August 2004 Issue
The Internet Writing JournalISSN No. 1095-3973
Volume 8, Issue 4.
In This Issue:
A Conversation With Steve AltenSharks have been good to New York Times bestselling author Steve Alten. His first novel, Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror (Random House), has to date sold over one million copies worldwide and has been optioned by a major film studio. His latest book is Meg: Primal Terror (Forge), a heart-pounding thriller which picks up eighteen years after Meg left off. Steve discusses his work, his writing philosophy and the influential charity he founded to help encourage children's literacy. He also talks about his decision to bring back Jonas Taylor -- a hero who is now on the far side of middle age.
A Conversation With Elfrieda Abbe
Elfrieda Abbe is the award-winning editor of the oldest magazine for writers in America: The Writer. She is also the editor of The Writer's Market (Kalmbach), the highly-regarded annual writer's guide. In this interview, Elfrieda spoke with us about how she got her start in journalism and what challenges she faced in taking over the reins from Sylvia Burack. She also shares her pet peeves as an editor and gives some great tips for freelancers.
A Conversation With Adam Connell
Adam Connell spent years on Wall Street in the financial services sector, while working on his fiction writing at night. When a mega-merger caused him and 200 of his co-workers to be laid off, he knew it was time to change careers. A job interview in the publishing world let to the publication of Counterfeit Kings (Phobos Books), which is garnering rave reviews from critics and fans alike. An edgy, gritty work of speculative fiction, Counterfeit Kings has a fast-moving plot and vivid characterizations. Adam spoke with us about his road to publication, his new novel and the literary masterpiece that inspired him to be a writer.
Mothers Who Write: Tessa Hadley
In her continuing series, "Mothers Who Write," Cheryl Dellasega, Ph.D. talks with British novelist Tessa Hadley, author of Accidents in the Home (Picador/Henry Holt) and Everything Will Be All Right (Henry Holt). The Guardian calls this author's work, "Fantastically subtle, absorbing and insightful. This is prose to die for." Her novels explore the intricacies of family relationships in the modern world. Tessa discusses how she got her big break and how she juggles her writing career with the demands of being a professor and a mother.
Creative Writing Myths
Always open with dialogue. 60% of a short story should be dialogue. Open with a bang. All of these statements are classic advice for the short story writer. But are they good advice? Do the best writers even follow these rules? And who makes up these rules, anyway? In his latest article, "Creative Writing Myths," British novelist Alex Keegan explores the truth behind some classic writing advice -- and finds some surprising answers.
Doorways to Intellectual Property In Authors' Minds
Books are doorways to authors' minds. But which book and which mind? Choosing a book can be seen as deciding on the doorway to the particular author's mind you choose to enter. Bestselling Australian children's author Hazel Edwards explains in her fascinating new article "Doorways to Intellectual Property In Authors' Minds."
Book Reviews
Children's Books
Pendragon: Black Water (Book 5) by D.J. MacHale (Aladdin)
Beyond the Deep Woods (The Edge Chronicles: Book 1) by Paul Stewart, Illustrated by Chris Riddell (David Fickling Books)
Stormchaser (The Edge Chronicles: Book 2) by Paul Stewart, Illustrated by Chris Riddell (David Fickling Books)
Computer Books
Google: The Missing Manual by Sarah Milstein and Rael Dornfest (O'Reilly)
Web Database Applications with PHP and MySQL by Hugh E. Williams and David Lane (O'Reilly)
Fantasy/SF
Ancestors of Avalon by Diana L. Paxon (Viking)
Counterfeit Kings by Adam Connell (Phobos)
The Mistress of the Pearl by Eric Van Lustbader (Tor)
Mystery/Thriller
The Feng Shui Detective by Nury Vittachi (Thomas Dunne Books)
The Haunted Abbot by Peter Tremayne (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Meg: Primal Waters by Steve Alten (Forge)
Murder is Academic by Christine Poulson (Thomas Dunne Books)
The Narrows by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
The Perfumed Sleeve by Laura Joh Rowland (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Sandstorm by James Rollins (William Morrow)
Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde (Viking)
Nonfiction
Birth of the Chess Queen by Marilyn Yalom (HarperCollins)
Essentially Lilly: A Guide to Colorful Entertaining by Lilly Pulitzer (HarperCollins)
Italy in Small Bites by Carol Field (William Morrow)
Nemesis: The True Story by Peter Evans (ReganBooks)
The Pill Book edited by Harold M. Silverman, Pharm. D. (Bantam)
The Provence Cookbook by Patricia Wells (HarperCollins)
The Shy Single by Bonnie Jacobson, Ph.D. (Rodale)
Romance and Women's Fiction
Code Name: Nanny by Christina Skye (Dell)
Dark Destiny by Christine Feehan (Leisure Books)
A Kiss of Fate by Mary Jo Putney (Ballantine)
The Last Mermaid by Shana Abe (Bantam)
Writing
The Art of the Book Proposal by Eric Maisel, Ph.D. (Tarcher/Penguin)
Dojo Wisdom for Writers by Jennifer Lawler (Penguin)
Write Away by Elizabeth George (HarperCollins)
Copyright © 1997-2020 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Republication, redistribution or copying of the content of The Internet Writing Journal® by any method whatsoever, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Writers Write, Inc.
All articles contained herein are copyrighted by their individual authors.
The Internet Writing Journal®, Writers Write® and The Write ResourceTM are trademarks of Writers Write, Inc. The Internet Writing Journal® is published by Writers Write, Inc., Dallas, Texas.