This isn’t something you see every day. A musical combo of Recorder and Beatbox.
Think of the hours of practice that went into his expertise! Do you spend as much time perfecting your writing craft?
How to Read More in Less Time
I have the privilege of reading for a living. Someone once asked “What do you do for a living?” I replied, “I read.” Then they asked what I did for fun. And I replied with a huge smile, “I read.” But not all reading is alike. There is immersive reading of a technical nature. There is escapist reading of a great thriller. And there is cursory reading where you …
A $100,000 Threshold for a Worthy Book?
Recently Brad Martin, the President and CEO of Penguin Random House Canada, was quoted as saying the following: “I’m not interested in a book that is going to generate less than $100,000 in revenue unless the editor or publisher [division] has a compelling vision for the book and/or the author…If the person that’s championing that book in the acquisitions meeting doesn’t have a compelling view of …
Fun Fridays – July 17, 2015
A televised talent show in Germany…for contestants ages 8 to 14 years old. The Voice Kids (Germany). It is always inspiring to find amazing talent. (The young girl’s name is Solomia Lukyanets.)
Christian Fiction is Not Dead
Last week’s news of Abingdon Press deciding to no longer acquire new Christian fiction has created another clamor of claims regarding the demise of Christian fiction. The articles, emails, and comments range from glee (“it needs to die”) to consternation (“woe is me of ever getting a book deal”). Fewer Publishers There is no question that there has been considerable shrinkage in the …
Fun Fridays – July 10, 2015
Enjoy this brother and sister piano duet…with some great twists throughout!
ICRS 2015 – Observations
Last week the industry gathered in Orlando for the annual booksellers convention (I.C.R.S. – International Christian Retail Show). This was my 34th consecutive event and this year had some new benefits. I’ll run through some of the highlights and then make some observations. 1) Like last year, Tamela Hancock Murray and Dan Balow attended as well. We tried to do our meetings with publishers as a …
Fun Fridays – July 3, 2015
Sheer delight at the FAO Schwarz store in New York city. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lA9yBrnFyI
Does Genre Matter?
Earlier this month two literary heavyweights discussed the issue of “Genre” and whether or not it should exist in its current form. Read Neil Gaiman and Kazuo Ishiguro’s discussion in the New Statesman. It all started because Ishiguro’s new novel Buried Giant is not presented as a Fantasy novel despite having a number of elements in it that would brand it as a Fantasy (like ogres). The argument is …