Historical Fiction & Business Author, World Traveler & Speaker
Historical Fiction & Business Author, World Traveler & Speaker
The Ambassador’s Wife by Jennifer Steil My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was gripped by this book, and the moral and ethical dilemmas it raises in an engrossing, fictional way. The protagonist is such a real, flawed but loveable…
Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Sadeqa Johnson wrote the book after touring a former slave jail and trading post. On one of the walls she saw a photo of the jailer, his black wife…
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have a lousy memory, so not many books stick with me for years, other than a general “I liked it” feeling. But this one has. It…
The Boat People by Sharon Bala My rating: 5 of 5 stars A powerful look at the difficult decisions faced by people in war zones and by refugee boards. Nothing is simple. Is it better to risk admitting someone who…
Tema's review of Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. Worth reading if you want to write fiction.
I wrote my first “book” when I was in Grade 2. It was a collection of my stories and poems, and some by my favourite poet at the time, Ogden Nash. (I had to get special permission to borrow his…
DH has done it again: found a charming little hotel in a stellar location, this time in the Paul Valley of the island of Santo Antão, Cape Verde. When we arrived at the ferry dock in Porto Novo we were…
The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer My rating: 4 of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a blend of fiction and nonfiction (troublingly so for many reviewers) based on the life of Varian Fry. Fry worked tirelessly…
Sometimes there is an inverse relationship between the size of the airport and the intensity of airport security. I guess they feel the need to justify their existence. Or they are just looking for ways to make their lives more…
American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road by Nick Bilton My rating: 5 of 5 stars A great example of how to do narrative nonfiction well. Luckily for the author, there were written records…