As I Lay Dying is Faulkner’s fifth novel published in 1930. Most of the 59 chapters are short and are narrated by 15 different characters in a stream of consciousness writing technique. He wrote it in six weeks and didn’t change a word of it. It’s considered one of the best novels of 20th-century literature. […]
The Missing Place by Sophie Littlefield
On Monday afternoon, our reading group will discuss Sophie Littlefield’s book, The Missing Place. It was my turn to choose a book. I had met Sophie during our Women’s National Book Association event in San Francisco a few months ago, and we met again at Town Center Books in Pleasanton for her book signing. The […]
A Wolf Called Romeo by Nick Jans
National Geographic has an interesting article about a friendly wolf in Alaska. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150322-romeo-wolf-dog-animals-wildlife-alaska-ngbooktalk/ Romeo appeared in the Alaskan community near Juneau, and “was a bit of a flirt, and like Shakespeare’s Romeo seemed to fall in love with”…Juliet, a yellow Labrador. Normally wolves fight with canines or eat them, but Romeo wanted to play and […]
The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass/Protagonists vs. Heroes
Donald Maass states on page 9-10 in Chapter One of his book, The Fire in Fiction, that there is a difference between a protagonist and a hero. “A protagonist is the subject of a story. A hero is a human being with extraordinary qualities. A protagonist can be a hero, certainly, but isn’t always. Quite […]
Victoria Zackheim’s FaithAnthology Book Reading in Berkeley
Victoria Zackheim & Contributors read from Zackheim’s anthology, Faith: Essays from Believers, Agnostics, and Atheists at Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore in Berkeley on February 25th. Zackheim is the author of the novel The Bone Weaver and the editor of five anthologies, the one before Faith was Exit Laughing. She writes documentary films and teaches creative nonfiction […]
Yiyun Li Tells Writers to Eavesdrop on Their Characters
Yiyun Li, in her keynote speech at the San Francisco Writers Conference, said we should eavesdrop on our characters and their lies, lies to other characters and to us. When asked how to eavesdrop on them, Li said to let them be and see what they do. The author is like a translator and listens […]
Author Laurie R. King at the San Francisco Writers Conference
At the San Francisco Writers Conference this past weekend, I met Laurie R. King, bestselling author of 22 novels. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice and Dreaming Spies are two among the many books she wrote. King is the only crime writer with an Edgar and an honorary doctorate in theology. In her Mary Russell series of which […]