As mentioned in my review of the book, I found between the covers of Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper’s Populatti a story that created a safe environment for a conversation on social media’s role in our relationships. The story delves into the increasingly complex maze of interactions that defines high school in the age of social media.… Read More Author Spotlight: Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper
Under the pen name Claire Sandy, Bernie Strachan wrote a wonderful book I recently had the pleasure of reviewing. What Would Mary Berry Do? is a delightful tale about a happy family trying to live life in a better way, namely by the female head of the household reaching out to her new found touchstone,… Read More Author Spotlight: Bernie Strachan
I am lucky to count author Sieni not only as a friend, but also as one of those with whom I have had many a fantastic chat on the role writing fiction can have on personal and community development, which resulted in many an undone chore. What can I say – sacrifices must be made.… Read More Author Spotlight: Sieni A.M.
Community-building is a passion of mine–which makes sense, seeing as how it is one of two major concepts addressed in so many of the various features on this blog! As a writer, I have been puzzled for quite some time at the perceived dichotomy between the very personal business of writing and leading a social… Read More Author Spotlight: Lee Murray’s Return
I discovered author Melissa Cistaro’s Pieces of Me through NetGalley late last year. Although I posted a review in January, the story remained for quite some time on my mind. I was struck by this story of a growth daughter dealing with the imminent passing of her mother, with whom she has had quite a… Read More Author Spotlight: Melissa Cistaro
While the kind of drama found in reality shows can be appealing, it leaves me dissatisfied, much like junk food does. And so when books like author Kristyn Kusek Lewis’ Save Me come across my desk, I take the time to savour every page. In this case, I particularly liked the study in the subtlety… Read More Author Spotlight: Kristyn Kusek Lewis
In Katarina Bivald’s book, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend–which I reviewed last month–a small town is suffering the consequence of a mass exodus of its population. In the questions and attitudes of its remaining residents one can find the way such a exodus affects them; faced with their pain I found myself wondering how… Read More Author Spotlight: Katarina Bivald
Menna van Praag’s The Dress Shop of Dreams was a great book for me to read and review. I mentioned how I felt that, in a society driven mainly by scientific fact and logical reasoning, it’s nice to believe that perhaps magic does still exist. I was touched by the story this author had weaved,… Read More Author Spotlight: Menna van Praag
The main character in Elizabeth Bass’ book, Life is Sweet, is a former teenage star of a hit ‘90s sitcom that decided she had enough of being in the limelight and most to Leeburg, Virginia, a seemingly perfect place to start over and, this time, to lead some sort of a normal life (read more… Read More Author Spotlight: Elizabeth Bass
If I were to list my favourite books of 2014, Jennifer Niven’s All The Bright Places would definitely make it. Actually, it would probably be on my top ten books of 2014 (although it’s set to be published in January 2015). It took a lot of self-control not to post the original seven page review… Read More Author Spotlight: Jennifer Niven