By Angie Thomas Balzer + Bray Publishing, ISBN: 978-0062498533 Hardcover, 464 pages. ©2017 16-year-old Starr Carter lives in Garden Heights, a poor black neighborhood where gangs run the streets and drugs are ubiquitous. Between her mother’s job as a nurse and her father’s community grocery store in the Heights, Starr’s parents manage to send her…
Author: DremaDeoraich
Say Nothing
By Brad Parks Dutton Publishing, ISBN: 978-1101985601 Paperback 464 pages. ©2017 When federal judge Scott Sampson receives a text from his wife saying she will pick up their kids after school, he is mildly annoyed. It was his turn, not hers. He and the twins had plans, and now they’ll have to be postponed. Besides,…
Outside the Box
After a long dry spell, I’m writing again. At the moment, I’m working on a short story with specfic elements (my norm), and a new, non-specfic novel which I intend to write as a series of letters. Single first-person POV telling a tragic story that will probably be the hardest thing I ever write, so…
Never Give Up, Never Surrender
Right now, I’m about four weeks away from beginning yet another round of revisions on my novel. Why four weeks, you ask? Because the draft is still out with two readers and, by the time I get their changes back, I’ll be preparing for a trip to Guatemala with friends. A series of semi-major revisions…
Five Tips to Nail Your Public Reading
One thing I see a lot of in our local writing community is public readings, where a writer stands before an audience and reads a segment of their work. If you’re a writer, but you’ve never attended a public reading, you should consider it. It’s a great way to get a taste of different styles…
Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone
Next month at this time, I’ll be preparing for a one-week trip to Guatemala. Oh, who am I kidding. I’m preparing now. There’s a lot to do, and even though much of the trip will be unscripted, I know at least some of what I’ll need to have while in-country. It helps to know I…
The Current
By Tim Johnston Algonquin Books, ISBN: 978-1616206772 Hardcover, 416 pages. © 2019 An unexpected winter road trip across several states toward a small town in Minnesota lands college students Audrey and Caroline in the icy waters of the Black Root River. Audrey survives. Caroline does not. Despite Audrey’s claims that their car was deliberately pushed…
Respite from Running
In a strange duality of perception, I am both surprised that Christmas Day is upon us so quickly, and relieved that it finally arrived after Time dragged its feet for so long. This year has been a fast-and-furious roller coaster of activity with surprises around every turn. Life has been good and I am thankful…
An Obsessed Writer’s Ultimate Wish List
Dear Kris, How are things at the North Pole? I hope you and your Kringle S.O. in the red leggings and faux-fur lined cap are both well and ready for the imminent last-minute rush. Rudolph and all your other four-leggeds are healthy and rested? I’m sure the elves have been putting in loads of overtime….
No Gain, No Shame: When Life Gets in the Way
NaNoWriMo always surprises me. Every Fall, it hovers around the corner like one of our kittens, furry butt wiggling in preparation for The Pounce and, the minute November 1 arrives, it attacks my conscience. I always want to be a NaNoWriMo writer. I’ve occasionally planned to participate. It just never works out. Bad Drema. No…