Welcome back to Not Just Dudes in Tights, a column about our fave comics starring, well, not just dudes in tights. This time: Lumberjanes! It’s hard to express how much I love Lumberjanes. Yes, it’s technically a comic book for children about summer camp, but it’s so much more than that. It’s heartwarming, it’s funny,… Read more »
It’s the first Sunday after the first Tuesday of the month, which can only mean it’s time for another edition of the Book Nook! We’ve made it to June and I can’t tell you how much I enjoy dropping into your feeds each month to share a new list of books. I was very fortunate… Read more »
In these times I hope authors continue crafting children’s and young adult books on sensitive subjects such as race. Compelling stories can penetrate young minds with staying powers that endure long beyond that first read. Early exposure to lives that differ from or connect to blossoming readers can shape their future attitudes and actions. I… Read more »
Do you want me to tell you a story? Is there a better question to stoke the imagination and create anticipation? The promise of a story has always electrified me. I’ve wanted to become a writer since my parents read me bedtime stories filled with fantasy and adventure. I would often sneak out of bed… Read more »
Did you know that the month of May is International Short Story Month? I didn’t! In May 2010, International Short Story Month was first organized as a way to celebrate short stories in all their glory from writing to reading and everything in between. It was inspired by National Poetry Month in April, which we… Read more »
I’m not going to declare my surprise that it’s already May. I did that in the preceding months, and time only sped up incrementally each month, which is interesting because sometimes the days drag on interminably. But here we are—it’s May. The flowers are blooming, the baseball bats are swinging, I’m enjoying cool drinks out… Read more »
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre remains a cultural touchstone 174 years after its debut. It is one of the best examples of Gothic Romanticism, a predecessor of modern domestic suspense. Gothic novels are characterized by sensational aspects, such as strange noises, dark houses in desolate settings, shattering secrets, and women in distress. But Jane Eyre was… Read more »
Often when readers think about the origins of LGBTQ+ literature, we think about poetry and drama. Certainly, these two modes have a long history of presenting a wide range of non-heteronormative stories and themes, and perhaps they have been best suited for it. But LGBTQ+ stories in prose narratives have equally long histories. More interesting… Read more »
Greetings, Speculators! As you might guess from the title of this column, I’ve found another mythic structure to expound upon. I’m going to take a slightly different approach this time, however. When I read Gail Carriger’s interpretation of the heroine’s journey, it struck a chord with me (imagine angelic chorus here). I thought that Instead… Read more »
Have you ever read a scene and felt like it didn’t go anywhere, or didn’t have a purpose? Do you struggle to write scenes that develop characters? On a scene-by-scene basis, do your characters experience external and internal changes? Do you do in depth scene analysis? Whether or not published in a book or jotted… Read more »
