles. Nevertheless, I found it useful. Now in its 10th edition, the book was first published in 1986. Each new edition is updated to … Read More
Book Review: Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande
Becoming a Writer was one of the first books about the writing process I ever read. It was written way back in the 1930s, and remains popular today, almost eighty years after its publication. This is quite an achievement, especially when you consider how many books have been written on writing in the last few decades. However, I done the research then that … Read More
10 Brilliant Self-Help Books
These ten books have guided me from feeling like a total failure who had no idea how to cope with life, to where I am today. Where exactly that is is hard to say, and varies day to day and moment to moment. Mostly it’s content with life and able to see the silver lining. Mostly it’s feeling love and compassion … Read More
The Friday Review: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Although The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron has similarities to the books about the writing process that I’ve reviewed so far, it also has significant differences. For Cameron, as well as Anne Lamott and Natalie Goldberg writing is process of becoming conscious. None of them tell you how to create the perfect plot that will propel you to fame and … Read More
Book Review: Write Right! by Jan Venolia
First off, a confession: my copy of Write Right! (yes the exclamation mark is part of the title) is very old. As in very, very old. It’s so old that the spine has faded. It’s so old that is was written pre-emails and internet and all those other things we take for granted. Texting wasn’t even a word. So I … Read More
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott: A Review
At first, Bird by Bird seems a strange title for a book about writing. And, well, yes it is. Possibly if it was about to be published for the first time today its publisher would have demanded a new title, something more search-engine friendly. Thankfully, in 1994, when Anne Lamott’s book first arrived on the shelves of booksellers, the internet … Read More
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