Fran Lewis's Blog
January 31, 2012
Winning Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer
I am excited to be receiving Sins of the Father by NYTimes best selling author Jeffrey Archer. Watch for my review. Fran
May 12, 2011
Book Discussion With Fran Lewis
Red River Writers Book Discussion Show with your host, Fran Lewis is May 18th at 3 Eastern welcoming authors Clay Ballentine, Gloria Mitchell and Irene Brodsky. Clay is the Chairman of the National Thyroid Association and will be talking about his book Why Am I So Anxious. Gloria's novel: The Garbage Man's Daughter: Let Go Of Shame is outstanding and she will share her real life experiences growing up in a poor rural community and much more. Irene will discuss her new Queen Esther Coloring book and her outstanding poetry book titled: Poetry Unplugged. Weighing in with questions and in the discussion along with me your host, are my two assistants: Dr. Kenneth Weene a multi- author of several outstanding novels and Sandra Elrod.
Please listen on Blog Talk Radio next Wed. and ask some questions in the chat room.
Fran Lewis
Please listen on Blog Talk Radio next Wed. and ask some questions in the chat room.
Fran Lewis
March 26, 2011
Children's author discussion
Red River Writers and Radio would like to welcome everyone to the first of four special shows dedicated to children’s authors. This show will feature authors whose books are geared to early childhood student’s grades k-2. Although many of the books can be used as read aloud in any classroom from k-5 the reading levels of these books would be for children in the lower grades.
The lessons taught in each of these books can be used in classrooms teaching Character Education, Sunday School Classrooms, for parents to read at night to their children and in libraries or bookstores during story time.
This is a special edition for teachers, children, parents, grandparents and anyone that loves to read children’s books and YA books. Red River Radio would like to announce this special edition of Book Discussion with your host book reviewer, author and writer Fran Lewis. This show will feature the best of children’s writing with authors writing in many different genres. Each book will be geared to early childhood children, elementary school students or young adults and teens. The authors will entice readers by telling you about his/her book and reading a short excerpt to really make you want to go out and buy it for your children, grandchildren and friends. School is about to open in some states and has in many others and what better way to get a head start on books needed for research, book reports and just plain fun, by listening to our show, hearing about these great authors and their books and joining in the discussion.
The stars of this show are six great authors whose books I have read and reviewed:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/...
The lessons taught in each of these books can be used in classrooms teaching Character Education, Sunday School Classrooms, for parents to read at night to their children and in libraries or bookstores during story time.
This is a special edition for teachers, children, parents, grandparents and anyone that loves to read children’s books and YA books. Red River Radio would like to announce this special edition of Book Discussion with your host book reviewer, author and writer Fran Lewis. This show will feature the best of children’s writing with authors writing in many different genres. Each book will be geared to early childhood children, elementary school students or young adults and teens. The authors will entice readers by telling you about his/her book and reading a short excerpt to really make you want to go out and buy it for your children, grandchildren and friends. School is about to open in some states and has in many others and what better way to get a head start on books needed for research, book reports and just plain fun, by listening to our show, hearing about these great authors and their books and joining in the discussion.
The stars of this show are six great authors whose books I have read and reviewed:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/...
January 11, 2011
Interview with author Ben Lieberman: Join in the Discussion fran
BIO
Fran Lewis: Fran worked in the NYC Public Schools as the Reading and
Writing Staff Developer for over 36 years. She has three masters
degrees and a PD in Supervision and Administration. Currently, she is
a member of Who's Who of America's Teachers and Who's Who of America's
Executives from Cambridge. In addition, she is the author of three
children's books and a fourth that has just been published on Alzheimer's
disease in order to honor her mom and help create more awareness for a
cure. The title of my new Alzheimer’s book is Memories are Precious: Alzheimer’s Journey; Ruth’s story
She was the musical director for shows in her school and ran the
school's newspaper. Fran writes reviews for authors upon request and
for several other sites. You can read some of my reviews on Ezine.com
and on ijustfinished.com under the name Gabina. I am a member of Whos Who of Americas Teachers and Whos Who of America’s Executives and Professionals on Cambridge. I review books for authors upon request. My goal is to get my books published by a traditional publisher and on the shelves of every school library, hospital and bookstore. I host two radio shows on Blog Talk Radio. Book Discussion with Fran Lewis is on Blog Talk every third Wednesday of the month from three to five eastern. My children’s author’s show is four times a year. I host online book blogs and book tours for authors and I review books for authors throughout the world. I have five published books and my sixth is being edited. Hopefully, Bertha’ Revenge and other true stories will be out in March of next year.
