L.A. Smith's Blog

Review: The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey

In the 1920s, a grieving middle-aged couple, Mabel and Jack, move to the Alaskan wilderness to make a new start. Their cherished dream for a family of their own has shattered under the weight of miscarriages and a baby still-born, and their flight to the wilderness carries with it their hopes for a renewed sense of purpose together.

So begins The Snow Child (published 2012), a fairy-tale retelling of the Russian folktale called Snegurochka, about a maiden made out of snow by an old couple. This ...

Review: Babel: Or, the Necessity of Violence, by R.F. Kuang

As I embarked on my Very Long Walk Through Spain, one of my important packing decisions involved what books to bring. Fellow voracious readers will understand the complexity of that decision! Fortunately, we now live in an era where space/weight is not an issue. Thank you, God, for whoever it was who invented e-books! The issue becomes more of substance.

A long and weighty walk perhaps needed a long and weighty book? But did I want to get bogged down with ideas or wrestle with deep theological o...

A Very Long Walk Through Spain, Pt. 2

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

– J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings

I’m baaack!

My husband and I left Canada on April 28th, heading to Spain for our much-anticipated trek through northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago. We landed in Paris, hung around in the airport for about 6 hours, and boarded the second flight to Biarritz, France, to spend a couple nigh...

A Very Long Walk Through Spain, Pt. 1

In about a week, my husband and I are crossing something off our bucket list that has been there a very long time. We are going to walk the Camino de Santiago (also known as The Way of St. James, or The Way). This is an 800 km trek across the north of Spain.

Yup. 800 km. Gulp.

I know this sounds slightly crazy, and perhaps it is, but bear with me!

Many of you may know about the Camino and what it is. Over this last year, as my husband and I have been planning for it and telling others about it, ...

A Very Long Walk Through Spain

In about a week, my husband and I are crossing something off our bucket list that has been there a very long time. We are going to walk the Camino de Santiago (also known as The Way of St. James, or The Way). This is an 800 km trek across the north of Spain.

Yup. 800 km. Gulp.

I know this sounds slightly crazy, and perhaps it is, but bear with me!

Many of you may know about the Camino and what it is. Over this last year, as my husband and I have been planning for it and telling others about it, ...

Review: A Short Walk Through a Wide World, by Douglas Westerbeke

In 1885, a young girl is afflicted with a mysterious disease that threatens her life. The only way to avoid dying from the disease is to keep moving. If she stays in one place more for more than about three days, the symptoms return and she will die if she does not move on.

 Thus is the setup for Douglas Westerbeke’s debut novel, A Short Walk Through the Wide World (Avid Reader Press, coming April 2024).

Beautiful cover!

This woman at the heart of the book, Aubry Torval, is an interesting chara...

Interview: Andrew Noakes, Founder of Fictive Pursuits

A few years ago “The History Quill” popped up on my radar, and as I looked into it, I became intrigued. This was a new service being offered to both historical fiction writers and readers. I joined both as an author to check out some of their resources for writers, but also as a reader, so I could get historical fiction book recommendations that were tailored to my particular interests. I loved the fact that this was very much a niche service, directly targeted to historical fiction readers and ...

Knitting and Books? Why not!

The other day I saw a “challenge” going around the interweb called the Knitting Tag. Not sure why, exactly, but the idea is to take knitting terms as jumping-off points to talk about books. And about you.

I don’t do a lot of “get to know you posts” here, so this sounded like a fun post to do just that.

Say no more. I’m in! Just to get you in the mood, here’s a pic of the latest socks I made for myself. I wanted a pair to wear to my office job, hence the kinda boring colour, but the pattern was f...

Cosy Fantasy?

“Are you getting weary of writing about political intrigue, violence, or long, complicated events that impact the lives of many people? I don’t blame you. We get enough of that in real life. But is there a market for any other kind of fantasy?

Writers, take hope! An emerging subgenre called ‘cosy fantasy’ has appeared on the scene, and it may be just what you are looking for…”

Read more over at Fabled Planet! 

Review: The Embroidered Book, by Kate Heartfield

I was lucky enough to be in the library last fall when The Embroidered Book, by Kate Heartfield, was on display in the new book section. This was a book I had on my TBR list and so I snapped it up, although I did have a moment’s hesitation. This is a long book (672 pages). I have to be extremely picky about the long books I read, just because my reading time is so limited these days!

But seeing as I like to keep up with what is new and popular in historical fantasy, I took it home and settled in...