The Reviews are in …Creative Writer’s Journal/Handbook

Reviews are in for my series of Journals/Handbooks for men, women, and students who WRITE!

       ‘I just got my copy and my first thought (after I need to start using this) is; What a great gift this would make for anyone who is a writer or who shows an inclination in that direction.

Trisha Sugarek gives you “permission” to scribble down ideas and not have to write the great American novel every time you put pen to paper. In the first couple of pages, she gets you going with examples and encouragement and she makes you realize that while writing is work, it’s not impossible work…in fact, it can even be fun work.

With tips for lots of different writing types and encouragement from writers across time and genres nestled in the margins, this journal encourages you to get those words down on paper.
Sure, you’ll use a computer for the final heads down working sessions to get a finished work done, but for day-to-day fun “I can do this” writing, this journal and handbook is a great motivator.’  ~~D. Johnson

and this from Midwest Book Review!

Creative Writer’s Journal and Handbook begins where so many writer’s guides should: with the basics of how to pursue a dream job as a writer. The problem with most writers’ guides is that they assume some prior degree of excellence or experience; but this handbook poses something different: the opportunity to begin with no prior skill level or experience. All that’s needed is the desire and passion to be a writer, and everything flows from there.
So if you ‘scribble’, if you like words, if your stories ‘find’ you, and if you aspire to be something more (say, a published blogger); then here’s the next step in the process. From how ideas begin to how they are nurtured and written down, there to be refined until they see the light of day (i.e. other readers), this journal offers support, insight, and ideas for jump-starting the creative process and linking it to action.

White, lined journal pages offer a workbook approach that augments white space with inspirational quotes on the process from other, successful writers. So while you’re staring at the usual journal blank pages, inspiration can spark from others’ experiences and insights.

This isn’t just about prose, either: Sugarek includes sections on different formats, from Haiku Poetry to writing a stage play. Each section offers inspirational insights into format, structure, and writing challenges – then uses the journal/quote format to encourage readers to put something down on paper.   So if it’s nuggets of information spiced with the encouragement of fresh lined, white space that is needed, Creative Writer’s Journal and Handbook offers a success formula beginners can easily absorb, all packaged in a survey that assumes no prior familiarity with writing.  ~~D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer for Midwest Book Review

and…….

‘….Before meeting and working with you, I had a very skewed view of what being a writer was. I thought you had to be independently wealthy, or somehow hypnotize the publishers into giving you a huge advance, or be a teenager still living at home, or do it on the “5pm to midnight shift” (meaning you get home from work and have no personal life).

But seeing your work, and seeing how you adapted to the web format and allowed that to become part your professional presence was a revelation. It allowed me to imagine a way where my writing would not just be for fun or some cool party trick that set me apart from the usual anti-social geeks at work, but the core of what I had to offer.

And if not for YOU, that wouldn’t have happened…’~~Leon Adato

‘This is a beautiful and sturdy book with some of the best quotes out there to motivate you to dream bigger and write better. It would make a great gift for your female friends and family. ‘ C.Strain

Purchase   

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!

In addition to my twice weekly blog I also feature an interview with another author once a month. So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!  

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

A Journal for Men Who Want To Write….

Neon.RMWO_cover_spine_REV84_copy   Available Now!   This handsome journal/handbook was created especially for men who want to write.

  ‘Real Men Work Out…on Paper’

The spirited journal/handbook, intended specifically for men and your creative writing, offers over 275 lined, blank pages. Each section has instruction on ‘where to begin’, storytelling, how to write a play, and developing rich characters. Nestled in the margins of each page are more tips about writing and quotes from famous writers, actors, playwrights and poets. The bold and masculine cover can be carried anywhere!  Great gift idea!

Available  at www.amazon.com or your favorite book store

“I’ll Take It”….Bukowski and Me

From his later life writings and his book, “You Get so Alone at Times that it Just Makes Sense” Bukowski wrote about how he felt bukow.typwriterhe had beaten the odds….poetry gushing faster than he could write it down and grateful that he was still alive after the hard life he had lived.

