Tag: reading


  • Escaping the List

    I love fantasy but there are fantasy characters that make me put a book down as soon as I see they’re involved. Vampires Werewolves Zombies Dragons Wait, what? Dragons? How could dragons be on the list? It’s the most iconic monster in all of fantasy. Smog, anyone? And that’s the thing. The dragon is the…

  • A Paragraph

    If you read industry blogs at all, you have seen an agent or two (or two hundred) occasionally talk about reaction emails. Reaction emails are when an amateur (not an aspiring author) shows that he or she is no way emotionally ready for the challenges of publishing and may never be. They submit their query…

  • So I’ve had two really good posts all week but I’ve been so busy at work. In my off hours, I’ve been spending time at Book Country. It’s a place for authors, aspiring and successful, to gather and share and critique. It reminds me of Authonomy without the used-car mentality or critique.org with less strict…

  • On the Outside

    Has there ever been a series that you read and thought was okay, but you just didn’t get why people are so fanatical about it? I’m that way with the Hunger Games trilogy. I see posts and you tube clips all over the net and everyone’s so excited. I certainly don’t want to spoil their…

  • Today’s post is written on my phone while I take the late train into work. Will be busy as soon as I sit down, so it’s now or never. Someone commented on a blog I read how the blogger must feel so proud for buying books as gifts. A coworker of mine only reads classics…

  • Sara Megibow posted recently that she “did her part to help Borders” by buying a book there. And all I can think is, you either screwed the publisher or screwed the author by buying there. If Borders doesn’t pay for the books it’s selling, someone has to take the loss. Either the publisher will take…

  • Empire Strikes Back is my least favorite of the Star Wars trilogy1. This is heresy among accepted Star Wars fandom, but it is the way it is. You can rattle off the various elements of the movie that make it better than the others, a richer universe, more defined characters, a darker/grittier edge to it,…

  • A Matter of Style

    Mentioned previously, I’m reading CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins. It’s the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. With the exception of this morning’s dumb decision on the part of the main character, the book maintains the style of the first book I enjoyed so much. There doesn’t seem to be a lot going on,…

  • The subject line says it all. No one likes a dumb protagonist. We accept flawed characters and we accept that situations can be shrouded in mystery or so layered that a character cannot comprehend it on spec. They need time to peel back the layers or let the whole thing soak in before it finally…

  • I want to query known predator agents so they’ll request my work. They’ll tell me they charge a reading fee because they’re so busy. I’ll respond that I charge a writing fee because I’m so busy. I will gladly pay their reading fee if they pay my writing fee. Bitches.