Audrey's Corner - Reviews for Novel Writers
A place for the review and novel writer analysis of contemporary SFF novels by Algonkian Editor Audrey Woods. We cannot thank her enough and look forward to her manifestations here.
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If you can write an excellent heist story, I can all but guarantee that fame and fortune will come knocking on your door. Everyone, and I mean everyone loves a well-constructed caper. Oceans 11, The Italian Job, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Lies of Locke Lamora, Mistborn, etc. The list goes on and on. As consumers of fiction, we love the feeling of the story shifting beneath our feet, of being outsmarted but reveling in the fact that we could have figured it out if we'd only been clever enough. Everyone knows the joy of a good twist, or a great mystery, and heist novels are chock full of both. Writers beware: it's one of the more difficult plot-lines to pull off, rig…
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Is there a more classic story than man vs. nature? I think we all know how much fun a good survival story can be. It awakens our most basic instincts as human beings, as animals. Watching a character fight for their life against the terrifying vicissitudes of an inhospitable wilderness will get anyone's empathy-neurons firing. But only if done well. I don't know about you, but I've plodded through enough snooze-fest survivalist yarns to be suspicious of the genre. One can't just plant a dude in the wild and watch him survive. A writer can pour all the blood, guts, lions, and quicksand into the story that they want. They can make it fast-paced and snarky, o…
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Stephen King's War on Plot
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Sci-Fi, Scots, & More
Unbuttoning the CEO Unbuttoning the CEO by Mia Sosa is 99c! This contemporary romance has a bit of a taboo relationship element. However, I’m skeptical about the hero and his redemption arc. Reckless driving is no joke. This is also part of the Forever Yours digital imprint, so it’s a little on the shorter side at less than 300 pages. WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T MIX BUSINESS WITH PLEASURE? As the CEO of a large tech company and a semi-reformed bad boy, Ethan Hill is used to calling the shots. But -
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a:The Odyssey Writing Workshop
The Odyssey Writing Workshop One of the top workshops in the world for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror Held at Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH, June 7-July 16, 2021 Only 15 students. The most intense learning experience you’ll ever have. Application deadline: April 1 Six weeks of directed study with Jeanne Cavelos, former senior editor at Bantam Doubleday Dell, bestselling author, and winner of the World Fantasy Award Guest Lecturers: David Farland * Gregory Ashe * Meagan Spooner Djéli Clark * Melissa Scott * Sheree Renée Thomas Virtual Guests: David Brin * -
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The Heiress by Molly Greeley
TW: child abuse, drug abuse, addiction and recovery Fans of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice might recall meeting Anne de Bourgh for a hot minute and also hearing her referred to incessantly by her domineering mother, Lady Catherine. The Heiress tells Anne’s story from her point of view, beginning in early childhood and extending through the entirety of her life. This book was not what I expected, but I loved it once I adjusted to its tone. While The Heiress contains a romance, it is less about romance and much more about the search of the protagonist for autonomy and purpose in her li -
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a:WOW! Interview with Contest Runner Up Courtney Harler for "Divorce Ranch"
Congratulations to Courtney Harler and Divorce Ranch and all the winners of our 2021 Quarter 1 Creative Non-Fiction Essay Contest! Courtney's Bio: Courtney Harler is a freelance writer, editor, and educator based in Las Vegas, Nevada. She holds an MFA from Sierra Nevada University (2017) and an MA from Eastern Washington University (2013). Courtney has been honored by fellowships from Writing By Writers, Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and Nevada Arts Council. Courtney’s creative work—which includes poems, flash fictions, short stories, literary analyses, craft essays, book and film revi -
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Fantasy, Historical Romance, & More
All In RECOMMENDED: All In by Simona Ahrnstedt is $1.99! Redheadedgirl gave the book an A: I felt like this was full of Shakespearean drama, and scheming families, and hot sex, and gorgeous clothes, but also some important things to say about how the world is functioning. There’s a lot going on, though, and the ending a tad rushed. In the cutthroat world of Sweden’s financial elite, no one knows that better than corporate raider David Hammar. Ruthless. Notorious. Unstoppable. He’s out to -
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She's a Literary Agent
Overall, this is a great, comprehensive video for new writers just starting out. Heck, it's also good for writers who just finished their first manuscript and have no clue what to do next. Something I very much appreciate about this video is the tempering of expectations, and the emphasis on curating writing advice by its source. Too often I see new writers falling down rabbit holes of terrible advice from friends, family, or writing groups who don't quite know what they're talking about. For new writers, one of the best ways to learn is to know WHO and WHERE to learn from. I once joined -
