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Articles Categorized Books

PRIDE, PREJUDICE, & ELIGIBLE

Over two hundred years ago Jane Austen observed : “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” As a writer Jane Austen saw and recorded many human foibles but this quote from Pride and Prejudice is the one most often

A Story About Speed Daters

It’s time for a book review. This time the story is One Night at the Jacaranda (2013). The plot follows eight people who find themselves at the Jacaranda Bar for an evening of speed dating. The premise is simple. In author Carol Cooper’s heterosexual example, an equal number of men and women register for the event.

A Bird, A Boy, & A Painting: Donna Tartt’s Goldfinch

The European goldfinch is a small bird with a red face, black and white head, warm brown upper parts and whiter underparts. The male has a dark mask just behind the eye. This seventeenth century oil on wood painting by Calen Febritius captures the life of a pet goldfinch, no doubt kept for its cheery

TEN REASONS TO GO TO A WRITERS’ CONFERENCE

As a “general” rule (ever wonder why there’s no “private first class” rule?) fiction writers are shy. That’s why they create artificial worlds and imaginary friends. Writers like to sit at a cozy desk more than they like to go to parties, because at parties they have to talk to actual people. Or else sit

TALES OF TRAVEL, MURDER, & MYSTERY

I’m always uncomfortable with the thought that I might have an unfilled spare moment. This contributes to my habit of always having something to read. My compulsion is not entirely unique. No less an author than Oscar Wilde put the following words in the mouth of one of his more pretentious characters. “I never travel