Fran Lewis: Fran worked in the NYC Public Schools as the Reading and
Writing Staff Developer for over 36 years. She has three masters
degrees and a PD in Supervision and Administration. Currently, she is
a member of Who's Who of America's Teachers and Who's Who of America's
Executives from Cambridge. In addition, she is the author of three
children's books and a fourth that has just been published on Alzheimer's
disease in order to honor her mom and help create more awareness for a
cure. The title of my new Alzheimer’s book is Memories are Precious: Alzheimer’s Journey; Ruth’s story
She was the musical director for shows in her school and ran the
school's newspaper. Fran writes reviews for authors upon request and
for several other sites. You can read some of my reviews on Ezine.com
and on ijustfinished.com under the name Gabina. I am a member of Whos Who of Americas Teachers and Whos Who of America’s Executives and Professionals on Cambridge. I review books for authors upon request. My goal is to get my books published by a traditional publisher and on the shelves of every school library, hospital and bookstore. I host two radio shows on Blog Talk Radio. Book Discussion with Fran Lewis is on Blog Talk every third Wednesday of the month from three to five eastern. My children’s author’s show is four times a year. I host online book blogs and book tours for authors and I review books for authors throughout the world. I have five published books and my sixth is being edited. Hopefully, Bertha’ Revenge and other true stories will be out in March of next year.
December 7, 2010
Part two of my interview with Bruce De Silva
Tuesday’s Questions
1. Fran: Why and how did you choose the subject and title of your book?
Bruce: One of the many quirks of Rhode Island history is that no one knows how the state got its name—although historians have come up with several half-baked theories. One of them, for example, is that the name was chosen because the state resembles the Isle of Rhodes. The problem with that theory is that it doesn’t. My favorite theory is that “Rhode Island” is a bastardization of “Rogue Island,” a name the God-fearing farmers of colonial Massachusetts bestowed upon the nest of pirates, smugglers, and heretics who first settled the banks of Narragansett Bay. My first job was covering Rhode Island for The Providence Journal; and right from the start, I loved being a reporter. Today, newspapers are dying. I wanted to write a book that would be both an entertaining crime novel and a lyrical elegy to the business I worked in for most of my life. That’s why I chose to make the main character of my crime story an investigative reporter instead of a cop or a private detective.
2. Fran: Where did you get the ideas, and was this subject your first choice or did you ponder others first?
Bruce: You can’t be a journalist for as long as I have without meeting a lot of fascinating people and accumulating a lot of interesting stories, many of which you never get around to writing about. So, when I decided to write crime novels, I had a wealth of experience to draw on. I began with a list of a dozen possible plots and just picked the one that seemed like it would be the most fun to write.
3. Fran: What genre did you pick for your book or books and why?
Bruce: I became enthralled with crime fiction in junior high when I read a paperback copy of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye. Over the decades, I’ve read thousands of crime novels, and I finally decided I knew how to write one.
4. Fran: What is your target audience?
Bruce: Anyone who likes a suspenseful, well-written story.
5. Fran: What inspired you to write your first book?
Bruce: For most of my journalism career, the idea of writing a novel never occurred to me; but a seed was planted one day in 1994 when I got a note from a reader. It praised a “nice little story” I’d written and went on to say: “It could serve as the outline for a novel. Have you considered this?” The note was signed by Evan Hunter, who wrote fine mainstream novels under his own name as well as the brilliant 87th Precinct police procedurals under the pen name Ed McBain. I sealed the note in plastic, taped it to my home computer, and started writing. But then life—in the form of a new marriage, fatherhood, and a demanding new editing job—intervened. For years, I found no time for novel writing. Every time I bought a new home computer, I peeled that note from Hunter off the old one and taped it to the side of the new one, promising myself I would get back to the story someday. Finally, a couple of years ago, I did.
6. Fran: Were you always an author? If not what was your first career and what made you decide to write?
Bruce: Way back in 1968, as I trotted off to college to major in geology, my favorite high school teacher made a prediction: I would soon find myself writing from compulsion. He was right. I soon abandoned science for the humanities, and I went to work for The Providence Journal as soon as I finished college.
7. Fran: How much of what you write is realistic?
Bruce: The plot and the characters in Rogue Island are entirely made up. However, my depiction of the state’s history and geography are as true as I can make them, and a few of the minor incidents in the book are based on fact. For example, years ago some highway department workers in Providence really did steal lots of manhole covers and sell them for scrap for a few dollars apiece.
