Awarding the Nobel Prize for Literature to Belarusian Svetlana Alexievich is a bold decision – I like this piece by Arifa Akbar because it focuses on the way Alexievich’s win “recalibrates the status of ‘non-fiction’ in the literary canon. I agree that there remains a perception that non-fiction is somehow less ... more >
Dear Ms. Grant: As I read your novel A Gentleman Undone I brooded over words from one my favorite 18th century wordsmiths, the great Alexander Pope: “Honor and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part: there all the honor lies.” Here Pope asserts honor and shame are products of ... more >
In the wake of ubiquitous popularity for The Book That Shall Not Be Named, the reality that women do experience – and even enjoy! – sexual fantasy has collided with far more than 50 shades of judgment about who, what, where, when, why, how, and whether that’s okay. Last ... more >
I asked Molly O’Keefe and Caitlin Crews if they would share some thoughts on shame and the romance heroine. The two were obvious choices for me because Crews and O’Keefe both write about the topics in their books. In the Disgraced Playboy, the heroine’s entire life is shaped by some ... more >
Dear Ms. Crews: The Disgraced Playboy is the second in the Notorious Wolfe series (or Bad Blood to the UK readers). The first, by Sarah Morgan, was reviewed here. The story treads familiar tropes: low self esteem hero plays at being a dilettante so that no one can see how ... more >
RWA President Michelle Monkou is fielding questions today on blog talk radio. The start time is at noon CST. I wish someone would call in and ask what RWA’s stance is on the change in pricing and Google Book Settlement. Link here.. I would call but I don’t think they ... more >