I read an interesting article in the New York Times yesterday entitled “What Should Children Read?” I am providing the link so you can read it for yourself. Whatever the “experts” who have written these national standards might think, reading fiction has a value far more than just time-filling entertainment that has no practical useContinue reading “The Importance of Reading Fiction”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Week 19: The Next Big Thing Blog Hop
Oct31 by Kathleen Heady I’m participating in my first blog hop, which will take us from one author to the next, and introduce some new writers and their works. I hope you will follow our blog hop and be introduced to some exciting reads as well as works in progress. You will learn about meContinue reading “Week 19: The Next Big Thing Blog Hop”
Why Set My Story in World War II?
My newest novel, Lydia’s Story, is a sequel/prequel to my first novel, The Gate House. It is a sequel because the same main characters, Nara Blake and her family, continue their story of life in a small English town, where too much seems to happen. It is a prequel because the book also tells theContinue reading “Why Set My Story in World War II?”
Writing Honest Book Reviews
There is a lot of criticism these days about biased book reviews and writers reviewing each others books in order to post glowing reviews. I write reviews for Suspense Magazine, and I also occasionally read a book by a fellow writer and post the review on Amazon and GoodReads. I never write a negative review.Continue reading “Writing Honest Book Reviews”
Too Many Ideas
Writers are often asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” I believe most writers would answer the same as I do — it’s not a matter of coming up with ideas, it’s a matter of weeding out the ideas and deciding which ones I really want to develop in a short story, a novel, orContinue reading “Too Many Ideas”
My Dream Headlines
Just for fun, and to give my creativity a little boost, I decided to create some “dream” headlines. I dislike reading the newspaper or watching TV news because almost every story is bad news or a negative take on an event or some new study. Here are a few of the headlines I would likeContinue reading “My Dream Headlines”
Life Gets in the Way
My week suddenly became very busy and blogging time cut down to zero. I am posting a review of The Lost Ones by Ace Atkins that I wrote for Suspense Magazine. I am always happy to celebrate another author’s writing. The principal characters in The Lost Ones are soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan toContinue reading “Life Gets in the Way”
Conversations with Readers
One of the parts of being a writer that I like most is conversations with readers about my books, especially when they have questions about the characters, or want to know what is going to happen in the next book! Their comments motivate me as a writer, because I want to keep my readers entertainedContinue reading “Conversations with Readers”
Very Inspiring Blogger Award
P.C. Zick, who writes the wonderful blog, “Living Lightly Upon the Earth,” has been kind enough to nominate me for the “Very Inspiring Blogger Award.” I have just discovered her blog, and it always give me something to ponder. Here are the requirements for this award: 1) Display the award logo on your blog. 2) Continue reading “Very Inspiring Blogger Award”
It’s Always in the Details
Someone said that “life is in the details.” I take that to mean that we really only see the big picture of life when we look at the past or the future. In the present moment, we only see the details. I see the computer screen, I feel my fingers typing, I see my orangeContinue reading “It’s Always in the Details”