You Call This A Blog?

I know. It's like I can't get a grip for anything, eh?

Still not writing.

Still reading.

The Couch to 5K thing is still a go.

Mari is here.

That's what I'm up to.

But I guess under the SHARE category...

FREE WRITING MINI-WORKSHOP Saturday In ANN ARBOR

Here is the scoop shared by Robin Agnew, owner of Aunt Agatha's: Barbara Gregorich will speak on Thinking Like a Mystery Reader Writer at Aunt Agatha’s Bookstore, 213 S. Fourth Avenue, Ann Arbor, on Saturday, March 28, at 2:00. She will answer questions and engage in discussions afterwards, and will autograph copies of her most recent title, Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel: Lots of Examples, Plus Dead Bodies. With Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel, Gregorich combines her love of mystery, her love of writing, and her love of teaching. Much of what she has to say in Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel: Lots of Examples, Plus Dead Bodies comes from her experience with people who want to write a mystery but aren’t aware of the various decisions they must make as they create the story. Gregorich hopes that her book will help them . . . and result in her having more mystery novels to read. For those contemplating writing a mystery novel and those who have written one or more but are looking for fresh and invigorating insights into the approach, Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel provides an overall view of how to think like a writer in general and a mystery writer in particular.

A WEE REVIEW: The Marbury Lens

I've read a couple great YA books this winter in my quest to figure out what I'm doing. A few of them have humbled me but I just finished one that blew me away. I know I'm late to the party, but here is my review for The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith

I sometimes feel guilty about how stingy I am with five-star reviews. I give them, but a story really needs to be fairly flawless AND suck me in—so both well executed AND my thing… But once in a while a book like this will come along that makes me feel like I need to go back and downgrade 90% of my fives because it is just head and shoulders above sublime.

This book is not for the faint hearted. There is swearing, a bit of sexual violence and a lot of teen deviance. But harder than that, this is very dark emotionally so it is probably not the thing for some people. But for others, it is EXACTLY the thing.

The story set-up reminded me a lot of The Talisman, one of my favorites from two of my favorite scary authors—Stephen King and Peter Straub. In both books there are parallel worlds in which people can exist in both and the MC is pushed into a position of going back and forth, but I felt while The Talisman is a brilliant show to watch externally, The Marbury Lens actually pulls us inside so we feel it. And the REAL world in Marbury Lens is more real and the OTHER world is darker… I just really feel like Smith upped the ante on the type of tale.


And last, A week from tomorrow is the start of Blogging A to Z

If you want to be a NEW blogger, or, like me, want to rejuvenate an OLD blog... this is a great opportunity. Go check it out: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/a-to-z-challenge-sign-uplist-2015.html