Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
Bringing you the famous and cheeky SBTB blog for romance enthusiasts. If you're into the romance genre, this is where you want to be. If you're not, avoid at all costs to preserve your sanity. Ha ha. We're just kidding. There are some good things happening in the genre. Stay Golden, Horny Girl!
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B- Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson February 15, 2022 · Thomas Nelson Contemporary RomanceRomance Editor’s note: Catherine passed away suddenly last week, and we will miss her very, very much. This is her last review for us. May her memory be a blessing. … CW/TW Content warning: Savannah’s family is low-grade terrible. Also, there is an instance of workplace sexual harassment which gets shut down fairly fast by the boss, but might be triggering for some. Meet Me In the Margins is a sweet, funny, epis…
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Island Queen Island Queen by Vanessa Riley is $2.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! This is Riley’s first work of historical fiction as opposed to historical romance. It’s about Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free Black woman who achieved great wealth. Have you read it? A remarkable, sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free woman of color who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies. Born into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, Doll bought h…
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This HaBO request is from Kelsey, who wants to find this contemporary romance: Looking for help finding a book that I saw on Instagram. It was being promoted by the author. All I can remember is that it’s a second chance contemporary romance. She left him at some point, re-enters his life later but he’s now engaged to another woman. The only other detail I can remember is that he tattooed the date she left him on his chest I think? I believe you can see the Instagram ads you’ve engaged with in your settings. However, it relies on you having clicked it or interacted with it in some way. View the full article
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http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/themes/smartbitches/images/posts/hide-your-wallet.jpg If you’re new to Hide Your Wallet, this is where we list new releases we’re pretty excited for in the coming month. Each reviewer has a book maximum (five per person), and we’ve separated HYW into two parts. The first HYW of the month will cover books that release from the 1st to the 14th. The second HYW will cover books released from the 15th to the end of the month. We also think this will help us feature books from smaller publishers who don’t have buy links up as early as the bigger trade houses. As always, if we missed any books that you’…
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Satisfaction Guaranteed RECOMMENDED: Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters is $2.99! Both Tara and Shana reviewed this one and gave it an A: Shana: I stayed up late reading Satisfaction Guaranteed because I just couldn’t put it down. This book reminded me why I love contemporary romances—experiencing the heady rush of falling in love through characters that feel so real, they could walk off the page and into one of my dinner parties. Reading this brought me such joy. Opposites attract in this playful and laugh-out-loud rom-com from Lambda Award finalist K…
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Welcome back to Cover Snark! We have quite the assortment. From Texas Book Lover: I saw this cover and immediately thought of cover snark. I’ll let y’all have fun with this… Sarah: I love that this cover made them think of us. I can’t imagine why. Elyse: He’s gonna need an ointment Sneezy: Someone didn’t listen to their tattoo artist Tara: I’m impressed that he managed his whole torso in one sitting. Carrie: This is what happens when Dad falls asleep on the couch in the same room as a toddler and a box of stickers. Sneezy: Someone get that kid cuter stickers, I don’t see any Hello Kitty on there Carrie: This family needs a glitter unicorn sticker intervention! …
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Accidentally Engaged RECOMMENDED: Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron is $2.99! Kiki reviewed this one and gave it an A-: I cannot emphasize enough how hungry this book will make you. Accidentally Engaged might be my top pick for “don’t read while hungry.” Between our heroine Reena’s bread baking (there’s rye, there’s challah, there’s an ongoing battle with a sourdough starter) and her Indian and East African cooking, I was craving a feast pretty much the whole time I was reading this book. Reena Manji doesn’t love her career, her single status, and most of all, her…
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It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve done a get rec’d! But time is always bizarre during this time of year. For those of you who are new – welcome! For some backstory, I have a lot of book-related jobs outside of SBTB, including reviewing romance novels, moderating book events, and working at an independent bookstore. Here are some of the titles I’ve been recommending to other readers since the last edition! Bird Brother If you’ve loved H is for Hawk or any sort of memoir that intersects with nature, you’ll like this one! To escape the tough streets of Southeast Washin…
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B- Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson February 1, 2022 · Berkley Romance Ramón and Julieta is a romance novel about Ramón, a billionaire, and Julieta, a chef. It’s also a novel about identity, culture, ethics, gentrification, music, family (toxic and healthy), and food. I wasn’t sure how this couple could possibly find a happy ending, but I sure wanted them to. However, given the weight and nuance of the topics addressed, especially gentrification, I wasn’t completely satisfied with how the story resolved…
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Hey all! It’s Whatcha Reading time. We want to hear all about what you’ve been digging into lately. It’s a shorter one given recent events. Claudia: I just started The Rebel and the Rake by Emily Sullivan, ( A | BN | K ) a new author for me. So far so good – Victorian spies. Shana: I’m reading The Perfect Fake Date by Naima Simone. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I’ve DNFed a string of disappointing category romances lately, so it’s a relief to read a solid contemporary from Harlequin. This is an angsty friends to lovers about a plus-sized lingerie designer and the supportive best friend who is obviously in love with her. What are you reading? Let us know! …
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It’s time for another episode of The Bachelor. More importantly, today is Pudding’s 16th birthday! She celebrated with leftover steak, which she appreciated, and a forehead kiss, which she did not. She also got to watch bird feeder videos on the tablet while laying in the sun. Back to The Bachelor. I guess. The first one-on-one date is with Serene and they’re at an ocean-side boardwalk. They go on a bunch of rides and play carnival games, and of course they make out. Clayton tells Serene he worked at a Six Flags in the fudge factory. K. During the dinner they aren’t allowed to eat, Serene talks about growing up in a “tough love” household where people weren’t a…
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The transcript for Podcast 497. The Invisible Goddess, Part II, with Melody from Heaving Bosoms! 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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Trashed Trashed by Mia Hopkins is $2.99! This is part of Hopkins’ Eastside Brewery series. Though I haven’t read any of Hopkins’ titles, I will say they get routinely recommended at my romance book club and I know Aarya has good things to say about them. But FYI, I believe this book is told through the hero’s POV He burns for her. Lucky for him, she likes to play with fire. . . My name is Eddie Rosas, but everyone calls me Trouble. Since I got out of prison six months ago, I’ve had one goal: find my father, whatever the cost. My older brother says I need to move on. …
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On Tuesday, 9 February, we learned that our friend and fellow Smart Bitch Catherine Heloise, lover of Eurovision and gleeful reader and reviewer of romance, died suddenly of a heart attack. We here at SBTB HQ are just heartbroken, and sending so much love and comfort from all over the world to her family and friends in and around Australia. It’s hard to summarize or put into words how much of a light Catherine was. She would write for thousands of words about every detail of a book she loved, or try to work out the nuance of what she didn’t. I could always hear her voice in what she wrote. Editing her work was always fun, though she and I clashed regularly with great sa…
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A It’s part II of our recap of The Invisible Goddess by AC Dawn, a retelling of the myth of Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. Have you read it? Did you like it? I have some things to tell you! A NEW PODCAST! I’m co-hosting LoveStruck Daily with Alisha Rai! LoveStruck Daily is a new podcast from iHeartRadio produced by Frolic Media that will deliver a true love story and those HEA feels every weekday. Our first episodes are out – we hope you like them! … Music: purple-planet.com Listen to the podcast → Read the transcript → Here are the books we discuss in this podcast: Goddesses…
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Well Met RECOMMENDED: Well Met by Jen DeLuca is $1.99! This is a contemporary romance set at a Ren Faire! Carrie gave this one a B: It’s playful and fun with an undercurrent of powerful, mutual empathy and mutual emotional care. All’s faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author Jen DeLuca. Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate gettin…
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SBTB HQ recently came across this book on Twitter and we launched into a discussion about wanting more cozy fantasy titles in our life. Here’s is the tweet that started it all: Sarah: Penric all the way. Some of them are a little angsty, especially those that deal with plague, but the first one is one of my comfort re-reads. Lord of Stariel would qualify for sure! And the TJ Klune series, beginning with The House in the Cerulean Sea. Shana: Ok, so does cozy fantasy mean it’s set in a village, like a cozy mystery? Or is it more about being comforting and low conflict? Amanda: The latter I’m interpreting. Give us all the cozy fantasy recommendations! …
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Welcome back, y’all! Yesterday, I spent five hours getting my tattoo colored and shaded. My skin feels so raw but I think it was definitely worth it. I can’t say enough good things about my artist and how relaxing the session was, all things considered. I also ordered a pizza on the way home because I was very hungry (I did snack a little during the session) and didn’t want to bother with cooking. Valentine’s Day is coming up and I treated myself to some yummy Compartes Chocolates. Are you treating yourself to anything special? I hope you are! … Thanks to Gloriamarie for sending this one our way! Jezebel is taking a look at the influx of penis content in current media…
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Winter’s Orbit RECOMMENDED: Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell is $2.99! Ellen read this one and gave it an A-: If you enjoy sci-fi, arranged marriage/marriage of convenience stories, courtly intrigues, and/or slow-burn romance, I think Winter’s Orbit is a great choice. Ancillary Justice meets Red, White & Royal Blue in Everina Maxwell’s exciting debut. While the Iskat Empire has long dominated the system through treaties and political alliances, several planets, including Thea, have begun to chafe under Iskat’s rule. When tragedy befalls Imperial Prince Taam, hi…
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Question: when you are going to skip the end of a book to find out what happens because you don’t care to read the whole thing, where do you skip to? Do you jump to the last chapter, or the penultimate chapter? Susan: Usually the third chapter from the end – enough that I have context, but not so far that I’m picking up all the stuff I was trying to skip. Carrie: Usually the last chapter – but it depends on why I’m skipping. If it’s an anxiety issue, and I need to know if there’s a HEA, I skip to the last page and go backwards from there until I know if everyone is OK. If I’m mildly interested in what happens but not enough to give the book a lot of time, I skim t…
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ALGONKIAN SUCCESS STORIES
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Algonkian Retreats and Workshops 2023 - Assignments
