Columns

Thank You, Louisa May Alcott, For Writing the Perfect Book For Me

November 29th, 2017

There’s no horror like that of a budding writer reading about Jo’s manuscript erupting in the flames. There’s no jealousy like that of an intense shipper watching Amy flirt with Jo’s should-have-been-man. And there’s no sorrow like that of a wanna-be March family member getting to the part where that one thing happens to Beth.

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Why We Need Border Fiction More Than Ever

November 29th, 2017

Header image via Unsplash It's been a year since Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, and every day has been a battle. That sentence is to the point, painful, and accurate. But it's not a helpful statement. We need solutions. We need understanding and representation and the amplification of voices that are too often shouted over. This can happen anywhere. In the arts, in the sciences, in the business world. It can happen in classrooms and churches and offices.

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What Makes A Great Financial Thriller?

November 28th, 2017

One of my favourite movies is 12 Angry Men, a courtroom drama showing the emotional turmoil within the jury room during a murder trial. It’s an oldie, but still worth watching today. The legal thriller has been with us for some considerable time, and the works of John Grisham, Michael Connelly, Mark Gimenez and many others have kept us hooked on the genre to this day.

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10 Books to Read After Watching 'Mindhunter'

November 27th, 2017

Netflix recently dropped Mindhunter, a show set in the 1970s about two FBI agents (AKA "The Mindhunter Boyz") expanding criminal science by delving into the psychology of murder and getting uneasily close to real killers. Producers include Charlize Theron and David Fincher (who also directs four of the ten episodes). The show, while initially bumpy and somewhat flawed, eventually won me over. One of my favorite movies is Fincher’s Zodiac, and this show feels like a welcomed return to its universe.

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LitReactor's Black Friday Picks for Readers and Writers

November 24th, 2017

It’s Black Friday. Dust those pie crust crumbs off your distended belly, sit up, and pay attention! Black Friday is a tough one for writers. On one hand, we like to think of ourselves as being less attached to objects than others. On the other hand, most of us aren’t swimming in cash.

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How To Be A Dude, And Not Terrible

November 24th, 2017

I love Game of Thrones and I used to use the joke valar morgulis (for those who don’t speak High Valyrian: all men must die) when discussing bad dude behavior. For example, I am walking my toddler to the bus stop and a man pulls up on the side of the road and shouts NICE PUSSY at me and my child. #AllMenMustDie

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12 Novels About Dysfunctional Families

November 23rd, 2017

Which family dinners do you remember more? The ones where the food was not too hot, not too cold, where everyone ate a societally acceptable amount, and conversations were civil and cohesive? Or the ones where the chicken was overdone, where you ate so much the top button of your pants had to be undone, and where arguments and tension simmered away?

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7 Tips to Increase Your Odds of Placing in Poetry Contests

November 22nd, 2017

There’s a decent amount of money to be made winning poetry contests – if you reach a point where you can consistently place. I’ve judged many such contests over the years and won dozens, so today I’m going to offer some insight into what it’s like to judge them and how to increase your odds of winning them.

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10 Books to Make You Feel Thankful

November 21st, 2017

Health. Family. Another day above ground. That one time you didn't get caught. Great coffee. Humor. Books and music. A roof over your head. There are many reasons to be thankful if you look for them. Stuffing yourself or making jokes about others stuffing themselves on social media are fine things, but if you want to take things one step further, specifically a step in the literary direction, think about some books that give you that feeling. Here are ten suggestions that have made me feel thankful in the past.

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Storyville: Life, Death, Dreams, and Failure

November 21st, 2017

When I heard the news of LitReactor Co-Founder Kirk Clawes passing away, it really floored me. It totally caught me off guard, as death often does. I held up the pottery of his I had sitting on my desk, admiring his ability—the art, the vision, the craft. It got me thinking about my own work, my own life, as I am about to turn 50 (and will have when this column comes out).

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