Wynne McLaughlin's Blog
March 13, 2018
Ready Player One
A link to my review of from October of 2011. I adored this book. It's okay if you didn't. #ReadyPlayerOne #ErnestCline
Ready Player One
Ready Player One
September 16, 2017
On Reading Robin Hobb's Epic Series The Realm of the Elderlings
(No spoilers, I promise!)
I started, as most do, with Robin Hobb's first three books, "The Farseer Trilogy," which I adored. I then looked to see what I should read next, and read the article Where To Start With Robin Hobb (check it out, there are no spoilers) and I decided to take its advice and follow the story of FitzChivalry Farseer to its conclusion because I cared so much for those characters. Reading Fitz's story straight through involved reading three trilogies--The Farseer Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, and The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy--for a total of nine wonderful books; a terrific, epic story.
Except it became obvious to me that around book eight--the penultimate book of the Fitz series--that the characters from the (apparently unrelated) books that I skipped--The Liveship Traders Trilogy and The Rain Wild Traders Chronicles--were intersecting with Fitz's story. This didn't detract from Fitz's story at all, but it did spoil several big reveals from the books I skipped.
As I go back now to fill in the gaps, there are still plenty of surprises and the books are wonderful, but those big reveals were exactly that; BIG. I'm halfway through the Liveship Traders Trilogy and seeing plenty of foreshadowing, but none of those big twists have happened yet and part of me wishes I didn't know about them. So now I'm feeling the urge to read the last six Fitz books again, along with the Liveship and Rain Wild books, so I can witness all the connections of the amazing chronological meta-story in order. Interesting.
Based on this experience, I can only conclude that the best and most satisfying reading order would be as follows:
The Liveship Traders Trilogy (3 books)
The Rain Wild Series (4 books)
The Farseer Trilogy (3 books)
The Tawny Man Trilogy (3 books)
The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy (3 books)
Even though these aren't chronological, because the Liveship and Rainwild stories don't collide with the Fitz story until the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy, this would give you the most impact with the fewest spoilers.
I'm definitely interested in other opinions! What do you think?
I started, as most do, with Robin Hobb's first three books, "The Farseer Trilogy," which I adored. I then looked to see what I should read next, and read the article Where To Start With Robin Hobb (check it out, there are no spoilers) and I decided to take its advice and follow the story of FitzChivalry Farseer to its conclusion because I cared so much for those characters. Reading Fitz's story straight through involved reading three trilogies--The Farseer Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, and The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy--for a total of nine wonderful books; a terrific, epic story.
Except it became obvious to me that around book eight--the penultimate book of the Fitz series--that the characters from the (apparently unrelated) books that I skipped--The Liveship Traders Trilogy and The Rain Wild Traders Chronicles--were intersecting with Fitz's story. This didn't detract from Fitz's story at all, but it did spoil several big reveals from the books I skipped.
As I go back now to fill in the gaps, there are still plenty of surprises and the books are wonderful, but those big reveals were exactly that; BIG. I'm halfway through the Liveship Traders Trilogy and seeing plenty of foreshadowing, but none of those big twists have happened yet and part of me wishes I didn't know about them. So now I'm feeling the urge to read the last six Fitz books again, along with the Liveship and Rain Wild books, so I can witness all the connections of the amazing chronological meta-story in order. Interesting.
Based on this experience, I can only conclude that the best and most satisfying reading order would be as follows:
The Liveship Traders Trilogy (3 books)
The Rain Wild Series (4 books)
The Farseer Trilogy (3 books)
The Tawny Man Trilogy (3 books)
The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy (3 books)
Even though these aren't chronological, because the Liveship and Rainwild stories don't collide with the Fitz story until the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy, this would give you the most impact with the fewest spoilers.
I'm definitely interested in other opinions! What do you think?
June 20, 2017
Bone Feud Boost!
Ironically, "The Bone Feud" is having its best month of full-priced sales in over a year, thanks to the posthumous release of Michael Crichton's "Dragon Teeth," a novel about the same events. So far we've sold seven eBooks, four paperbacks, and an audiobook. That's pretty good for a three year old, self-published novel! #SilverLining #IDidPublishFirst
June 16, 2017
Robin Hobb (Megan Lindholm)
I'm deep into my fourth straight Robin Hobb (aka Megan Lindholm) novel, and she's already in my top five favorite fantasy authors. As a dog lover, the magical ability she calls "The Wit" (which allows a human to attain a "life bond" with an animal) really hit home for me, and makes her writing feel very personal and heartfelt.
My relationships with my dogs have been so intense and real they've felt like magic, so I put a similar dynamic in my new novel before I read any of her work. I was nervous about it, wondering if it would seem ridiculous, but now I'm relieved because Hobb did it so well, if I didn't already have it in my book, after reading her work I'd have had to add it.
Books don't often make me emotional, but she's brought me to tears several times already. Quite a gift!
My relationships with my dogs have been so intense and real they've felt like magic, so I put a similar dynamic in my new novel before I read any of her work. I was nervous about it, wondering if it would seem ridiculous, but now I'm relieved because Hobb did it so well, if I didn't already have it in my book, after reading her work I'd have had to add it.
Books don't often make me emotional, but she's brought me to tears several times already. Quite a gift!
April 27, 2016
Free For A Limited Time!
Get a FREE copy of the Kindle eBook version of The Bone Feud for a limited time only, from Wednesday, April 27th through Sunday, May 1st! And remember, the Audiobook version is also available from Audible, Amazon and iTunes!
GET IT NOW!
GET IT NOW!
February 12, 2016
Free Audiobook Preview!
The true story of dinosaur bone hunters in the Wild West! Check out a free five minute audiobook sample of the award-winning action adventure "The Bone Feud," read by Charles Hinckley, available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible!
https://soundcloud.com/wmclaughlin/th...
January 5, 2016
Coming Soon: "The Bone Feud" Audiobook
I'm very happy and excited to report that an audiobook adaptation of The Bone Feud is currently in production and will be available via Audible, Amazon, and iTunes in the near future!
April 11, 2015
2015 Benjamin Franklin Silver Award Winner, The Bone Feud
I'm proud to announce that The Bone Feud is a 2015 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Award Winner for "The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book: Fiction"!
April 8, 2015
Bill Fisher Award Nominee for Best First Novel, "The Bone Feud"
The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Ceremony is this Friday, April 10th and my novel The Bone Feud is one of three nominees for "The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book: Fiction." Stay tuned! https://www.ibpa-online.org/event/ibp...
March 18, 2015
The IBPA's 2015 Benjamin Franklin Book Awards: "The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book: Fiction" Nominee
I'm honored to announce that The Bone Feud has been named as a finalist in the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)'s 2015 Benjamin Franklin Book Awards competition for "The Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book: Fiction." Being nominated means that it's already a Silver Award winner, and it's eligible for the Gold Award.
