RIASS stuff:
Review: Big Sky River by Linda Lael Miller'Rating: 
Cowboys, chicken farms and a hero called Boone. You know you want to read this.
Review: Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand'Rating: 'Lots of drama in this one, and you may need tissues.
Review: Preincarnate by Shaun Micallef'Rating: 'Deliciously silly.
Im looking to add some local Aussie bookshop banners in my sidebar. Currently the costs of this site are offset by my affiliate program accounts (which are mostly based overseas), but I feel bad about seeming to be only supporting international companies. If you have a local youd like me to support, let me know, and Ill pop up a banner (no charge, of course!) linking to their site.
Other bookish stuff:
This book sounds kind of awesome: a simple story told in 99 different ways using 99 different writing styles.
A conversation between two non-fiction editors at Doubleday books'If an author feels that they've gotten lost and written themselves into a corner, I can often tell them, 'go back and read your proposal, because you knew how to do this when we acquired your book.' And it helps me too, I can go back to the proposal and remember why I was in love with this book what my vision for the book was and help guide them back onto that road.
Childrens books and segregation in the workplace
James Calbraith on what hes learned from self-publishing'The mysterious, almost god-like in their omnipotence, algorithms of Amazon were able to raise my novels to dizzying heights and then cast them back into the shadow of oblivion virtually overnight, and nothing I tried (or didn't try) to do had the slightest impact on what was going on.
Editor Caroline Hogg on big ideas and commercial fiction'It's no good simply joining in by publishing into a successful genre or trend unless you have a book that can stand up on its own. I want a story that almost makes me forget I'm reading a book, because it's so completely pulled me into its world. There should be laughs, gasps, tears or the shivers ' preferably a mixture of all of those!
Michael Dirda on ending his column'I do live by my pen, or keyboard, and while there's considerable prestige attached to writing for the SCHOLAR, it doesn't reward its contributors as handsomely as, say,'The New Yorker'or'Esquire'not that I've ever written for either of those magazinesI have developed some low-grade champagne tastes, especially in my book collecting, which all by itself requires a healthy bank balance
Graeme Simsion on converting his script to novel form'It was a question of how do you get a script noticed and one of the ideas that gets kicked around in screenwriting circles is get it published as a novel first.
The Rainbow book list (GLBTQ books for teens) has been announced
How to deal with crushing feedback on your creative work'Before you explain, defend or offer to fix your work, its essential that you understand'exactly what the other person doesnt like about it. This is not easy, given that they may not express their initial reaction very clearly or constructively.
Mathematicians aim to take publishers out of publishing
