Flint Book Expo

Stop by the Flint Public Library this coming Saturday, May 4, 2013 to meet and greet 42 different authors and browse/buy their books!

This will be my first appearance at the Flint Book Expo, so I'm not sure what to expect;  for more information, check out the Facebook event page here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/405196682909343/  or search for #fplbookexpo on Twitter.

I hope to see lots of people there--hop in the car and come on down to Flint!  It'll be fun.

I'll have all four of my books there available for sale, and I can accept credit cards with my snazzy new Paypal swiper!

 

Range of Motion

Range Of Motion by Elizabeth Berg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the realistic, yet somehow uplifting, story of a wife's grief over her comatose husband.  The first few lines of the book reveal Lainey's numb shock over the absurdity of her husband becoming the victim of a large chunk of ice falling off a roof.  Lainey puts as much of her life on hold as she can, shelving her job and caring for her two daughters like a not-quite-single mom.  Lainey's neighbor Alice proves indispensable, shuffling over in her bathrobe from the other side of the duplex to watch Lainey's daughters or bolster Lainey's spirits.  In return, Lainey listens to Alice's marital woes and maintains the friendship both women desperately need.

Lainey's tireless belief in Jay's recovery sustains her most days, and she brings many sensory experiences to his hospital room.  HIs favorite shirts, his daughters' artwork, photographs and kitchen spices, his favorite cologne are all faithfully presented to Jay with the hope he'll respond.

I won't give away the ending here--this is a book worth reading, and the characters will stick with you for a long time.


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Once Upon A River

Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Join Margo Crane on her search for her mother as she lives off the land on the Stark River. This story is a coming-of-age-style adventure odyssey full of memorable, realistic characters and plenty of ethical and moral conundrums.  Margo calms herself by target practicing, and is able to easily shoot the ash off of a cigarette from twelve paces.  Her heroine is Annie Oakley, with whom she shares trick-shooting skills.  She shoots, skins, cooks and eats squirrels and deer, perfecting her skills so she can start selling fur, using the money she earns for more ammunition.

After Margo's father is killed, she sets off down the river to find her mother, who had previously left under somewhat sketchy circumstances. On her journey down-river, she encounters a few other people, some helpful and some harmful, and she learns valuable lessons from each of them.

The writing is superb.  I'll remember this book for a long time.


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Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life

Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life by Natalie Goldberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I bought this book at Starrlight Books in Flagstaff, Arizona, a great little used bookstore.  This inspiring little volume, made up of brief essays about Natalie Goldberg's life interspersed with suggested writing topics and exercises, motivated me to grab a pen and start writing.  Natalie shares some great tips about fitting a writing discipline into a daily routine, incorporating humor in writing, and beating writer's block.  She even addresses procrastination with an understanding yet firm solution.

This book will reside on my writing resources shelf, next to Goldberg's Writing Down The Bones.


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