Sara J. Henry's Blog, page 11

Quentin Rowan Explains His Plagiarism to Jeremy Duns: Betting it All on One Horse, Playing out the "Awful Pantomime"

The writing world's been abuzz the last week over a well-reviewed novel called Assassin of Secrets, which was pulled by the publisher, Mulholland Books, shortly after its U.S. release for plagiarism. The plagiarism is detailed by Edward Champion on his blog and discussed by novelist Jeremy Duns in this post (Duns was one of the authors who blurbed the novel).



I think we've all be wondering a lot about the hows and whys of this (I'm not faulting the publisher by any means - it took sharp-eyed...

If You're Looking for a Phenomenal Book ...

... go here. Buy this book. No, you can't buy a regular book or an e-book - it's an Audible.com exclusive. You can listen to it on your computer or your iPad or other device thingy, or burn to CDs and listen to in your car. And, look, you can get it in a free trial or for a $7.49 trial.



This is a phenomenal book, probably the best I've read this year. (And yep, I read it, because I saw it in manuscript format - but I've heard the two narrators are marvelous.)



It's enticing and gritting, int...

Oh, My

Here's the problem with cleaning out your crawl spaces (part of the campaign against invading chipmunks and mice): You not only open an old suitcase that is a virtual time machine, with your cherished tattered suede fringed jacket, corduroy bell-bottoms, multi-colored string belt, and big-collared shirt with puffy sleeves ... but then you open another suitcase that contains something large and squishy, carefully double-bagged, and when you open it you realize it is one of the loosely crochete...

(Who has perpetrated these titles?)

I said that would be the last of my German reviews, didn't I? Oh, I can't resist! This is a one-star one (the German title translates to "One Heartbeat Til Death"):

Well, well, a thriller! If one "A heart beat to death" (Who has perpetrated these titles?) In this category, it must be redefined thriller. The basic idea is quite controversial and promises excitement. The readers will find in the beginning, but then looks for the next 200 pages exclusively exposed trivial chatter. The whole...

Oh, I Love My German Readers - Really

Really. These readers know how to write book reviews - even bad ones. (All from Amazon.de, reviews of my novel EIN HERZSCHLAG BIS ZUM TOD, translations courtesy of Google.)

After just a few pages the story has taken me captive. It is touching and exciting at the same, an unusual mix in a thriller or detective story. After reading this book I would place more in the detective novel as under the heading thriller. But basically plays no major role for me.

The writing style is fluid and you...

Reclaiming my Inbox

Like many writers working at home, I find the internet an amazing boon. I can do research at the touch of a finger, email manuscripts, ask a question without bothering anyone with a phone call. I can order office supplies, file my taxes, read the New York Times, and Skype with libraries or book clubs. I can visit with my writer friends all around the world, and see what my adorable young cousins are up to.



But it was wearing me out. Incoming emails interrupted my day, and clearing them out ...

What a Lovely Sight

My novel, for sale in Germany ...





Photo by Martin Poggenclaas
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Appearing at Brattleboro Literary Festival 10/16

I'll be one of the authors at the Brattleboro Literary Festival this weekend in southern Vermont - I'll be appearing at the library on Main Street with author Caroline Leavitt at 2 pm Sunday, Oct. 16. All the author events are free - visiting authors include Julia Alvarez, Ken Burns, Roy Blount Jr., Luis Alberto Urrea, and more.

The Book You Want to Buy Next

It's called The Informationist , by my friend Taylor Stevens (see below). It's coming out in paperback on Oct. 18 - or you can buy it now in hardback.





Why you should buy this book:

It rocks. Seriously. I wanted to dislike it, because Taylor's a first-time novelist like me (grumble, grumble). But I couldn't.
Taylor rocks. I wanted to dislike her, because she's a first-time novelist like me, and she's written such a kick-ass book with a sequel coming out very soon (grumble, grumble). But I...

I Realize I Have an Odd Sense of Humor...

... but I cannot help but laughing myself silly over this (very bad) translation of a less-than-laudatory review of the German version of my book.

from DTV
Sorry, I cannot join to find this book great. I bought it to me in joyful expectation and until page 50 also felt exciting but the read very quickly. Unfortunately, almost all subsequent pages rotate around its own axis, nix goes forward, i have even paid as often in this book in the middle was eaten ... Very often. I was also...