This is the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. I had read The Hunger Games a year or two ago, before the movie came out. And I liked it. But the back cover copy for the second book convinced me that I wouldn’t like it. Marketers (I assume it was the marketers) targeted the … More Review: “Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins
Prism World by Lyn Gilleland (398 pages). Available on Amazon. It’s really hard to be objective when it comes to reviewing a book by someone you know. And yet you as a reader, as well as the author, would not expect any less from me. And so I find myself reviewing a book that I … More Review: “Prism World” by Lyn Gilleland
I just had a pleasant experience. I got a notice that Kevin Newsome, author of the great Christian suspense book WInter that I have reviewed previously, came by and read my review. It’s nice to know that other authors are out there, doing what I am doing, namely wondering what people are thinking about my … More On the Drawing Board
As somebody who has written a lot, and continues to write a lot, the most comfortable place for me to be is in front of a keyboard. The least comfortable? On the receiving end of reviews. Well, I guess I should qualify that. Writers will always get good and bad reviews; that’s the nature of … More An Author’s Best Friend
Warning: this review contains spoilers! To be honest, I don’t know how I feel about this book. The first book hooked me with the story of an alien invasion that kills off everyone on earth, and then morphs them into…something else. In the second book, the main character continues to develop as she travels from … More Review: Extinction Point: Exodus by Paul Antony Jones
I’m my own worst enemy. It’s been a busy few days, with the whole family traveling up to Oklahoma for a reunion. Now it’s just Gavin, my grandson, our three dogs and me. Shelly and my kids drove off to Jefferson to get my daughter moved into a new house. Those of us who stayed … More Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I have said more than once that there are no guarantees in life. And that goes for writing as well. I told a fellow magazine editor one time while we were watching our first issue roll off the press: “Enjoy … More Positive Strokes
Out of the Dark by David Weber, 381 pages, Tor Books. This blog is going to be less of a review of this particular book and more of a commentary on David Weber as an established writer. David Weber is best known as the author of the Honor Harrington military science fiction series, and is … More Review: “Out of the Dark” by David Weber
Today I am a hostage in my own home. There are workmen outside who occasionally have to come in to use the bathroom. So I am hanging in here, ignoring errands that must be attended to eventually and watching them haul pipes and power cords and equipment past my windows. We have known for a … More Clatter Outside, Scatter Inside
If I seem a bit preoccupied these days, it’s because we are entering the last week of classes. Finals start next Monday and run through Wednesday. Then on Sunday, May 5, I will march with the other professors to graduate our seniors who have earned their right to a diploma. One or two won’t march, … More Making Grades
