Exploring the imagination of a character is a wonderful way to allow the reader insight into the way a character thinks and behaves. How characters behave with others—their actions and their words—can move a story forward and, of course, are…
Distilling a city to its essence is a fool’s errand, but Dublin in December tests the fool. It’s all magnified: wind-blown rain; the serious, northern-latitude darkness that drives pub traffic and tea sales; a high holiday looming that’s both hearty-Catholic…
Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out this week. Happy pub day to all! Nick Arvin, Mad Boy Europa Editions From Kirkus Reviews: “Across the battlefields of the War of 1812, a young boy races to…
A novel that follows a trio of childhood friends from Dublin to northern California, Dan Sheehan’s debut novel, Restless Souls, nicely investigates male friendship as well as the impact of trauma. Strong first-person voices provide a narrative that flows easily, with…
Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out this week. Happy pub day to all! Adrienne Celt, Invitation to a Bonfire Bloomsbury Publishing From Kirkus Reviews: “Trembling with atmosphere, Celt’s (The Daughters, 2015) second novel follows…
Every day this month on Twitter, in celebration of Short Story Month, we’ve recommended a great short story to read. (Almost) all the stories we’ve selected are available online. Enjoy! It’s Short Story Month! 🎉🎉 Every day this month, we’ll…
For Short Story Month, we asked: What, exactly, is a short story? How is different from the novel? How can a definition help you to construct a piece, help you to decide whether your fiction is short or long? We’ve…
William Trevor’s final story collection, appropriately entitled Last Stories, is published today by Viking. A number of these stories appeared originally in The New Yorker, and it’s nice to see them collected here, along with other, new stories. It’s a…
What is an intention? We know it, mostly, as an aim or a plan. When you begin to write a short story or a novel, you have a general sense of something that’s guiding you forward. It might be a…
“Meet Behind Mars” is the title story in Renee Simms’ debut short story collection, published by Wayne State University Press this month. The story, which you can read here in a slightly altered version, is in the form of a…
