New → Pro Writing

Was Jane Eyre a Feminist?

Posted By LaurelLit 723 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - There are several lines that could be considered Jane Eyre feminist quotes. I love the novel and I love Jane as a protagonist. But was Jane Eyre a feminist? Consider the following quotes: “Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a fieldContinue Reading
The post Was Jane Eyre a Feminist? appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Path to Publication: Favorite Daughters Advanced Review Copies Arrived!

Posted By LaurelLit 731 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Last night, Rich and I were on our way for a date night when we saw that two big boxes and one small one had been left outside our door. “Were you expecting something?” Rich asked. I shrugged. “I have no idea. I guess one of us was.” One quick glance at the packaging, andContinue Reading
The post Path to Publication: Favorite Daughters Advanced Review Copies Arrived! appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Book Review: Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak

Posted By LaurelLit 733 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - I’ve read reviews that call Anna Pitoniak’s Our American Friend fanfiction for Melania Trump. I disagree. This novel does not fawn over the woman who, when visiting children separated from their parents and put into cages at the southern border, wore a jacket that said I really don’t care, do u? And who, when givenContinue Reading
The post Book Review: Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Path to Publication: Favorite Daughters Update

Posted By LaurelLit 737 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Favorite Daughters is now available for pre-order on Amazon! Click here to find out more. And I just found out today that it’s a finalist in the Women’s Fiction category for the 2022 Maxy Awards. I’m very honored & excited. Please stay tuned as come back with more news about the pre-publication of Favorite Daughters. Release day is August 25th!
The post Path to Publication: Favorite Daughters Update appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Women Writer Quotes: Joyce Carol Oates

Posted By LaurelLit 741 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Joyce Carol Oates wrote “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been” back in 1966. Apparently the story was inspired by a Life Magazine article serial killer Charles Schmid, known as the Pied Piper of Tucson. Oates depicts a young girl who is both simultaneously terrorized and seduced by a magnetic man who is possibly theContinue Reading
The post Women Writer Quotes: Joyce Carol Oates appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Book Review – Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen

Posted By LaurelLit 743 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Park Avenue Summer, by Renée Rosen, is about Helen Gurley Brown, who became the first female editor of Cosmopolitan magazine in 1965. The book is a novel, but Helen Gurley Brown was real, and she had an amazing, impactful life. Some Helen Gurley Brown quotes: “Cosmo is feminist in that we believe women are just as smartContinue Reading
The post Book Review – Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

How to Teach Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale: Summary & Study Questions

Posted By LaurelLit 744 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Why study The Winter’s Tale? This play offers a lot for discussion. I wouldn’t read the entire play with your students, but rather, discuss the story, the themes, and certain notable lines instead.  Plot summary: Leontes, king of Sicilia, wants his childhood buddy, Polixenes, to stick around for a while, rather than return to NewContinue Reading
The post How to Teach Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale: Summary & Study Questions appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

The Brontë Sisters: Anne Brontë and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Posted By LaurelLit 748 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - “…how cruelly he has trampled on my love, betrayed my trust, scorned my prayers and tears, and efforts for his preservation, crushed my hopes, destroyed my youth’s best feelings, and doomed me to a life of hopeless misery, as far as man can do it, it is not enough to say that I no longerContinue Reading
The post The Brontë Sisters: Anne Brontë and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

A Modern Othello: Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy

Posted By LaurelLit 750 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Reading New Boy, a modern Othello, was disturbing yet enthralling. I felt like I was in a speeding vehicle as it barreled down the road. I wanted to hit the brakes but knew the inevitable crash was coming. Yet, I couldn’t stop reading, even as I knew the ending would be tragic. It left meContinue Reading
The post A Modern Othello: Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Writer’s Digest PAD Challenge: 4/4

Posted By LaurelLit 751 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - April is National Poetry Month. Writer’s Digest is hosting a poem-a-day challenge. You can go to their website each day, get a new prompt, see an example, and post and share your work with other poets. It’s really cool. Follow the link below. Writer’s Digest PAD Challenge Today’s prompt: Write a catch up poem. ThisContinue Reading
The post Writer’s Digest PAD Challenge: 4/4 appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Storytelling and Poetic Devices in Taylor Swift’s “Betty”

