by Terry Pratchett. I liked Nation, but in a distant, pastel kind of way.  I liked Unseen Academicals much better. One.  Hey!  It’s not just a romance, and a competently written double romance, with four interesting main characters.  This, I might note, is not easy to write, and Terry Pratchett handles it with the facility […]

by John Scalzi. This book is a pleasant ripoff of Heinlein, with better humor, better writing, better plotting, and a better touch of the perversely funny. Not as touching or moving as Heinlein at the top of his game; no Fridays or Jubals or glorious star-named twins.  But good. Also, check out this opening: I

by Eoin Colfer. You know how I said, for the previous Artemis Fowl book, that the moral of the story wasn’t hitting you over the head or anything? Yeah.  Not the case here. Artemis’s first real caper (before the events in book 1) was to kill the last of a species of lemur, selling it

Blog: Julie & Julia party recipes, round 2 http://foodie.deannaknippling.com/?p=2160 # Got an odd request – need inspirational songs for black humor mayhem. Please send suggestions. # @ianthealy Napalm Death is too much black and not enough humor, but Finntroll will do EXCELLENTLY. in reply to ianthealy # @tafkae Nope, nothing Voltaire yet. Brains! in reply

by David Guterson. I am so far behind on blogging.  Holy cow.  The mystery project is going well, and I wrote my ass off today, but now I want to clean off my desk! I picked up this book from Goodwill a while ago.  Sometimes I like to cruise Goodwill for trade paperbacks that look

I went to the Pikes Peak Writers Spring Workshop on how to hook your readers within 120 words today. I came away with a light in the attic, a threshold cross, the perfect souffle. The intro isn’t perfect, but NOW I HAVE A CLUE on how to open a story.  This, in and of itself,

Blog: Recipe: Jamba on Polenta http://foodie.deannaknippling.com/?p=2120 # Blog: Julie & Julia Party: Success! http://foodie.deannaknippling.com/?p=2153 # @MsAllieD The Jamba/polenta recipe was really quick & easy, too. in reply to MsAllieD # That would have been sexier if the example I found didn't look like roadkill. @saucy_dryad I just spatchcocked the hell out of a chicken… #

I’m working on a Mystery Project. I’m not one of the kinds of writers that doesn’t talk about her works in progress; you may assume there’s a reason. [Insert smug here.] I’m not done with the Chocolate Story yet – I keep having to back up and say, “Does this really do what I want

by Trenton Lee Stewart. The inside flap states, “Is this the end of the Mysterious Benedict Society?” I have to wonder.  When you tie up your loose ends, it’s usually time for Season 2 of a TV show or the end of a book series, lest one jump the shark.  However, for fans of the

Blog: Recipe: Lamb Meatballs with Red-Pepper Pomegranate sauce http://foodie.deannaknippling.com/?p=2132 # Blog: Recipe: Warm Beet and Goat Cheese Salad http://foodie.deannaknippling.com/?p=2135 # Blog: Recipe: Onion-Olive Pizza http://foodie.deannaknippling.com/?p=2137 # @ianthealy I do stream of comedy edits…to soften the evil. in reply to ianthealy # @ianthealy Sure. But "good edits" usually are the opposite of friendly, like little interventions.