Assignment 4: Selecting Genres and Finding Two Comparables Genre: Womens Fiction, Historical Fiction, Feminism, LBGTQ+ Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus In this book, the main character is an anomaly for her time, a chemist in a man’s domain. Set in the 1950’s, the mainstream jobs for women were clear cut: teacher, nurse, secretary, but NOT chemist! The main character, Elizabeth Zott, fights with grit and determination to bring her feminist views to the public via her cooking show that combines chemistry with art of cooking. There is tension in the sexist encounters with her male peers, humor (her dog narrates come of the action) and an antagonist you clearly want to cheer on. Compared to my stories: My women’s stories are set in time frames starting in the early 1900’s to present day. Although the context within which each woman struggles is different, struggles remain. Some of my women are much like Elizabeth Zott – bright, determined and up against cultures and mores that attempt to block their way. Some of my women’s struggles are completely self-induced. Some of my antagonists the reader will want to cheer on and some will be more difficult to cheer on. They’re complicated women with sound motives that may seem nefarious to some. A Manual for Cleaning Women, Collected Stories by Lucia Berlin, Foreward by Lydia Davis, Edited by Stephen Emerson This gritty collection of Berlin’s stories, published posthumously, tell tales of hard-living women. Many of them are semi-autobiographical, as Berlin suffered from alcoholism and fought that demon all her life. Her clear, unvarnished prose is the clear asset in her stories with just enough humor and wit to keep the reader from descending into a black hole. Kirkus Reviews states “…she might have had a higher profile if her subject matter had been less gloomy.” Advice - I’ll take it! Compared to my stories: The women in my stories are mostly blue-color women, only one being college-educated. There are struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction, an inability to live an authentic life because of religious beliefs and homophobia and a woman’s most ineffective coping mechanism: denial. I want to keep the prose clean and necessary to advance the story, but vary the voice to allow an omnipresent 3rd person to inject humor, wit and outrageousness into what might otherwise be a depressing tale. -
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THE CLIFF HOUSE by Chris Brookmyre (BOOK REVIEW)
“What happens on Calchan Geal, stays on Clachan Geal” Chris Brookmyre was a journalist before becoming a full-time novelist with the publication of his award-winning debut Quite Ugly One Morning, which established him as one of Britain’s leading crime authors. His novels have sold more than two million copies in the UK alone, and Black Widow won both the McIlvanney Prize and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. Chris Brookmyre’s 2022 island thriller, ‘The Cliff House,’ is written in quite an accessible way. I am not suggesting that this novel is written simplistically, but rather that it is written in a very familiar way, so one can connect with the narrative easily, although it concerns subject matters that I hope most people wouldn’t have had to endure (such as missing husbands, domestic violence and finding dead bodies in the kitchen). To say I think this book might have deserved a trigger warning for some of the content would be an understatement, Brookmyre writes in a familiar but blugeoningly unapologetic way, handling complex subjects and sensitive details skilfully, but occasionally the content could be at risk of upsetting some people. Jen has rented a luxury getaway for her hen do, an entire island off the Scottish coast, a location that influencers scramble for invites to and celebrities pay thousands and thousands to host elaborate parties and weddings at the large lavish mansion that resides on the Island of Calchan Geal. Luckily for Jen, there was a cancelation. So, she booked the island for her big weekend, inviting her nearest and dearest to join her. ‘I want you to feel the one true essence of the Clachan Geal experience: Splendid Isolation’ Little did they know that within hours of arriving on the island and being greeted by the host and owner, Lauren, that they would find a dead body in the kitchen, and they would realise how very alone they really are. ‘The Reaper: All for one and one for all. Six downloads short.” This thriller is focused on family, secrets, friendship, and survival (more types than one), Brookmyre successfully handles all areas of this novel by meticulously constructing the narrative from a variety of perspectives. Which includes Jen herself, her party guests as well as the islands owner. Bouncing from perspective to perspective is not as disorientating as it could be, and it actually makes it harder to guess who the ‘bad-guy’ character in this narrative is. ‘Not Everybody’s playing an angle’ One of the things I love about Brookmyre, is how he reminds you that he is a Scottish writer within his work. Occasionally, Brookmyre will use Scottish vernacular within his work, or mentions iron-bru, so you can never forget that this is a Scottish novel, written by a Scottish author, brilliant. As well as that, Brookmyre includes a plethora of contemporary (ish) references that help you position the narrative, as well as the characters themselves, and help to contextualise what he was trying to do in terms of setting and atmosphere. Such as relating Jen’s friend Michelle, or the famous singer Mica, to Adele, or talking about watching BBC’s 2009 series ‘Ashes to Ashes,’ (which was no where near as good as the series ‘Life on Mars’ which preceded it). Brookmyre uses references, and Scottish vernacular to position his novel as familiar and highlight that that characters could be anyone, and he does it well. ‘I haven’t been hiding the truth from your Beattie, I’ve been sparing you from it.’ I had not heard of Brookmyre until NetGalley recommended ‘The Cliff House,’ to me, but boy am I glad it did. A terrifying and triggering novel that I would recommend to anyone who loves adrenaline-fueled chaos and thrillers – but I would make sure people were suitably warned: ‘may contain references to dead bodies, violence and domestic violence.’ A cracking novel about a hen party I am glad I wasn’t invited to. https://www.brookmyre.co.uk/ Twitter: @cbrookmyre The post THE CLIFF HOUSE by Chris Brookmyre (BOOK REVIEW) appeared first on The Fantasy Hive. View the full article -
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Your Book is Always New
I’ve been messing up for years now. I mean, we all make mistakes, obviously. Big ones and small ones, writing-related and otherwise. But the mistake I’ve recently realized is very much related to my publishing career. And now that I’ve vowed to turn over this leaf for myself, I want to shout from the rooftops–to help others, let’s say, turn over their own leaves. Here’s the thing: it’s an easy mistake to make. If you’ve been lucky–and hard-working and persistent and stubborn and talented and about 83 other things, but especially lucky–enough to write and publish more than one book, your newest book is pretty much always the one topmost in your mind. After all, in some sense, you have to put the others behind to focus on the newest one. If you’re lucky (again, and other adjectives here) enough to write under contract with a publisher, the schedule on which you write the new book is dictated, and then when the book comes out, promotion happens right around one big On Sale date, a brief window where your book is New. So I’m not beating myself up about it, but for years, when I’ve introduced myself to new people as an author and they ask what I write, I start talking about my newest book. Sometimes it’s the most recent to come out, and sometimes it’s the one that’s coming out next, depending on where I am in the cycle. Hi, I’m Greer, I write books! What kind of books? Well, my new book Arca, the second in a fantasy series that’s kind of like a matriarchal Game of Thrones, comes out in March! And I have finally realized, while that’s exactly the right answer for a publishing crowd, it’s almost meaningless to civilians. People I meet at my kids’ school, or at a fondue party, or at the endodontist’s office, or wherever, don’t care about a specific book of mine. They don’t care about what’s new. I shouldn’t be focusing on that particular book. And if you have multiple books, and someone asks you about your work, you shouldn’t focus on your newest/latest book either. Don’t tell them what you’ve written. Tell them what you write. What I mean by that is, don’t start with specific titles. If you write in multiple genres, you don’t even need to start with genre, either. I write both historical fiction and epic fantasy, and the deeper I dive into one or the other of those, the more tempted I am to start listing titles, which is right about when people’s eyes start to glaze over. Hi, I’m Greer, I write books! What kind of books? Novels about extraordinary women. That isn’t where it ends, but that’s where it starts. Sometimes, that may be enough to trigger a follow-up question. If not, I could talk next about genre, or specific titles. I could ask the other person a question about what they like to read, and go from there. I could say that sometimes I draw inspiration from real-life figures, like Kate Warne, and ask if they know her story. I could talk about my matriarchal epic fantasy series, including the book that’s coming out next month–but only after setting the stage with the broader description. Because in the real world, by which I mean not the publishing world, your new book is no more important than any of your other books. Unless they’re very likely to have heard of your newest book because you’re, I don’t know, Tana French or something, the title isn’t going to ring a bell. Tell them who you are as an author. Then go from there to introduce your most relevant book to the conversation depending on who you’re talking to. It’ll be more natural. And your new friend might even be more likely to look up your book if you make an effort to connect. Q: Do you fall into the trap of always focusing on your newest book when talking to new people? If not, how else do you approach these conversations? [url={url}]View the full article[/url] -
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Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez: Blog Tour and Giveaway
I'm so excited to launch the blog tour of Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez. This book is perfect for anyone – young and not-so-young – who has ever felt sad, lost, or in need of advice or messages about empowerment and self-discovery. Continue on to find out more about this amazing book and read an interview with the author. But first, here's more about the book: Hope and Fortune is a modern-day fairytale, featuring multicultural, multiracial (e.g., Filipina, African-American, Latina, Asian, Muslim, etc.), multigenerational, and multigender (including a boy) fairies of different shapes and sizes who help a sad little child who has lost her way to find her path. Each fairy represents an ideal - Hope, Innocence and Wonder, Truth and Virtue, Generosity and Kindness, Strength and Courage, Respect and Dignity, Confidence, Imagination, Happiness, Beauty, Wisdom and Intelligence, and Love and Friendship. Although the protagonist is a little girl, the life advice given by the fairies is non-gender-specific and could resonate with anyone facing a difficult situation at any point in her/his/their life. Publisher: Black Rose WritingISBN-10: 1685131174ISBN-12: 978-1685131174Print copy pages: 46 pages Purchase a copy for yourself on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Bookshop.org. You should also add it to your GoodReads reading list. About the Author, Marissa Bañez A first-generation immigrant to the U.S. from the Philippines, Marissa Bañez is a graduate of Princeton University and a lawyer licensed to practice in New York, California, and New Jersey. She has published legal articles for the prestigious New York Law Journal and the American Bar Association, but her true passion is in her children's stories. She currently lives in New York City with her husband and daughter, whose childhood was filled with many original stories and puppet shows made up entirely by her mom. In her free time, Marissa likes to travel, design and make clothes, cook, binge-watch Star Trek shows and Korean dramas, and occasionally strum a guitar. She is currently working on her second book, Hues and Harmony (How the Singing Rainbow Butterfly Got Her Colors), a story about mixed or multiracial children, self-discovery, and respect for others as told through the life and adventures of a caterpillar. It is scheduled for publication on July 20, 2023. You can find her online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marissa.banez.7/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-banez/ --- Interview by Nicole Pyles WOW: First of all, congratulations on your book, Hope and Fortune. What are you working on now that you can tell us about? Marissa: I’m currently putting the finishing touches to my second book, Hues and Harmony (How the Rainbow Butterfly Got Her Colors). It’s about multiraciality, empowerment, self-acceptance and belonging as told through the life and adventures of a singing caterpillar (because why not a singing caterpillarar???), using common shapes, primary colors, and basic chemistry concepts. Like Hope and Fortune (see response to No. 3 below), Hues and Harmony is a re-write of story and puppet show from my daughter’s childhood entitled The Singing Rainbow Butterfly. Then, I created the puppet caterpillar in the story out of round silver pot scrubbers held together by a wire, string, and popsicle sticks (not to mention a prayer). I think I still have that caterpillar somewhere and intend to use it when I do public readings for Hues and Harmony. Esperanza and the Fortune Fairies from Hope and Fortune make a cameo – yet important –appearance in Hues and Harmony, but it’s not a sequel. I used the same illustrator, and the dialogue/songs are also in rhyme so it will have the same look, feel, and sound as Hope and Fortune. I’m happy with how Hope and Fortune turned out and I want Hues and Harmony (as well as any other subsequent books) to have the same quality. Hues and Harmony is scheduled for official release on July 20, 2023. WOW: That's amazing and I love the synchrony of both books! I love the symbolism in Hope and Fortune. Can you tell us a bit more about that? Marissa: I deliberately designed Hope and Fortune to be more than