The Thief: a book recommendation

By Susan | Published: April 16, 2012

5 out of 5 stars.

I’ve been on a fantasy kick lately (as I’m sure you can tell from my recent recommendations), and amazingly, every book I’ve picked up in the past weeks has been stellar. I had high hopes for Megan Whalen Turner’s The Thief, and I am pleased to say it did not disappoint

The most powerful advisor to the King of Sounis is the magus. He’s not a wizard, he’s a scholar, an aging solider, not a thief. When he needs something stolen, he pulls a young thief from the King’s prison to do the job for him.

Gen is a thief and proud of it. When his bragging lands him behind bars he has one chance to win his freedom– journey to a neighboring kingdom with the magus, find a legendary stone called Hamiathes’s Gift and steal it.

The magus has plans for his King and his country. Gen has plans of his own. Read More »

Posted in Book Recommendations, Books, Reading | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Friday the 13th Pub Lowdown!

By Susan | Published: April 13, 2012

It’s that day again…except NOT. Because today is different from other Fridays. Today is riddled with horror and bad luck. Today might be the worst day for publishing…or maybe the best–if you’re one of those superstitious-opposites people.

No matter the terrors of the day, it’s still time for Sooz’s YA and MG Publishing Industry Lowdow. The general idea is that I share all the deals I know if in the young adult and middle grade publishing world each Friday.

My source for deal news is Publishers Marketplace, which requires a paid subscription. As such I’m only sharing part of the information here–basically, just author names and pitches. If you want to know deal sizes (e.g. advances), editors, publishers, and agents, I highly recommend you sign up for PM–it’s totally worth the cost!

Let’s get started, shall we? (Though you should probably double check the locks on your doors…or scan for black cats.)

Read More »

Posted in Books, publishing, Writing Resources | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Watch this: Hungry For Change

By Susan | Published: April 11, 2012

I’ve mentioned before that I’m all about clean eating, and anyone who knows me well knows I’m a bit wacko about what I put in my body. No processed sugars, whole grains and fresh produce only, well-raised meat, and no preservatives. I switched to this diet almost a year ago, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done for my body. I was tired all the time (especially in the afternoons), and I just wasn’t happy with my mental acuity.

Enter stage left: In the Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. The next thing you know, I was a clean eating aficionado. 

But for the past month I’ve been lax. I’ve indulged in cinnamon rolls that weren’t homemade (and yes, you can make delicious cinnamon rolls and cookies with whole wheat flour!). I’ve eaten cookies and candy and…the next thing I knew, MY OLD SUGAR ADDICTION WAS BACK.

All it takes is a single splurge on processed sugars, and the cravings awaken. Some people would consider my lapse minor. Laughable, even…but those people don’t understand just how addictive sugar really is. I know from personal experience because whenever I try to go back to zero processed sugar, I have a solid two days of insane cravings. I mean, mouthwatering, stomach-twisting, never-ceasing cravings. Read More »

Posted in Cookies, Inspiration, Stuff I Like | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Finnikin of the Rock: a book recommendation

By Susan | Published: April 9, 2012

5 out of 5 stars.

I will admit: it took me 3 tries to read this book. The prologue was just so…dull to me, and even the opening chapter. But I had heard so many great things about this book, that I forced myself on try #3 to just keep reading.

And I am so glad I did.

At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh to save his kingdom. He stands on the rock of the three wonders with his friend Prince Balthazar and Balthazar’s cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood to safeguard Lumatere. 

But all safety is shattered during the five days of the unspeakable, when the king and queen and their children are brutally murdered in the palace. An impostor seizes the throne, a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere’s walls, and those who escape are left to roam the land as exiles, dying by the thousands in fever camps.  Read More »

Posted in Book Recommendations, Books, Reading | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Publishing Industry Lowdown (April 2-6)

By Susan | Published: April 6, 2012

It’s that day again–time for Sooz’s YA and MG Publishing Industry Lowdow. The general idea is that I share all the deals I know if in the young adult and middle grade publishing world each Friday.

My source for deal news is Publishers Marketplace, which requires a paid subscription. As such I’m only sharing part of the information here–basically, just author names and pitches. If you want to know deal sizes (e.g. advances), editors, publishers, and agents, I highly recommend you sign up for PM–it’s totally worth the cost!

Let’s get started, shall we?

Read More »

Posted in Books, publishing, Writing Resources | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Pub(lishing) Crawl: Which Point of View is Right for You?

By Susan | Published: April 3, 2012

Recently, a writer friend of mine wrote a wonderful post about which point of view (POV) she prefers to use in her manuscripts. This got me thinking about what I prefer because lately, I’ve had some epiphanies about POV.

