Writing Quality

Writers should never settle for less than their best work. Is that mere perfectionism on my part?  Maybe.  But why put out as much effort and soul mining as writing requires for something that is only "good enough"? On the other hand, I believe the audience should be considered equally. If we write to please only ourselves, then we are just tossing our stories into the abyss.  For a story to be whole, it must have an audience. Anything else is probably narcissism.

And ultimately I believe these two goals are not mutually exclusive.

What is your opinion?

REVIEW: Wild Hunt

October 11, 2019

Cover design by Istavan Kadar.

Wild Hunt

by Nancy Kilpatrick

ASIN: B07YR8BBZ5

I have read several of Nancy Kilpatrick’s vampire novels and was grateful to receive and an advance copy of Wild Hunt. It is set in a more modern time than her recent THRONES OF BLOOD series. I loved experiencing this world through the female lead, Loralie. She is blind but also a fortune teller, which in many ways makes her stronger and better able to see more than her supernatural captor.

Vampires from Nancy Kilpatrick’s imagination become some of the most wickedly unique I have ever read. This could have grown only from decades of loving the genre as much as her fans. Her creations are neither Dracula nor dark angels, but they are steeped in the gothic traditions we love and are just as attractive as their literary ancestors. These creatures are quick to enrage and brutal once there, but also oddly sympathetic. Kilpatrick never shies from where her imagination draws her or what her fans desire.

Nancy Kilpatrick’s Website

Buy Wild Hunt

(Amazon link. Not an affiliate.)

REVIEW: Abduction of Two Rulers

June 26, 2018

Cover design by Istavan Kadar.

Abduction of Two Rulers

by Nancy Kilpatrick (Macabre Ink) ASIN: B07DRBCHK3

THRONES OF BLOOD Vol. 3

Award-winning Canadian author and editor with nearly two dozen novels and more than 200 short stories to her credit, Nancy Kilpatrick excels at writing dark fantasy, horror, mystery, erotic horror, and nonfiction. Abduction of Two Rulers--a dark, erotic fantasy--sizzles with her veteran skill and sense of adventure.

This third novel in the series involves the betrayal, imprisonment, and romance of the vampir King Thanatos. Meanwhile, King Moarte and the Sapiens are on the brink of war. Moarte and Wolfsbane are busy trying to head off the war, leaving them unable to help Thanatos or his true love search for him until long after he is surely dead.

I am a fan of dark fantasy but not a reader of erotica. When I pick up the first in this series, and then the next, and now this one, I always say, “I am not the right audience.”  Nevertheless, I can’t help but get caught up in the story.  Kilpatrick has been a vampire fan for decades and she knows them well. Her skill weaves stories that feed the cravings of the traditional lore fan as well as offering new treats.

Nancy Kilpatrick’s Website

Buy Abduction of Two Rulers. 

Review: Uncommon Type: Some Stories

Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks
September 5, 2017

A friend loaned me the ARC of Tom Hanks' book. (Yes, THAT Tom Hanks.) It is a collection of short stories that, for the most part, are quite good. They are mainstream/general fiction. A couple might tilt toward adventure.

Hanks writes very well. Fantastic descriptions. Interesting characters. Vividly speakable dialogue. (No wonder, considering his day job.) It is also a quick read at 403 pages (at least this ARC was) including one screenplay.

The only criticism I might have is that I expected more from the implied typewriter theme. Hanks weaves a typewriter into every story and a couple of them center on the machine, but in most, the stories offer a cameo of one at best. Often, a character is doing something unrelated and hears someone typing in the distance, for example. In cases like that, I felt attention was drawn to an insignificant event for the sake only of making sense of why these stories are bound in the same volume. It felt forced. After seeing the title, reading the blurb, and then seeing press-release photos of Hanks standing in front of antique typewriters, I wished for something more than largely token appearances

However, it was not enough to ruin any of the stories, and I am eagerly looking forward to his next book.

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Nov/Dec 2016 Issue

A few days ago, I made this cryptic post on Facebook that I had placed in some sort of contest. I didn't want to say anything because I wasn't 100% sure the magazine had been released yet, but I can see that it is up on Amazon and we are now into the cover month. So, the rest of the story...

Back in early summer, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction held a contest for readers to update a single sentence of a classic SF novel. Contestants could send in as many as six entries. I sent only two, because...well, let's just say it had nothing to do with confidence. Last week, I received a package from Publisher Gordon VanGelder. When I read the letter, my hand went to my mouth and trembled. F&SF is one of the most prestigious magazines in the field. And to see something I had written within its pages has been my dream for more than thirty years. Thank you Mr. Van Gelder and everyone at F&SF.