8. Fran: How do you promote your books? What can you tell other authors about promotion?
Bruce: The first thing I did was collect blurbs for the book cover. Dennis Lehane, a friend of mine long before he became famous, quickly agreed. Then I sent e-mails to 14 other big-time crime novelists whom I’d met at writers’ conferences over the years, hoping one or two would say yes. To my astonishment, 13 of them including Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, Ken Bruen and Alafair Burke agreed. A couple of them, James W. Hall and Joseph Finder, even favorably compared Rogue Island to Lehane’s great first novel, A Drink Before the War. Each time a new blurb came in, I splashed the news on all of the places I hang out online. And then I did the same with every review that appeared in the press. I’ve made myself a daily presence on social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Linkedin. I’m guest blogging on lots of sites including this one. I created a website for the book (http://brucedesilva.com) and a blog that I update regularly, sometimes several times a day (http://brucedesilva.wordpress.com). I had a book release party at Otto Penzler’s famous Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan and, with the help of my publicist at Tor, I arranged appearances at several chain bookstores and at independent mystery bookstores in Houston; Decatur, Ga.; and Scottsdale, Az. I arranged radio and TV interviews in Providence, where the book is set. I was selected as a panelist at Bouchercon, the big crime-writing conference held in San Francisco this fall. Everywhere I appear, I take photos and post them online. I got 23 famous crime writers and several famous journalists to pose reading my book, and I’ve been posting the photos online one at a time. And that’s just for starters. Nobody told me how hard a first-time novelist has to work to promote his book. I’m working harder now than I was when I had a job.
9. Fran: How did you get a traditional publisher?
Bruce: A couple of years ago, a mutual friend introduced me to Otto Penzler, the proprietor of the Mysterious Bookshop and the dean of America’s crime fiction editors. Otto and I quickly discovered that we admired the same writers, had friends in common, and even looked a lot alike. We hit it off. One evening over dinner, I happened to mention that long-ago note from Hunter. “Evan Hunter was a good friend of mine,” Otto said. “In all the years I knew him, I never heard him say a single good thing about anything anyone else wrote.” So, Otto added, he wanted to read the book once I finished it. Six months later, I handed him the manuscript; and he loved it. He asked if I had an agent. I told him I didn’t even know any. Otto said he’d take care of it. The next thing I knew, I was represented by Susanna Einstein of LJK Literary Management, one of the top agents in the country. A few months later, she sold the book to Tor, a division of Macmillan.
10. Fran: What was your biggest obstacle in writing your books?
Bruce: Writing a novel requires discipline. You have to turn off the Red Sox or Celtics or Patriots game (I’m a big fan of Boston sports teams), stop playing with the dog that’s begging for attention, set that half-read Michael Connelly novel aside, put your butt in the chair, and pound the keys. If you can do that, finishing a book is not as difficult as you might think. Write just 800 words a day and you’ve got a book in 100 days. I aimed for 1,000 words a day, but sometimes life intervened. Some days the lawn needed mowing or the leaves needed raking or I wanted to go to our 15-year-old’s softball game. But mostly I stuck to my schedule, and the book–and the sequel--got written. For me, writers block was never a problem. I was a journalist, after all. Journalists write every day, whether they are in the mood or not. We journalists don’t believe in writer’s block. We think writer’s block is for sissies.
11. Fran: What message do you want to convey to your readers in your writing?
Bruce: Few of us are all good or all bad. People do good things for bad reasons and bad things for good reasons. Sometimes you have to fight evil with evil. Places aren’t all good or all bad, either. According to Newsweek magazine, Rhode Island, the setting for my novels, is the most corrupt state, per capita, in the country. It has always been so, going all the way back to the time when one of the first colonial governors dined with Captain Kidd. This thread of corruption runs all the way through the history of the state—but so does a thread of decency and integrity that began with the state’s godly founder, Roger Williams. The world we live in is not rendered in black and white. But I also want readers to appreciate the importance that newspapers, like the fictional one my main character works for, have played in preserving our democracy—and how much we all stand to lose as they pass into history.
1. Fran: Why and how did you choose the subject and title of your book?
Bruce: One of the many quirks of Rhode Island history is that no one knows how the state got its name—although historians have come up with several half-baked theories. One of them, for example, is that the name was chosen because the state resembles the Isle of Rhodes. The problem with that theory is that it doesn’t. My favorite theory is that “Rhode Island” is a bastardization of “Rogue Island,” a name the God-fearing farmers of colonial Massachusetts bestowed upon the nest of pirates, smugglers, and heretics who first settled the banks of Narragansett Bay. My first job was covering Rhode Island for The Providence Journal; and right from the start, I loved being a reporter. Today, newspapers are dying. I wanted to write a book that would be both an entertaining crime novel and a lyrical elegy to the business I worked in for most of my life. That’s why I chose to make the main character of my crime story an investigative reporter instead of a cop or a private detective.
2. Fran: Where did you get the ideas, and was this subject your first choice or did you ponder others first?
Bruce: You can’t be a journalist for as long as I have without meeting a lot of fascinating people and accumulating a lot of interesting stories, many of which you never get around to writing about. So, when I decided to write crime novels, I had a wealth of experience to draw on. I began with a list of a dozen possible plots and just picked the one that seemed like it would be the most fun to write.
3. Fran: What genre did you pick for your book or books and why?
Bruce: I became enthralled with crime fiction in junior high when I read a paperback copy of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye. Over the decades, I’ve read thousands of crime novels, and I finally decided I knew how to write one.
4. Fran: What is your target audience?
Bruce: Anyone who likes a suspenseful, well-written story.
