Mary Castillo's Blog: News from Mary Castillo, page 23
March 7, 2012
Infographic: 15 of the most avoidable language errors | Articles
I suck at spelling and grammar so this will be pinned in a prominent position:
Infographic: 15 of the most avoidable language errors | Articles.
Filed under: News
March 6, 2012
March 5, 2012
E-Books on Tablets Fight Digital Distractions – NYTimes.com
This is exactly why I write with a Neolithic AlphaSmart and read on an early version of the Nook:
"It's like trying to cook when there are little children around," said David Myers, 53, a systems administrator in Atlanta, who got a Kindle Fire tablet in December. "A child might do something silly and you've got to stop cooking and fix the problem and then return to cooking."
via E-Books on Tablets Fight Digital Distractions – NYTimes.com.
Not that I'm preaching but to each their own!
Filed under: eBook News
February 29, 2012
E-books Can't Burn by Tim Parks | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books
"Add to that the e-book's ease of transport, its international vocation (could the Iron Curtain have kept out e-books?), its indestructibility (you can't burn e-books), its promise that all books will be able to remain forever in print and what is more available at reasonable prices, and it becomes harder and harder to see why the literati are not giving the phenomenon a more generous welcome."
via E-books Can't Burn by Tim Parks | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books.
Filed under: eBook News
February 28, 2012
Teaser Tuesday
This is what happens when I finish writing a book: I catch things like Teaser Tuesday fever when I'm supposed to be doing things like researching reviewers and "work" stuff!
According to Christine at Bitch Lit - via by MizB of Should Be Reading - Teaser Tuesday requires one to:
Grab the book you're currently reading
Open to a random page
Share two, spoiler free, "teaser" sentences
Share the title & author
"Although I had been prepared by the doctor concerning your oncoming death, it came to me as a dreadful blow when it happened. I was approaching fifty, and I felt my life was behind me forever."
Filed under: Reading
February 14, 2012
My Valentine to friends
My favorite scene, especially on Valentine's Day comes from Switchcraft. I remember writing and feeling as I were the typist observing these best friends who had drifted apart, realize that their friendship is bonded in love. Enjoy this excerpt and feel free to send to your bestest friend on this day when we celebrate love.
"Are you crying?" Nely asked in disbelief. Aggie never cried in front of her. Never.
"No." Aggie whined in a strained voice. "You need to dust your living room!"
"Aggie," Ney said, all maternal tenderness.
"It's just that … will anyone come for me when I'm dead?"
"I will."
"It's not the same."
"Okay, fine," Nely joked. "I'll leave your ass behind and you can find your own way to Heaven."
"Stop trying to make me laugh. It's not helping."
Aggie knew she should be grateful that she had a friend who loved her enough to put up with her crap. And she was.
http://marycastillo.com/Switchcraft.html
Filed under: News
December 5, 2011
Tiny Wisdom: Moving Forward After a Mistake | Tiny Buddha: Wisdom Quotes, Letting Go, Letting Happiness In
I'm working on forgiving myself for having overreacted to a minor insult. There are so many better ways I could have responded to the situation. But the pot boiled over and this came at the perfect time :
"A man's errors are his portals of discovery." -James Joyce
Filed under: News
November 30, 2011
Classical KUSC | Now Playing
I love play this in the background because it makes me feel smart and when I answer the phone, others think I'm smart.
Well, I hope they do.
Filed under: News
Rethinking the Familiar Book Tour | By Joanne Kaufman – WSJ.com
"When some authors read, I'll mutter to myself 'is that snoring I hear?'" said Charles Stillwagon, the event manager of the Tattered Cover, a bookstore in Denver, who along with many of his cohorts thinks a dismal reading can make for dismal sales.
via Rethinking the Familiar Book Tour | By Joanne Kaufman – WSJ.com.
Filed under: News, The Biz
The cool thing about fighting with someone
If you're a writer and someone pisses you off, or picks a fight (or the opposite, you pick the fight) or even makes you cry, welcome it. In fact, run for your notebook and write down how your body feels. Is your throat tight? Are you teeth clenched? What about your stomach? Does it feel liek someone punched a hole straight through you?
When conflict arises and you can bodily feel the surge of rage, despair, joy and lust, it is authentic. The situation may be total bullshit and unfair and then a year from now you'll wonder exactly what it was that set you off. But if you channel the response into your work, which is different than a rant, it's like compost and it will only make the story and the character much more vibrant.
Filed under: News
