Sheila Deeth's Blog, page 13

What is the Paris Bookshop's prescription?

I gave a talk on narrative voice at our writers' group yesterday. We looked at how different voices create different expectations in the reader. First person, present tense, teenage girl feeling isolated in a curiously different world? Must be YA dystopian romance, right? Or hard-bitten male voice with elegant lady in the office and dead body in the conversation--must be noir detective? Third person, past tense, multiple characters but we're not deep in their heads, and there's a dead body; m...

Five times mystery, or a cockroach in a pear tree

Once mystery is odd, twice mystery is odder, three time, four times, five times mystery... Actually I'm sure I read way more than five mysteries over Christmas, but I'm searching my files for notes and turning notes into book reviews while I catch up on catching up, so here are reviews of just five mysteries--like five gold rings perhaps (four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a cockroach in a pear tree?)

The cockroach shares a room with Mr. Smith in J. J. DiBenedetto's M...

Reading non-fiction and needing time to write

What's your calling? What's your passion? A friend loaned me her copy of "It's your call," while an e-friend offered to organize my mind, another promising to make me an influential author. Perhaps I should "start writing [my] book today" but I'm busy with book reviews. Or I'll go back to the non-fiction book that has occupied many happy hours over the last months with truly excellent essays, fascinating insights, curious facts, and lots of food for thought.

That last one is called Secular Jew...

What happened to December... and January?

My mother is 90. In early December she crossed the Atlantic to visit us, and stayed till last week. December and January were a wonderful time of reconnecting, with Mum and with friends; of hanging out with family who came to see her; of shopping as mothers and daughters do when there aren't thousands of miles between them; of cooking and remembering she doesn't like spices, cooked tomatoes, garlic, fruit... of eating elk burger as a treat with her grandsons because we don't have elk burgers...

Who built the dollhouse?

Today I'm delighted to welcome Jordan Elizabeth to my blog. She's the author of Clockwork Dollhouse (see my review here), and, since she and I both enjoy fantasy novels, I thought I'd offer her a warm drink on this cold morning and find out what else we might have in common. Please pour yourself a drink and join us:

First of all, who is in the picture?

The man in it is Aaron, the illustrator for FANYA IN THE UNDERWORLD


And the woman is presumably you. What sort of book do you most like to read,...

What happened in Alexandria 272 AD?

Today I'm delighted to welcome Richard Hacker--author of the fantasy historical novel, Die Back--to my blog. He's going to take us Behind the Curtain... to Alexandria 272 AD, and I'm eager to see what we'll find... But first, let me introduce him:


Richard Hacker is a longtime resident of Austin, Texas who now writes and lives in Seattle. (Hurray for the Pacific Northwest!)

His writing has been recognized by the Writer’s League of Texas and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. In addition...

How do you relax with a book?

Things have been so hectic around here. Reading is what I do while the microwave turns (walking from room to room with a well-lit tablet screen). I read while I wait for the computer to boot, for the washing to take that final spin, the onions to soften in the pan. Sometimes paper, sometimes electronic... what matters is the words, the story, the characters, the voice. Thinking about it, what matters when I want to relax is a voice that will help me relax; a voice that, even when it's telling...

Is it time to read?

Time to read, time to write, time to dream... I have friends whose Nanowrimo dreams are rapidly nearing completion, and others who, like me, didn't even dream of writing a novel this month... This month being November, Thanksgiving, the leadup to Christmas and more, I didn't feel like I'd ever find time, and I was right. But I did read some, and even wrote book reviews; I just didn't post them. So now, quickly, before I get busy with assigning ISBNs and uploading my own books, here are some o...

Buried letters, buried bombshells perhaps?

Today I'm delighted to welcome Jack Woodville London to my blog. He's touring the internet with his novel, French Letters: Children of a Good War, and the title intrigued me enough to encourage a "yes" when asked if he could drop in here. I hope you'll agree.

So, find some good coffee, and maybe a gluten free snack, then sit and enjoy our conversation:




So, first of all, I'd like to know where you're from (my accent gives you an unfair advantage otherwise)?I grew up in Groom, Texas, a town near...

Lace, the Asylum, and Pets...?

Love Under Fire comes out today, and every sale helps a veteran get a pet! How can you resist - lots of great reads, lots of great people, and lots of great pets.

Of course, looking at the graphic, I find myself trying to figure out which authors I've already read, but I'm looking forward to all the tales. I know they'll be good because I've already enjoyed two of them:

Virtually Lace by Uvi PoznanskyMichael has been working on a virtual reality model in his garage. The military might be intere...