Suspend Your Disbelief

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First Looks, July 2012: Requiem, A Cupboard Full of Coats, and Summer Lies

by Erika Dreifus

Hello again, FWR friends. Welcome to the latest installment of our “First Looks” series, which highlights soon-to-be released books that have piqued my interest as a reader-who-writes. We publish “First Looks” here on the FWR blog around the 15th of each month, and as always, I’d love to hear your comments and your recommendations of forthcoming titles. Please drop me a line anytime: erika(at)fictionwritersreview(dot)com, and thanks in advance. Requiem, by Frances Itani: We try to spotlight emerging authors here at FWR, and I thought I was living up to that mission when I began looking into Requiem, by the Canadian […]


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Book of the Week: Albert of Adelaide, by Howard L. Anderson

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Our new feature is Howard L. Anderson’s debut novel, Albert of Adelaide (Twelve). As described on his author page on the publisher’s website, “Howard L. Anderson has had a varied life: He flew with a helicopter battalion in Vietnam, worked on fishing boats in Alaska, in the steel mills of Pittsburgh, as a truck driver in Houston, and a scriptwriter in Hollywood, and, after gaining a law degree, became legal counsel for the New Mexico Organized Crime Commission. He is currently a defense attorney in New Mexico, where he defends Mexican nationals charged with crimes north of the border.” His […]


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Book-of-the-Week Winners: Monkeybicycle

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Last week we featured Monkeybicycle as our Journal of the Week, and we’re pleased to announce the winners: Lynne Perednia (@Perednia ) Lynne Barrett (@LynneBarrett ) Kelly Luce (@lucekel) Congrats! To claim your free subscription, please email us at the following address: winners [at] fictionwritersreview.com If you’d like to be eligible for future giveaways, please visit our Twitter Page and “follow” us! Thanks to all of you who are fans. We appreciate your support. Let us know your favorite new books out there!


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On Writing Blind

by Celeste Ng

I just finished teaching for the term, and this past class was a bit unusual: I had two legally blind students. All of my students were phenomenal, but I was particularly floored by the dedication of those two—one of whom did the class reading by listening to his computer read the stories aloud. This all got me thinking about the many things I take for granted, including the ability to stare at a blank page waiting for inspiration to strike. Voice recognition software has come a long way, but it’s still not the smoothest tool for writers, as novelist Justine […]


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Maybe just one more cup…

I know few writers who need another reason for another cup of coffee. But if you need more convincing, how about your health? The reasoning isn’t yet understood, but it’s possible that coffee has health benefits beyond the mental satisfaction of finishing that chapter. This week, the New York Times Wellness blog cited researchers at the National Cancer Institute who have found a correlation between increased coffee intake and decreased risk of colon cancer.  LiveScience also wrote this week about the possibility that drinking coffee could “reduce the risk of basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer.” […]


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Richard Ford on the Colbert Report

by Celeste Ng

Why don’t we have more writers on talk shows? (Except when they’re begging Oprah’s forgiveness?) Stephen Colbert tackles this issue, and many others, with writer Richard Ford. Watch below to learn why fiction isn’t the same thing as lying, why Ford’s latest novel is called Canada,, and why he keeps his manuscripts in the freezer (hint: it keeps the ideas fresher). The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Richard Ford www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive Further Reading: Also rocking the Colbert Report: Ann Patchett Oh, AND Maurice Sendak. You know, given […]


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Book-of-the-Week Winners: Signs and Wonders

by Jeremiah Chamberlin

Last week we featured Alix Ohlin’s new story collection Signs and Wonders, and we’re pleased to announce the winners: Monica Mansfield (@MonicaMansfield ) Diane Dunning (@diane_dunning) Katherine Howe (@katherinebhowe) Congrats! To claim your free copy, please email us at the following address: winners [at] fictionwritersreview.com If you’d like to be eligible for future giveaways, please visit our Twitter Page and “follow” us! Thanks to all of you who are fans. We appreciate your support. Let us know your favorite new books out there!




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