Exile

Written with the prompts:  she could see no one, Mother’s Rest, Oklahoma, power, read books real hard, you smell terrible, to this day, where’s Bill, what about the body?, a sense of neighborhood, story?, you need to leave, gift, typical summer weather, kiss, what they taught me  She could see no one anymore, isolated as … Continue reading Exile

Read-Aloud Picture Books

Last week I listed a few of my favorite books for cold weather reading and gifting.  This week, allow me to tell you about a few of my favorite read-aloud picture books for kids.  These are all books I loved to read to my students when I was teaching, and I feel safe in saying they’re modern … Continue reading Read-Aloud Picture Books

Celebrating Books

I’ve heard it said that Russian novels are so long because Russian winters are so cold!  What better way to spend time inside than reading a book?  In Iceland I hear there’s a tradition of gifting family and friends with books and chocolate so they may take to their beds cozy and satisfied for a long … Continue reading Celebrating Books

Book News!

Here in California it remains unseasonably warm, so it's hard to believe that the holidays are right abound the corner. I want to let you know that all the paperback novels in my Avian Series are currently on sale at Amazon for 15% off.  They all have beautiful new covers designed by graphic artist Karen … Continue reading Book News!

Book Review: The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead

In the beginning of The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead, I found the book a bit off-putting.  The author drops the reader into the middle of a scene with no hand holds or explanations. Our protagonist is Lila Mae Watson, an elevator inspector in an unnamed city with lots of big buildings.  But Whitehead doesn’t introduce us to … Continue reading Book Review: The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead

Book Review: There There by Tommy Orange

About three quarters of the way through Tommy Orange’s There There, on the day of the culminating Big Oakland Pow Wow, it occurred to me that this plot structure was a bit like some potboilers I read way back in the 60s when I wanted to read grown-up books, so I borrowed a few of … Continue reading Book Review: There There by Tommy Orange

Yellow-Billed Magpie Goes on Tour!

Now that the Yellow-Billed Magpie Launch Party is successfully behind me, my new novel is going on a virtual tour! Laura Fabiani, the wonderful tour coordinator at iRead Book Tours, has arranged for Yellow-Billed Magpie to make appearances on seventeen blogs in three different countries during the month of October. Fourteen bloggers will post reviews … Continue reading Yellow-Billed Magpie Goes on Tour!

What To Think About Watchman?

First I have to say that I have not yet read Go Set a Watchman. I do intend to read it though; my copy arrived from Amazon yesterday. But the early reviews of Harper Lee’s second novel have been playing on my mind and I feel a need to set my thoughts down now. As … Continue reading What To Think About Watchman?