Interview with Christina Hamlett

The author of Media Magnetism provides us with an excerpt, talks about her new book and how it came together, about ‘buzz’ and how to get it, the pitfalls of social media, the value of a PR person, her two dozen experts, her new projects and lots more.

A review of Talk Up Your Book: How to Sell Your Book through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More by Patricia Fry

As a writer, we know the importance of self-marketing and it can be overwhelming. By utilizing Talk Up Your Book: How to Sell Your Book through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More we can take on this subject with the professional guidance of many authors who have been there, done that, and made it easy for the rest of us.

Ignorance is the Enemy: Night Catches Us, Tanya Hamilton’s film of politics and memory, starring Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington

Sometimes we want instant change, and are willing to settle for its appearance rather than work for a new authority, a new purpose, and a new structure that would make it real. There has been a betrayal of legacy in African-American culture and politics that is rarely discussed, but aspects of it can be seen in writer and director Tanya Hamilton’s film Night Catches Us, starring Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington.

A review of Adventures Of A Waterboy by Mike Scott

The ups and downs of Scott’s career have been honestly explored in this book, and the first person narrative is cozy and accessible. For Waterboys fans, Adventures of a Waterboy is a bracing, utterly enjoyable read that will illuminate the many turns and twists of Mike Scott’s life and music. But you don’t need to be a Waterboys fan to enjoy this book.

The Crime of Julian Wells by Thomas H. Cook

There is a (slight) postmodern knowingness to it all (Anders, the narrator, is a literary critic after all, and alludes to other writers within his own anxious tale) but Cook delivers a good story, no worries. At one point Anders is compared to Nick Charles, one of Hammett’s PIs, but he was probably named more with Marlowe in mind (and, yes, Heart of Darkness is one of the works that Anders alludes to).