Coming Soon! Book Review Tuesdays #BRT

One of the things I want to do, starting in 2022, is feature more local books. Some of you know that we have a treasure of talented writers here in Rhode Island. Many of these authors are either self-published or published through small presses, which can limit one’s exposure. It doesn’t mean the books are any less. Maybe I should repeat that. It still infuriates me when I think back on the one traditionally-published author who told a friend (self-published) that she couldn’t be that good if she was self-published. Grrrr.

Anyway……beginning Tuesday, January 4, 2022, and going forward on Tuesdays throughout the year, this blog will feature a book from a local author. Yes, I still need to carve out enough time to write my next novel (it’s still mostly in my head at this point, but I know the beginning, middle, and end, so that’s something….right?!), and write and schedule my annual Blogging from A to Z posts in April, but I’m retired, and it’s winter, so bring it, I say.

Writers love reviews! Even the not-so-great reviews. I’m okay with them now, although the first time I read a one-star review for my first novel (“I couldn’t finish this drivel”), I cried. No more! Bad reviews, if accompanied by constructive criticism, can actually help one become better. Most of the time, however, bad reviews don’t say much other than “I couldn’t finish this drivel.” So move on. Keep writing, keep learning. If I truly hate a book (rare), or if it was obviously not edited or proofed (not as rare), I’ll keep my negative thoughts to myself. You will not see less than a three-star rating here, because I know what it takes to put a book out there. And it’s important to be kind.

And, I still believe each of us has a story to tell. So in between writing my 11th novel and chairing the next anthology for the Association of Rhode Island Authors and getting my April A to Z posts prepared, I will be reading and writing about what might very well be your next great discovery to read. Stay tuned and follow this blog!

It’s the holidays – joyous and celebratory for many, difficult for others. I will quote a lyric by the magnificent Stephen Sondheim, who passed last month:

Sometimes people leave you
halfway through the wood.
Others may deceive you.
You decide what’s good.
You decide alone.
But no one is alone.