5. Fran: What inspired you to write your first book?
Bruce: For most of my journalism career, the idea of writing a novel never occurred to me; but a seed was planted one day in 1994 when I got a note from a reader. It praised a “nice little story” I’d written and went on to say: “It could serve as the outline for a novel. Have you considered this?” The note was signed by Evan Hunter, who wrote fine mainstream novels under his own name as well as the brilliant 87th Precinct police procedurals under the pen name Ed McBain. I sealed the note in plastic, taped it to my home computer, and started writing. But then life—in the form of a new marriage, fatherhood, and a demanding new editing job—intervened. For years, I found no time for novel writing. Every time I bought a new home computer, I peeled that note from Hunter off the old one and taped it to the side of the new one, promising myself I would get back to the story someday. Finally, a couple of years ago, I did.
6. Fran: Were you always an author? If not what was your first career and what made you decide to write?
Bruce: Way back in 1968, as I trotted off to college to major in geology, my favorite high school teacher made a prediction: I would soon find myself writing from compulsion. He was right. I soon abandoned science for the humanities, and I went to work for The Providence Journal as soon as I finished college.
7. Fran: How much of what you write is realistic?
Bruce: The plot and the characters in Rogue Island are entirely made up. However, my depiction of the state’s history and geography are as true as I can make them, and a few of the minor incidents in the book are based on fact. For example, years ago some highway department workers in Providence really did steal lots of manhole covers and sell them for scrap for a few dollars apiece.
8. Fran: How do you promote your books? What can you tell other authors about promotion?
Bruce: The first thing I did was collect blurbs for the book cover. Dennis Lehane, a friend of mine long before he became famous, quickly agreed. Then I sent e-mails to 14 other big-time crime novelists whom I’d met at writers’ conferences over the years, hoping one or two would say yes. To my astonishment, 13 of them including Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, Ken Bruen and Alafair Burke agreed. A couple of them, James W. Hall and Joseph Finder, even favorably compared Rogue Island to Lehane’s great first novel, A Drink Before the War. Each time a new blurb came in, I splashed the news on all of the places I hang out online. And then I did the same with every review that appeared in the press. I’ve made myself a daily presence on social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Linkedin. I’m guest blogging on lots of sites including this one. I created a website for the book (http://brucedesilva.com) and a blog that I update regularly, sometimes several times a day (http://brucedesilva.wordpress.com). I had a book release party at Otto Penzler’s famous Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan and, with the help of my publicist at Tor, I arranged appearances at several chain bookstores and at independent mystery bookstores in Houston; Decatur, Ga.; and Scottsdale, Az. I arranged radio and TV interviews in Providence, where the book is set. I was selected as a panelist at Bouchercon, the big crime-writing conference held in San Francisco this fall. Everywhere I appear, I take photos and post them online. I got 23 famous crime writers and several famous journalists to pose reading my book, and I’ve been posting the photos online one at a time. And that’s just for starters. Nobody told me how hard a first-time novelist has to work to promote his book. I’m working harder now than I was when I had a job.
9. Fran: How did you get a traditional publisher?
Bruce: A couple of years ago, a mutual friend introduced me to Otto Penzler, the proprietor of the Mysterious Bookshop and the dean of America’s crime fiction editors. Otto and I quickly discovered that we admired the same writers, had friends in common, and even looked a lot alike. We hit it off. One evening over dinner, I happened to mention that long-ago note from Hunter. “Evan Hunter was a good friend of mine,” Otto said. “In all the years I knew him, I never heard him say a single good thing about anything anyone else wrote.” So, Otto added, he wanted to read the book once I finished it. Six months later, I handed him the manuscript; and he loved it. He asked if I had an agent. I told him I didn’t even know any. Otto said he’d take care of it. The next thing I knew, I was represented by Susanna Einstein of LJK Literary Management, one of the top agents in the country. A few months later, she sold the book to Tor, a division of Macmillan.
10. Fran: What was your biggest obstacle in writing your books?
Bruce: Writing a novel requires discipline. You have to turn off the Red Sox or Celtics or Patriots game (I’m a big fan of Boston sports teams), stop playing with the dog that’s begging for attention, set that half-read Michael Connelly novel aside, put your butt in the chair, and pound the keys. If you can do that, finishing a book is not as difficult as you might think. Write just 800 words a day and you’ve got a book in 100 days. I aimed for 1,000 words a day, but sometimes life intervened. Some days the lawn needed mowing or the leaves needed raking or I wanted to go to our 15-year-old’s softball game. But mostly I stuck to my schedule, and the book–and the sequel--got written. For me, writers block was never a problem. I was a journalist, after all. Journalists write every day, whether they are in the mood or not. We journalists don’t believe in writer’s block. We think writer’s block is for sissies.
