Lorina Stephens's Blog, page 79

Book Signing Saturday

Lorina Stephens will be appearing at Indigo, Milton Crossroads, 1180 Steeles Avenue East, Milton, ON, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, 2010.



Saturday's appearance is part of the spring/summer tour for Lorina's latest novel, From Mountains of Ice.





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Five Rivers' Ten Commandments for Writers

I really never thought I'd succumb to this, to the detestable rules and protocols that gird the publishing world to the point of encumbrance and ritual. But here I am, amazed there are so many unprofessional people out there hawking their writing like desperate merchants at a flea market.





So here are some cryptic DON'Ts by way of advice to all would-be hopefuls knocking on Five Rivers' publishing doors.



1. DON'T submit without reading our guidelines first. They're there for a reason. Even ...

New Review for Shadow Song

It would seem Mirella Patzer at The Historical Novel Review has ploughed through my two novels in a hurry. Her review of Shadow Song appears on the blog today. And a very fine review it is. Mirella sums up her review with:



'Shadow Song was a beautifully written story, one that was well researched as it pertains to the lives of settlers in the wilds of Upper Canada. Lorina Stephens' prose is lyrical and evokes emotion. The tale was poignant with memorable characters and a story line that imme...

New Review for From Mountains of Ice

There is a new review today for From Mountains of Ice on the Historical Novel Review blog.



One of the best bits of Mirella Patzer's review states: The author's writing style is lyrical and emotive, making the story enjoyable and credible with its vibrant descriptions and introspection. In essence, this is a grand story, richly told.



From Mountains of Ice is available in print and digital format from online retailers globally, as well as select bookstores in Canada.

Indie Bookstores redux

[image error] Mark Leslie Lefebvre brought to my attention another nifty indie bookseller in Ottawa, Collected Works.



The Ottawa Citizen article sums up the bookstore better than I could, so I'll leave it to you to click through. While you're at it, take a gander at Collected Works' website. Pretty decent. Informative, interactive, even has a link to an online shopping cart.



Wonder how they feel about indie publishers? I'm going to find out.



For now, I'd score Collected Works 7/10. Why? That attitude ...

The Indie Store of the Future

Reading Lorina's rankings of Independent bookstores in previous post, I tried to imagine the sort of store I (Robert) would like to see.

My vision of the independent bookstore of the future is one with an Espresso Machine, a coffee bar, a flat screen monitor flashing random 30 second shots of coverart/coverblurbs from the available Espresso catalog, and a set of bookshelves filled with 'staff picks' off the Espresso machine. Maybe a couple of computer stations fixed to a site like GoodReads. ...

Indie Bookstores

Over the years I've heard a lot of huffing and puffing from independent booksellers about their pitiful lot in life, about mice trying to survive in the presence of mammoths, about lack of customer support, of government support, of financial support.



I've listened carefully to the arguments, considered, researched, and I'm still of the opinion very few independent booksellers get it.



What do I mean by get it? I mean it remains most independent booksellers haven't a clue where their place ...

Motivate to Create: a guide for writers

Five Rivers is pleased to announce the June 1, 2010 release of Nate Hendley's revised and updated book, Motivate to Create: a guide for writers. Originally self-published through Lulu, Motivate to Create offers straight-forward advice on a largely unexplored topic -- what is it that motivates us, and keeps us motivated, to create?



Whether it's creating an harmonious environment or keeping our bodies fit, veteran freelance writer Nate Hendley explains how to start up or step-up your writing ...

What Type Are You?

Casey Wolf drew my attention to the website that asks the question, "What type are you?". It is an amusing bit of pop-psychology and well worth 10 minutes of your time. I was particularly pleased that this is a free-standing webpage, not one of those annoying Facebook apps that tells you what character in Avatar you are, or whatever, and then raids your Facebook info to sell to marketers, because you had to allow the app access to everything in order to play. This site, by contrast, seems to ...

Reading, writing, and publishing as conversation

My previous post got me thinking about the place of books in the 21st century and it suddenly struck me that the central paradox of our age is that reading is in decline at the precise moment that writing (publishing) is undergoing explosive growth.

It's true that people read less these days...I certainly see that in my undergraduate students compared to when I started teaching here 20 years ago...but the other, largely overlooked, half of that picture is that of those readers who remain, a...