Specifically this: the POV you use in your story actually matters.

It seems like such an obvious statement. I’m certain you’re thinking, Duh, Sooz! Of course POV matters! But now I’m going to ask you a tough question: why?

Now, let’s start by making sure you know the basics about POV. I’ll direct you to a fabulous post by our very own Julie Eshbaugh that lays it all out for you.

Up to speed on POV? Good. Let’s get back to the question of why does POV matter?

The simplest answer is, I think, twofold because ultimately, there are two ways in which POV matters and two ways in which POV is selected.

Let’s start with the obvious.

Who Is Telling Your Story?

Who is narrating this darn book?

In a single POV story, then the answer is simple: the main character is the narrator…

Oh wait! No! Pardon me, there are lots of examples of books in which the narrator ≠ the main character. The Great Gatsby, Sherlock Holmes, Moby-Dick–each of these novels is told by someone other than the main character. Complicated, eh? Read More »

Posted in Writers, Writing Resources | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Troubled Waters: a book recommendation

By Susan | Published: April 2, 2012

5 out of 5 stars.

I picked up Sharon Shinn’s Troubled Waters at the suggestion of Sarah Maas. It had been quite a long time since I sank into an adult fantasy, and I’ll be honest: I had some trouble at first. I’m so used to the go-go-go! of YA, that the slower moving, deeper world-building of an adult book made it hard at first.

But by page 20, I was hooked. And despite the tiny print crammed onto 400 pages, I zoomed through the novel in two days.

Zoe Ardelay receives astonishing and unwelcome news: she has been chosen to become the king’s fifth wife. Forced to go to the royal city, she manages to slip away and hide on the shores of the mighty river.  Read More »

Posted in Book Recommendations, Books, Reading | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Publishing Industry Lowdown (March 26-30)

By Susan | Published: March 30, 2012

It’s that day again–time for Sooz’s YA and MG Publishing Industry Lowdow. The general idea is that I share all the deals I know if in the young adult and middle grade publishing world each Friday.

My source for deal news is Publishers Marketplace, which requires a paid subscription. As such I’m only sharing part of the information here–basically, just author names and pitches. If you want to know deal sizes (e.g. advances), editors, publishers, and agents, I highly recommend you sign up for PM–it’s totally worth the cost!

It’s been a rather quiet week this week (I blame Bologna), but let’s get started, shall we?

Read More »

Posted in Books, publishing, Writing Resources | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

The Problem Child, or That Story You Just Can’t Get Right

By Susan | Published: March 28, 2012

It’s been over a year since I started the novel Screechers. It was something I wrote in a burst of inspiration…

AFTER writing 50,000 words of pure crap and throwing it all away.

(It sucked. It needed to be thrown away. You can read about that little detour into crapdom here.)

Then, after writing close to 60,000 words of absolute WONDER and PERFECTION in the new Screechers, I lost 40,000 of those words. LOST. Not that I didn’t back up my saved files…the program I was using wasn’t even MAKING files.

It’s my own fault.

  1. I didn’t check to see that the program I was using actually was saving when I hit “ctrl+S”.
  2. I wasn’t backing up files (if I were, I’d have realized pretty fast that there was nothing saved). So, after a week of words pouring from my fingertips, I discovered 150 pages were missing.

I cried. Then I rewrote them, but by the time I got to the end of those 40K, I was totally sick of the story.

So I set it aside, 75% written. Read More »

Posted in Inspiration, Writers | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Howl’s Moving Castle: a book recommendation

By Susan | Published: March 26, 2012

5 out of 5 stars.

Everyone knows this book…or they at least know the Miyazaki film version. I adore Miyazaki–Spirited Away is one of my all-time favorite films–but…I have to say that the film version (though wonderful) is not as good as the book. This book is just PURE MAGIC.

 In which a witch bewitched the hatter’s daughter–and then some… 

Sophie lived in the town of Market Chipping, which was in Ingary, a land in which anything could happen, and often did–especially when the Witch of the Waste got her dander up. Which was often. 

As her younger sisters set out to seek their fortunes Sophie stayed in her father’s hat shop. Which proved most unadventurous, until the Witch of the Waste came in to buy a bonnet, but was not pleased. Which is why she turned Sophie into an old lady. Which was spiteful witchery.  Read More »

Posted in Book Recommendations, Books, Reading | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

  • About Sooz

    Hi! I'm Susan Dennard. I'm a reader, writer, animal-lover, and cookie-eater. My debut novel, Something Strange and Deadly, will be available in July 2012!

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