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Music, History, Mystery, and Ravens
Welcome to the February 2023 edition of the Shaggy Dog View Club! It appears we’ve all been reading a lot over the past few months, and Evelyn Infante has been thinking about pretty things. Sahar Abdulaziz And This Shall Be for Music by Susan Moore Jordan is a stunning novel with complex characters and circumstances. Those like myself, who have read all of Jordan’s work, are reintroduced to the Cameron Family (The Cameron Saga: Memories of Jake, Man with No Yesterdays). The main character, Lindsey, is a talented, young, self-absorbed soprano training for a career in opera—a mind-numbingly competitive musical vocation. Everything in Lindsey’s life is plodding ahead as expected…
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A New Year Means New Books!
Among plans to nurture our creative souls, the SDP authors have a lot of new books coming your way in 2023! We have mystery, history, historical mystery, music, mayhem, satire, adventure, and romance on the horizon. Whatever your reading tastes, you’ll always find a fresh take from an SDP author! Sahar Abdulaziz My 2023 writing plan is to have no plan—not to be confused with doing nothing. I want to do something. In fact, the likelihood of me doing lots of something is high. However, I’d like not to plan to do anything—more panster than a plotter, if you permit me to use a literary term to describe my future…
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Murder, Mystery, and Massage
Welcome to the October session of the Shaggy Dog View Club! We have a variety of experiences to recommend this month. I’ll start with what I’m watching, if only because it’s seasonally appropriate. Kelly Jensen After watching and loving Midnight Mass on Netflix last year, I was on the lookout for any new project from director Mike Flanagan. His latest offering, The Midnight Club is available just in time for the spooky season. I went in expecting more horror and came out with a new perspective on the idea of living every day as if it were my last. Briefly, it’s the story of eight teenagers with terminal illnesses living…
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Coming Soon: Shelf Life
Are you ready for more Hearts & Crafts? Shelf Life, the second book in the series, is now available for preorder. We revealed the cover this week and I was beyond excited for everyone to ‘meet’ Grayson Clery – baker, boardgame geek, and best friend ever. Good things come to those who bake. Grayson used to love baking, but the recipe for running his parents’ café changes every day. His dad, overwhelmed by grief, is no help. They can’t even talk about Gray’s mom, let alone the failing business. Of less help is the crush Gray has on Sporty—a trainer from the local gym. Gray barely has time for his friends, let…
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Welcome to the Shaggy Dog View Club!
What’s a view club? It’s like a book club with an expanded inventory. Each month, our authors will share their current inspiration, ranging from books to TV shows and movies to podcasts. Stories are everywhere and writers draw on all sources for ideas. We also like to relax with someone else’s story from time to time. Here’s what we’re enjoying in September: Sahar Abdulaziz My son recommended I read the book PHARMA: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America by Gerald Posner for a book idea I am researching. The book was engrossing, and read more like a historical novel than a dry chronological accounting of how some of the…
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New Release: Sundays with Oliver
I’ve been talking about this book for so long that there shouldn’t be a lot left to say. But, hey, this is me. I can always find another word or two. Sundays with Oliver feels very much like the next logical step in my journey as a writer. Once again, I draw on my own life as a jump-off point as my daughter packed up her life and went away to college. I then went on to explore other aspects of mid-life: Becoming an empty nester Having adult children Taking a moment (or twenty) to look back at everything you’ve done and wonder: has it been enough? Learning to come to terms with…
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The Land of Lost Chapters
Recently, while sorting my writing folders, I stumbled across some very old works-in-progress. Cue me spending a morning reading unfinished stories and forgetting to do any work. I found stories I loved and a couple that, frankly, should be burned, digital or not. But in the process, I conceived this blog post about all the half-finished stories nearly every writer has hidden away somewhere. Continue reading this post on Kelly’s blog -> Kelly JensenWriter of love stories. Bibliophile. Gamer. Hiker. Cat herder. Waiting for the aliens. kellyjensenwrites.com/
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Writing Blocks
Like most writers, I enjoy talking about my craft. Much of my process is patched together with tips from friends, writers’ blogs, workshops, and books. So, it’s my hope, when I post an article like this, that my tips will help someone else refine their process—or at least give them something new to try. This post is about what I call Writing Blocks. When I first added the topic to my list, I tried to think of a clever way to tie my title into what is often considered a writer’s greatest nemesis, the dreaded block. Perhaps you’ve landed here thinking just that! If so, this post might help, because—for me—the easiest…
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Update From Kelly Jensen-Newly Available Paperbacks, German Translations and More!
Shaggy Dog Books asked me for a long overdue update on which books I have in Kindle Unlimited and which are now available wide. The Let’s Connect series has left Kindle Unlimited and is now available through a variety of retailers. I have also submitted the books to Overdrive and other library services, so get your requests in! LET’S CONNECT | LET’S GO OUT The Let’s Connect series is now also available in paperback! These editions are gorgeous. I always choose glossy covers for my independently published books and the artwork really stands out in this format. Both editions include all the extras (epilogues, art, and recipes) and Let’s Connect features the first chapter…