what meets the eye. Because children’s illustrated books are usually limited to 1000-1500 words, I expressly curated my illustrations to supplement the text of Hope and Fortune and create a multi-layered story with deeper significance. In writing and illustrating Hope and Fortune, I learned that numbers, colors, and animals represent or symbolize certain ideals and principles that dovetail nicely with what I wanted to say in the book. I then incorporated a lot of that symbolism to make the story as multifaceted as possible. Each of the characters in Hope and Fortune represents or symbolizes something. For example, “Esperanza” is the Spanish word for “hope.” Also, I read the number 12 symbolizes emotional, mental, and spiritual growth and enlightenment, which makes it the perfect number of fairies for this book! One of my favorite fairies is the Fortune Fairy of Beauty, who I deliberately chose not to depict “beauty” with a person’s face because what is beautiful is a personal concept informed by one’s world view. I remember a wonderful episode of Star Trek, about a race of aliens that were evolving from their corporeal states into beings of pure energy. That made me think of energy as our spiritual essence or life-force. To me, a beautiful spirit will always win over a gorgeous face with an ugly personality. Thus, the Fortune Fairy of Beauty as a heart radiating positive and bright energy was born. As she says: “Beauty is not what you see with your eyes but with your heart.” Another favorite is the Fortune Fairy of Wisdom and Intelligence. Oftentimes, old women in fairytales are depicted as old crones or witches. I wanted to change that narrative by depicting an old woman as representing wisdom and intelligence. I also wanted to honor and pay tribute to my alma mater, Princeton University. Orange and black are Princeton’s colors but orange is also a symbol of meditation, inspiration, and creativity – building blocks for wisdom and intelligence. The tiger, Princeton’s mascot, symbolizes high intellect and confidence. These are just some examples of the many things embedded in my illustrations. My hope is that the illustrations will result in further discussion and engender curiosity among all readers, both the young and the not-so-young. WOW: I love it! What inspired you to write this book and what led you to write children's books, in particular? Marissa: When my daughter was little, I wrote original children’s stories and created puppet shows from the stories. One of the stories from those days is the precursor to Hope and Fortune called The Lost Foal. For my daughter’s 7th birthday, I wanted to put on a show for her and her friends at her party. She wanted a story about cowgirls, fairies, and her little stuffed horse. I came up with a story entitled, The Lost Foal. In The Lost Foal, the stuffed horse was the one that got lost in the forest and encountered “cowgirl fairies” played by my daughter and her guests, each of whom wore fairy wings and pink cowboy hats and gave the horse life advice to get it back on the right track. Fast forward 16 years later to the pandemic and lockdown in 2020. I felt bad for my daughter, her peers and those younger, all of whom faced unprecedented uncertainties in life. I then took The Lost Foal, modernized it with a diverse cast of characters, and created a message that I hope will resonate not only with the very young but also with those less so who may feel rudderless and lost (in however way you want to define and contextualize those terms) at some point in their lives. Writing children’s books is a great way for me to enjoy speaking to and connecting with young children. In December, I did a reading of Hope and Fortune at a local library in New York City. After I read the book, a 7-year-old boy took a copy of the book to read to himself. He then followed me around until he had my full attention to tell me how much he loved the book and that now he wants to write a book someday too. Even though the book is about a little girl with a Spanish name and fairies, the story still resonated with a little Asian boy – which is more than I could’ve hoped for. How wonderful to be able to touch the hearts and minds of young children with just a few words and illustrations. Here are a couple of pictures from my December 17, 2022, reading: WOW: That is such a touching experience that led you to writing this book! I can see you already have a wonderful impact on children. Your book features multi-cultural and multi-generational fairies. Why was this type of representation so important to the book? Marissa: The Fortune Fairies are multicultural, multiracial, multigender and multigenerational because I wanted to demonstrate through vivid and relatable images that this world is comprised of many different types, colors, sizes, and shapes of people – all of whom have something valid to say and contribute to the betterment of humanity. The need for this type of representation was recently made obvious to me when I advertised my reading of Hope and Fortune at a local library on a public page on Facebook: She deliberately chose to ignore my conciliatory tone and further challenged: “that doesn’t look a white fairy.” What is a white fairy supposed to look like?!? I will confess that I have not ever seen a fairy of any type and that all the fairies in my book simply sprung out of my imagination. Hers is type of closed-mindedness, unjustifiable vitriol and, yes, prejudice that warrants greater racial, cultural, gender, and generational representation in children’s books. WOW: Absolutely! How has being a lawyer prepared you for your writing career? Marissa: As a lawyer, I’m used to revisions and wholesale re-writes. Our documents usually undergo several revisions. This process continues until the very last moment and until we feel comfortable that we’d done everything in producing a good document. I treat my writing of children’s books the same way. The objective is to be able to sell the story (to the publisher, to the reviewer, to the buyer, to the reader) much in the same way that lawyers have to sell their arguments (to the judge, the opposing side, the jury, the client). So, this is my editing process: Write (or at least visualize) an outline that captures all the ideas I want to convey. Write a first draft that will likely surpass the word count requirement for children’s illustrated books of only about 1,000-1,500 words (most legal briefs also have word or page limitations). Remember: it’s easier to cut than it is to add or create new material. Focus on what’s essential and relevant and be ruthless in deleting or changing what’s not. As a lawyer, I learned not to be attached to any particular words or phrases. When I’m finally happy with a draft and think it’s as good as it’s ever going to be, I put it aside for a couple of days.Often, when I look at it again, I find that it needs further editing. Sometimes, during the respite, new ideas bubble up in my consciousness that must be incorporated. “Shampoo, rinse, repeat” until the very last moment of my submission deadline. My manuscript editing process applies equally to the illustrations. Of course, because I work with an illustrator (as I do with paralegals, assistants and outside vendors necessary to produce a legal document), I am considerate of his time and capabilities. As a rule, I try very hard not to jam anyone up at the last minute with too many changes. I’ve found that being considerate of others in this way not only results in good working relationships but also a better work product. WOW: You have a fantastic structure to your process. What surrounds you as you write? Marissa: My lawyer training has given me the ability to write and focus anywhere at any time, blocking out all distractions. I don’t need – or want – aromatherapy, music, food/drink, pet companions, or even a pristine desk or room. I just need space for my computer and space in my mind. WOW: That's wonderful! Thank you again for your time and best of luck to you on your book tour! --- Blog Tour Calendar February 6th @ The MuffinJoin us as we celebrate the launch of Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez. You can read an interview with the author and win a copy of the book.https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com February 8th @ School Librarian in ActionVisit Zarah's blog for her review of Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez. https://lovealibrarian.blogspot.com/ February 10th @ What is That Book AboutJoin Michelle who will be spotlighting Hope and Fortune on her blog.https://www.whatisthatbookabout.com/ February 12th @ The Mommies ReviewsVisit Glenda's blog for her review of Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez. https://www.themommiesreviews.com/ February 13th @ Mindy McGinnis' BlogMindy features a guest post by author Marissa Bañez about why publishing a book is not the end, but only the beginning in getting your book to a reader.https://www.mindymcginnis.com/blog February 16th @ The Frugalista MomJoin Rochie as she reviews Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez. You'll also have a chance to win a copy of the book too!https://thefrugalistamom.com/ February 20th @ A Storybook WorldJoin Deirdra as she features a guest post by Marissa Bañez about how to contact a newspaper that caters to your specific "tribe."https://www.astorybookworld.com/ February 20th @ Ronovan WritesJoin Ronovan for an interview with the author of Hope and Fortune, Marissa Bañez.https://ronovanwrites.com/ February 22nd @ Word MagicVisit Fiona's blog where she shares a guest post by Marissa Bañez about using illustrations in children's books to add depth and meaning to the story.http://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com/ February 24th @ Barbara Barth Art & WordsJoin Barbara as she reviews Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez.http://barbarabarthartandwords.blogspot.com/ February 25th @ World of My ImaginationJoin Nicole as she features Marissa Bañez on her weekly feature "3 Things on a Saturday Night."https://worldofmyimagination.com/ February 26th @ Shoe's Seeds & StoriesJoin Linda for her review of Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez. https://lschuelerca.wordpress.com/ February 28th @ World of My ImaginationJoin Nicole as she reviews Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez. You can also win a copy of the book too!https://worldofmyimagination.com/ March 2nd @ Beverley A. Baird's BlogVisit Beverley's blog for her review of Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez. https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com/ March 3rd @ Writer AdviceVisit B. Lynn Goodwin's blog for her review of Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez. https://writeradvice.com/ March 4th @ Beverley A. Baird's BlogJoin Beverley again for a guest post by Marissa Bañez about becoming a children's author in her mid-60s.https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com/ March 4th @ Boots, Shoes, and FashionVisit Linda's blog for an interview with author Marissa Bañez about her children's book Hope and Fortune.https://bootsshoesandfashion.com/ March 5th @ Barbara Barth Art and WordsVisit Barbara's blog today for her review of Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez.https://barbarabarthartandwords.blogspot.com/ March 8th @ One Sister's JourneyVisit Lisa's blog for a spotlight of Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez.https://www.lisambuske.com/ March 10th @ ChoicesJoin Madeline as she shares a guest post by author Marissa Bañez about whether self-publishing is worth it.http://madelinesharples.com/ March 10th @ Ronovan WritesJoin Ronovan again for a review of Hope and Fortune.https://ronovanwrites.com/ ***** BOOK GIVEAWAY ***** Enter to win a copy of the children's book, Hope and Fortune by Marissa Bañez. Fill out the Rafflecopter form by February 19th at 11:59 pm CT for a chance to win. We will choose a winner randomly the next day and will follow up via email. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway(C) Copyright wow-womenonwriting.com Visit WOW! Women On Writing for lively interviews and how-tos. Check out WOW!'s Classroom and learn something new. Enter the Quarterly Writing Contests. Open Now![url={url}]View the full article[/url] -
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Harry Dean Stanton is the Hero of Every Noir
