Tag Archives: Goodreads

Ah, Hemingway…


10153666_10152020746881776_8049968211621102789_nI cuddled with a statue of Hemingway when I was in Cuba, and I have a fondness for polydactylic cats, but other than that, I’ve got to say, I get a bit tired of him being held up as all that and a bag of chips every time someone talks writing.

What of the wonderful other writers, those that used long sentences, those that write of non-manly, non-war-related things. Women. You know, them.

Does it ever seem to you that, of the entire panoply of female writers, only Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath get any press time? With maybe the occasional Maya Angelou and Margaret Atwood tossed in “from afar” as my mother in law used to say about currants in unsatisfactory Christmas cakes?

It’s gotta stop.  So now and again, I’m going to hunt out famous female writers (some of whom not so famous, cos, as we know, there’s that publication bias out there) and put their writing quotes in this blog. Just for fun.

Here’s the first, from Goodreads! Yay! From one of my favourite writers, too, and so true.

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”
― Madeleine L’Engle

Speaking of e-publishing…


ImageWay back when I started in this biz, all the magazines kept saying to read read read in their area before you decided to write anything. So I read read read mysteries and thrillers and literary novels and short stories.

I still do that now, sometimes, it may be said, to the detriment of my own writing. But there are such glories in the ebook world that I could wallow endlessly for free and enjoy.

For those not quite yet in the know, you should check out the sites below. Free books or cheap ones are available for the cost of a review – I know they expect good ones, but I’ve tried to stay honest (without being too cruel) and they still send me books, so I think you can write pretty much how you feel.

What I love best about these places is that they give me access to authors and genres and stories that I might never have found otherwise. We tend, when buying books, to try for the sure thing, the ones we know will bring us good value. I used to pick my books by thickness, which meant I missed novellas and short stories – I read too fast to make it economical to buy these.

It makes it hard for new writers to get a toehold. Through these venues, even the starting out writer can get some feedback on their novel – you can release it and withdraw it and fix it if you want, based on comments, until you get the thing right – provided you’re the one doing the book. It’s a great way to get your book read, especially if you are with a smaller publisher or whatever.

Of course we all know Amazon books and their program.They work with CreateSpace to produce your book and select titles to highlight.

Library thing – get signed up for their early readers program as well as the members giveaways.

Smashwords – many authors release their works through here for free or low cost

NetGalley – become a member and they put these wonderful books in front of you and you can request them. I’ve only been denied once but I have a lot of reviews to write as all the books look so tasty I had to ask for them.

Goodreads – everyone should be on here.

Penguin – has now started circles of reviewers for different genres – you join the circle through google and apparently get to review books – it’s totally new so I’m not sure how it will work. I’m in the Penguin.ca mystery circle, for example.

Public libraries have ebooks, too, and if you are wanting people to read what you’ve written you might consider donating a copy of your ebook to them.

It’s all about being read, and supporting other authors by reading them. All wonderful.

And using a lot of time…but in a good way…now if only I could get myself organized to put something of mine on one of these places!

Lagniappes and other wonderful things


Every once and awhile, a lovely word drops into my life and makes it infinitely richer. I love language. I’ve been grooving on Schadenfreude and other Germanic terms for yonks now and I feel in need of a change. And today, it dropped into my life through a read review on Goodreads.

Lagniappes. To give a little extra. A gift. The thirteenth muffin in a Baker’s Dozen. (Strangely it is a Friday the 13th tomorrow but I like Friday the 13ths as my daughter was born that day and it was truly one of the happiest days of my life).

I love this term. I think it resonates for me because my life is full of these things. The little extra joy. I’ve been oddly blessed with them, from strange fellow bus riders to the feel of my son’s shoulders shaking as we both smothered laughs at the theatre to the red leaf spotted on a yet-green maple to the sound of water rushing down my ravine at night when all is silent. I try to pass them on, a kind word here, a touch there, but I’m of course not as good at it as I should be.  Perhaps I should get “yapay” as my tattoo…?

Sending thanks to those who have sent me these little gifts, in all your ways. They mean so much.

And goshens, I’ve got to study Creole. Or get back to Spanish. Richness abounds.

Regional Note: Lagniappe derives from New World Spanish la ñapa, “the gift,” and ultimately from Quechua yapay, “to give more.” The word came into the rich Creole dialect mixture of New Orleans and there acquired a French spelling. It is still used in the Gulf states, especially southern Louisiana, to denote a little bonus that a friendly shopkeeper might add to a purchase. By extension, it may mean “an extra or unexpected gift or benefit.”

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lagniappes