LET’S TALK BOOKS
I love reading books. I’ve always loved reading books. I think this love came from my mother who taught me to read before I went to school. She had a bookcase headboard crammed with yellowing thrift store paperbacks—some you wouldn’t expect your mother to read like Messalina and Peyton Place—along with fat, hard-cover, Reader Digests. My mother was an armchair adventure who got “tight” after one glass of wine, giggled, and crossed her legs. Sorry, Mom, but I love that memory of you.
My criteria? If I like a book, I write about it. So, naturally, my reviews and musings end up here. I know what it takes to write a book, the endless hours, the sleepless nights; so I don’t write about a book if I don’t connect with it.
I’m a proud Canadian and have been writing reviews of fellow Canadian authors for the Ottawa Review of Books for the past few years. This has allowed me to discover some brilliant writers. They may not be New York Times Bestselling authors—because Canadian publishers cannot submit to the NY Times—but they’re wonderful just the same. So, if you like to discover new authors too, read on. Oh, interspersed you may find some superstar authors, like Maggie Stiefvater, who lives in the state of Virginia, and I read just because I wish I could write like her. Literary Envy. Argh!
Standing on The Curve of Time Once More
Since it's Mother's Day here in Canada, I'd like to celebrate a daring Adventure Mom. I first discovered Capi Blanchet's British Columbia adventure classic in a thrift store way back in 2002. Her literary tales captured me then, just as they do today. The title...
A Slow Fire Burning. Paula Hawkins
If you've read or watched The Girl on the Train, you'll know how Paula Hawkins likes to mess with her character's minds. Published in 2021, the slow fire that's burning could refer to any of them, as all of these characters carry emotional wounds from past traumas....
A New Timeslip Series by Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong is a wickedly voracious writer who often pens two series simultaneously, sometimes while writing or editing other projects as well. Still, she manages all with equal enthusiasm, detail, and creativity. I honestly don’t know how she does it. The woman...
Sci-Fi Sarah Take Two Will Surprise You
Occasionally, a book can surprise you, and every so often an old book can become new. The girl on the cover, Miss Sarah, with her Children of the Corn stare, makes me decidedly uncomfortable—enough to keep the poor wench face down on my shelf when my nose wasn’t in...
Singing & Soul-Searching with Sinead / Shuhada
I spent the last two nights reading Sinead O'Connor's 2021 memoir, Rememberings. I'm not going to write about all the things this amazing woman's said and done. You can pick up the book and read it yourself. What I will say is that I felt like I was listening to a...
ChatGPT Reviews My First Novel and Scores Big!
Alright. I had to do it, With all the hype about AI, and particularly, this bot, I had to see what it would say about my first novel, To Charm a Killer. As most people know, I'm a book reviewer, and I was curious how this new intelligent writer could help me out. Is...