In his introduction to the Black Lizard edition of Charles Willeford’s Miami Blues, Elmore Leonard writes that neither he or Willeford wanted to be stuck with the good guy’s point of view. “We both saw Harry Dean Stanton as our hero,” he said. When I lived in Los Angeles, I haunted the bar at Dan Tana’s because I heard Harry Dean Stanton haunted the bar at Dan Tana’s. I spent a couple foggy closing times in his company, drinking tequila, smoking American Spirits, and singing Irish songs. Later, when I started writing about the burned-out Van Nuys bail bondsman who became the hero of my first novel Zig Zag, I always pictured Harry Dean. Across a hundred or so movies, Harry was rarely the lead, but he was always a high point. Spaceship mechanic, Christmas angel, FBI agent, Paul the Apostle, Rip Van Winkle, Molly Ringwald’s dad. Plug him in anywhere and he works. On the surface, he could appear disinterested, ornery, hungover. Unwinding the cellophane on the day’s second pack, he did baby-I-don’t-care better than Robert Mitchum. But in all the drunks and lowlifes he portrayed, even in the cruel characters of The Rose or Big Love, his humanity always blazed through. It was right there on his face all the time. He looked like a fugitive saint. With his hangdog mug and laconic fatalism, Harry was born to be in westerns—from early saddle and spurs roles on Rawhide and The Rifleman to wild riffs on the genre like Ride In The Whirlwind, Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, Rancho Deluxe, and Cry For Me, Billy. But when you go down the rogue’s gallery of characters in the rap sheet of his filmography, you’ll find many who could float their own crime novels. Here are some of my favorites. Low-Rent Detective Billy Rolfe, Farewell, My Lovely; Ernie Fontenot, Playback; Johnnie Farragut, Wild At Heart; Rudy Junkins, Christine Talking about noir, Farewell, My Lovely is as good a place to start as any. When Harry’s shifty department hack comes knocking, Mitchum’s Marlowe takes one look at him and says, “I have the feeling I should be slipping him a fin or something.” A small role, but Harry’s authentic performance is part of what makes this 1975 Dick Richards picture one of the best Raymond Chandler screen adaptations. Only the most morally bankrupt Harry Dean completist need seek out Playback (it’s on YouTube), but even in this softcore Playboy production starring Tawny Kitaen and an extremely oily George Hamilton, you completely believe Harry as the cheap snoop digging up divorce dirt. For Harry as P.I., you’re better off with Wild At Heart, David Lynch’s film of the great Barry Gifford novel. His Johnnie Farragut has a wide range—from down and out to completely out there—best represented in the famous scene of him barking like a dog in a motel room with a brandy snifter on the nightstand. In John Carpenter’s version of Stephen King’s Christine, Harry has a Columbo quality as Detective Rudy Junkins. Maybe that’s why Carpenter pitched him the idea of doing a TV detective series. He mentioned it in interviews a lot, how it would have brought him more fame, money, and women, but he turned it down for a purely Harry Dean reason: “Too much work.” Deadbeat Dognapper Philo Skinner, The Black Marble Based on a Joseph Wambaugh novel, this is an odd entry even for the Harry Dean canon. Philo “The Terrier King” Skinner kidnaps a high-end show dog to cover his gambling losses. Chain-smoking Camel straights, he calls in desperate ransom demands from gin mill payphones and is eventually found out by a bloodshot boozehound of a cop who chases him through a kennel in the bonkers climax. A self-described “mangy man” in white shoes, a white belt, and a rayon shirt open to the navel, Philo may be the sleaziest character in Harry’s repertoire, planted on a barstool right between Moe from One From The Heart and Billy from Rafferty And The Gold Dust Twins. Bank Robber Homer Van Meter, Dillinger; Jerry Schue, Straight Time Dillinger doesn’t occupy the same space in my heart as their other team-ups in 92 In The Shade, Two-Lane Blacktop, and Cockfighter, but it’s always a deep pleasure to see Harry Dean and his Kentucky compatriot Warren Oates share the screen. Especially when they’re knocking over banks. After Dillinger, it’s only a few years until Harry’s back in hold-up mode in Straight Time. Loafing poolside with a platter of cheeseburgers and a doting wife, Jerry Schue has traded in his ski mask and shotgun for a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops—and he’s miserable. Soon as Dustin Hoffman’s Max Dembo hints at a robbery job, Jerry jumps at the bait with Harry’s immortal delivery of the line, “I don’t give a damn what it is, let’s do it…What is it?” That’s when you know everything’s about to go very bad. Repo Man Bud, Repo Man; C.W. Douglas, Flatbed Annie and Sweetiepie: Lady Truckers Most of you have probably seen Repo Man. Some of you may be able to recite the Repo Code. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to find Harry’s first run at the repo racket in Flatbed Annie and Sweetiepie, a 1979 TV movie starring Annie Potts and Kim Darby. In the grand tradition of 70s trucker pictures, this is a shaggy, freewheeling affair. It concerns an 18-wheeler hauling cocaine with some interested parties in hot pursuit. Harry’s repo man looks like an emaciated Boss Hogg with his western suit and longhorn hood ornament—but he’s damn determined to get that rig. Also featuring Fred Willard, which is never a bad thing. Shady Faith Healer Who Moves Stolen Cars Brother Bud, UFOria (1986) This movie starts strong with Fred Ward drinking from an open container in an open convertible. When he reunites with Harry Dean’s conman preacher, things really take a turn for the weird. A lot of the charm of this underrated gem is in Harry’s boozy chemistry with Ward, which recalls the dynamic he had with Warren Oates. Brother Bud’s philosophy is, “Everybody ought to believe in something. I believe I’ll have another drink.” Sounds a lot like the guy holding court at Dan Tana’s twenty-five years later, who was fond of saying, “We’re all gonna live forever. But I’m gonna outlive all you motherfuckers.” Nowheresville Loner Travis Henderson, Paris, Texas; Old Man, Fool For Love; Carl Rodd, Twin Peaks: Firewalk With Me/The Return; Lyle Straight, The Straight Story; Floyd Cage, The Pledge; Lucky, Lucky Harry Dean created his own distinct version of the American loner archetype. A Zen cowboy. A man out of time. Starting with his defining role in Paris, Texas, written for him by Sam Shepard, you could argue many characters that followed are versions of Travis. Still on the drift, discovering again and again that all roads lead to nowhere. In Robert Altman’s adaptation of Shepard’s Fool For Love, Harry’s character, known only as the Old Man, is ensconced in a junkyard trailer behind the neon mirage of the El Royale Motel, fantasizing about Barbara Mandrell. For Firewalk With Me, the loner decamps for the Fat Trout Trailer Park and a cup of Good Morning America in a plaid bathrobe. Then David Lynch drops him on the porch of a dilapidated shack for the haymaker final scene of The Straight Story. Come 2001, he shows up in The Pledge, operating a remote gas station outside Reno. When Jack Nicholson presents a turnkey offer, Harry wastes no time packing his fishing rod and hitting the road, eventually making his way back to the Fat Trout Trailer Park for an encore performance of “Red River Valley” in Twin Peaks: The Return. The loner finally comes to the end of the trail, as Harry does, in the desert town in Lucky, his small, perfect swan song. *** View the full article -
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10 New Books Coming Out This Week
Another week, another batch of books for your TBR pile. Happy reading, folks. * Jonathan Kellerman, Unnatural History (Ballantine) “This is Kellerman at his very best. Just the dialogue between Sturgis and Delaware is worth it. But also, the depiction of Los Angeles is always the star.” –Mystery & Suspense magazine Kwei Quartey, Last Seen in Lapaz (Soho) “Quartey once again finds piercing social pain beneath what looks like a routine case.” –Kirkus Reviews Deborah Crombie, A Killing of Innocents (William Morrow) “Crombie is as skilled as Louise Penny or J.D. Robb in developing characters while entwining personal lives with riveting police investigations. With four years since A Bitter Feast, the previous book in the series, the author’s fans will be eager to catch up with her characters.” –Library Journal Stephen Graham Jones, Don’t Fear the Reaper (Gallery/Saga) “Horror fans [will] be blown away by this audacious extravaganza.” –Publishers Weekly Hank Phillippi Ryan, The House Guest (Forge) “Hank Phillippi Ryan is one of my favorite authors, and The House Guest proves why. This riveting novel twists and turns through the pageturning story…events turn shocking, with revelation after revelation in a thriller that never forgets to touch the heart.” –Lisa Scottoline Mike Lawson, Alligator Alley (Atlantic Monthly Press) “Assured prose matches the two capable protagonists: the crafty DeMarco and the relentless, brilliant Emma. This is perhaps Lawson’s best in the series to date.” –Publishers Weekly Mariana Enriquez (transl. Megan McDowell, illus. Pablo Gerardo Camacho), Our Share of Night (Hogarth) “An ailing medium who can connect with the dead tries to protect his son from an insatiable darkness. . . . Monumental.” The New York Times John Higgs, Love and Let Die: James Bond, The Beatles, and The British Psyche (Pegasus) “Higgs builds his case around evocative profiles of the Beatles and their fandom and of Bond’s evolving persona and his real-life alter-egos. The result is a thoughtful romp through pop culture that’s full of fresh ideas and sharp connections.” –Publishers Weekly Katrine Engberg, The Sanctuary (Gallery/Scout) “The identity of the culprit is an enormous surprise, but more surprising still is the closure Engberg brings to long-running storylines, resulting in a very poignant moment for fans of the series in addition to a satisfying solution to the central mystery.” –BookPage Anastasia Hastings, Of Manners and Murder (Minotaur) “Funny at times, this series debut is also an adventurous and thoughtful look at a time when women’s lives were on the brink of change. And it’s a puzzling whodunit to boot.” –First Clue View the full article -
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São Paulo: City of Extremes
São Paulo – the most populous city in Brazil; the largest Portuguese speaking city in the world; arguably the fourth largest metropolitan area in the world and a major financial, corporate, and commercial centre for the country. And also a melting pot city – Arabs, Italians, Portuguese, Jews from all over Europe, and Japanese among others have all made São Paulo home and have added to its distinctive feel. It’s a city of skyscrapers, buzzing helicopters, traffic jams, a serious soccer addiction, and the massive energy of the Paulistanos, as the locals are known. São Paulo crime fiction is invariably tough, hard boiled and accentuates the problems within Brazilian society and its justice system. A really good place to start delving into São Paulo crime writing is Joe Thomas’s São Paulo Quartet – Paradise City (2016), Gringa (2018), Playboy (2019), and Brazilian Psycho (2021). Thomas is English but moved to São Paulo and fell in love with the place – the distinctive (shall we say!) smell of the Tietê River, the miles of anonymous urban sprawl in all directions, the heat. And, though the traffic and crime are terrible, Thomas found an energy that excited him. The first book in the series, Paradise City, is named after the Paraisópolis favela, an incredible physical symbol to the huge gulf between rich and poor in the city. According to Thomas, crime in São Paulo is run by a gang called PCC – from jail. He told The Guardian, ‘On the weekend before the World Cup in 2006, they demanded wide screen TVs to watch the game. When the authorities refused they said they’d cause chaos across the city – and they did for three days.’ The Quartet is not just a series of great crime novels but a way to learn the ins and outs of São Paulo from favela etiquette to why, if you ever visit, you need to eat a pastel – a deep-fried pastry with a cheese or meat filling which you’ll find at stalls everywhere. For a slightly earlier era in São Paulo, Leighton Gage is a good source. Gage, who died in 2013, split his time between split time between his home in Santana do Parnaiba, a village near São Paolo, and Florida. His time in Brazil inspired the Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigations series reflecting the twenty years he lived in Brazil and his love of the local culture. There are seven books in the procedural series starting with Blood of the Wicked (2008). Chief Inspector Mario Silva of Brazil’s Federal Police is a good cop in a bad system. Silva, and his partner “Baby Face” Gonçalves, are forced to work within a justice system is rife with corruption. Book two in the series, Buried Strangers (2009), is Gage’s book most rooted in São Paulo. A skeleton is found in the woods on the outskirts of the city and Silva is summoned from his base in the capital, Brasilia, to unravel the web of politics and corruption in São Paulo. The series moves location from books to book, both urban settings and some investigations that take Silva into the Amazon jungle. All are well worth reading and cover such contemporary issues as pornography, organ theft, underage prostitution and the illegal destruction of the rain forest. Writing crime books seems to attract many from other walks of celebrity life – Gypsy Rose Lee, Anthony Bourdain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and various others… and so too the Brazilian musician and lead guitarist with Brazilian mega-rock band Titãs (who have released twenty albums and sold over six million records to date), Antonio Bellotto. Bellotto is São Paulo born and bred. He set his heart on becoming a guitarist in the mould of Hendrix or Clapton, but he also loved books. His first book, Bellini and the Sphinx (1994), features a detective who living in the São Paulo suburbs. It was a big success and later inspired a Brazilian movie. Bellini and the Sphinx finally got translated into English in 2019 and was praised by everyone including CrimeReads and the Chicago Review of Books. Several other books in the series, including the follow up to Bellini and the Sphinx, Bellini and the Devil (1997), Bellini and the Spirits (2005) and, Bellini and the Labyrinth (2014) are yet to be translated into English. Bellotto, who also is the long-running host of a popular television program focused on literature and music, Afinando a língua, has also gone on to edit São Paulo Noir (2018), for the consistently excellent Akashic Noir series which features writing by Bellotto as well as many other local Brazilian authors not much translated unfortunately – Olivia Maia, Marcelino Freire, Beatriz Bracher & Maria S. Carvalhosa, Fernando Bonassi, Marcelo Rubens Paiva, Marçal Aquino, Jô Soares, Mario Prata, Ferréz, Vanessa Barbara, Ilana Casoy, and Drauzio Varella. In his introduction to the book Bellotto notes that São Paulo includes a district known as Cracolândia (Crackland) and that among the violent and neglected communities spread along its periphery, one bears the ironic name Paraisópolis (Paradise City). Among these writers only Bellotto and