11. Fran: What message do you want to convey to your readers in your writing?
Bruce: Few of us are all good or all bad. People do good things for bad reasons and bad things for good reasons. Sometimes you have to fight evil with evil. Places aren’t all good or all bad, either. According to Newsweek magazine, Rhode Island, the setting for my novels, is the most corrupt state, per capita, in the country. It has always been so, going all the way back to the time when one of the first colonial governors dined with Captain Kidd. This thread of corruption runs all the way through the history of the state—but so does a thread of decency and integrity that began with the state’s godly founder, Roger Williams. The world we live in is not rendered in black and white. But I also want readers to appreciate the importance that newspapers, like the fictional one my main character works for, have played in preserving our democracy—and how much we all stand to lose as they pass into history.
December 6, 2010
My Top FIfty pics of books I have read and reviewed this year plus my top pics in children's books
The First 25 on my Top 50 for 2010
Remember: These are in no particular order
These are fiction and non-fiction novels that are on Amazon
There sill be a separate list for children’s books
These books are listed as they say on Dancing with the Stars in No Particular Order
I will post my next twenty- five next week. If you have a book to add to my great list of five star books feel free to add yours. fran
In the Beginning author Alfred Langer
Rogue Island author Bruce DeSilva
Anniversary Man author RJ Ellory
Sensitivity 101 for the Heterosexual Male Author Philip Nork
It’s in the Eyes author Dr. Charles Toftoy
The Goring Collection author Tom Barnes
Widow’s Walk author Dr. Kenneth Weene
Love Changes author Marsha Cook
Life O’Reilly author Brian Cohen
School of Lies author Mickey Hoffman
Cracks in the Rainbow author Mark Bouton
Keeper of the Secrets: Translation of an Incident author Anjuelle Floyd
Breakthrough author Stephen Tremp
Nine Lives author Frank Say
Herb Trader author Arthur Torsone
Upcountry author R.W. Doyon
A Father’s Anguish author Raymond Doyen
When the Devil Whistles author Rick Acker
Twenty Five Years Ago Today author Stacy Juba
One Small Victory author Mary Ann Miller
The Drawing Lessons author Mary E Martin
Indian Summer author Dellani Oakes
The Rest of Our Lives author Dan Stone
Purple Heart Broken Heart author Carol A. Huff
The Garden Of Ruth: Eva Etzioni Halvey
Secret Agenda by Jerry Banks added by author Phillip Nork
My Pics for Children’s Books The First Ten in no Particular Order
Tony Angelo : A Very Clever Firefly
Marsha Cook: Snack Attack
Tracey Searight Dibert: Detective Pancake
Lily Goldman: Mrs. Nosy a Composting Story
Gregg Seely: The Big Bobby Boom and the Marble Mayhem
Freda Roberts: Angels at My Side
Sherry Ellis: That Mama is a Grouch
Jennifer Walker: Bubba Goes National
Concetta Payne: Bobo and the Tricky Triangle
Fran Orenstein: The Mystery Under Third Base
Owen Palimiotti: Benjamin Mowry and the Curse of the Blood Bones
The Busy Bus by Marsha Cook: Poems
Christmas Story and Genesis by Sheila Deeth
NEXT 25
Behind the Laugher: Hidden Tears: Sal Richards
Second District: Jerry Banks
Strings of Deception by Tracey Frischkorn
Pitch Dark author Brooke London
Able Danger author Kensington Roth
My Life for Her: Author: Robert J. Saniscalchi
Crossroads author Steven Nedelton
Ice Cold author Tess Gerritsen
The Passage Justin Cronin
The 19th Element author John Betcher
Study in Red Journal of Jack the Ripper: by Brian Porter ( all of his books are great)
Sela : Marsha Cook
Hostage of Lies: Maxine Thompson
Just Before The Dawn by Joseph Gillan
Talk Thai by Ira Sunrungruang
Irene Brodsky: Poetry Unplugged
How to Tell A Lie Like the FBI : Mark Bouton
Memoirs from the Asylum: Dr. Kenneth Weene
Saints of New York: RJ Ellory: Will be out in February
Why Am I So Anxious: Clay Ballentine
Captured Hearts by Sherlyn Powell
Into the Wilderness by author Deborah Lee Luskin
Adelia: Carol Bishop Huff
Song of Hannah: Eva Etzioni Halevy
Fawcetta By Dalian Artanian
Final Children’s books
Eve Hallows by Freda Roberts
The Busy Bus: Marsha Cook
Dignity Rocks by Stephanie Heuer
Babysitting South Paw by Virginia Grenier
Tilly’s Tale by Harry Porter
Pumpkin Field by Linda Nance
The Dracian Dance: The Tale Of Taru author Nicole Izmaylov
