"Take this, Boris! May it serve you well," the booming voice commands. A hand, holding a shining writing implement, extends towards me. I was all of thirteen years old when the Hand from Above bestowed the Pen of Plenty upon me.
Tag: book
Why Host a Book Launch Party?
Last month I attended my first in-person book launch in over two years. My friend who released her fifth novel is a pro. At our local bookstore, we enjoyed wine, cupcakes, and my friend’s presentation on the 2017 wildfire in Waterton Lakes National Park, which forms the backdrop to her fictional story.
Invest in Your Writing
To improve our writing skill, however, we need to invest in it. There are multiple ways in which to do this.
Don’t Drag Out Your Novel Ending
I used to make fun of mystery novel climax scenes, where the killer has the sleuth trapped and, instead of shooting him and escaping, the bad guy explains the reasons for the murder, giving the sleuth time to capture him. This is clearly a device to inform readers rather than realistic bad guy behaviour. But when I wrote my first mystery novel, A Deadly Fall, I understood the value of this literary trope.
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep…
When I die I want to take along a book, but not just any old book. It has to be one with an ending so strong that it stopped my ticker for good.