Book Notes and Writing News from Around the Web

Here are some notes and news I thought you all might be interested in....

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Khaled Hosseini's new novel, And the Mountains Echoed, comes out May 21st. I have no idea how he's going to top The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, but if anyone can do it, he can.

I absolutely loved Beth Hoffman's Saving CeeCee Honeycutt so I am counting the days until May 28th when her second novel, Looking for Me, comes out.

And June brings both the heat and the chills with two creepy novels  - Joyland by Stephen King and Always Watching by Chevy Stevens (whose novel, Still Missing, continues to haunt me years later!)

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Want a hilarious look at the writing and/or cleaning process? Check out Nathan Bransford's post, "How to Do Your Chores in 12 Easy Steps."       

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Two great posts on Writer UnBoxed - 

"Clawing Our Way Back to the Creative Center" by Robin LaFevers talks about having to disconnect from the real world in order to connect to her writing.

"The New Era of Self-Publishing" by Allison Winn Scotch is a great post about how she, a traditionally published author, is considering self publishing her next novel. The discussion that follows  in the comments of her post is civil and thoughtful.

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This actually has nothing to do with writing but since it's on author Joshilyn Jackson's blog, I'm counting it. Besides, it totally cracked me up - "The Third Piece of Unsolicited Advice Drops." 

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Looking forward to any - or all - of those novels? Going to check out any of the links? Is there anything you've come across lately that you'd like to share in the comments? 

"Saving" the New Year with a Good Read

There's nothing like starting the new year off with a good book. Actually, there's nothing like starting any month, week, or day off with a good book, but I digress.

It's been cold - yes, really! - here in Florida, and I wanted something to make me feel warm and cozy, something beside the hot chocolate with mini marshmallows I finally didn't feel weird drinking. I found it on my bookshelf - Beth Hoffman's Saving CeeCee Honeycutt.

I was lucky enough to have an advanced reader's copy fall into my greedy little hands, and I'm just sorry I hadn't read it sooner! It's one of those books that has you laughing on one page, crying on the next, then smiling through those same tears. The pages are full of larger-than-life women with hearts and personalities to match. It's been compared to Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, but it also reminds me of Kathryn Stockett's The Help.

So, "save" your year - or month, or week, etc. - and read Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. You'll be glad you did.