I can relate….although I had been writing since my eighth grade history class (Thank you, Miss O’Connor) I certainly didn’t consider myself a ‘writer‘.  Then very late in life, (1994) I began in earnest.  Writing my first full length play. The next one came even easier….then the next one…it’s never stopped, the ideas.

Then friends who read my plays insisted that they wanted the ‘rest of the story’.  What happened to a particular character?  Did Bill ever get out of prison?  Did Monty kill Samantha?  Did Charlie make good his escape? Did Violet get her kids back? So…now I’ve written seven novels, stage plays and countless poems. Continue reading ““I’ll Take It”….Bukowski and Me”

REVIEW…’Queen of Hearts’ by Rhys Bowen

mysteries, best sellers, Rhys Bowen, author
Rhys Bowen, Historic fiction

reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing  REVIEW  5 out 5 quills
Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen

I love my job!  Especially when the best selling author and their publicist asks me to review the ‘new book’.  Rhys’ newest book in the Royal Spyness series goes on sale today.

Lady Georgiana Rannoch is a cousin to the present King of England (1934) and umpteenth in the line of succession to the throne.   Never able to keep a job for long and struggling to keep food on the table for her and her maid, Queenie, her (absent) Mummy appears and wants her to go to America with her.  And that is where the style, glamour, decadence and fun begins. And the cherry on the top is a jewel thief and a nice juicy murder!  Continue reading “REVIEW…’Queen of Hearts’ by Rhys Bowen”

Blogger Declares August as Charles Bukowski Month!

It’s unofficially Charles Bukowski month because this blogger has declared it so!   Who the heck is Bukowski you might be asking. In my opinion he is one of the great writers of our time.  Known for his cutting, take no prisoners, urban poetry and musings.
It’s no secret.  I am in love with the man’s poetry.  If you love ‘bad boys’ who are shot with talent, he’s the guy for you.  I read his work every day that I write….whatever his commentary is about I am inspired to be a better writer.

Bukowski’s life was horrific by most people’s standards.  He was a raging alcoholic, womanizer, gambler and bum.  He worked regular poet, wisdom, Charles Bukowskijobs only enough to keep himself in cigarettes, booze, rent (occasionally) stamps, typewriter paper and money for the race track .  My fantasy is;  oh yes I have fantasized about him….to spend a weekend with him at my cabin, deep in the forests of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  In the evenings, before a fire, we would drink whiskey neat, talk of people, past and present, swear at each other and tell stories.  We would end the nights Continue reading “Blogger Declares August as Charles Bukowski Month!”

A Review…The Forsaken by Ace Atkins

reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing  Five out of five quills!  REVIEW    ‘The Forsaken’ by Ace AtkinsAce.index

This author and I have much in common; we both have a collection of original paperbacks by John McDonald (Travis McGee) and we both love Robert Parker (Spenser). Where we differ is Ace has achieved perfection in prose writing which I aspire to….someday.

I strongly recommend to my readers that if you are going to read stories about Ace’s main character, Quinn Colson, that you do so in order.  There is a strong story thread throughout the series and you will enjoy these books so much more.

The Forsaken doesn’t disappoint. It’s my favorite to date.  As in his other books Ace gives his readers a strong sense of the old south, Mississippi to be exact.  How do I know this?  I lived there for four years in the 70’s and since then have moved in and out of the south;  New Orleans and currently Savannah, Georgia.  Without it ever seeming like a travel log, before you are many pages into the book, you can smell the dust of the back roads, the earthy slightly rotten smell of the bayous sticks in the back of your throat.  You may have never met the ‘good old boys’ but you know them and the women who follow along.  Continue reading “A Review…The Forsaken by Ace Atkins”

My Interview with Ace Atkins, (Part 2)

Q. HAce.cafeow long after that were you published?

A. Two years after I became a full-time reporter, I sold my first novel. I had finished a novel right after college but it was horrible. It was good enough to get me an agent, but I’m grateful now that no one bought it. One of the major mistakes young writers make is quitting after finishing their first book and waiting for their careers to take off. You must be prepared to write a dozen novels before one works.