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Don’t forget my three books: My Name is Bertha
Bertha Speaks Out
Bertha Fights Back By me Fran Lewis
Feel free to add your favorites too fran
Remember: These are in no particular order
These are fiction and non-fiction novels that are on Amazon
There sill be a separate list for children’s books
These books are listed as they say on Dancing with the Stars in No Particular Order
I will post my next twenty- five next week. If you have a book to add to my great list of five star books feel free to add yours. fran
In the Beginning author Alfred Langer
Rogue Island author Bruce DeSilva
Anniversary Man author RJ Ellory
Sensitivity 101 for the Heterosexual Male Author Philip Nork
It’s in the Eyes author Dr. Charles Toftoy
The Goring Collection author Tom Barnes
Widow’s Walk author Dr. Kenneth Weene
Love Changes author Marsha Cook
Life O’Reilly author Brian Cohen
School of Lies author Mickey Hoffman
Cracks in the Rainbow author Mark Bouton
Keeper of the Secrets: Translation of an Incident author Anjuelle Floyd
Breakthrough author Stephen Tremp
Nine Lives author Frank Say
Herb Trader author Arthur Torsone
Upcountry author R.W. Doyon
A Father’s Anguish author Raymond Doyen
When the Devil Whistles author Rick Acker
Twenty Five Years Ago Today author Stacy Juba
One Small Victory author Mary Ann Miller
The Drawing Lessons author Mary E Martin
Indian Summer author Dellani Oakes
The Rest of Our Lives author Dan Stone
Purple Heart Broken Heart author Carol A. Huff
The Garden Of Ruth: Eva Etzioni Halvey
Secret Agenda by Jerry Banks added by author Phillip Nork
My Pics for Children’s Books The First Ten in no Particular Order
Tony Angelo : A Very Clever Firefly
Marsha Cook: Snack Attack
Tracey Searight Dibert: Detective Pancake
Lily Goldman: Mrs. Nosy a Composting Story
Gregg Seely: The Big Bobby Boom and the Marble Mayhem
Freda Roberts: Angels at My Side
Sherry Ellis: That Mama is a Grouch
Jennifer Walker: Bubba Goes National
Concetta Payne: Bobo and the Tricky Triangle
Fran Orenstein: The Mystery Under Third Base
Owen Palimiotti: Benjamin Mowry and the Curse of the Blood Bones
The Busy Bus by Marsha Cook: Poems
Christmas Story and Genesis by Sheila Deeth
NEXT 25
Behind the Laugher: Hidden Tears: Sal Richards
Second District: Jerry Banks
Strings of Deception by Tracey Frischkorn
Pitch Dark author Brooke London
Able Danger author Kensington Roth
My Life for Her: Author: Robert J. Saniscalchi
Crossroads author Steven Nedelton
Ice Cold author Tess Gerritsen
The Passage Justin Cronin
The 19th Element author John Betcher
Study in Red Journal of Jack the Ripper: by Brian Porter ( all of his books are great)
Sela : Marsha Cook
Hostage of Lies: Maxine Thompson
Just Before The Dawn by Joseph Gillan
Talk Thai by Ira Sunrungruang
Irene Brodsky: Poetry Unplugged
How to Tell A Lie Like the FBI : Mark Bouton
Memoirs from the Asylum: Dr. Kenneth Weene
Saints of New York: RJ Ellory: Will be out in February
Why Am I So Anxious: Clay Ballentine
Captured Hearts by Sherlyn Powell
Into the Wilderness by author Deborah Lee Luskin
Adelia: Carol Bishop Huff
Song of Hannah: Eva Etzioni Halevy
Fawcetta By Dalian Artanian
Final Children’s books
Eve Hallows by Freda Roberts
The Busy Bus: Marsha Cook
Dignity Rocks by Stephanie Heuer
Babysitting South Paw by Virginia Grenier
Tilly’s Tale by Harry Porter
Pumpkin Field by Linda Nance
The Dracian Dance: The Tale Of Taru author Nicole Izmaylov
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Don’t forget my three books: My Name is Bertha
Bertha Speaks Out
Bertha Fights Back By me Fran Lewis
Feel free to add your favorites too fran
Join in the discussion as I do a five day online interview with author Bruce De Silva
Welcome, readers, to my interview with author, journalist, and investigative reporter Bruce DeSilva. I am honored to have the opportunity to interview Bruce and discuss his many careers and his new crime novel Rogue Island. Please feel free to join in the discussion and ask Bruce questions too. I am honored to interview Bruce and hope that everyone will join in the discussion. Please post your questions and comments on Reviewers Roundup and I will copy and paste them on the other sites for other readers. Fran
Interview with author Bruce DeSilva
Fran Lewis
Mondays Questions
1. Fran: As a journalist for 40 years what kind of training did you provide for the wire service’s reporters to enhance their reporting and writing skills?
