Rachael Herron’s novel, How to Knit a Love Song, is a cozy read and contains all the elements I enjoy in a book – loveable characters, gorgeous writing, intrigue and a satisfying place to escape for a few hours while reading, and more hours after as I think about the characters, their predicament and wonder what the resolution will be Gorgeous writing from How to Knit a Love Song: ~ High white clouds skittered, their color matching the sheep that ambled below. ~ “Well, howdy!” she called. As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back. Howdy? The shape of the word in her mouth hadn’t felt right and she could tell by his pained look that it hadn’t sounded right either. ~ Cade pulled up a chair and sat, suddenly too close to Abigail. She smelled hay and sunshine and something rougher. He placed…
Category: Book Reviews
Rachael Herron – A Life in Stitches, Knitting My Way Through Love, Loss, and Laughter
Rachael Herron shares her personal experiences in A Life in Stitches, Knitting My Way Through Love, Loss, and Laughter. Herron’s stories are like warm bowls of comforting homemade soup, to be lingered over and savored. Her positive attitude is inspiring. Her engaging book, a series of personal essays traveling through her life, are to be shared. I bought two extra copies for my sister and a friend! A cozy read, my favorite kind of reading.
B. Lynn Goodwin – You Want Me To Do What? Journaling for Caregivers
B. Lynn Goodwin has written an excellent book with helpful writing prompts. Her book, You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers, is a wonderful resource for writers . . . a fabulous compendium of writing prompts. Lynn writes “The months and years devoted to caregiving can be vital, critical, limiting, and frustrating. They seem endless while you are in them. You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers gives writing tips and over 200 sentence starts to help hassled and harried caregivers process their feelings.” I have used Lynn’s writing prompts in my writing life with great results. Lynn writes, “I began journaling steadily during my first year of ‘Mom Care,’ a name I invented when my mother refused outside help. Journaling let me vent, process, and keep my mouth shut at critical moments from 1994 through August 8, 2001.” B. Lynn Goodwin is the owner of…
Jordan Rosenfeld – Make A Scene
We’ve been talking about character, let’s add location. Jordan Rosenfeld wrote an amazing book, Make a Scene, detailing how to “craft a powerful story one scene at a time.” She explains “The purpose of setting, a core element of the scene, is almost always to support and contain the action of the scene, but rarely to be the star. Still, setting requires careful consideration, because you want to ground the reader.” Characters in a story are always somewhere. . . even if the scene is just the character thinking. . . he or she is somewhere. In the next few prompts, we’ll be setting the scene. Meanwhile, check out Jordan’s book. It’s a complete how-to book for writing scenes and a necessary book for writers. Good one to have on your resource shelf.