In 2005’s Yellow Line, Vince knows his place. Stick with your own kind. Don’t mix. Not on the bus, not in school. And when you date, you’d better stick to your own kind, too. Vince’s home is divided between Native persons and white people. It’s important to note this book was published in 2005. Given...
Author: S Ruttan (S Ruttan)
Friday’s Forgotten Books: The Ocean at The End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
I liked myths. They weren’t adult stories and they weren’t children’s stories. They were better than that. They just were. Adult stories never made sense, and they were so slow to start. They made me feel like there were secrets. Masonic, mythic secrets to adulthood. Why didn’t adults want to read about Narnia, about secret...
A Million Reasons for Rejections
There are a lot of different reasons why editors (or agents) decide to pass on a written work. Often, writers can glean from insights offered in personal rejections that address the specific reasons why the editor decided to pass on their submission. Providing personal rejections is time-consuming, however, and not all writers are receptive to...
Dialogue Tags and Punctuation
One of the most common technical writing issues that appears in manuscripts is improper use of dialogue tags. This frequently coincides with incorrect punctuation for dialogue. Since most novels contain a significant amount of dialogue, this can represent hours of required editing to prepare a manuscript for publication. Learning how to properly present dialogue can...
Friday’s Forgotten Books: The Resurrectionist by Wrath James White
The Resurrectionist is a horror story by Wrath James White. It is primarily split between two narratives. One follows Dale McCarthy, who has an unusual power and a disturbed mind. He can bring the dead back to life, and his ability intertwines with his perverse desire to kill over and over again so that he...
On The Grill: Dea Poirier talks about issues with the media, likable & unlikable characters, trauma, and the hardest part of writing her new book, Beneath the Ashes
Dea Poirier’s new book, Beneath the Ashes, is on sale today. You can read my review here. Sandra Ruttan: Your debut novel, Next Girl to Die, came out in May of this year. You’re about to have book 2 be released in a few weeks. Can you tell us about the best author moment you had when...
Friday’s Forgotten Books: Take the Long Way Home by Brian Keene
Four work colleagues who carpool together from Baltimore to Shrewsbury are in an accident. One is killed instantly. Another has disappeared. Turns out, their friend isn’t the only one missing. Traffic accidents and driverless vehicles have plugged the Interstate. Nobody is moving. And all cell lines are down. Have there been mass alien abductions? Is...
Raising Your Voice at Your Readers
People are familiar with the concept of tone of voice. Every story also has a tone, and the establishment and maintenance of a consistent tone in a work is important for its success. Imagine a happy-go-lucky kind of story that ends with the horrific and gory slaughter of all of the beloved characters with only...
Flashback: In Conversation with Anthony Bidulka
Sandra: Let’s start on background. Where did you grow up? Anthony: I grew up on a farm. I’m a farm boy. About an hour outside of Saskatoon. Spent all my years there until I went to university in Saskatoon. For me, as I think for a lot of kids from rural areas, you move to...
Friday’s Forgotten Books: Stain of the Berry by Anthony Bidulka
Tanya Culinare dies after a series of strange events, leaving one to wonder if the boogeyman is real, and might come for you next. Culinare’s family want answers and turn to Russell Quant to find them. It turns out the strange experiences Culinare was having before her death are being experienced by some of her...