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Giving Up the Ghost: How to Bury Dead Writing
March 27th, 2015
Way back in 2008, author Mary Patrick Kavanaugh came to a horrible realization. Her novel, which she had loved dearly and nourished through good times and bad, was dead. Whether it passed away quietly in its sleep or went Thelma and Louise style over a cliff, I’m not sure. But what happened next is of particular interest. Instead of fighting nature, Kavanaugh accepted what happened as a necessary part of life and held a lovely funeral service.
Read Column →8 Undateable Male Characters
March 27th, 2015
We know that quite often the fantasy is better than the reality in most things. When it comes to stories, the ones that enthrall me follow characters that I could read about constantly, but would not necessarily want in my life. Some characters skip over intriguing and exciting and fall right into the category of "absolutely not" for dating material. A real life version of any of them would be a waking nightmare!
Read Column →LURID: My Man Ludwig Van - The Tortured Genius of Beethoven
March 26th, 2015
"Beethoven" by Joseph Karl Stieler What I shit is better than anything you have ever thought — Ludwig Van Beethoven
Read Column →LitReactor Community Spotlight: March 2015
March 25th, 2015
March has been a big month in the world of literary news. We mourned the loss of Sir Terry Pratchett, welcomed the announcement of a new Gaiman baby (slightly NSFW, because Amanda Palmer), and got another kinda-sorta announcement that the famously slow-cooking George R.R.
Read Column →In Defense Of Indie (It's Not What You Think)
March 25th, 2015
I’m going to use one of those sly literary tricks that I always find just a tad bit annoying in stories and novels: I’m going to start this column at the end and then go back to the beginning. Because, hey, why not. So here we go: The question I think we need to ask ourselves as writers is this: Does indie publishing really need to be defended? Short answer: No, not really. Now for the long answer:
Read Column →Product Review: 80 Days
March 24th, 2015
Have you ever read a classic novel and wished you could actively control the narrative's direction like a Choose Your Own Adventure book? The creative minds at inkle, a mobile gaming and software company, must have felt this desire, because they've created a game that gives you control over a hallmark work of science fiction: Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days.
Read Column →Girls on Film: Marvel vs. DC
March 23rd, 2015
It’s tough being a female superhero. You catch bad guys and save lives just as well—if not better—than your male peers, and you’re expected do it all while wearing heels and trying not to pop out of your ludicrously scant costume every time you throw a punch. Regardless of how much good you do, you still get marginalized by society in the exact same way as your non-powered, but no less heroic, sisters.
Read Column →Murder Most Foul: Five Killer YA Mysteries
March 23rd, 2015
Who says Young Adult literature has to be all love triangles and fluff? In these five novels, the authors have murder on their minds, and no crime is too grisly, even for a YA audience. From missing girls meeting tragic ends to mysteries surrounding unsolved murders, authors like Paula Stokes and Abigail Haas are exploring murder and mayhem. Their books are sure to have you reading with the lights on.
Read Column →Boozing Like Famous Writers
March 20th, 2015
I hate to think of myself as a pile of stereotypes, a bunch of checkboxes with marks for either yes or no. But if I'm honest, there are some stereotypes that are true of me. I'm a white male. I'm a terrible dancer. This is true about me. I'm ridiculously bad at basketball. Unbelievably bad. If you want to disprove the stereotypes there, find someone else. I'm not your guy.
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