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a:Congrats on Finishing Your Quarantine Novel
* sense of humor required Warning: Hacks for Hacks tips may have harmful side effects on your writing career, and should not be used by minors, adults, writers, poets, scribes, scriveners, journalists, or anybody. Happy Quarantiniversary! Time flies, does it not? Now we’re one year into the pandemic, and many of you reading this have already been vaccinated. It’s time to celebrate not just the prospect of life returning to normal, but also your forthcoming literary success. When all this nonsense started, writers everywhere said, “This sucks, but at least I’ll have more time to write.” A w -
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a:Interview with Meagan Spooner, Instructor with Odyssey Writing Workshop
Photo by Christopher TovoToday I am excited to have another instructor from Odyssey Writing Workshop: author Meagan Spooner. Meagan Spooner will be a guest lecturer at this summer’s Odyssey Writing Workshop, where she will discuss techniques for building characters and character arcs, participate in workshopping sessions, and meet in private conferences with students. She grew up reading and writing every spare moment of the day, while dreaming about life as an archaeologist, a marine biologist, an astronaut. She graduated from Odyssey in 2009 and currently lives and writes in Asheville, -
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Outlawed by Anna North
A- Outlawed by Anna North January 5, 2021 · Bloomsbury Publishing TW/CW for the book and this review: discussions of infertility, death in childbirth. Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wish I could read a Western that has a queer girl gang”? Well, guess what? I have great news. While I don’t typically read Westerns, I was drawn in by the blurb for Outlawed: The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada’s life looks good; she loves her -
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She's a Literary Agent
Her take on the learning curve to becoming a marketable author was realistic. The special "helium voice" effects were annoying, but her delivery overall was professional. Check the box with her on: - DO YOUR HOMEWORK on plot, characters, etc. - READ BOOKS on how to write a novel (okay, but the right ones). - OUTLINING a better idea than PANTSING. Uncheck the box on: - READ BLOGS AND ONLINE VIDEOS to learn how to write. They will inevitably be filled with quasi-productive, very poor, or contradictory advice unless chosen very selectively. How is a neophyte novel wr -
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She's a Literary Agent
Meg Latorre's "11 ways to improve your writing" are worth learning about if you're a new writer. While I find that she covers a lot of the same points that have already been addressed in other videos, there were a couple things that stood out that I think new writers should definitely take note of. Critique groups vs. beta readers - Meg takes the time to explain the difference between these and why you would find them useful during the editing phase of your manuscript. More than once she kindly encouraged writers to be open to making changes to their story upon receiving constructive crit -
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Staff Picks: Raisins, Rhythm, and Reality
Allan Gurganus. Photo: © Roger Haile. Courtesy of W. W. Norton. In his Art of Fiction interview, Allan Gurganus preaches the power of the sentence. But for me, the real satisfaction to be had from the newly released Uncollected Stories of Allan Gurganus comes from the layers: a shrewd grad student’s thrifting trip becomes the story of a portrait, which is actually the story of a tragic moment in a small town’s history; a local news report becomes a firsthand account of the incident told by a police officer to his tape recorder. (In fact, local news reporters are more than once a way of gettin -
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Episode 447, Your Transcript is Ready!
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/themes/smartbitches/images/podcast/header_05c.jpg The transcript for Podcast 447. Hanging Out with Sarah J. Maas has been posted! This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks. ❤ Click here to subscribe to The Podcast → View the full article -
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Hot Contemporaries, Princess Brides, & More
Hot and Badgered Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston is $1.99! This is the first book in the Honey Badger Chronicles. Sarah read this one and gave it a B grade: Among my favorite things about Laurenston’s writing is how very affirming and inspiring and a whole lot of fun it is, because angry, fearless women make room for themselves, they get shit done, and they’re the heroines. More honey badgers, please. It’s not every day that a beautiful naked woman falls out of the sky and lands fac -
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Author Spotlight – Gabriela Houston (THE SECOND BELL)
Gabriela Houston is a London-based writer. She was born in Poland and raised in a book-loving household on the nourishing diet of mythologies, classics and graphic novels. She had spent much of her early school years holed up in the library, only feeling truly herself in the company of Jack London’s trappers and Lucy Maud Montgomery’s red-headed orphan, among many others. She came to the UK at 19 to follow her passion for literature and she completed her undergraduate and Masters degrees at Royal Holloway, University of London. After her studies she worked in publishing for a few years. She
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