Frederick Forsyth
Icon is a gripping tale of espionage in which an unorthodox American agent comes out of forced retirement to stop a charismatic politician from gaining ultimate power in Russia. A…
Texting
Like many others, I bemoan the use of texting, which shortens phrases to their first letters only, or to single letters that stand for a whole word, or to a…
Sophie Kinsella
I laughed out loud at the absurd antics of a woman posing as a domestic in The UnDomestic Goddess. Not terribly skilled in the kitchen myself, I could definitely relate…
Lazy Language
Most of us have been guilty, perhaps often, of saying something like: "Hopefully, that won't happen." Or "Hopefully, it will happen." Purists insist that starting a sentence with "hopefully" is…
Karen Marie Moning
My recent introduction to the writing of Karen Marie Moning was The Immortal Highlander, one of a series filled with Scots and Druid mysticism. I was hooked. Karen Marie Moning…
Kim Kelly
Australian author Kim Kelly tells a heartwarming tale in Sunshine (not pictured above), set in the Outback just after World War I. Her imagery puts you squarely into the remote…
Something New
An extra post today: Starting this week, on Thursday, I am adding Featured Author articles. And for the month of December, I plan to post on Thursdays as well as…
Spelling bees in my bonnet
As a Canadian, one of my difficulties is proofreading, because I have been exposed to English spelling in school and American spelling through books. So I find myself using both…
The Long and the Short
Common wisdom says that posts should be long, crammed with anecdotes and information and pictures. And for some types of blogs, that would make sense. Anyone trying to impart information…
Alliteration
Almost all of us have been admonished to avoid alliteration at all costs. This apocryphal aphorism has generated an agony of angst among aspiring authors. Phew! Get out the thesaurus!…