Jô Soares have made it into English sadly. Soares’s Twelve Fingers: Biography of an Anarchist (2001) is a wild ride featuring Dimitri Borja Korozec, born in the late 1800s to a Brazilian contortionist mother and a fanatically nationalist Serbian linotypist father. Korozec is a Zelig-like character throughout the early twentieth century, and an assassin, who interacts with (among others!) Mata Hari, Al Capone, Carmen Miranda, Marie Curie, Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, George Raft, and even the old English occultist Aleister Crowley. It’s not really crime, it’s not really fact or fiction…but it is fun. I feel it’s also worth mentioning a couple of non-fiction books that explore the underbelly of São Paulo. Gabriel Feltran is an ethnographer deeply immersed in the city. His study The Entangled City: Crime as Urban Fabric (2020) in São Paulo looks at many elements of the city’s criminal world including illegal markets, union busting, drug dealing and car theft. He studies the clash between the everyday the young black men of the favelas São Paulo’s white middle classes. Equally interesting is Teresa PR Caldeira’s City of Walls: Crime, Segregation, and Citizenship in São Paulo (2001). Caldeira examines the patterns and the dynamics of São Paulo crime by comparing the city to Los Angeles and other large global metropolises. And finally, as usual a book that does not perhaps neatly fit the crime fiction genre but is revealing of the city and contains insights into the inner, and often murky, workings of the place. In São Paulo’s case a good example is James Scudamore’s Heliopolis, long listed for the Booker Prize in 2009. It’s a rambling but insightful tale of the city – As a child Ludo is plucked out of the São Paulo shantytown where he is born and transported to a world of languid, cosseted luxury. At twenty-seven he finds himself working high above the sprawling metropolis for a vacuous ‘communications company’. But this is not his world, and this is not a simple rags-to-riches story: Ludo’s destiny moves him around like a chess piece, showing him both extremities of opulent excess and abject poverty, taking him to the brink of madness and brutality. Heliopolis, as much as Joe Thomas’s Paradise City, or pretty much all the other books on this list stress the extremes of São Paulo – rich and poor, black and white, lucky and unlucky, honest and corrupt. View the full article -
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The Novelist As Method Actor
meth·od act·ing /ˈmeTHəd aktiNG/ noun a technique of acting in which an actor aspires to complete emotional identification with a part, based on the system evolved by Stanislavsky and brought into prominence in the US in the 1930s. Method acting was developed in institutions such as the Actors’ Studio in New York City, notably by Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg, and is particularly associated with actors such as Marlon Brando and Dustin Hoffman. I didn’t start out aspiring to be a novelist and I came to it later than many. I was in my late thirties, the creative director of a NYC ad agency when I started writing screenplays. When one was stolen and produced, I learned how powerful Hollywood studios were and how expensive it would be to sue. My literary lawyer told me that if I wanted any control I needed to move to LA and really get involved in the business. But I wanted to stay in New York. “Writers in New York,” he said, “write novels.” And so it began. I had been an avid reader and always imagined writing a novel one day but the stolen screenplay was all the impetus I needed. Except I had no idea how to write a novel. I’d been working on screenplays with a writing partner whereas a novel was a solitary effort. Screenplays are spare in exactly the way novels are complex. Screenplays are all direction and dialog. Novels can be interior. One of the biggest differences between the two is that when you write a screenplay, you leave a lot out about the character in order to give the actors room to bring their art to the party. Not true with novels. After a dozen aborted attempts and reading too many “how to write a novel” books, I decided that I needed to know my characters in a much more intimate way than I was used to. Character development had never been my strength in the screenwriting process. That was my writing partner’s forte. Mine was description and plot. But here I was on my own. I had to figure it out. So, I turned something I knew about from the film world— the idea of method acting. I figured if the process helped actors inhabit their characters in deep and meaningful ways in order to bring them to life, then that’s what I’d do. After all, I was bringing them to life too, wasn’t I? Unlike Robert DeNiro, who gained 60 pounds to emulate Jake La Motta in Raging Bull, I’ve never gained weight to help me create a character. (Well, maybe a few extra pounds eating croissants for breakfast like one of my characters.) But I have done some rather unusual things. I studied phone sex with a sex worker who arranged for me to speak to one of her clients so I would understand how my characters would feel as a phone sex operator. I spent two months with a trans-life therapist to understand what it’s like to discover your past lives like one of my characters. I got a job as a perfumer’s assistant to understand how to create perfumes. Part of this method-writing that I do for every novel involves other aspects of my characters’ lives besides just their jobs. I listen to the music they listen to, I read the books they read and eat the food they eat. I also dress like my characters while I am creating them and need a talisman—something that belonged to my character—a touchstone if you will—to connect me to my imaginary friend on a very deep level. For The Secret Language of Stones I found a WW1 trench watch and never took it off. For The Library of Light and Shadow it was a piece of sea glass that my main character had found when she was a little girl. For The Seduction of Victor H., a fountain pen that I had to dip into ink to use, the same way my character did. For my latest book, finding that talisman came with a new complication. The main character in The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams is Suzanne Belperron. She was born in a tiny town in France 1900 and died in Paris in 1983, in between she created some of the most original and iconic jewelry of all time. “Her designs are so singular—bold, playful, anti-ornamental—that they tend to strip away one’s assumptions about jewelry in the latter half of the 20th century, if not in the period before World War II. Her effect was nearly that of Coco Chanel in fashion; Belperron’s sculptural shapes anticipated modern design and, like Chanel, she showed that high style could come from unfancy elements,” writes Cathy Horne in The New York Times. Despite being such an important designer, there are no autobiographies about Mme. Belperron. Her letters have never been published. If there are still people alive who knew her well enough to speak to me about her, I couldn’t find them. And while all of her more than 90 journals exist, the strict privacy laws in France, prevented me from learning anything more than I could find from the two coffee tables about her work. During her life Mme. was intensely private. She wanted her jewelry to glitter and shine. Not her. She gave few interviews and is described as being enigmatic. But in order to write about her, I had to inhabit her. But how do you find someone who wanted to remain hidden behind her gemstones. After months of sleuthing, I stumbled on a 1940s women’s magazine article focusing not just on the designer but the woman, she was. It listed what nail polish, eyes makeup and lipstick she wore. Scouring the internet I found all those products were still made. I ordered them and used them the whole time I was writing. I learned she favored minimalist clothes, mostly black—to show off her jewelry. That one was the only easy one—I pretty much only were black. (IYKYK- it’s a native New Yorker thing.) In a photo of her that accompanied the article, I was able to zero in on the shape of her fingernails and fashioned mine to match. The reporter wrote that Mme. Belperron loved baths. (Sadly, she died from a scalding hot bathing accident). I gave up my showers and for months only took baths. Even with all those efforts, one thing was missing. I was writing about a famous jeweler who exclusively wore the jewelry she designed. I became convinced I had to have a piece of her jewelry to wear. That I wouldn’t “find” her without it. But there was a problem. Never mass-produced, Mme. Belperron’s pieces are extremely costly and hard to come by. During her life she sold only to an exclusive clientele. Of the few pieces I saw in my search, not one was less than five figures. Many were six figures. Unlike the mascara she used, I couldn’t find a Belperron piece of jewelry to buy on eBay and wear to get into character. Except I was convinced I’d never “find” Mme. Belperron well enough to write about her unless I could wear a piece of jewelry that she had created. And so I set out to borrow a piece from an art connoisseur I had met while doing my research. Easier said than done when you are dealing with pieces worth at least five figures. Ms. X.s collects jewelry, paintings and sculpture. Her apartment is an Ali Baba’s cave of treasures. I never thought she’d agree to what I was asking. But she was intrigued. There were a few complications and conditions. Her insurance company had to agree to the loan (they agreed but required she take out a rider) and I had to agree in writing that I would not wear the borrowed jewelry out of my home. For six months I wore a simple 22 carat gold “moi and toi” ring designed by Mme. Belperron, created under her auspices and sold by her to one of her best clients. I also borrowed and wore a brooch of carved rock crystal and sapphires. How do you know when you’ve gotten the character right? When do you stop trying to find them and put them into words? When do you stop questioning if readers will be able to imagine the flesh and blood person that you’ve put down on the page? I can never predict when it will happen. But usually after the first draft of a novel is done and I’m well into the second draft, there will be a time when I’ll realized that it’s time to step out of the character’s shoes and back into my own. Or in this case, there was a day when I was typing and saw Mme. Belperron’s ring on my finger and knew that I needed to take it off and put my more modest one back on. The ghost of the stunning, world class designer and enigmatic woman had helped me find her character and her story through her creations. It was finally time for me to let her go and finish mine. *** View the full article -
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Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey
A Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey October 11, 2022 · Little, Brown Spark Not a Book Rest is Resistance is a tiny book but it took me a long time to read because every sentence was a truth bomb that I needed to carefully absorb. This is a short book with a lot of repetition, but I felt it powerfully. I am so excited about this book, but I find it difficult to review because I just want to quote it. Essentially, this book crystallized a lot of things I’ve been learning recently about the importance of validating rest not only as self-care but as a way of rejecting the entire culture that reduces people to machines and values people only for their output. Shana: This book felt like the spiritual sequel of Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. While I liked Burnout, I thought it did a better job of assessing how women of color are damaged by modern society than it did at offering specific self care suggestions to us. Rest is Resistance roots its suggestions in the lived experience of Black women. From the introduction, it tries to speak to those of us who might not see rest as a realistic option, because we’re worried about money, overburdened, or driven by a strong sense of activism. Tricia Hersey is open in describing her life before she refocused on rest, and it’s basically my life right now—balancing multiple responsibilities, driven both by economic necessity and social justice. Carrie: The message of Rest is Resistance is right there in the title. Hersey posits that we are caught in grind culture, in a capitalistic and white supremacist society that attempts to reduce our value to what we produce. By exercising our right to rest we reclaim our humanity from a dehumanizing system. Hersey is adamant that rest is a means of resistance for everyone. However, she centers Black people because, historically and in the current day, they have been most deprived of rest. Claiming the right to rest is not an individual action in this context but rather a collective action that resists the dominant culture: The rigid idea that justice work centering Blackness, born from a lens of Black liberation, is only for Black people is limiting and false…The belief that what one does and experiences does not affect everyone around them is a myth and disease that Americans severely suffer from. When we don’t take our own rest while holding space for others around us to rest, we are functioning like the systems we want to gain freedom from. I found plenty in this book that spoke to me on many levels. It’s a book that insists that not only can I take a nap, or rest my eyes, or find a moment of pause in my day, but that I have an absolute RIGHT to do that, a duty to myself and my community to honor that need in myself and in others. Shana: I thought one of the strongest parts of the book was the way it gave you MANY reasons to give yourself a break, and also offered practical suggestions. The suggestions were both bite-sized like deleting an app or closing your eyes for