Bruce:
For the first 20 years, I was a reporter. I learned my trade by covering small-town news, but before long I was specializing in investigative stories and magazine-length narratives, first at The Providence Journal and then at The Hartford Courant. For the last 20 years, I was a senior editor and writing coach, first at The Courant and then at The Associated Press. In those roles, I was often asked to work with writers who “needed help.” I always declined. In journalism, you see, most editors spend the most of their time with the worst writers, struggling to make bad copy good enough to publish. That leaves editors with little time for the best people—the ones who, with sufficient attention, will write the stories that distinguish a news organization. I chose to spend my time with the most talented writers. I encouraged them to abandon the stiff, overly formal language most news stories are written in and to discover their natural, conversational voices as writers. I taught them to forsake the old-fashioned inverted-pyramid structure they learned in journalism schools and to become storytellers instead. I taught them to gather the details that turn stick figures into real characters and turn place names into settings for their stories. I taught them to use fewer quotes (the words news sources say to reporters) and to use more dialogue (the words people say to one another.) Over the years, stories I edited won virtually every major journalism prize including The Polk Award (twice), The Livingston (twice), the ASNE, and the Batten Medal. I also edited two Pulitzer finalists and helped edit a Pulitzer winner.
2. Fran: What were some of the stories that you covered as an investigative reporter? Was it difficult to present a fair and objective account of the events?
Bruce: Journalists should always be fair, of course; but they are not—and should not be—objective about everything. Journalists are against political corruption, organized crime, the victimization of the helpless, and the looting of the public treasury. The best journalists don’t just write about those things. They crusade against them. The dozens of investigative stories I wrote over the years exposed, among other things, massive voter fraud in a mayoralty election in Providence; the looting of Medicaid by nursing home owners; corruption in the Section-8 low income housing construction program; physical and sexual abuse in a state-run institution for homeless kids; and horrible conditions—including needless deaths—in a state institution for the retarded. My many investigations also led to the indictment or firing of exactly 100 people (I once added it up).
3. Fran: What difficulties do you encounter when editing articles of other reporters? The most important part of any script, book or article is the editing which many authors have difficulty doing themselves. Many publishing companies offer these services; and even with their top-notch editors, books often have both grammar and spelling errors. How can a new author or seasoned one avoid this pitfall?
Bruce: As an editor, I was always more interested in bigger questions: Do we have the whole story or only part of it? Is the story organized properly? Can we tell a story instead of write a tedious report? Is the piece written tightly and in a voice that talks conversationally to readers? Is it well focused, and does everything in it pertain to its central point? Does it begin and end in the right places? And so on. That’s what real editing is all about. What you are asking about is copy editing, which requires a completely different set of skills. I was never very good at it. Every time I try to copy edit a story, I find myself caught up in the larger questions and start missing misspellings and typos. The only way I can find such small (but important) mistakes is to read a story backwards. I am also a firm believer in spell-check.
4. Fran: Which authors’ books have you reviewed? As a reviewer I give an honest and fair review to every author whose book I am asked to review. I even give them the courtesy of reading the review before posting it. The one thing that I really find unprofessional is when an author rewrites a paragraph or insists on a shorter review. My reviews are detailed and thorough and I never give anything away. You can tell that I read the book and sometimes more than once. Has an author ever changed your review? Do you send the author the review beforehand? I am thinking of stopping that practice and just posting the reviews. What is your opinion?
Bruce: I’ve written hundreds of reviews for the AP and a few for The New York Times book review section. Usually I review crime novels, most recently the latest book by Walter Mosley. Only occasionally do I review other fiction, most recently the latest mainstream novel by Howard Frank Mosher. I rarely write negative reviews. There are two reasons for this. First, if I’m not enjoying a book after a few chapters, I toss it aside and read something else. I wouldn’t feel right reviewing a book that I haven’t finished. Second, I’m not much interested in telling people what they shouldn’t read. I’d rather advise them on what they should read. I have never shown a review to an author in advance. Doing so would be a violation of policy at the AP, but I wouldn’t do it anyway. Authors should let the work speak for itself.
5. Fran: Besides writing Rogue Island what other projects you are working on?
Bruce: I recently finished a draft of the sequel, tentatively titled “Cliff Walk,” and I am now working through my agent’s suggestions for revisions. I’ve also sketched plans for the third and fourth books in the series, which features an investigative reporter at a dying newspaper in Providence, R.I., a claustrophobic little city with a rich history of corruption. I’m also editing the next collection by my wife, Patricia Smith, an award-winning poet.
Interview with author Bruce DeSilva
Fran Lewis
Mondays Questions
1. Fran: As a journalist for 40 years what kind of training did you provide for the wire service’s reporters to enhance their reporting and writing skills?
