Mark Stevens's Blog, page 16
January 25, 2022
Laura Lippman, “Seasonal Work”
A review of “Seasonal Work,” a collection of short stories by Laura Lippman, for the New York Journal of Books.
January 23, 2022
Ian Urbina, “Outlaw Ocean”
“For centuries, humanity has viewed the ocean as a metaphor for infinity. The assumption was –and frankly still is for many people—that the enormity of the sea came with a limitless ability to absorb and metabolize all. This vastness is … Continue reading →
January 14, 2022
Todd Mitchell, “Breakthrough”
A review of BREAKTHROUGH, How to Overcome Doubt, Fear, and Resistance to Be Your Ultimate Creative Self by Todd Mitchell posted on the blog for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers here.
January 12, 2022
Q & A #90 – C. Joseph Greaves, “Hard Twisted”
In the fall of 2019 at Maria’s Bookshop in Durango, I attended a launch event for C. Joseph Greaves’ Church of the Graveyard Saints, a literary mystery-thriller in southwest Colorado. At the time, I also snagged a copy of his … Continue reading →
January 1, 2022
2021: Top Books
Highlights from reading in 2021. The order is irrelevant. These are from titles I read last year, not necessarily published in 2021. FICTION The Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin There, There by Tommy Orange Homeland Elegies – A Novel … Continue reading →
December 31, 2021
S.A. Cosby, “Razorblade Tears”
Prediction: Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby will be a finalist for the Edgar Awards’ Best Novel when they’re announced in January. And I won’t be surprised if it’s at the top of the heap when winners are announced in the … Continue reading →
December 29, 2021
Jean Hanff Korelitz, “The Plot”
The plot of The Plot is better than the plot that gives The Plot all its core tension. But “the plot” is the problem. Writing teacher Jacob Finch Bonner steals a plot—“the plot”—from a former and fairly obnoxious student named … Continue reading →
December 26, 2021
Stephen King, “Billy Summers”
We’re on Page 240 of Billy Summers when Stephen King shoves a whole new plotline down the throat of the first, like a python swallowing a whole pig. We’re on Page 240 when assassin Billy Summers, peering out of his … Continue reading →
December 15, 2021
Richard Powers, “The Overstory”
Writing about The Overstory is about as challenging as a toddler trying to wrap her arms around a giant redwood. It’s heavy, sprawling, rich, exhaustive, deep. It’s one of those novels that make you see the world in a whole … Continue reading →
December 14, 2021
Paulette Jiles, “News of the World”
When a poet shows up in the world of prose, savor. When that writer takes the care to compress so much story into a couple hundred pages, relish. When you’ve got a story that’s about something, dig it. Think you’ve … Continue reading →