Q. What makes a writer great?

A. Hard work and an eye for realism. The better the writer, the more the truth comes out.

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like? 

A. It changes with each project. I’ve written 15 published novels. And each one, like children, present new and unique challenges. I have had books that were effortless to write and edit. I have had some that I finished only to realize they required a complete retooling. It changes every time.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters? Continue reading “My Interview with Ace Atkins, (Part 2)”

Don’t Miss Part 2! My Interview with author, Ace Atkins

Ace Atkins
Ace Atkins

Tomorrow we continue my  INTERVIEW with best selling author, Ace Atkins!Ace.index

Excerpt:

Q. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

A. For the young writers out there, keep working. Don’t get caught up on the business of writing. If you have a good story to tell, it will get through. And as long as you love the process of writing, you’ve got most aspiring authors out there beat! Good luck.

As a reporter, Ace earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for a feature series based on his investigation into a forgotten murder of the 1950s. The story became the core of his critically acclaimed novel, White Shadow, which earned raves from noted authors and critics.ACEFeedstore_aceatkins-4   Click here to read Part 1.

 

Ace’s latest book, The Forsaken will go on sale July 24th

“The extraordinary new novel in New York Times-bestselling author Ace Atkins’ acclaimed series about the real Deep South—“a joy ride into the heart of darkness” (The Washington Post).

By far my favorite book in the Quinn Colson series.  Look for my review soon!

 

Attention! All Writers Out There!

There’s a BLOG out there that is dedicated to the art of writing and honing your craft. Yep!  I’m talking about mine and this is a shameless promo.  You won’t be disappointed.

For three years now I have published my posts twice a week and it’s always something about being a better writer.  Once a month I interview best selling authors such as Dean Koontz, Sue Grafton, Jeffery Deaver, Sherryl Woods, Anne Gracie, CW.CoverRaymond Benson, Lee Goldberg, Charles Bukowski and dozens more.   My goal is to inspire other writers to write more, tell their stories, try writing a play, or maybe some poetry.

Sign up on my home page  and receive an email with each day’s post.  Delete it if it doesn’t interest you.  It’s that simple.  Recently I have developed a series of ‘creative writing’ journals with ‘How To’ tips and famous quotes to inspire my fellow writers.  https://www.writeratplay.com/category/a-writers-take/ Continue reading “Attention! All Writers Out There!”

Interview with NY Times Best Seller Author, Ace Atkins

Ace.stepsAs a fan I first discovered Ace when I saw that Robert Parker’s stories were being continued after his death.  Ace was selected by the Robert B. Parker estate to continue the bestselling adventures of Boston’s iconic private eye, Spenser.  That led to my wanting to read more of this brilliant author’s work.  And that ultimately led to my wanting to interview him.

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? 

A. I have an office on the square in Oxford, Mississippi. It’s a good place in a historic building with creaky heart pine floors and tall ceilings, filled with lawyers hard at work. I don’t think I could stand to have complete seclusion. I used to work in a big city newsroom – at The Tampa Tribune – and I like all the energy around me as I write.

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

A. A decent computer, preferably using an old-fashioned IBM clicky keyboard, and a strong cup of coffee. On some projects, I might have a bit of whiskey in the mug. But that’s usually later in the day.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

A. I have an extensive collection of rare movie posters and stills, a collection that I started in high school. I also own every original paperback produced by the great John D. MacDonald. <(So do I, Ace!!!)

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative? Continue reading “Interview with NY Times Best Seller Author, Ace Atkins”