Bruce:
For the first 20 years, I was a reporter. I learned my trade by covering small-town news, but before long I was specializing in investigative stories and magazine-length narratives, first at The Providence Journal and then at The Hartford Courant. For the last 20 years, I was a senior editor and writing coach, first at The Courant and then at The Associated Press. In those roles, I was often asked to work with writers who “needed help.” I always declined. In journalism, you see, most editors spend the most of their time with the worst writers, struggling to make bad copy good enough to publish. That leaves editors with little time for the best people—the ones who, with sufficient attention, will write the stories that distinguish a news organization. I chose to spend my time with the most talented writers. I encouraged them to abandon the stiff, overly formal language most news stories are written in and to discover their natural, conversational voices as writers. I taught them to forsake the old-fashioned inverted-pyramid structure they learned in journalism schools and to become storytellers instead. I taught them to gather the details that turn stick figures into real characters and turn place names into settings for their stories. I taught them to use fewer quotes (the words news sources say to reporters) and to use more dialogue (the words people say to one another.) Over the years, stories I edited won virtually every major journalism prize including The Polk Award (twice), The Livingston (twice), the ASNE, and the Batten Medal. I also edited two Pulitzer finalists and helped edit a Pulitzer winner.
2. Fran: What were some of the stories that you covered as an investigative reporter? Was it difficult to present a fair and objective account of the events?
Bruce: Journalists should always be fair, of course; but they are not—and should not be—objective about everything. Journalists are against political corruption, organized crime, the victimization of the helpless, and the looting of the public treasury. The best journalists don’t just write about those things. They crusade against them. The dozens of investigative stories I wrote over the years exposed, among other things, massive voter fraud in a mayoralty election in Providence; the looting of Medicaid by nursing home owners; corruption in the Section-8 low income housing construction program; physical and sexual abuse in a state-run institution for homeless kids; and horrible conditions—including needless deaths—in a state institution for the retarded. My many investigations also led to the indictment or firing of exactly 100 people (I once added it up).
3. Fran: What difficulties do you encounter when editing articles of other reporters? The most important part of any script, book or article is the editing which many authors have difficulty doing themselves. Many publishing companies offer these services; and even with their top-notch editors, books often have both grammar and spelling errors. How can a new author or seasoned one avoid this pitfall?
Bruce: As an editor, I was always more interested in bigger questions: Do we have the whole story or only part of it? Is the story organized properly? Can we tell a story instead of write a tedious report? Is the piece written tightly and in a voice that talks conversationally to readers? Is it well focused, and does everything in it pertain to its central point? Does it begin and end in the right places? And so on. That’s what real editing is all about. What you are asking about is copy editing, which requires a completely different set of skills. I was never very good at it. Every time I try to copy edit a story, I find myself caught up in the larger questions and start missing misspellings and typos. The only way I can find such small (but important) mistakes is to read a story backwards. I am also a firm believer in spell-check.
4. Fran: Which authors’ books have you reviewed? As a reviewer I give an honest and fair review to every author whose book I am asked to review. I even give them the courtesy of reading the review before posting it. The one thing that I really find unprofessional is when an author rewrites a paragraph or insists on a shorter review. My reviews are detailed and thorough and I never give anything away. You can tell that I read the book and sometimes more than once. Has an author ever changed your review? Do you send the author the review beforehand? I am thinking of stopping that practice and just posting the reviews. What is your opinion?
Bruce: I’ve written hundreds of reviews for the AP and a few for The New York Times book review section. Usually I review crime novels, most recently the latest book by Walter Mosley. Only occasionally do I review other fiction, most recently the latest mainstream novel by Howard Frank Mosher. I rarely write negative reviews. There are two reasons for this. First, if I’m not enjoying a book after a few chapters, I toss it aside and read something else. I wouldn’t feel right reviewing a book that I haven’t finished. Second, I’m not much interested in telling people what they shouldn’t read. I’d rather advise them on what they should read. I have never shown a review to an author in advance. Doing so would be a violation of policy at the AP, but I wouldn’t do it anyway. Authors should let the work speak for itself.
5. Fran: Besides writing Rogue Island what other projects you are working on?
Bruce: I recently finished a draft of the sequel, tentatively titled “Cliff Walk,” and I am now working through my agent’s suggestions for revisions. I’ve also sketched plans for the third and fourth books in the series, which features an investigative reporter at a dying newspaper in Providence, R.I., a claustrophobic little city with a rich history of corruption. I’m also editing the next collection by my wife, Patricia Smith, an award-winning poet.
March 8, 2009
read my book reviews on Barnes and Noble, Amazon and Ijustfinished.com
I have reviewed books by other authors on these three sites and have been asked to review more. Please check out my review of Sorrows of an American on Ijustfinished.com and check out my other two reviews on Barnes and Noble and Amazon of Martha Cheves cookbook: Stir, Repeat and Laugh and Yvonne Mason's book Brilliant Insanity. I will be reviewing a book by Brian Porter: Sunday in Red and several others on Talauthors.com
I enjoy reviewing books by other authors and hopefully they will review mine too.
You can read a review of My Name is Bertha on Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon and learn how Bertha can be a role model to kids everywhere.
Fran
I enjoy reviewing books by other authors and hopefully they will review mine too.
You can read a review of My Name is Bertha on Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon and learn how Bertha can be a role model to kids everywhere.
Fran
