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Happy Birthday, Dr Seuss!
March 3rd, 2014
My husband and I were watching Patriot Games a few weeks ago. More accurately, he was watching it while I worked on my laptop—I’d seen it before. But one scene perked up my ears and pulled me out of my work for a moment: Harrison Ford in the hospital with his daughter, a precocious little Thora Birch. “Read it again, Daddy.” Halfway through the grimly spoken first line, I blurted out, “The Cat in the Hat!”, nearly dropping my MacBook in the process.
Read Column →40 for 40: Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels that Changed My Life
February 28th, 2014
This month is my birthday month and since I turned 40 this year, I thought I would take the opportunity to do a self-indulgent post. And since my editors didn’t stop me, I wanted to list out the 40 novels of science fiction and fantasy that had the biggest impact on me, in hopes that you, faithful reader, would find it useful and interesting. I’ve already talked about a number of these before, so I’ll provide links to previous columns where possible.
Read Column →LURID: Hooray for Hannibal
February 28th, 2014
LURID: vivid in shocking detail; sensational, horrible in savagery or violence, or, a guide to the merits of the kind of Bad Books you never want your co-workers to know you're reading. “And what’s he then that says I play the villain? When this advice is free I give and honest…” — Othello, II, iii
Read Column →Storyville: Editor Interviews—Needle, Thuglit, and The Big Click
February 28th, 2014
This week, we’ve decided to speak to some crime, mystery, and thriller publications—magazines and journals that tap into noir, that build suspense on the page, one dirty deed after another. First up is Needle, a slick little rag that has eluded me for a few years now, but is still one of my favorites out there—they just got some stories into the Best American Mystery Stories anthology, so you know they’re doing it right. Second, is Thuglit, who have published some of the hottest names in noir and neo-noir.
Read Column →Write What You Like: Why “Write What You Know” Is Bad Advice
February 27th, 2014
The primary requirement for being a writer is being told to “Write what you know” at least sixteen times. The secondary requirement is a gnawing anxiety about the future of publishing, but that’s a topic for another day. “Write what you know” is one of the cardinal rules of writing, a tip that’s as widely quoted as “I before E, except after C.” And just like that bit of spelling advice, it’s more often wrong than right.
Read Column →Why The F*ck Aren't You Reading Scott McClanahan?
February 27th, 2014
Why The F*ck Aren't You Reading? is a feature where the columnist spotlights a writer who has a dedicated following and is well known within the writing community, but hasn't achieved the elephant-in-the-room style success of a Stephen King or Gillian Flynn—But they deserve to, dammit! Hopefully the column will help gain the author featured a few more well deserved readers. I keep coming back to this Woodrell quote any time I decide to write about rural fiction.
Read Column →UPDATED WITH WINNER - LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown: February Edition
February 27th, 2014
Flash fiction: A style of fictional literature marked by extreme brevity. Welcome to LitReactor's Flash Fiction Smackdown, a monthly bout of writing prowess.
Read Column →Is Self-Publishing Good for You?
February 26th, 2014
Quite a few people have asked me if I think self-publishing is a good idea. It's not a question I can give a simple answer to, so this article will serve as my not-so-simple answer.
Read Column →Culling The Classics: Lolita
February 25th, 2014
Fans of "Culling The Classics"—yes, all seven of you—may recall the trouble I got into the last time I reviewed a Russian work, when two lovely commenters from the Motherland lambasted me for not sufficiently appreciating the bulk of their literature. I did love Anna Karenina, though, so I thought perhaps I would give the Ruskies another go. Ready your molotov cocktails...
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