Marly Youmans's Blog, page 41

December 22, 2015

So pleased

that writer Scott Bailey is reading another of my books and starting to comment. He is a grand reader and always has insights that make me remember what it was like to write the book. First installment--"no limit Texas hold 'em"--is here. 

I expect you can tell that the book under consideration is Maze of Blood (MDA Books, formerly of Rhemalda.)

And if you want to order one of Scott's books,
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Published on December 22, 2015 14:46

December 20, 2015

Good wuthering

I'm very glad to have landed a spot on Amateur Reader's Wuthering Expectations end-of-year lists because I love that site. If I had all the time in the world to read blog posts, I would never  miss a post of that one. Here's the quote from the "Best of the Best" section The Wuthering Expectation Best Books of 2015 - the noodles they make for me:

Gustave Flaubert, Sentimental Education; A
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Published on December 20, 2015 10:46

December 18, 2015

"literary treasure"

Glad to be on another end-of-the-year list! This time it's a site new to me, The Imaginative Conservative, with Books for Christmas: the Headmaster Recommends.

Marly Youmans’ Glimmerglass: A Novel: Youmans is a poet who writes novels. Her prose is beautiful. There were many lines I read out loud to my wife. When I finished it, she read it and we agreed, this book is a literary treasure.
I'm
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Published on December 18, 2015 07:55

December 16, 2015

You asked, no. 2: writer, artist, designer

Clive Hicks-Jenkins: When time allowed and opportunities came my way, I began to make book cover images for some of my friends, the chief among them being Marly Youmans, who because of her reputation as a writer was able to persuade one of her publishers to employ me. For The Foliate Head she even persuaded the publisher to take on my brother-in-law, Andrew Wakelin, as the designer, and he
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Published on December 16, 2015 23:18

December 14, 2015

Favorite Books of 2015

Hurrah, Maze of Blood is in Favorite Books of 2015, "Books and Culture Magazine." I'm grateful to be on the list, along with some very interesting writers (Hey, Santa, I want A. M. Juster's St. Aldhelm's riddles!)

Still waiting for Lady Word of Mouth to start gossiping about this book. Please take a look at review clips on the Maze of Blood page if you're interested. All I want for Christmas (
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Published on December 14, 2015 20:56

December 11, 2015

newsletter--

I've already posted this on Facebook and twitter, so I'm not sure if I need to do it here, but if you would like a copy of my end-of-the-year newsletter by email, please leave me a note via twitter messages, Facebook messages, email, or in the comments (with the [at] construction, please!)
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Published on December 11, 2015 16:55

December 8, 2015

Teeny note: recommended

If you have an interest in literature, what's happened to English studies in post-post-modern period, and the soul-sucking ideas some mainstream professors might be inculcating in our children, you might just take a look at Lisa Riddick's article at The Point, "When Nothing is Cool."

Clip: "I have spoken with many young academics who say that their theoretical training has left them benumbed.
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Published on December 08, 2015 08:09

December 5, 2015

You asked, no. 1: motherhood and the arts

Art by Clive Hicks-Jenkins for Maze of Blood


The reflections about more life (motherhood) being helpful to a writer (and an artist) might be good to have out there, too. When I was a new mother, it seemed like my hands might be tied forever. It made me scared. Two more children later, I realized how much more material I had, and how many more things I felt strongly about. Reassurance from
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Published on December 05, 2015 15:14

December 2, 2015

Signposts for the gadabout

62
With the incredible collapsing
hummingbird cake.

I've been playing on Facebook (so fun to get hundreds and hundreds of birthday wishes from all sorts of interesting people) and twitter (which, oddly, actually does good things for my books) and ignoring my blog for a good long while. Oh, I've been fairly dutiful and put up review clips for Maze of Blood, and left a books-in-print post when I
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Published on December 02, 2015 18:00

Maze at Foreword

5 / 5 stars


The Foreword Reviews review of Maze of Blood by Clarissa Goldsmith evidently popped into the world while I was looking in another direction... 5/5 stars. You can read it here. 

Clip: Simultaneously poetic and restrained, Youmans’s portrait of Conall Weaver is honest and, at times, heartbreaking. Maze of Blood is a layered and complex exploration of human existence and the
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Published on December 02, 2015 14:23