one minute, and dramatic, like rethinking your purpose on Earth. I liked that the book is an inspirational sermon and super-duper actionable at the same time. When I said no to someone this week I heard Hersey in my head saying “…will you be able to one day say no to a request that doesn’t serve you?” Carrie: I’ve always struggled with “not being able to pour for others from an empty cup.” This book goes way beyond that concept: The concept of filling up your cup first, so you can have enough in it to pour to others feels off balance. It reeks of the capitalistic language that is now a part of our daily mantras…The cup metaphor also is most often geared toward women, who, because of patriarchy and sexism, carry the burden of labor…Our [Black and Latina] labor historically has been used to make the lives of white women less hectic and more relaxed…I propose that the cups all be broken into little pieces, and we replace pouring with resting and connecting with our bodies in a way that is centered on experimentation and repair. This paragraph suggests to me, or rather insists to me, that in addition to claiming my own right to rest, it is my responsibility to recognize my racial and class privilege and ally with marginalized communities to ensure that the right to rest is exercised by all. It also reinforces the message of the book that rest is a right in and of itself. It’s not something we should be doing so that we can do more, or produce more. It’s not saying that I should grab a nap so that I’ll have the energy for the next protest, or for the next job, or for the next task. It’s worthy in and of and for itself. I know that everyone who reads this will have a different “Holy Shirtballs” moment. I have pages and pages of to-do lists and piles of guilt about not completing everything on them, so my Holy Shirtballs moment was this: I know that if I never check another item off my to-do list, I am still worthy and loved by God and my ancestors. Bitches, I had to just sit down with that for a while. It was like I saw that sentence in capital letters of flame. Once more for the people in the back: I KNOW THAT IF I NEVER CHECK ANOTHER ITEM OFF MY TO-DO LIST, I AM STILL WORTHY AND LOVED BY GOD AND MY ANCESTORS. I’m a white atheist who does not share the same roots at Hersey, who gained this sense of self-worth from her upbringing in a church that preached Black Liberation theology, but this sentence still stopped me cold. Can that really be true? I’ve been thinking and thinking about this concept. It’s a true paradigm buster, one that challenges not only how I see myself but also how I see other people and my role within society. Shana: That’s a lovely thought. I have to say that even though Hersey refers to her work as the Nap Ministry, I was unprepared for how churchy the tone of this book was. I have a complicated relationship with religion and there were a lot of references to divinity, souls, and sacredness that personally didn’t work for me. But I still had many highlighted quotes in Rest in Resistance that spoke to me. Thinking about the sacrifices of my ancestors is often what drives me to sacrifice my time, my health, or my peace in service of other people. This book offers an alternative perspective on honoring one’s past, and it made me reflect on the different survival and resistance strategies of my own ancestors. This is a deeply accepting book, and it encouraged me to not only see myself as more than my labor, but to see my ancestors that way too. I loved that it directly linked how Black people resisted exploitation in the past, to how we can rest and resist in the present. Carrie: I recommend this book highly, especially in conjunction with Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price, which also explores the concept of rest from an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and anti-racist viewpoint. It is VERY repetitive, but that worked well for me because I struggled so much emotionally with the concepts (are we SURE my worth isn’t tied to my to-do list?). Shana: I agree that the book is very repetitive. The main points are in the introduction, and the rest of the book doesn’t deviate much from those initial ideas. This is partly by design, because Hersey talks about the need to repeat something “over and over to ourselves as we deepen into this truth.” It took me a month to read this short book because I kept putting it down to go to sleep. So, I guess it’s effective! I would recommend this book for readers looking for a manifesto that encourages you to nap and dream more often, especially if you’re skeptical about whether resting more is possible for someone like you. View the full article -
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Cover Awe: Textures, Cats, & More
Welcome back to Cover Awe, where we talk about things we like about book covers. Cover art by Jaime Jones Amanda: I love how the artist drew the different fabric textures and details! Sarah: I love this cover. I love looking at it, I love how subtle and stylish it is, I love the lighting. I love it. Cover art by Louisa Cannell Amanda: The coral and pinks of the outfit really make her standout. And yes, I want this outfit, though I’ll be changing out the heels for booties. Sarah: This is so cute. Cover art by Tamara Natalie Madden Maya: I was just flipping through a list of Caribbean authors and saw this!! (decidedly not a romance) Sneezy: Oh my GOD! Sarah: That is exquisite design. Cover art by Elizabeth Turner Stokes Amanda: The hero is a pastry chef for a cat cafe and I love the real time photo of a cat trying to trip a human. Seeing a lot more mischievous animals on book covers lately. View the full article -
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Interview with Gretchen Roberts - 2nd Place Winner in the Q1 2023 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest
I’m thrilled to chat with Gretchen Roberts about her award-winning essay, “The Abandonment.” Gretchen shares the inspiration behind her piece, tips for editing, how science shapes her art, and a touching story her dear cat, Mr. Dooly. Gretchen’s Bio: Gretchen Roberts is a former biomedical research scientist with a PhD in Cell Biology and Genetics from the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences in New York City. Her areas of research included cell motility, Alzheimer’s disease and, finally, the development of novel treatments for inoperable liver cancer. Doing science is a voracious user of time, leaving one with few hours to enjoy other interests and, although Gretchen loved science, she ultimately needed a change. After spending years following one dream, it was time to follow another. Retirement from science allowed her to rediscover her other passions, one of which was painting. Art and science both involve observation as they strive to understand the world, but it was the transition from objective to subjective interpretation that captured Gretchen’s imagination. A favorite subject for painting was her cat Mr. Dooly and, ironically, it was his death at the age of 19 that began Gretchen’s foray into writing. Writing about Mr. Dooly was both an homage to her beloved pet as well as a way to lessen the agony of loss. And thus another avenue of creativity opened as Gretchen began using writing to explore her life and the life around her. Gretchen currently lives in Manhattan and Greenport NY with her husband and their tabby cat Eloise. Interview by Angela Mackintosh WOW: Welcome, Gretchen, and congratulations on winning second place in WOW's Q1 Essay Contest! Writing about family and unhealthy relationships can be tough, and you covered so much ground in your essay, "The Abandonment." How did you pare down your piece to 1,000 words? Were there any specific methods you'd like to share? Gretchen: I had submitted this piece once before and bought the optional critique. I’d love to say that the improvement of the essay was all my doing, but the review was paramount, with the reviewer providing a combination of encouragement and suggestions. Things needing improvement were pointed out, such as some sentences being redundant and some phrases bordering on sentimentality. When I changed the wording, I saw what the reviewer meant. The most amazing change occurred when I started cutting out whole sections of writing. When sentences that I thought were necessary were slashed, the piece started to come alive. It was amazing how fewer words conveyed so much more. One hint is to get rid of modifiers and your sentence will have more power. I think I cut about 800 words and it was all because of the reviewer. My suggestion? Cut just one phrase and reread the piece. I bet you’ll find how easy it gets when you see the improvement. WOW: It's so true that cutting one phrase or a sentence can change an entire piece! What was your initial spark or way into the piece, and what do you hope readers will take away from this piece? Gretchen: The subject of this essay was from a period of my life that I rarely talk about. So, what made me go “public” with it and in such a dramatic way? First, I finally realized that the shortcomings of a parent says nothing about the child. Second, I did not cause what happened to me. Often when a person describes something their parent did that was hurtful, people will respond with “What did you do to make them do that?” Someone once told me that people need to feel in control. In my situation, wouldn’t it have been nice to think I had been in control of my mother’s actions, that I was the one pulling the strings. What better way to feel in control than to believe that if you had acted differently, bad things would not have occurred. The fact is that what happened to me was not the result of anything I did and could have happened to anyone. My essay says that things occur and I was not in control of it and I refuse to keep it buried any longer. The weight is off my shoulders. WOW: Your ending has got to be one of my favorites because it presents a realistic conclusion, and not one that's wrapped up in a nice bow, but one that provides hope. How did you decide on this ending? Was it always the same or did it change over time? Gretchen: Actually, the ending was exactly what happened and never changed from the first time I wrote it. I remember that day in my friend’s backyard and how we ran and jumped and ran until we were exhausted. And we really did make peach ice cream which we gobbled down as we sat in the hot sun. It was a beautiful day and I can still see those two little girls laughing. There’s something especially exhilarating about pretending to be a powerful animal, unleashing all the force of which you’re capable. I think it’s important that girls have a chance to do this, getting in touch with the capable and tough aspects of their personae. Maybe it was just my Baby Boomer generation that lacked outlets and/or encouragement for this type of letting loose, but it was a magnificent feeling soaring over those hastily contrived jumps that we had set up. WOW: I think we should still be able to pretend we're powerful animals as adults! Perhaps in our writing. Speaking of our animal companions, your bio says that after you retired from your science career it was your nineteen-year-old cat's death that prompted you to start writing. My condolences for your loss. I'm sure Mr. Dooly would be honored to know you've written about him. I also recently lost my nineteen-year-old cat, Jazzy, and I'm writing about her. Do you have any advice for those who are grieving the loss of a dear pet? Mr. DoolyGretchen: Mr. Dooly’s mother was a feral cat that frequented our Greenport backyard. One summer day I noticed two little kittens in our woodpile. It was unacceptable to have these two little ones outside, looking forward to nothing but a hard and probably short life in an environment for which they were not suited, so we had a local rescue group trap the kittens along with their mother. We had the mother spayed and, upon the recommendation of the rescue group, released her back outside. Sadly, she was killed by a car the next summer and I’ll always regret not trying to socialize her in order to keep her as an inside-only pet. We did end up keeping Mr. Dooly and his brother Jasper. Jasper died four years later from what his vet thought was an aortic aneurysm, but Mr. Dooly went on to live until he was 19 years and 4 months old. I slept on the couch with Mr. Dooly for what was to be our last night together. When he woke the next morning, the morning of the day he would die, he looked at me with so much love and happiness to see me. I had never seen that expression on his face before and it was his last gift to me. It was almost impossible for him to stand without help so I knew that it was time to put him to sleep. I made the call to the vet. After that, I felt nothing. Nothing. I often cried as he got older, wondering what I would do when he was gone, yet on the day he died, I was numb. I was in shock I realize now. If I had allowed myself to feel, I would not have had the strength to do what needed to be done. We went to the vet who gave Mr. Dooly a sedative and anti-anxiety agent and we waited for it to kick in. It was then that I started to feel. The tears streamed down my face as I told Mr. Dooly stories of when he was a kitten. I told him how much I loved him. I told him he was my baby. Then my vet injected an overdose of the drug that would end Mr. Dooly’s life. When he was dead, I threw my body over his as if to protect him and I yelled into his deaf ears how much I loved him. He was gone. I went home. I collected his things, his medicine, his stairs to the couch and bed and windowsill, his favorite toys. I put up a large framed photo of him on a bureau that I am looking at and, seven years later, it now brings a smile to my face, my tears having changed to feelings of gratitude that I had known him, that he had shared my life, that he had loved me. Do not judge yourself