Shadow and Flame: Working on My New Fantasy Series (And This Week’s Selection of Giveaways)

Hello all! Welcome to April. It’s certainly been a damp one here in North Carolina, just like all the previous months since, oh, August. There was a brief glorious moment when my basement floor was not actually swimming in water, but that, alas, has passed. I guess this should be our theme song Since, as […]

“Tardy Bells and Witches’ Spells” by Sarina Dorie

Tardy Bells and Witches’ Spells: Womby’s School for Wayward Witches #1 Sarina Dorie Clarissa Lawrence is your typical nerdy teenager who loves magic in all its forms. But her mother has decided that it’s dangerous for her to believe in it and confiscates all her Harry Potter books, her Lord of the Rings books, and […]

Invoking the Muse: How to Get Inspiration You Can Use II (Dreams and Visions)

In the last post on this topic we talked about the Hoodoo vs. Hard Work continuum. This time we’ll talk about catching your dreams and visions. But wait! you cry. This is supposed to be about practical tips! How are dreams and visions practical? Well, they’re not, not exactly. But they are a key source […]

“Career of Evil” by Robert Galbraith

Career of Evil Robert Galbraith In “Career of Evil,” the third Cormoran Strike book, Galbraith/Rowling takes a decidedly macabre turn. While “The Cuckoo’s Calling” and “The Silkworm” were not without their gruesome aspects, they were as much satires of the entertainment industry in its various facets–modeling, tabloid reporting, fashion, publishing–as they were crime novels. “Career […]

“The Silkworm” by Robert Galbraith

The Silkworm Robert Galbraith In “The Silkworm,” Robert Galbraith/J.K.Rowling’s second book in the Cormoran Strike series, Rowling deploys her considerable satirical powers against a target she must know intimately: the publishing industry. After solving the Lula Landry case in “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” Cormoran and his secretary-cum-partner Robin are now rolling in business, so Cormoran has […]

“The Cuckoo’s Calling” by Robert Galbraith

The Cuckoo’s Calling Robert Galbraith Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, everyone. Stop the presses, y’all, because J.K. Rowling is back. Okay, under a different name, but the sharp pen is very definitely the same. I always wondered what she would do once the “Harry Potter” franchise was done. She–very wisely, in my opinion–stopped the series after […]

“James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra” by Colm McElwain

“James Clyde” is a fun children’s fantasy about an 11-year-old boy who discovers he’s actually the secret heir of the ruling family of Orchestra, a fantasy world in another dimension. Plots, intrigue, and revelations of secret powers ensue. It’s a bit hard for me to evaluate this as an adult, but I dare say that […]