“Just a Story” and Malicious Storytelling

Over at Helping Writers Become Authors, K.M. Weiland offers a very good treatise on why stories aren’t “just” stories. She posits that they serve four functions: life, a “map” of human consciousness, mirrors of reality, and a force for subliminal communication. That is, the subtext of a story sticks with a reader or viewer because…

Review: The Strange Case of Dr. Couney by Dawn Raffel

Well! It appears that I may have my reading speed back online, at least for the present. Then again, this is a book I have been hoping to read since I posted a link to an article on Dr. Martin Couney several years ago. It took time to finally find the time to read it,…

Review: The Heights of Perdition by C.S. Johnson

Whew! Well, this one took a while, readers. It is a bit of a juggler’s performance to read anything in a timely manner at present. However, I recently managed to finish The Heights of Perdition, the first book in a trilogy by C.S. Johnson*, and I enjoyed it enough that I thought I would share…

Bulletin: New Book on the Block!

I have a new book of my own to offer today, readers! Presenting my novella Contact: Angeles, in both paperback* and ebook* formats! While removing a prototype sensor from the prow of her new Alliance battleship, the Ausa, Captain Elizabeth Goodwin and her crew encounter a setback when one of the engineers sent to remove…

More Book Recommendations

I am back with another list of recommended books! Foxfier’s list of suggestions still has me thinking, readers. We are told that people do not read anymore, and to some degree, that might be true. But it is difficult to find any interesting novels to read these days. Unless you trust someone else’s recommendation or…

More Reading Suggestions

Remember that guest post by Foxfier, readers? It inspired three more from yours truly, which you can read here, here, and here. Today, I thought I would list a few of my other favorite books, as there are many and we could all use some good entertainment these days. With the Christmas season past, it…

Review: Servant to the Wolf by Sue Wentz

Well, I certainly do appear to be on a roll, readers. Here we have another review, this time of a book I believe I picked up on sale. The title and blurb appealed to me, and so I grabbed it while I could. Speaking of, here is the description for the novel, Servant to the…

Review: The Princess Seeks Her Fortune by Mary Catelli

Yes! Another review in time for the holiday season! I seem to have managed to throw off most of my malaise with regard to reading. Happy days! All right, on with the review! Today we are looking at Mary Catelli’s The Princess Seeks Her Fortune*. If you recall, I reviewed another of Ms. Catelli’s stories…

Review: Iron Chamber of Memory by John C. Wright

Finally! I finally got to read a John C. Wright novel! I have an earlier book by him but have yet to crack that open, because…well, if you saw my bookshelves, you would understand why. A previous book written by him which I reviewed was an audiobook and a critique of The Last Jedi, so…

Reposted – Business Musings: How Writers Fail Part 10: Blame

A worthy article to consider, future authors: Business Musings: How Writers Fail Part 10: Blame I spent most of the morning trying to start this post. It’s not like me to have trouble writing, particularly a nonfiction post, but I simply couldn’t do what I had planned. What I had planned was simple: Because of…