A couple of weeks ago, I trashed a book. Don’t worry – it was my own. It had a long life in draft form, spanning several years, but it had a fatal flaw that I was never able to fix. I knew it and editors knew it and then a respected agent pointed it out […]
In a recent LA Times blog post, Carolyn Kennedy quotes two writers who say they physically remove themselves from internet temptations in order to get down to the serious, concentrated effort required to write their novels. One of my theories about Alaskan authors is that we are, in general, folks who are happy being several
IS THE INTERNET BAD FOR WRITERS? Read More »
Thanks to Suzanne Bishop of Homer for entering our most recent contest about favorite or memorable Alaska books. Her guest-post was selected as 1st runner up. I loved what she had to say about finding a less-than-perfect book at the perfect time. Have you ever read a great book at the wrong time? You know,
ARCTIC DAUGHTER by Jean Aspen, as remembered by Suzanne Bishop Read More »
Today Anchorage will be hosting what may be the biggest local Obama rally yet, and today I’m letting you know that by a wide margin, you chose Seth Kantner’s ORDINARY WOLVES as the book we’d like to send Obama. I bought an autographed hardcover copy (at Title Wave, of course) and my weekend to-do list
Ordinary Wolves on its way to Obama! Read More »
“Sarah and Aristotle” by Dan Henry Aside from being shocked at her buffed-up conservative cred, I am wallowing in the rhetorical compost Sarah Palin produced in the vice-presidential debate. The debate coach in me is turning somersaults. I imagine the practice sessions, the feedback, the script, the coaching strategy. Concerning the speaker, Aristotle says, the
Frontier Rhetorician Dan Henry of Haines grades the debate Read More »
Amanda Coyne is an Alaska freelancer, a blogger at Huffington Post, and an APU writing teacher. She has been published in Harper’s, Newsweek, the New York Times, and the Anchorage Press, where she was an editor until 2005. She also happens to be a friend. So when word got out that the Palin biography by
Palin “first biographer” Amanda Coyne on why she didn’t write the book Read More »
What do book bloggers do all day? Former Alaskan (but still with Alaskan connections) book blogger and reviewer Colleen Mondor posts an enlightening explanation at Chasing Ray . Don’t get any ideas – my day is not at all like hers. When I posted yesterday on style vs. substance, I pointed to Sarah Palin’s convoluted
ALASKAN AUTHORS WEEKLY ROUND-UP Read More »
Busy, busy. So much to do. But how about stopping by Snow City Cafe on West 4th Avenue tomorrow (Friday) evening for the AQR First Friday series? There will be an art opening at 5:30 followed at 7:00 by live music and readings from Alaska Quarterly Review’s 25th anniversary issues. Staying home instead? If you’re
and a few more event notices… Read More »
Tonight millions of viewers will watch the highly anticipated debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, and we’ll explore another facet of the cult of the amateur – whether eloquence matters. Sarah says we need an American in the White House who represents “Joe Six-Pack.” But can’t a vice president represent Joe Six-Pack and also
WHY ELOQUENCE MATTERS Read More »
