Congratulations on your beautiful new book, “Nobody Will Like This Book”. Could you tell us a little about the idea behind it and about your writing journey; how it started out, whether it changed much along the way? Thank you for calling it beautiful! I was having fun creating my book “The Dancing Fish” (poems and drawings), and I wanted...
Continue reading...Victoria Ray NB
Author Interview – Alexander Raphael
Alexander Raphael discusses his new (third) book, his place in the literary world, the power and challenges of writing daily. His first book of short stories – THE SUMMER OF MADNESS – is famous for moving, funny, heartbreaking, informative, and utterly captivating plots. His second book – ILLUSIONS, DELUSIONS – is famous for a wide range of characters, twisted and...
Continue reading...Grotesque: abnormally large, shockingly ugly, distorted, and ludicrously odd
I have a remedy against thirst, quite contrary to that which is good against the biting of a mad dog. Keep running after a dog, and he will never bite you; drink always before the thirst, and it will never come upon you. François Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel, book 1 Have you ever wondered what a grotesque world would look like?...
Continue reading...Author Interview – Jessica Bakkers
LET THIS NOVEL HAUNT YOU… 1. I’m so excited to get to talk to you about Guns of Perdition (Armageddon Showdown Series), Jessica! This is your debut novel, and it’s haunting, gorgeous, and dark. Congratulations! What can readers coming in fresh to your work expect from this book? Thanks so much for having me, Ray! I’m thrilled to be here. Guns of Perdition...
Continue reading...Literature is not innocent
“When one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question, “What does it mean?” It does not mean anything, because mystery means nothing either, it is unknowable,” said Rene Magritte about his painting The Lovers. As you understand, we’ll talk about surrealism, but not about Rene Magritte in particular, although he was one of the most plagiarized artists,...
Continue reading...Author Interview – John W. Howell
We chatted with John W. Howell about his new novel Eternal Road: The final stop, the transformation of the heroes, and the meaning behind historical and supernatural elements. 1. What is the significance of the book’s title Eternal Road? The title came to me one day while I was writing one of the scenes. Eternal Road is the avenue to...
Continue reading...Aspects of the Novel
No book worth its salt is meant to put you to sleep, it’s meant to make you jump out of bed in your underwear and run and beat the author’s brains out. Bohumil Hrabal, Czech novelist There’s a book called Aspects of the Novel, a series of lectures from E. M. Forster, written in 1927. I haven’t read it myself...
Continue reading...Author Interview – Sabina Gabrielli Carrara
I spoke with Sabina Gabrielli Carrara, the author of The Last Witch, about her tricky plot progression, whether she hates this century or no, and what comes next. CAUGHT BETWEEN MYSTERY and CRIME 1: We tend to know you as the author of the blog Truly Madly Ordinary and thriller/crime novels Field of Lies and Black Souls. At the end of...
Continue reading...Book Review. Eternal Road: The Final Stop by John W. Howell
Time is endless in thy hands, my lord. There is none to count thy minutes. Rabindranath Tagore The idea of eternity as it relates to God is an essential concept in any religion. We all know that God is eternally existent = God exists outside the human concept of time, but also inside of time. If eternity can be as...
Continue reading...Book Review. My GRL, by John W. Howell
Editorial reviews: When life lands a hammer blow in your face, the best way to respond is to buy a book by John W. Howell. Or all of them! Swipe-Up Dallas Review The bodies of the three men were found in my apartment yesterday. I’d like to invite John W. Howell to solve the crime. It will make my day....
Continue reading...Shame-less by Nadia Bolz-Weber
(nonfiction) #takeawaykeys If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive. Brené Brown, Daring Greatly Alert! Long post, if you can’t read it now, save for later! This book is for women who are almost-enough, who are struggling every day of their lives to be perfect, to deliver the image of the...
Continue reading...10 Eye-Opening Writing Rituals from Great Writers
The author should die once he has finished writing. So as not to trouble the path of the text. Umberto Eco The truth is (social distancing or not), I am still a very disorganised author. How could I publish so many books? 🤨 I don’t know. That’s why I’m diving in into some rituals of the greatest, in hope to learn a...
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