How to Have Opinions About Art
In my former life, I was a theater reviewer, gallerist, and curator. I continue to be a passionate advocate for artists and will always be a great lover of art. Last year, I posted a sarcastic-as-hell blog post How to Write Bad Reviews. But I realize that people might actually be interested in how to be better armchair art critics. In an effort to replace snark with substance, I’d like to offer amateur reviewers some tips for writing useful and insightful reviews of books, film, and...
Read MoreHow to Deal with Bad Reviews
Now that Hungry Ghost has been out in the world for two weeks, the very first of the reviews are starting to dribble in. I figure this is a great time to remind myself, and you, of the ways I deal with bad reviews. Take a deep breath. Know that a bad review will likely trigger an emotional response. It sucks the first couple of times, but you get used to it. Let the flood of stress hormones happen. Keep breathing. Then practice some self-care. Know this is all optional. Lots of...
Read MoreGrit, Meet Passion – Thoughts on “Imagine” by Jonah Lehrer
The best part about reading a book when it comes out is that you can close the book, leave the bar, turn on the car radio and interrupt the author speaking on NPR. I’m a slow reader and have a pile of to be reads sitting next to my desk. I’m also a writer, and have an unfinished sequel staring at me with a mendicant blinking cursor. But when I saw that Jonah Lehrer had a new book about the neuroscience of creativity, I had to read to it right away. In many ways, I think of Lehrer as the...
Read MoreIn Praise of Kick Ass Heroines: Haywire and the Believable Ass-Kicking Woman
How to create a credible heroine, in three easy steps: 1) Give her muscles. 2) Give her a combat background. 3) Give her sensible shoes. Tonight, my sweetie and I saw Haywire. I knew I’d like it, because I have a soft spot for female vigilantes, but I wasn’t aware of how deliciously insidious the film would be. On the way home, my sweetie asked how I could reconcile my feminism with loving a character that needed to ascribe to male ideals of power in order to be considered...
Read MoreThe Tyranny of “I Don’t Get It”
Since my novel came out at the start of October, I’ve been getting a lot of feedback. It’s mixed, as is often the case with art, and I consider myself blessed to not only have people engaging with my work in a way that challenges & entertains them, but in a way that arouses strong opinions. I feel doubly blessed when readers feel comfortable sharing their opinions with others. This is, after all, how my book will spread, from all reviews and comments, positive and...
Read MoreReview Lunatic Fringe, Win a T-Shirt & Get a Sneak Peek
There’s still a few more days left! If you’ve read Lunatic Fringe, post a review of it on GoodReads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your own blog by Halloween. Then, email me a link to the review, and I’ll send you a pdf of the first chapter of the sequel, Hungry Ghost, AND you’ll be entered to win one of two t-shirts from my store. Easy...
Read MoreLunatic Fringe On Sale Now
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