for how long you need to grieve. You loved your pet with all your heart and the tears will come when you are able to handle the pain. And they will come. Depth of mourning has no relation to depth of love. You grieve in your own special way, just as you love in your own special way. WOW: Oh Gretchen, your story is heart wrenching; but it's a blessing when feelings of loss change to gratitude over time. If we can stay in that space, it's a beautiful gift. Thank you for saying not to judge yourself for how long you need to grieve. Now that I'm wiping away a few tears, let me shift back to writing. How does your science background shape your art and writing? Gretchen: They’re all about creativity. People often don’t view science as especially creative, but the ability to imagine enables the researcher to formulate questions based on what has been shown. How art and creativity are related is more obvious. Both disciplines interpret what is around us, science being objective, art being subjective. I’ve always been a visual thinker, so transitioning between science and drawing and painting wasn’t difficult. Writing just seemed a natural segue from science, since science depends on clear writing to report your findings. A scientist sitting at the bench, designing an experiment or doing an experiment, relies on fluid thinking in order to transition between words and images and analysis. WOW: That makes sense! Anything else you'd like our readers to know? Gretchen: When I was in school I hated writing. I dreaded when we were assigned writing a short story and would sit staring at the blank piece of paper in front of me completely devoid of thought. I never knew how to start. It was only in my adult years that I realized it doesn’t matter where you begin to write, even if you start at the end. And I can only write when the mood hits me. In that sense, writing is like art. You can’t force it. Just let it come out when you feel the need to write. WOW: Fantastic advice! In fact, I have a project that might be solved if I start at the ending. Thank you so much for chatting with us today. Congratulations again, Gretchen, and wishing you much writing success in 2023! Find out more about WOW's flash fiction and creative nonfiction contests here: https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php(C) Copyright wow-womenonwriting.com Visit WOW! Women On Writing for lively interviews and how-tos. Check out WOW!'s Classroom and learn something new. Enter the Quarterly Writing Contests. Open Now![url={url}]View the full article[/url] -
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Get Rec’d with Amanda – Volume 35
Welcome back to Get Rec’d! There’s a bit of an eclectic mix for this edition. We have a couple non-fiction titles, a mystery, and some urban fantasy with kooky vampires. My personal favorite of the bunch below (spoilers!) is the nature title, How Far the Light Reaches. How about you? Get any good book recs lately? Blackwater Falls For readers who love a police procedural, but are searching for a more diverse cast. From critically acclaimed author Ausma Zehanat Khan, Blackwater Falls is the first in a timely and powerful crime series, introducing Detective Inaya Rahman. Girls from immigrant communities have been disappearing for months in the Colorado town of Blackwater Falls, but the local sheriff is slow to act and the fates of the missing girls largely ignored. At last, the calls for justice become too loud to ignore when the body of a star student and refugee–the Syrian teenager Razan Elkader–is positioned deliberately in a mosque. Detective Inaya Rahman and Lieutenant Waqas Seif of the Denver Police are recruited to solve Razan’s murder, and quickly uncover a link to other missing and murdered girls. But as Inaya gets closer to the truth, Seif finds ways to obstruct the investigation. Inaya may be drawn to him, but she is wary of his motives: he may be covering up the crimes of their boss, whose connections in Blackwater run deep. Inaya turns to her female colleagues, attorney Areesha Adams and Detective Catalina Hernandez, for help in finding the truth. The three have bonded through their experiences as members of vulnerable groups and now they must work together to expose the conspiracy behind the murders before another girl disappears. Delving deep into racial tensions, and police corruption and violence, Blackwater Falls examines a series of crimes within the context of contemporary American politics with compassion and searing insight. Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. How Far the Light Reaches There have been some great nature and science titles out in the last couple years, and if you want to keep that same energy going, try this one! A fascinating tour of creatures from the surface to the deepest ocean floor, inviting us to envision wilder, grander, and more abundant possibilities for the way we live. “A miraculous, transcendental book.” (Ed Yong, author of An Immense World) One of TIME’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the Year • A PEOPLE Best New Book • A Barnes & Noble and SHELF AWARENESS Best Book of 2022 • An Indie Next Pick • One of Winter’s Most Eagerly Anticipated Books: VANITY FAIR, VULTURE, BOOKRIOT A queer, mixed race writer working in a largely white, male field, science and conservation journalist Sabrina Imbler has always been drawn to the mystery of life in the sea, and particularly to creatures living in hostile or remote environments. Each essay in their debut collection profiles one such creature, including: the mother octopus who starves herself while watching over her eggs, the Chinese sturgeon whose migration route has been decimated by pollution and dams, the bizarre, predatory Bobbitt worm (named after Lorena), the common goldfish that flourishes in the wild, and more. Imbler discovers that some of the most radical models of family, community, and care can be found in the sea, from gelatinous chains that are both individual organisms and colonies of clones to deep-sea crabs that have no need for the sun, nourished instead by the chemicals and heat throbbing from the core of the Earth. Exploring themes of adaptation, survival, sexuality, and care, and weaving the wonders of marine biology with stories of their own family, relationships, and coming of age, How Far the Light Reaches is a shimmering, otherworldly debut that attunes us to new visions of our world and its miracles. Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. The Lonely City I have a frequent reader who wants themes of loneliness and living alone in the TBR pile and this is one of my top picks I grabbed for them. Named a best book of the year by NPR, Newsweek, Slate, Pop Sugar, Marie Claire, Elle, Publishers Weekly, and Lit Hub A dazzling work of biography, memoir, and cultural criticism on the subject of loneliness, told through the lives of iconic artists, by the acclaimed author of The Trip to Echo Spring. When Olivia Laing moved to New York City in her mid-thirties, she found herself inhabiting loneliness on a daily basis. Increasingly fascinated by the most shameful of experiences, she began to explore the lonely city by way of art. Moving from Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks to Andy Warhol’s Time Capsules, from Henry Darger’s hoarding to David Wojnarowicz’s AIDS activism, Laing conducts an electric, dazzling investigation into what it means to be alone, illuminating not only the causes of loneliness but also how it might be resisted and redeemed. Humane, provocative, and moving, The Lonely City is a celebration of a strange and lovely state, adrift from the larger continent of human experience, but intrinsic to the very act of being alive. Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant For my What We Do in the Shadows fans! Vampires don’t always have to be seductive and clad in leather. Some people are born boring. Some live boring. Some even die boring. Fred managed to do all three, and when he woke up as a vampire, he did so as a boring one. Timid, socially awkward, and plagued by self-esteem issues, Fred has never been the adventurous sort. One fateful night – different from the night he died, which was more inconvenient than fateful – Fred reconnects with an old friend at his high school reunion. This rekindled relationship sets off a chain of events thrusting him right into the chaos that is the parahuman world, a world with chipper zombies, truck driver wereponies, maniacal necromancers, ancient dragons, and now one undead accountant trying his best to “survive.” Because even after it’s over, life can still be a downright bloody mess. Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. View the full article -
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The Best (And Worst) News From the Publishing Business
While we all want to stay on top of what’s current about craft, be alerted to the latest conferences, and connect with fellow writers on social media, staying informed about the business side of writing and publishing is some (or many) might say, a necessary evil. To save you from spending hours scrolling through websites to find insights into the business side of writing, we’ve curated a list of recent posts for you to dig into or peruse at your leisure. We hope you’ll find value in these and share the links with anyone else who might want to keep up with the latest. Well, 2023 has started off with a publishing bang. Lots of news, everything from AI’s increasing presence to suggested prison time for our literary guardians who refused to remove banned books—our librarians. AI Artificial Intelligence and the growing questions and concerns surrounding it, continue to make headlines. A decade of research is generating a more powerful and more mature breed of A.I. A link to the best AI writing software. A writer lets her AI “assistant” write her bio with some pretty funny results, and editor and author, Tiffany Yates Martin, muses about what AI may mean for authors. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/07/technology/generative-ai-chatgpt-investments.html https://foxprinteditorial.com/2023/01/12/what-does-ai-mean-for-writers-i-asked-it/?fbclid=IwAR26nkrhkttyWECNyrPJWvq3u_dxurJeVJxBPHzXYAczbSjwHaR_SRnbK5Y https://www.thepassivevoice.com/25-best-ai-writing-software-for-2023-best-picks/ https://janeroper.substack.com/p/my-new-intern-helped-write-this-post?fbclid=IwAR2lAeNylq2XOOUhEiCp748sO8lDi3RFIlcZaJjTCdknH5YhpqmFI6xT5bA Audiobooks AI enters audiobook territory as Apple unveils AI narrated audiobooks. Will the rising demand for audiobooks create opportunity for authors or will new auto-narrated audiobook creation simply expand the offering of text-to-speech technology. And a boom in Spanish language audiobooks. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/04/apple-artificial-intelligence-ai-audiobooks?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR1ehtu0IlGnu5TTRy9j9qAZoVy8PY8teNM9DsayOWIroc-PSq7FiM6BzAU https://medium.com/@elisechidleyauthor/audiobooks-the-future-of-publishing-d604c499be05 https://publishingperspectives.com/2023/01/bookwire-expands-its-text-to-speech-audiobook-offer-with-google-play-books/ https://publishingperspectives.com/2023/01/sonic-boom-spanish-language-audiobooks-are-soaring/ Book Banning and Book Shaming At least one state wants prison time for librarians who refuse to remove banned books, and a New York Times opinion piece takes a look back at the fallout from “American Dirt.” https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/north-dakota-weighs-ban-sexually-explicit-library-books-rcna66271?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/26/opinion/american-dirt-book-publishing.html Book Conferences Check out some of the book Conferences, Fairs and Festivals slated for the first half of 2023. https://admin.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/trade-shows-events/article/91209-select-book-conferences-fairs-festivals-january-june-2023.html?ref=PRH31DC42C11CC5&linkid=PRH31DC42C11CC5&cdi=321A47B01E594547E0534FD66B0AE227&template_id=6179&aid=randohouseinc45523-20 Bookstores In a surprising turnaround, Barnes & Noble plans to open 30 more stores. https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/what-can-we-learn-from-barnes-and?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&fbclid=IwAR2hhrdP7MJkRfe9voC9tCrEXBSJMdTyIFFacNDAMODWlrf8HqvXX43blz0 Environmental Concerns French publisher, Hachette Livre intends to use 100-percent renewable energy by 2026, by reducing overproduction, freight, and more. An shining example for publishers in the US? https://publishingperspectives.com/2023/01/frances-hachette-livre-a-30-percent-carbon-reduction-by-2030/ International Publishers The first report from the Börsenverein on the German book market’s 2022 performance depicts “a major economic challenge,” and the UK’s Independent Publishers Guild is planning a digital showcase of books in the guild’s collective stands at the London Book Fair in April of this year. https://publishingperspectives.com/2023/01/germanys-borsenverein-2022-book-sales-down-2-1-percent/ https://publishingperspectives.com/2023/01/exact-editions-to-showcase-ipg-publishers-books-at-london-book-fair/ Libraries Digital lends at libraries at record levels. How often do you borrow ebooks from the library? https://www.thepassivevoice.com/record-number-of-libraries-surpassed-one-million-digital-lends-in-2022/ Publishing News and Trends A new report says that publishers are planning to create most of their revenue through subscriptions and memberships. Also, with negotiations stalled, Random House and the union have agreed to employ an independent mediator to help end a strike that has stretched on since early November. And New York Magazine talks about what Penguin Random House’s Failed Bid to Eat S&S Means for Publishing. And Centrello, president and publisher of Random House, retires after 23 years. https://whatsnewinpublishing.com/brace-for-an-explosion-of-automated-or-semi-automated-media-publisher-insights-from-reuters-institute/ https://www.thepassivevoice.com/markus-dohles-big-flop-what-penguin-random-houses-failed-bid-to-eat-ss-means-for-publishing/ https://www.thebookseller.com/news/centrello-president-and-publisher-of-random-house-retires-after-23-years?ref=PRH31DC42C11CC5&linkid=PRH31DC42C11CC5&cdi=321A47B01E594547E0534FD66B0AE227&template_id=6179&aid=randohouseinc45523-20 https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/91377-harpercollins-harperunion-move-to-solve-labor-dispute-with-independent-mediator.html Publishing Predictions A look back at 2022 and a few predictions for audiobooks, digital sales, and self-publishing 2023. And it’s all good. More on the Harper-Collins strike. https://www.thepassivevoice.com/laurie-mcleans-crystal-ball-publishing-predictions-for-2023/ https://prismreports.org/2023/01/23/harper-collins-worker-author-solidarity/ Sales in 2022 Taking a look back at book sales from 2022 and making some not-so-certain predictions for 2023. https://publishingperspectives.com/2023/01/us-2022-sales-in-the-rear-view-mirror-second-highest-at-npd/ https://publishingperspectives.com/2023/01/aaps-october-statshot-us-revenues-down-5-1-percent-year-to-date/ Have you come across any opportunities or news dealing with the business side of publishing? I’d love to hear from you in the comments. [url={url}]View the full article[/url] -
