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With Comics Based On Our Favorite TV Shows, We Never Have To Say Goodbye
June 21st, 2012
Certain television shows - anything in the supernatural, science fiction or superhero oeuvres - appear to be made for comics. Particularly because many of those shows suffer from limited budgets and relatively low ratings, but benefit from vehemently loyal fans who are reluctant to say goodbye.
Read Column →Is This Your Card? How Michael Chabon Uses Suspense in Literary Fiction
June 20th, 2012
Perhaps my favorite thing about Michael Chabon’s writing is that whether writing about academics or comic-book creators, writing swash-buckling adventures or navel-gazing sexuality-discoveries, he knows how to craft a story with a capital S.
Read Column →Why I'd Rather Be Unpublished Than Considered "Beach Reading"
June 20th, 2012
Every year, around May or June, booksellers get busy setting up their big displays. They've weathered the post-gift-giving lull and are ready for sales to pick back up again--particularly if they're selling books in, say, airports, where people are still prone to purchasing actual paperbacks to take with them on the plane and, ultimately, on vacation. "Beach reading" season is upon us. Unfortunately, much like "chick lit," just because being deemed "beach reading" may be great for sales, it's not always excellent for the reputation of a writer.
Read Column →The Blagger's Guide to James Joyce
June 19th, 2012
To blag (v): to sound like you know what you’re talking about when you don’t The Blagger’s Guide to Literature (n): an invaluable resource for those who wish to blag about books without actually reading them.
Read Column →Indie Bookstore Spotlight: Tattered Cover, Denver, CO
June 19th, 2012
ADDRESS: 1628 16th Street, Denver, CO 80202
Read Column →LitReactor Photo Album: Show Us Your Reading Environment
June 18th, 2012
Last month we asked you to share your writing environment with us. Now, we'd like to see where you read. Is it a comfy chair? A quiet little alcove? In a public park? At a monster truck rally? Where is it that you find the quiet and solitude you require to dig into a book?
Read Column →The Long & Winding Road: Part IV – Editing With Agents
June 18th, 2012
Recap: The Long & Winding Road is a multi-part essay about my endeavors to get an agent and publish my first novel. Part I discussed writing my first novel and seeking representation, Part II discussed "revision hell", and Part III discussed talking to and landing an agent.
Read Column →Book Readings: Bar vs. Bookstore
June 15th, 2012
The experiment takes place over Memorial Day weekend, a converged idea of four different authors in various stages of their careers. It’s at the behest of Phil Jourdan, founder of Perfect Edge Books and touring author of the recently released Praise of Motherhood, that the remaining trio of us (Brandon Tietz, Caleb J.
Read Column →The Next Big Thing In YA
June 15th, 2012
Every time I walk into the YA section of a book store and see a shelf labeled "Paranormal Romance," I cringe. That's not to say that I don't enjoy books with paranormal elements, and obviously I love me some swoon. But this genre has overwhelmed young adult literature with a glut of mediocre novels featuring weak heroines and even weaker writing, and I've been praying for a new trend to kick paranormal romance to the curb.
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