I have books to write. Stories that must leave my head and get on paper so you can enjoy them. Therefore I need to make time to write them. Which means I need to make time to read.
Tag: books
Publishing Adventure 2018
I spent some of my “vacation” this holiday season pushing forward on the book publishing project. I read a LOT of advice articles, blogs, and websites. I compared dozens of options. So many options! In just two short weeks, I have professionally formatted the manuscript for print in a softcover style, registered with the Library of…
Book Chat: Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail
Last week I accepted a challenge to read a book I hate. I picked three books at random off the shelf and started with T.J. Forrester’s “Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail“. Well, my first attempt was a failure as I enjoyed the story. It is not, however, one I would have selected if I…
Read a book you hate?
Here’s a reading challenge: Pick up a book you’re pretty sure you won’t like — the style is wrong, the taste not your own, the author bio unappealing. You might even take it one step further. Pick up a book you think you will hate, of a genre you’ve dismissed since high school, written by…
Readingitis – How to get sick from reading
I love reading. I always have. In my childhood, I’ve been grounded for reading past my bedtime curfew, hiding flashlights under my pillow and ducking under the covers after the “goodnights” were shared. I’ve been yelled out to go outside and do something in the sun…I’d take a book with me and climb a tree….
Editing Progress
This past week I’ve become intimately familiar with the characters in my novel. I gave birth to them, so we already know each other well. BUT. Now having reread my own novel a handful of times (and if you know me, I never read a book twice so this process is super weird), I know…
Book Chat: For All the Tea in China
Every time I make a cup of good tea, and I mean really good tea, not the generic fun looking brands at your average grocer, but the loose leaf, crushed, balls of sun-dried flowers and leaves…those kinds of good teas…when I make that kind of tea, I always think about the book, For All the…
Book Review: The Girl Who Lied
A delightful quick read that can be consumed in just one evening, The Girl Who Lied reminds us to keep our jealousy in check for you never know what pain is at someone’s core. Seen from the eyes of an 11-year old girl who has just entered a boarding school, the book actually follows another…
Writing Book #2…when #1 is still a draft
I can devote 1.5 days a week to writing. In that case, I can write a book in about 14 weeks, or within the 4-month time window I have to wait and see if anyone wants to publish the first one.
Book Chat: Behold the Dreamers – an immigration and deportation novel
Why must our immigrant friends have to make such sacrifices and decisions to show their dedication to our country?
The jump between 2010 and 2017
In 2010, I had my first real mid-life crisis. My husband had volunteered for a tour in Iraq. I was in a losing battle at work where my boss was making decisions that were taking the company into financial ruin. And I had my 30th birthday.
Anna Contrell 