Erica says..

Part psychological analysis of the fantastical and part history lesson on the development of fantasy (the fantastical), this  book offers a tightly defined and clear analysis of the genre. Focusing primarily on classics (Dickens, Mary Shelly, Joseph Conrad, Kafka, Tolkien, etc), she digs deep into the psychology of fantasy storytelling, offering new insights to books I love.

Read the rest of this entry »

I am going to retitle this book “Sometimes screwing up your selections for school reading turns out to be a happy accident.” It’s a little long, but go with me. I’d intended on reading a book that dealt with the strategies of fantasy writing, but finding some books is like finding a writer who doesn’t have a breakdown at least once in their career. For now, I’m safe. I’m not a writer, just yet, but that’s for another blog post.

Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy has the best kind instruction for what I need, and some extra bits found in other instructional texts. But that’s how it is with learning to write, isn’t it?

Read the rest of this entry »

When I see the end coming, is that really a bad thing? I cruised through this book in a few days. Overall, I would say that I enjoyed it. The world-building and religious/magic systems were deftly written. I really connected with the characters, wanted them to win, felt their pain. So, what’s the rub? Pacing. And I’m trying to figure out if there’s something I missed or if the middle sections did get slightly muddy. Beyond the pacing, I think it’s a really good book. Read the rest of this entry »

If I could write a world like Emma Bull, I would be very, very, very fucking happy. There is no doubt that she thought about, loved, lived in, and wandered through every crevice of the world she built in Bone Dance. While I really liked Sparrow, her androgynous and strangely powerful main character, I didn’t fall in love with her/him as much as I did the world in which he/she lived. Her side characters…..loved them!

Read the rest of this entry »

Note: I’m going to contradict myself 100 times here…because. Well, just because I’m conflicted about Urban Shaman.

I think C.E. Murphy and I need to sit down and have a beer. As of this moment, I don’t know a damn thing about her, except that I really liked Urban Shaman. Her style is conversational, the plot is simple, but appealing, and the characters, while a little wooden, still engaged me. What I noticed most of all was that my writing style is somewhat similar, although her handle on character development far surpasses my own. And I liked the heroine, Joanne Walker. So, I don’t know if I would rather sit down and have a beer with Murphy, or her Walker That’s a good sign, right? Read the rest of this entry »

This is one of those books I’ve been meaning to read since it came out. I had it in my hand at the bookstore, and kept telling myself that I’d get around to reading it. Then I started grad school, and I thought it was a perfect book for me to review. It’s urban fantasy, it takes place (partially) in Florida and the Caribbean (part of my novel takes place in Florida) and it has magic. Wonderful! I’m not a new Gaiman reader. My husband introduced me to the Sandman series eons ago. And after working in a bookstore, I became familiar with American Gods (which I own, but still can’t finish) and Neverwhere. All in all, I’ve loved his writing. Read the rest of this entry »

When I finished this book, I felt like I needed a cigarette. I think I actually went and smoked one. Why? Sexual tension and tight writing. My emotions took hold physically, my loins tingled, and I had to sit back and contemplate the intensity of what I’d read. Jennifer Stevenson’s lyrical storytelling both amazed me and made me intensely jealous. I finished reading and I kept asking myself “how can I write something that evocative?” I’m still asking myself that question. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a really long title. Here it goes:

A Feeling for Books: The Book-of-the-Month Club, Literary Taste, and Middle-Class Desire

This is the hardest of all my required texts for this semester, and I admit that I screwed this one up. I forgot that I had to read a critical text until the last week (during the move I lost two of my notebooks about school practices), so I scrambled up to the local library and found this little gem. I wish I’d taken the time earlier in the semester to find something that really appealed to me, but I learned a few things reading this book. Read the rest of this entry »

I killed a highlighter with this book. It died a bright yellow death. Every time I turned a page, I felt like there was something else I needed to mark for further study. Admittedly, this book is a bit dated. It was published in 1965, and so modern attitudes about women and race are not reflected in Swain’s writing. At first it really bothered me, but I had to get beyond the differences, because I could say they are almost cultural (which isn’t an excuse, but a reason). Beyond the dated tone, there was a lot to digest. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m working out the bugs with this new blog. So, there are going to be a few dead links until I have time to work out those kinks.

What do I mean? I don’t have any “friends” in the friends tab at the top. But at least it’s pretty.