Sue Perry's Blog: Required Writing, page 25

Portrait for the Win?

This week’s Photo Challenge wants to see one image shot two ways. I often take two photos, one landscape (wider than tall) and one portrait (opposite). After years of doing this, it was only when assembling images for this post that I discovered that I always prefer the portrait result. The scene feels closer and more immediate. […]

Mom. Seriously. Are You *Crying*?

This week my twins turned 20! Here they are in the last few hours of their teen years. They actually let me take a picture. Best 20 years of my life, even during the worst moments of my life, because these two have been in them! Here they are on their first birthday. The chicken […]

Week 2, Serial Publication: ?Was It A Rat I Saw?

When I originally wrote  ?Was It A Rat I Saw?, a psychological thriller involving real-life split brain research, animal rights, and a love quadrangle, it was published in hardcover by Bantam-Doubleday-Dell. Now I’m publishing it electronically, first as a serial and then as an e-book. My plan is to publish each of the four sections of ?Rat?, […]

Picking at the Bedspread

Today’s Daily Prompt asked what bores me… I hate knowing what happens next. I used to evaluate screenplays for movie studios, and at a rate of 10 per week, it got so that no plot twist could surprise me. That was a long time ago, but even now, gratitude wells up whenever a book or movie surprises […]

Book Review: “Loyalty” by Ingrid Thoft

3 STARS When I started this book I expected to give it 4 stars, maybe 5. The set up was strong and fun. The tangle of plot threads intrigued. The family dynamics entertained. And you really can’t have too many detectives with Attitude, so it was a pleasure to meet another one. Also, early on, […]

Oil Stain Rorschach

When I look at this oil stain on the pavement, I see lizards, body-surfing.  What do you see?

Calling All Spider Afficionados

For many years I feared spiders but once I became a gardener I became quite fond of them – provided they do not get toooo close. My garden is filled with a really interesting spider and I ‘d like to get your help to identify it. Here is one away from its plants. Looking online […]

Book Review: “Firefly Lane” by Kristin Hannah

1 STAR Clearly this is not my kind of book. It was a best seller and I cannot fathom why. I found it trite, tedious, and eventually, terribly manipulative in a movie-disease kind of way. The characters were incredibly cliched, the “history” was a shallow rehash of slogans and consumer product nostalgia. I am mad […]

Coming Soon: Cat Attack

The dog and I live with five cats. (Insert who-in-their-right-mind rant here.) It is almost a peaceable kingdom, with one glaring – and hissing – exception. Shadow the rescue dog, age about 8, likes everybody.  She terrified kitten Leo until Leo discovered the dog tail as toy. Now all but one of the cats like the dog. […]

Blogvolution

I started blogging as part of my effort to regain a writing career.  (Warning to other writers: J.D. Salinger aside, not writing for two decades will not bolster your career.) Like most of my important life decisions – including writing novels and having kids – this one sprang from an offhand suggestion. Fortunately, impulsive decisions […]