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Book Review: Surely You Can’t Be Serious
Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! by David Zucker My rating: 5 of 5 stars A book about Airplane!? What is it? It’s pieces of paper with pictures and…
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Book Review: The Last Dragonslayer
My book club chose this as our June read, and wow, am I glad we did. Our discussion was very lively, as all of us agreed that Jasper Fforde has created a fantastic…
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Book Review: Tasting History
Tasting History: Explore the Past through 4,000 Years of Recipes by Max Miller My rating: 5 of 5 stars I spent months waiting for this cookbook to release… the anticipation well outshone the…
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Book Review: The Workshop: Week Two
The Workshop: Week Two by Matt Mills My rating: 4 of 5 stars If you haven’t read The Workshop: Week One, this review won’t make much sense. Why don’t you go read that,…
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Book Review: Somebody Feed Phil, The Book
If you enjoyed watch Phil Rosenthal's food/travel series, I'll Have What Phil's Having and Somebody Feed Phil, this combination cookbook and travelogue is a must-have memento of Phil's travels around the world.
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Book Review: Skyseeker’s Princess (Songs of Si’Empra, #1)
Set on Si’Empra, a beautiful but harsh Antarctic island in the Southern Sea, Skyseeker’s Princess introduces us to Ellen, a member of the island’s royal family. Ellen’s destiny was to become the next…
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Book Review: Nine Lives and Alibis
As if I'm not already a pushover for cozy mysteries, all you really need to do is include a cat as one of the characters, and I'm in.
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Iron Skillet No-Excuse Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Delicious tender-center crunchy-outside biscuits for harried or lazy bakers! No need for all that tedious mucking about cutting the butter into the flour, either. There’s a hack for that. And you don’t need…
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It’s Chives’ 10th Adoptaversary!
Ten years ago today, Chives showed up in our backyard, and managed to somehow instantly ambush Ken's heart. We couldn't bear to leave him out in the rain, sitting in our chives plant.…
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Book Review: Kinship of a Dragon
Kinship of a Dragon by Charles D. Shell My rating: 5 of 5 stars Even though it’s been years since I read Charles D. Shell’s Dragon Called Blood, the first book in the…
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Writing Workshop: Blurbs the Word!
If that back cover description isn't compelling, your potential audience could be passing you by. Learn how to hook a casual browser and turn them into your next avid reader.
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Writing Workshop: Continuity: Solid Worlds, Believable Characters
Ever have a character change their hair color, accent, or even gender in mid-story? And it's not part of the plot? Oops. If your Loki-wannabe isn't a shapeshifter or a trickster, it's up…
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Book Review: The Witches of Bone Hill
If dark and stormy nights, eccentric Victorian mansions, atmospheric landscapes, chilling family crypts, strong magic, handsome yet brooding groundskeepers, and witchy family legacies appeal to you, this is your next read.
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Book Review: The Secret of the Old Clock
When I was eight, I discovered a secret at my Gramma's house. Behind her huge console television, there was a bookcase built into the living room wall. I had to squeeze my way…
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Book Review: The Workshop: Week One
It's clear that Matt Mills is a writer (yes I know, duh, he wrote this book). But he's a writer that's fought in the trenches and, so far, has lived to tell the…
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Book Review: Mary Berry’s Baking Bible: Revised and Updated
Mary Berry’s Baking Bible: Revised and Updated: With Over 250 New and Classic Recipes by Mary Berry My rating: 3 of 5 stars From the promo blurb: “Baking legend Mary Berry, longtime judge…
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Adventures in Copyediting – Booze and Bullets
As I copyedit/rewrite a 103K-word, modern-day vampire novel, I'm pausing often to consider word usage.
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Book Review: Miss Hazeltine’s Home for Shy and Fearful Cats
Miss Hazeltine is a gentle woman who seems like someone society might label 'awkward'. But the cats that are brought to her school to learn how to be outgoing and brave think she's…
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Book Review: Odds Against (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 7)
I wouldn’t be conforming to acceptable standards if I wrote a review that recommended a different book. But in the spirit of the Wildcards, I am going to risk insubordination and do what…
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Fantasy Faire 2023: My Literary Festival Events
If you're a Second Lifer and also a writer, you may be interested in attending my special events at Fantasy Faire 2023
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Fantasy Faire 2023: Building a World Without Cancer
Celebrating its fifteenth year, Fantasy Faire 2023 is the largest gathering of fantasy designers, enthusiasts, roleplayers and performers in the virtual world.
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Book Review: From Here to Timbuktu
I love a good treasure romp - and I love steampunk - and I love high adventure in far off exotic lands. So naturally, I eagerly dove into this 'steamfunk' story.
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Book Review: On Earth as It Is on Television
If you set up two television screens side-by-side, then simultaneously watch National Lampoon's Vacation on one and Close Encounters of the Third Kind on the other, while snacking on a pound of crispy…
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Book Review: The Lathe of Heaven
My introduction to The Lathe of Heaven was through the 1980 WNET (public television) film starring Bruce Davison, Kevin Conway, and Margaret Avery. I was blown away by the concepts presented and immediately…
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Book Review: In Darkness: The Werewolf
Vickie is a young American woman who has come to England to attend fencing school. She soon finds herself attracted to her landlord's son, Nicholas. Just as romance begins to bloom, she discovers…
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The Dragon Eater
J. Scott Coatsworth has a new queer YA/Crossover Sci-Fantasy book out – The Dragon Eater, Tharassas Cycle book one. There’s a giveaway, and a free book with purchase too! Raven’s a thief who…
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Book Review: The Book of Gems
The Book of Gems by Fran Wilde My rating: 5 of 5 stars Fran Wilde has a knack for pulling readers under the skin of her well-crafted characters, where we intimately ride out…
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Book Review: The Dragon Eater
My reaction to reading this title was, “I have so many questions already.” The rest of the back cover blurb didn’t help that problem much. In fact, it raised many more.
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Book Review: No Whisk, No Reward
This short prequel is a nice little read that cleverly accomplishes four important jobs.
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Book Review: Tempus Fugit – The Engagement Ring
Bravely written in second person, past tense, Jules Pelarski’s The Engagement Ring addresses you, the reader, as the protagonist. You’ll be told what’s happening to you and what’s going on all around you…