The Chemistry of Love

Book Review: The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson (many stars) You always know a romance will have a HEA. That’s part of the formula. But the getting there is the important journey. And in the hands of Sariah Wilson, the getting there is so much fun. 😊 Anna Ellis is a cosmetic chemist who’s in love with her boss, …

Book Review

Book Review: With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (sooooo good!) Take a 17-year-old high school senior who’s half Black and half Puerto Rican and a brilliant natural cook, add in an absent father, a protective grandmother, the normal demands of high school, and a job, then throw in a 3-year-old daughter and divided custody with an ex-boyfriend, and …

The Best Book of 2021

There are good books, great books, even exceptional books. Recently, I read a book that needs a new category. I haven’t yet determined what to call that—a star in the heavens, an eternal light, a bridge to forever. I’m waxing poetic because this book touched me in ways that most books don’t. This one made me think and question and …

Book Reviews

Of Beast and Beauty by Chanda Hahn   I’m a huge fan of the Beauty and the Beast fable and have enjoyed numerous retellings. This was no exception. Chanda Hahn gives us a complex story with high stakes and continued suspense.   Rosalie, the eldest of seven daughters of Lady Eville, had been chosen to unite two feuding kingdoms. Thrust …

Finishing Touches

Do you like nearing the end of a project? The thrill of wrapping it up, tying up all the loose ends? Publishing a book is a definite journey, and long for me. Usually 3 years. But all that effort makes the end so worthwhile.    I’m putting the finishing touches on The Heart of Everything, getting it ready for layout …

Why Great Stories Are So Good

Great stories are built on great stories. There are only so many master plots. The trick is to create variations on the theme. Like Mozart did with his variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Rachmaninoff with Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The essence remains the same but there are subtle (or not so subtle) changes that make the …