Chris Abouzeid's Blog, page 45

Illuminating the Indescribable: Rebecca Wait and Her Debut Novel: The View on the Way Down

By Laura Harrington Rebecca Wait’s debut novel “The View on the Way Down” (Picador) launches April 11th in the UK.  Rebecca and I share a publisher and I was so intrigued when they sent me her book to read that I requested an interview because  I wanted to learn the ...

Own Your Opinions, Kids

By Nichole Bernier One of my children told me recently that he couldn’t ever be a reviewer — of books, art, restaurants, or a sports columnist — because he didn’t want to hurt people’s feelings. (Never mind that just a few weeks before, he gave a dramatic reading of my ...

Revision Alchemy: Part 3

By Randy Susan Meyers Hard writing makes easy reading. Wallace Stegner I’m in the final gasps of revising a manuscript and, once again, I’m grateful that a friend’s fresh eyes gave me a proverbial kick in the manuscript. Whether I’m drowning in delight at my own cutesy-wootsy phrase, or persisting ...

Debut: Henriette Power’s The Clover House

Intro By Becky Tuch There’s nothing like seeing your friend’s novel go from first draft to published book. The only comparison I can make is that feeling one has as an aunt, seeing nieces and nephews grow up and become their own people. “I knew you when you were in ...

Learning to Let Go: A Control Freak on Publishing a Novel

By Melanie Thorne I have control issues. There, I said it. If you know me or you’ve read my book, that probably isn’t much of a surprise. And though I’m working on learning to let things go, you know, like water off a duck’s back, I still prefer to be ...

On Rereading

By Curtis Smith The call comes late on a Sunday evening. My father has had a stroke. It’s serious, my mother says, her words weighty for a family in which voices are seldom raised. I pack a bag, necessities for a few nights. Clothes. A notebook and pen. A phone. A ...

You Light Up My Brain: Predicting Literary Success With Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

  By Chris Abouzeid Novelists like to believe their books are as individual and unpredictable as human personalities. Editors insist picking out the next bestseller from the masses of mediocre novels is an art. No machine can predict a novel’s success because there is no magic formula, only intricate combinations ...

Friday Faves

By Dell Smith Good morning you there with your mug o java and your Internet connection. That’s right, I’m talking directly to your frontal lobe. If you’ve read this far then you’re in for a treat. It’s Friday (a very good one I might add) and on Fridays we share ...

Portrait of the Artist as a Societal Parasite

By Julie Wu So Mia, the pink Asian Power Ranger, finally stars in an episode. Her little brother shows up with an electric guitar and wants her to sing in his band for an upcoming concert. Cool, I’m thinking, as I snuggle on the couch with my ninja-loving daughter. I’m ...

A Reluctant Novelist’s Confession

  By Maryanne O’Hara No matter how often I fly, there’s always a moment, in the middle of the night before a flight, when I think: Impossible! Those things can’t possibly stay up in the air. I had the same feeling years ago when I delivered my only child. I ...