Book Review: Author Jeff Wheeler
If you (or your teens) are into fantasy, I have a great recommendation for you to keep you reading throughout the summer and beyond. The author is Jeff Wheeler. He has several series that (spoiler alert!) overlap just a little bit in surprising and awesome ways. Here are books in his series that I have read and can whole-heartedly recommend (in the order they were released): The Wretched of Muirwood This book introduces us the beautiful, yet tumultuous world of Comoros, where unwanted children are considered “wretcheds” and forced to earn their keep and are forbidden to learn to read or write. There we meet Lia, a young kitchen maid whose fondest dream…
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Three Recent Movies All Writers Should See
Three Recent Movies All Writers Should See
Most writers I know love movies. Probably because most movies are created by… wait for it… writers. After all, movies are, at their core, just written stories, acted out and dramatized for the screen. That’s not to downplay the mountains of art, skill, and talent that go into the creation of movies—of course not—but this article is mainly directed toward avid writers (and readers). Hence the title. Without further ado, I present my recommendations for three recent movies every writer should watch, when you need a break from writing. 1. The Professor and The Madman The Professor and The Madman, starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn. Personalities and public gaffes aside, these two…
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Book Review: Author Jeff Wheeler
On Setbacks: When Life Hands You More Lemons Than You Can Hold
[Originally written in April of 2018] Here I sit, in a VRBO-rented condo in the tiny resort town of Fajardo, Puerto Rico. It’s been over six months since Hurricane Maria devastated the island, leaving its 3.3 million inhabitants (one of whom was my daughter, but that’s a stressful story for another day) entirely without power and water for over two months. Even now, signs of the storm are everywhere you look. Roof tiles missing, large holes in fences and wall stucco, broken and dangling street lights. The condo complex is eerily quiet. Of the three pools, only one is fully operational, but we’ve had it mostly to ourselves all week. Many of the…
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Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn
Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn
“The rooster is dead,” my 15-year old son declared, barely holding back the tears I know he felt too old to shed. He’d walked into my bedroom that morning while my husband and I were still in bed, browsing our phones and putting off getting ready for another busy day. It was said as a statement, but the accusation was in his eyes. His big, brown, usually playful eyes told us his beloved rooster was dead and it was our fault. “Too long,” was all he could get out before he walked away and left for school. Ugh. Gut punch. My husband didn’t say a word. He just sighed, got out of bed…
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On Setbacks: When Life Hands You More Lemons Than You Can Hold
