where deadly meets fabulous
There is nothing like a novel’s first line. Setting, character, tone, some delicately hinted at conflict—it’s always intriguing to see how authors blend all of these elements together and hook a reader into their story with little more than a handful of words–and of course, totally impressive. And no opener has ever wowed me more, […]
Read MoreIt takes a lot of work and time to produce a novel manuscript. At least for me. My very first attempt took almost five years. Granted, the subsequent works have not been quite so painfully long to create, but only marginally so–which is why I am always completely blown away when I see Meg […]
Read MoreRape, incest, and abusive rich grandmothers. Though I adored anything V.C. Andrews when I was a teenager, looking back on her novels now I have to say the woman created some pretty dark and demented plots. In fact, I would be surprised that my parents even let me read them back then if they hadn’t allowed […]
Read MoreI have always loved stories—everything from the pink princess bed time kind to the funny-thing-that-happened-to-me-on-the-way-to-the-grocery-store kind. I guess that’s why I write—and why I was first attracted to the Centre for the Digital Storytelling. A few years ago I took a week long workshop at the Berkeley campus of this organization, and learned not only the […]
Read MoreIt was with a sad sigh that I read a review of Dead Ever After today—the last and final book in the Sookie Stackhouse Novels (due to come out this May). There are some books which feel more like experiences than a collection of printed paper—and every one of Charlaine Harris’s novels in this series are exactly […]
Read MoreAdolescence—it is a brutal stage of life filled with anxiety and doubt but wonderful highs I could probably only achieve these days with illegal drugs. And it’s for that reason that I am always drawn to that period of life as the setting for my manuscripts. And what better way to truly connect to that […]
Read MoreFrustration. It can be painful and annoying and when it comes to the craft of writing, exceedingly persistent But it can also create wonders. Reading The Velveteen Rabbit to my son this afternoon, I discovered that this wonderful, magical classic in children’s literature was born out of the author’s, Margery Williams, frustration with her previous publications. According to the […]
Read MoreThere is nothing that makes me want to churn out story magic than surrounding myself in a wall of freshly minted YA covers on a dark and rainy Vancouver night. Like the triple chocolate brownies and oat fudge bars displayed behind glass in the downstairs Starbucks, all those shiny images and flashy titles ignite my appetite to write. […]
Read MoreWe have all read books that changed our lives, and for me one of those was Meg Rosoff’s How I live now, which made me first realize that there was more to Young Adult fiction than Sweet Valley High–and that I might just want to contribute to it. Yes, it is that excellent. Even now, several years later, […]
Read MoreThe Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards Blog
#kathenaskloset
Book reviews, the occasional rant, and more