Posted By LaurelLit 756 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Yesterday’s post was about storytelling and poetic devices in Taylor Swift’s “Ronan.” Last night I showed to my eleven-year-old daughter, thinking I could then use the lesson for my middle school students and the enrichment class I’m currently teaching.  Pauline liked the lesson, but she remarked that other Swift songs told more complete stories. SheContinue Reading
The post Storytelling and Poetic Devices in Taylor Swift’s “Betty” appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Storytelling Through Poetry and Song (Taylor Swift’s Ronan)

Posted By LaurelLit 757 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Perhaps Taylor Swift isn’t for everyone, but personally, I am in awe of her poetic ability to write song lyrics that also tell a story. The details she uses are so vivid and specific. I don’t write a lot of poetry, but I have been writing flash fiction recently, and many of her songs areContinue Reading
The post Storytelling Through Poetry and Song (Taylor Swift’s Ronan) appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Updating Shakespeare: Can a Woman be a Tragic Hero?

Posted By LaurelLit 761 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - One thing any Shakespeare fan will tell you is that his plays have a timeless universality. Take Othello. Issues of racism are still extremely relevant. However, if I wrote a revisionist piece based off of the play, I would explore the extreme sexism and the misogynistic views that nearly everyone in the play holds, withContinue Reading
The post Updating Shakespeare: Can a Woman be a Tragic Hero? appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Book Review: Trust Me by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Posted By LaurelLit 762 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - About a year ago, I took part in a virtual seminar in thriller writing that was led by Hank Phillippi Ryan. Even though  I was experiencing  side-effects from my second Covid shot, I got a huge amount out of the workshop and was very impressed with Phillippi Ryan’s expertise and ability. I immediately looked up herContinue Reading
The post Book Review: Trust Me by Hank Phillippi Ryan appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Book Review: Necessary People by Anna Pioniak

Posted By LaurelLit 765 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Necessary People, by Anna Pitoniak, is, among other things, about the dynamics of female friendship. But it’s the toxic type of female friendship, the type you definitely want to stay away from. Violet is not wealthy but she’s ambitious, and when she meets Stella, who seems to have it all, she is drawn into aContinue Reading
The post Book Review: Necessary People by Anna Pioniak appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Book Review – The Partner Track by Helen Wan

Posted By LaurelLit 768 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - The Partner Track, by Helen Wan, was released back in 2013. Unfortunately, it reads like it was written today; I doubt Asian-Americans have experienced much improvement when it comes to workplace discrimination. The good news is, a Netflix series based on the novel is currently in production. I am eagerly waiting for the premiere. TheContinue Reading
The post Book Review – The Partner Track by Helen Wan appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by

Posted By LaurelLit 769 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Today is day two of my own personal challenge to write 10 book reviews in 10 days. There are so many books I loved that I never blogged about, and over the next week and a half, I’m going to begin to remedy that. Today’s book is The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. This is another bookContinue Reading
The post Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Book Review: The Husbands by Chandler Baker

Posted By LaurelLit 769 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - The Husbands, is Chandler Baker‘s second novel, coming after her best-selling The Whisper Network. Both novels explore female friendships and power dynamics. (Especially when it comes to women in positions of power.) But while The Whisper Network explores the corporate world, The Husbands is set in a gated community, where men are turned in Stepford husbands. Poor Nora SpanglerContinue Reading
The post Book Review: The Husbands by Chandler Baker appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Book Review: The Blackbird Season by Kate Moretti

Posted By LaurelLit 771 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Kate Moretti’s novel, The Blackbird Season, is entirely original and full of symbolism mixed with suspense. It takes place in an industrial Pennsylvania town that pretty much revolves around high school sports. On the opening day of the baseball season, suddenly and mysteriously, hundreds of starlings drop from the sky. The press and scientists flock toContinue Reading
The post Book Review: The Blackbird Season by Kate Moretti appeared first on LaurelLit.com.

Favorite Daughters: Cover Reveal and Giveaway!

Posted By LaurelLit 775 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - And here it is! I am quite pleased with the cover, and feel that Black Rose Writing did an excellent job. Favorite Daughters will be released 8/25/22. But you can enter to win your free, autographed copy today! It’s easy to enter. If you haven’t already signed up for my mailing list, sign up today andContinue Reading
The post Favorite Daughters: Cover Reveal and Giveaway! appeared first on LaurelLit.com.