Corey didn’t want to leave the city, even with its stench of death and decay, but The General wasn’t someone to argue with. And, his mother had already signed the papers agreeing to become the new teacher at the outpost. Corey sighed knowing the General would either beat him...

Business writing is both harder and easier than you think. First, business writing includes formal letters on letterhead as well as a quick email. That email you sent to your co-worker asking if she knew where the copy paper was, that too is business writing. Unless you’re in marketing,...

I don’t want to give you the opinion I’m a time management expert. I’m not even close. But I have found a few things that work for me that I’d like to pass along. First, I’d like to suggest watching Laura Vanderkam’s Ted talk. I love her take on...

The biggest reason I don’t write as often as I should is that many nights I’m too tired to write. It’s frustrating to read about other writers who stay up until 4 in the morning or people who give up everything so they have time to write. I seriously...

Dealing with feedback is something we have to master if we dream of becoming a published writer. It’s inevitable that at some point you have to release your writing into the wild. Which means someone will read your work and possibly leave feedback. And we know anonymous people on...

Young Adult Fiction Eleanor & Park By Rainbow Rowell 336 pp. St. Martain’s Press $18.99 I confess that I listened to this audiobook and didn’t read a physical copy. The story is the same, but sometimes the voice actors give a book an added emotional element. Eleanor & Park...

Dear Baby, I can hear you groaning at this whole letter thing. You’re probably rolling your eyes and shrugging it off as either dumb or embarrassing. But I’m hoping on some level, you secretly love it. As a writer, my mind goes places I sometimes wish it didn’t. But...

Fiction/Thriller The Silent Patient By Alex Michaelides pp. 336 Celadon Books $14.79 There’s so much I want to say about this book, but then I’d be giving away spoilers. The basic plot centers around the eponymous character, Alicia Berenson, who after being charged with killing her husband is committed...

Nonfiction The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America By Erik Larson 447 pp. Vintage $20.50 Years ago you wouldn’t have caught me reading a nonfiction book unless it was assigned as homework. Admittedly, it’s still not my favorite genre. Like...

Fiction Neverwhere By Neil Gaiman 400 pp. Harper Collins $8.99 This is the second Neil Gaiman book I read this year. The first, Ocean at the End of the Lane, was for book club. I read Neverwhere after listening to Neil Gaiman’s MasterClass course. I picked this one up...