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Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin
B- Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin September 27, 2022 · Forever Romance Witchful Thinking is a dreamy, magical, sensual novel that is enchanting. It also put me to sleep. It has all the whimsy and sweetness of, say, Practical Magic, but none of the page-turning conflict or excitement that might keep one glued to the story. It’s the chamomile tea of books. Our story involves a family of witches who live in Freya Grove, a seaside town that boasts a carnival every year, a cakewalk that is more competitive than I recall cake walks being, a karaoke contest, and other enjoyable pursuits. The heroine, Lucy, is a witch who teaches high school, and I’m so very pleased that she has an actual recognizable job as lately my books have been full of increasingly odd professions like “erotic baker” and “erotic stationary designer.” Just to keep me on my toes, Lucy also creates tea blends and reads tea leaves as a side gig. Lucy is very settled in her family town, but she longs for excitement, and when a wish turns into a spell, she finds herself baking French desserts, singing karaoke, and flirting with her childhood love, Alex. Alex, our hero, is a merman (!!!) who is back in town after wandering the world as a photographer and going through a bad breakup with his fiancee. His parents surprise him with the gift of a house, which he intends to sell as soon as possible since he never stays in one place. He’s so sure that he will never settle down that he believes he can’t possibly be Lucy’s soulmate. Lucy is also sure he’ll leave and that therefore this must be a temporary thing. But as Lucy helps Alex get his house ready to sell, the bond between them grows more powerful. There’s a ton of atmosphere in the book. If whimsical small town kitchen witch tropes aren’t your thing, then this will not work for you. There’s also home renovation, mostly limited to home redecorating. You can’t start a new paragraph without tripping on an old spellbook or a ship in a bottle or some very tasty sounding iced tea blends. That’s not a complaint, just a statement of fact so y’all know what you’re getting into. Lucy and Alex have great chemistry, but this is one of those books in which there is no real reason for the lovers to be apart and everyone, but everyone, knows they will end up together if they just stop getting in their own way, so I got pretty impatient with their romance. Like all the supporting characters, I felt a deep desire to yell at them to get over themselves already,get married and have some cute little merbabies. I liked that the romance took a long time to develop, because I think that’s realistic, but I didn’t like all the hand wringing about it. My favorite thing about them as a couple was Alex’s constant and unconditional support of Lucy’s new adventures. At one point Lucy runs a race and is mortified to come in last. His response to her question, “What will people think?” is to help her think back to the response she got as she staggered past the finish line, and the pride and applause she got from the crowd. It’s a truly lovely moment of affirmation. The closest thing this book has to an antagonist is Lucy’s cousin Ursula, who is trying to plan her (Ursula’s) wedding to a man she CLEARLY should not be marrying. Ursula is demanding and insecure and kinda mean but she is also so transparently miserable that I just felt awful for her. This book leaves Ursula hanging, presumably as sequel bait, and I felt so stressed out by her unresolved unhappiness that I couldn’t fully enjoy Lucy’s HEA. I liked that this book was, generally, very cozy and low-key, but its very slow-burn cozy vibe also meant that I kept putting it down and walking off and forgetting all about it. I also felt that there were a lot of story elements that didn’t get enough attention. In fact, I ended up having my own set of wishes for the book. I wish it had: A more detailed explanation of the magical system, its history or tradition, and how the rules of it work for those who have magic. A more detailed explanation of what it is like to be a merperson. A full story in which everyone gets a resolution instead of being left as sequel bait. More clarity about what the wish spell does and how it works. More information about Alex’s house and the gnomes who live in it and the complicated history of the house. More recognition of the fact that Lucy has a full time job as a high school teacher and that the fact that she teaches teenagers all day is, in itself, an amazing achievement. This is a gentle, whimsical, slow-burn romance and I think that some people will like it very much. Personally, I found it to be both too gentle and unsettling, depriving me of a happy ending for supporting characters while also having a glacial pace. It’s a fine comfort read and those who love these kinds of tropes and can deal with very low conflict and slow plot will enjoy it. View the full article -
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Podcast 548, Your Transcript is Ready
The transcript for Podcast 548. Enthusiastic Sex and Podcasting (not at the same time) with Emily Nagoski 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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The Drift
Rocking. Gentle at first. A lullaby. Rock-a-bye baby. Then harder. Rougher. Her head banged against glass. Her body rolled back the other way and she was falling. Onto the floor. Hard. “Ow. Shit.” Her heart spiked and her eyes shot open. “What the fuck?” She rubbed at her throbbing elbow and stared around. Her eyes felt like someone had rubbed grit into them. Her brain felt like wet sludge. You’ve fallen out of bed. But where? She sat up. Not a bed. A wooden bench. Running around the side of an oval-shaped room. A room that was moving from side to side. Outside, gray sky, swirling flakes of snow. Glass all around. Nausea swept over her. She fought it down. There were more people in here, sprawled on the wooden benches. Five of them. Bundled up in identical blue snowsuits. Like her, Meg realized. All of them here in this small, swaying room. Buffeted by the wind, snow caking the glass. This isn’t a room. Rooms don’t move, stupid. She pushed herself to her feet. Her legs felt shaky. Nausea bubbled again. Got to get a handle on that, she thought. There was nowhere to be sick. She walked unsteadily to one side of the room-that-was-not-a-room. She stared out of the glass, pressing her hands and nose against it like a child staring out at the first snow of Christmas. Below—way below—the snow-tipped forest. Above, a frenzy of flakes in a vast gray sky. “Fuck.” More rocking. The roar of the wind, muted by the thick glass all around, like a hungry animal contained behind bars. Fresh white splatters hit the glass, distorting her vision. But Meg had seen enough. A groan from behind her. Another of the blue-clad bodies was waking up, unfurling like an ungainly caterpillar. He or she—it was hard to tell with the hood on—sat up. The others were stirring now too. For one moment, Meg had an insane notion that when they turned their faces toward her they would be decomposed, living dead. The man—mid-thirties, heavy beard—stared at her blearily. He pushed back his hood and rubbed at his head, which was shorn to dark stubble. “What the fuck?” He looked around. “Where am I?” “You’re on a cable car.” “A what?” “Cable car. You know, a car that hangs on cables—” He stared at her aggressively. “I know what a cable car is. I want to know what the hell I’m doing on one.” Meg stared calmly back. “I don’t know. D’you remember getting here?” “No. You?” “No.” “The last thing I remember is . . .” His eyes widened. “Are you . . .are you going to the Retreat?” The Retreat. The deliberately ambiguous name made it sound like a health spa. But it didn’t imbue Meg with any feelings of well-being. On the contrary, it sent schisms of ice jittering down her spine. The Retreat. She didn’t reply. She looked back outside. “Right now, we’re not going anywhere.” They both stared into the gray void, more patches of snow obscuring the glass. A snowstorm. A bad one. “We’re stuck.” “Stuck? Did you say we’re stuck?” Meg turned. A woman stood behind her, around her own age. Red hair. Pinched features. Panic in her voice. Possibly a problem. Meg didn’t answer right away. She regarded the other people in the car. One was still curled up asleep, hood over his face. Some people could sleep through anything. The other two—a short, stout man with a mop of dark curls and an older, silver-haired man with glasses—were sitting up, stretching and looking around. They seemed dazed but calm. Good. “It looks that way,” she said to the woman. “Probably just a power outage.” “Power outage. Oh, great. Bloody marvelous.” “I’m sure the car will be moving again soon.” This from the bearded man. His previous aggression had dissipated. He offered the woman a small smile. “We’ll be fine.” A lie. Even if the car started moving, even if they reached their destination, they were not going to be fine. But lies were the grease that oiled daily life. The woman smiled back at the man. Comforted. Job done. “Did you say we’re on a cable car?” the older man asked. “I don’t remember anyone mentioning getting on a cable car.” “Does anyone remember anything?” Meg asked, looking around. They glanced at one another. “We were in our rooms.” “They brought some breakfast.” “Tasted like crap.” “Then . . . I must have fallen asleep again—” More confused looks. “No one remembers a thing after that?” Meg said. “Not till they woke up here?” They shook their heads. The bearded man exhaled slowly. “They drugged us.” “Don’t be ridiculous,” the red-haired woman said. “Why would they do that?” “Well, obviously so we wouldn’t know where we’re going, or how we got here,” the short man said. “I just I can’t believe they would do that.” Funny, Meg thought. Even now, after everything that had happened, people struggled to believe the things that “they” would do. But then, you can’t see the eye of the storm when you’re inside it. “Okay,” the bearded man said. “Seeing as we’re literally stuck here with time to kill, why don’t we introduce ourselves? I’m Sean.” “Meg,” said Meg. “Sarah,” the red-haired woman offered. “Karl.” The short man gave a small wave. “Max.” The older man smiled. “Good to meet you all.” “I guess we’re all here for the same reason, then?” Sean said. “We’re not supposed to talk about it,” Sarah said. “Well, I think it’s pretty safe to assume—” “To assume makes an ‘ass’ out of ‘you’ and ‘me.’ ” Meg stared at Sarah. “My boss used to say that.” “Really?” “Yeah. Used to annoy the fuck out of me.” Sarah’s lips pursed. Max broke in. “So, what do you…… I mean, what did you all do, before?” “I taught,” Sarah said. Quelle surprise, Meg thought. “I used to be a lawyer,” Max said. He held his hands up. “I know— sue me.” “I worked in bouncy castles,” Karl said. They looked at him. And burst into laughter. A sudden, nervous release. “Hey!” Karl looked affronted, but only mildly. “There’s good money in bouncy castles. At least, there used to be.” “What about you?” Meg asked Sean. “Me? Oh, this and that. I’ve had a few jobs.” A gust of wind caused the cable car to sway harder. “Oh God.” Sarah clutched at her neck. She wore a small silver crucifix. Meg wondered how many more reasons she could find to dislike the woman. “So we’re an eclectic bunch,” Max said. “And ‘ass’ or not, I assume we’re all heading to the Retreat?” Karl said, raising his bushy eyebrows. Slowly, one by one, they all nodded. “Volunteers?” More nods. Only two types of people went to places like the Retreat. Volunteers and those who had no choice. “So, is now the time to discuss our reasons?” Max said. “Or shall we save that for when we get there?” “If we get there,” Sarah said, looking at the steel cables above them nervously. Sean was eyeing the sleeping figure in the corner. “Do you think we should wake up Sleeping Beauty?” Meg frowned. Then she stood and walked over to the prone figure. She shook his shoulder gently. He rolled off the bench and hit the floor with a thud. Behind her, Sarah screamed. Meg suddenly realized two things. She knew this man. And he wasn’t asleep. He was dead. Excerpted from The Drift by C.J. Tudor. Copyright © 2023 by Betty & Betty Ltd. Excerpted by permission of Ballantine Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. View the full article
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