Just A Little Red

Confessions Of A Bookaholic: Guilty Pleasure Edition #2 – Fear Street Books 4-8

Posted on April 6, 2014 by DMW

I had to make the decision on which series to put out there first and Fear Street won by a hair. Mostly because I decided to do each series back-to-back like I do with my noteworthy fiction and nonfiction posts. The next five Fear Street books show R.L. Stine learning more about the world he has created and features the first 5 out of 5 book of the series (a favorite!). While he has an experiment, a miss and a phenomenal hit, the other two are solid pillars of suspense and horror that become what the series is known for. I hope you enjoy and like the back of each book says, “WELCOME TO FEAR STREET.”

“Missing”

Fear Street Scale: 4 out of 5 Fears
Pick Of The Bunch Rating: Fourth Place

What would you do if your parents didn’t come home? At first, Mark and Cara aren’t worried; they even throw a party like any self-respecting teenagers would do. But when the police show no interest in finding their parents after more time has gone by and their strange cousin who lives in their attic seems to be spying on them, they become desperate to find them. When murder strikes, Mark and Cara are surrounded by nothing but questions and the answers lie deep in the Fear Street Woods. The only thing they know is that someone wants them to disappear just like their parents…

Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Guilty Pleasures, Reviews | Tagged "book reviews", "reading list", fear street, guilty pleasure, reading | 2 Comments

Social Media Support Saves Nebraska Student From A School Association’s Discrimination

Posted on April 3, 2014 by DMW

I had another blog written for today (I’m a planner if you haven’t gathered yet) until a friend, Amy, made me aware of something happening right now in my home state (something I try not to claim for reasons just like this). High school student, Michael Barth, performed a poem about gender stereotypes and won Class C1 poetry division at the NSAA (Nebraska School Activities Association) state championship, last week. Winners go on to televise their performances, but the Executive Director of the NSAA, Rhonda Blanford-Green told Barth that he needed to change his poem, afraid that it was inappropriate.

Michael Barth

This made me angry until Amy told me something else. She had contacted the Blanford-Green, who had made the decision, sure that there must be some other factors involved. Surely, this could not be such a blatant act of ignorance from someone high up on the educational food chain. Blanford-Green said that she “does not want NSAA to do anything that could be seen as promoting a homosexual agenda.” Amy was livid, while I was still digesting, but not far behind her.

Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged “free speech”, “homosexual agenda”, “Michael Barth”, “Nebraska School Activities Association”, “power of people”, “Rhonda Blanford-Green”, “speech and forensics”, ACLU, censorship, Effeminate, equality, gender stereotypes, GLSEN, heterosexism, homophobia, lgbt, Nebraska, NSAA | Leave a comment

I’m Not Schizophrenic – I’m A Writer (Yes, There Is A Difference)

Posted on April 1, 2014 by DMW

Do you ever hear voices in your head besides your own? Pace anxiously, trying to clear your head? Fantasize and daydream about several different scenarios, some fantastic and others terrible? Talk to yourself, as if you were interviewing someone, which sometimes leads to an argument? Have trouble sleeping? Have multiple characters living in your small (and unbelievably cramped – thanks to them) headspace? Congratulations you are a writer (or crazy, but since I am not a mental health professional, this blog isn’t about that).

I always hate the idea of trying to explain the way I work to nonwriters because I know I will be labeled eccentric at best or at worst, a ‘concerned friend’ may look into having me committed. I talk about my writing zone as if it were its own living entity and find it difficult to write when others are present (and now I am wondering if this is simply because I would not care for the strange looks I am sure I would receive). I can’t let all of my walls down unless I am alone and to do what is necessary, I need to be wall-less.

Continue reading →

Posted in Writers, Writing | Tagged "character development", "not crazy", "writing process", character, composing, composition, fiction, life, nonficition, poetry, verse | Leave a comment

Confessions Of A Bookaholic: Noteworthy Nonfiction For April 2014

Posted on March 31, 2014 by DMW

I feel a tad guilty. I have made it a goal to try to make sure to incorporate newer titles with titles that are well, less new. While I accomplished this with this month’s fiction entry, the books on this month’s nonfiction list are from 1997-2008. They are not the most recent titles mind you, but they are either ‘new to me’ or worth talking about after all this time (which might actually be more impressive than hot titles that are current, because these books have staying power).

I hope you enjoy, I know that I did!

“Queen Of The Road”
By Doreen Orion (June 3, 2008)

top_pick.fw

What happens when you take two polar opposites who have been happily married for many years and throw in a midlife crisis? Not an affair or a shiny new car (much to the author’s dismay) but instead a year-long adventure, full of many misadventures (fire, armed robbery, a nudist resort just to name a few) packed into this hilarious memoir “Queen Of The Road” by Doreen Orion.

Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Books, Reviews | Tagged "book review", "reading list", book, bookaholic, grammar, memoir, non-fiction, Nonfiction, publishing, reading, review | Leave a comment

Confessions Of A Bookaholic: Noteworthy Fiction For April 2014

Posted on March 30, 2014 by DMW

It was a great reading month where I discovered new authors, a few debut novels and revisited an old friend. This month’s list includes a thriller that will leave you checking the locks, a paranormal novel that is the first in a seven-book series, a creative interpretation of actual historic events and a novel about first love and self-discovery. Enjoy! 🙂

“Ashes to Ashes”
by Tami Hoag (March 2, 1999)

top_pick.fw

Every now and then I stumble across a novel or author completely by chance. Tami Hoag was such an author and I am so glad that I did! When perusing my local library I found a novel called “The 9^th Girl” by Hoag and I felt an incredibly pull to the book. I had to read it – yesterday! Then I found out that it was book 4 in a set and I felt somewhat deflated, realizing this novel would have to wait. “Ashes to Ashes” is the first book in this set and the first book I have ever read by Tami Hoag, one that I had to break down and purchase because my library system only had books 2-4. Thank goodness I did, because had I simply borrowed this book from the library I would have immediately purchased it as soon as I finished reading it.

Continue reading →