opening your story–where to start your novel

Alrighty then. You need a whiz-bang a-number-one first sentence that draws your reader in. Makes him/her sit up and and say, “Thank you sir, may I have another?” That’s a given. But where, exactly, in the story, do you start? HINT: Not at the very beginning. Little Red Riding Hood does not start with the [...]

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in the path of falling objects: the sandwich book

There’s no prison worse than “I promise.” A promise can carry you through tough times. Or cause them. Jonah and Simon, two abandoned brothers, set out to rendezvous with a third brother coming back from Vietnam. The only guarantee they have of meeting up with him is in his letters. The boys hitch a ride [...]

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book report #11: letting boys be boys

Wow. Just finished Ghost Medicine, by Andrew Smith. Did I mention, “Wow” ? This is YA Guylit for manly men.  As the cover promises, the story is about friends, enemies, heroes and blood. But it’s…so…mindful.  It’s downright…now don’t take this the wrong way…lyrical. Wait!  Come back here!  I didn’t say it was sappy.  Or girly. [...]

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