This page includes all the standalone novels and nonfiction books I read in 2020. Although I concentrated on series, I also read a fair number of standalone novels. Some of these standalones may become series starters, but the authors haven’t published (or even announced) the next book yet. As before, most links in this list …
My Year in Reading, Part 3: Standalones and Nonfiction Read More »
In 2020, I read more fantasy novels than any other genre. Most bestselling fantasy titles are part of a series, from Dune to Lord of the Rings to A Song of Ice and Fire. Young adult fantasy follows this pattern. In fact, some of the books on the standalone list are probably starters for series …
When we tell our stories about 2020, we might focus on the big moments: the silent streets, protesting, voting, waiting. The little, repeated moments might stand out the most: staring out the window; a bay of faces not quite making eye contact on Zoom; our gut churn when reading the news; lying in bed, staring …
I’m pleased to announce that The Rose Kiss, the first book in my fairy tale adaptation series, is now available for preorder! It’s a tale of romance and magic that is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Emily Deady, and the Twisted Tales series. You can buy it here. Trapped by a curse. Running from fate. …
I’ve started publishing the first chapters of Marcie, a novella about Marcie Ross, the invisible girl from the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Marcie was last seen joining a government program for invisible teenagers, learning assassination and infiltration. And then, nothing. Marcie never returns in Buffy, Angel, the comic books, novels, or any other …
When drafting a cover for my latest freebie short story, I created many, many, many variations of the cover. Most looked pretty awful, but some of them had a certain psychedelic charm that reminded me of 1960s psychedelic poster art. All of these images use (we could say misuse, even abuse) the lovely painting “Cupid and …
Your heroine’s never been a cat person. She’s never had a pet, and views all animals with mixed alarm and confusion. But when a starving, boney cat shows up on her doorstep, she takes him to the vet right away. She’s not a total monster–and when she sees how cute the vet is, she wonders …
Your heroine just won a poetry competition. Her poem’s going to be published in an anthology put out by a big publishing house. Now she has two weeks to prepare for the party, where she hopes to meet an agent, publisher, publicist, or someone who can help her publish a book of poems she’s been …
Your heroine’s stranded at O’Hare for the next six hours. She heads to the airport coffee shop (or bar, depending on your heroine) and strikes up a fascinating conversation with our hero. T She’s so into him, she almost misses her flight–and misses his number, last name, or any contact information to speak of. She …
A book is both a usually portable physical object and the body of immaterial representations or intellectual object whose material signs—written or drawn lines or other two-dimensional media—the physical object contains or houses
