The Baryon Press recently announced the release of a new science title that is a combined, in-depth astronomy/ natural history course. Astronomy & Natural History Connections: From Darwin to Einstein, written by Barry Boyce, is essential [...]
Writing My First Novel: I Let the Characters Lead by K.D. Girsch I have carried on a passionate affair with fiction – its characters and the authors who created them – since I was a child seeking out stories on the adult side of my [...]
Q&A with Laurel Anne Hill Q. When writing The Engine Woman’s Light, how did you begin? Did the characters arise first, or the world? A. Two of the characters – the great-grandmother and the infant – arose first, in one of my [...]
Storytelling is the most pervasive form of modern magic. Through the imagination we can transport ourselves through worlds we’ve made to show each other different sides of life. As a jack-of-all-trades creative, I have a unique viewpoint of the [...]
I sneered when I was first asked to be part of a panel on “Beating Writers’ Block” for last summer’s Thrillerfest, the annual New York-based conference of International Thrillers Writers. “Who has the luxury of Writers’ Block?” I fumed. “Try a [...]
With the Valentines’ Day buzz flitting about, Portland Book Review decided to reach out to our reviewers and ask them if they’ve any romances in their favorite reads. So, here are a few romances (old and new) that warm our hearts: [...]
I’ve noticed this magic that happens in the writing community. (It might not actually be magic, but in my world, there is a lot of magic. For instance, radio, television, Internet, telephones. How do they work? If you tried to explain it to me, [...]
Q. Graffiti artwork is something that many people dismiss or ignore. Do you believe more people should pay attention to the medium? Why is it worth their time? A. I believe that everybody should pay attention. Attention is the key in our lives. [...]
Earlier this evening my son and I were in the kitchen singing along with the Disturbed cover of “Sound of Silence.” A huge swelling outcry against the inability to connect with the world around you, that descending, inevitable trailing into [...]
Magical Realism manifests as extraordinary events beside the real: sometimes we call it magical realism, sometimes speculative, sometimes slipstream, and sometimes fabulist. A rose by any other name, right? Whatever we call it, that innovative [...]
Writing with a Mission by Frank Daidone A mission defines the “why” we do what we do while at the same time instills a passion into our efforts. In the early stages of writing I didn’t have a definable mission driving my words [...]
Drawing Inspiration from Life by Dave DiGrazie When Editor-in-Chief Whitney Smyth gave me this chance to share my literary hopes and struggles, I wanted to sing to you, scream at you, convince you to care. My writing is a kaleidoscope of peril. [...]
Eavesdropping Towards Better Dialogue by Kevin Michaels As children, we were taught that it was rude to listen to other people’s conversations. I often heard “Mind your own business” whenever I eavesdropped on conversations at school or on the [...]
The Reverse Kvell: A Perspective on Motherhood from the Other Side By J.J. Gesher After toiling for three years, we completed a novel, our debut book. We found a legitimate publisher, secured advance praise, and scheduled a launch event at a [...]
Interview with Joshua Aaron Landeros Q. Reverence is clearly a passion project of yours. Where did the idea originally come from? How long has it taken you to complete the book? A. The idea originally came from a simple desire have a man turned [...]
Music Tracks in eBooks: A New Market for Songwriters? By Barnaby Hazen I found myself writing a book covering familiar ground—musicians. As I began brainstorming characters and situations, it became clear the story would frequently refer to [...]
The Curse of the Archives By Eva Stachniak Having written two novels based on the life of Catherine the Great I know how challenging it can be to write historical fiction, but I’ve never heard of the curse of the archives! At least not until I [...]
The Weird Life of a Writer: When Does Stalking Cross the Line? If you’ve ever had a friend who’s a writer odds are, during introductions, you’ve felt compelled to explain away one of the obvious quirks by adding, “he’s a writer.” This inevitably [...]
