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Book Review: Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing by Allison Winn Scotch

Posted By LaurelLit 1014 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - I remember noticing Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing in Target’s book section, back when it first came out in 2020. Even though I love politics and I love books by Allison Winn Scotch, I deliberately didn’t pick it up, since I was in the middle of trying to publish Favorite Daughters. I’ll admit it: I panickedContinue Reading
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Book Review: Six Weeks to Live by Catherine McKenzie

Posted By LaurelLit 1031 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Catherine McKenzie has written another riveting novel, which is a mixture of domestic drama and psychological suspense. The protagonist is Jennifer, a 48-year-old grandmother (she had her daughters young) who, in the first chapter, discovers she has terminal brain cancer. Everything about Jennifer’s life has been unexpected, and now her death will be the same. JenniferContinue Reading
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How to Write a Short Story for Beginners: The Sensory Story

Posted By LaurelLit 1036 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - Sensory Story Writing This post describes how to write a short story for beginners, or if you’re a teacher, activities for teaching short stories. There is a sensory story example, and there are also sensory story writing prompts at the end. You can use the exercises and examples below either for your own writing orContinue Reading
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Book Review: The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

Posted By LaurelLit 1038 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - “Ah Reader. Must I know and provide an answer for everything?” On December 3, 1926 Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days. This was after her husband, Archibald Christie, told Agatha that he was leaving her for a younger woman. Then she took off, leaving Archie and their young daughter, Teddy, without an explanation. AgathaContinue Reading
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Book Review: Campaign Widows by Aimee Agresti

Posted By LaurelLit 1044 days ago on Writing

https://laurellit.com - It’s been a while since I read Aimee Agresti’s Campaign Widows, but with my August 25th release of Favorite Daughters rapidly approaching, I’ve decided to focus most of my reviews on political fiction. Campaign Widows is an excellent way to start! The novel’s protagonist is Cady, who is in a fairly new relationship with Jackson.Continue Reading
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Was Jane Eyre a Feminist?

Posted By LaurelLit 1046 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
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Path to Publication: Favorite Daughters Advanced Review Copies Arrived!

Posted By LaurelLit 1054 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
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Book Review: Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak

Posted By LaurelLit 1056 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
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Path to Publication: Favorite Daughters Update

Posted By LaurelLit 1060 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!
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Women Writer Quotes: Joyce Carol Oates

Posted By LaurelLit 1064 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
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Book Review – Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen

Posted By LaurelLit 1066 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
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How to Teach Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale: Summary & Study Questions

Posted By LaurelLit 1067 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
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The Brontë Sisters: Anne Brontë and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Posted By LaurelLit 1071 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
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A Modern Othello: Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy

Posted By LaurelLit 1073 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
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Writer’s Digest PAD Challenge: 4/4

Posted By LaurelLit 1074 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
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Storytelling and Poetic Devices in Taylor Swift’s “Betty”

Posted By LaurelLit 1079 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
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Storytelling Through Poetry and Song (Taylor Swift’s Ronan)

Posted By LaurelLit 1081 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
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Updating Shakespeare: Can a Woman be a Tragic Hero?

Posted By LaurelLit 1084 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
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Book Review: Trust Me by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Posted By LaurelLit 1085 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
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Book Review: Necessary People by Anna Pioniak

Posted By LaurelLit 1088 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
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