Michele Torrey's Blog, page 3

March by Geraldine Brooks



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the classic, LITTLE WOMEN, we, as readers, become intimately acquainted the four "little women," and their mother, Mrs. March. However, we know little about their father who is away from home, serving the Union army as a chaplain during the Civil War.

In her Pulitzer prize-winning book, MARCH, author Geraldine Brooks writes from the perspective of Mr. March. She bases his absent character upon what is known of Louisa May Alcott's actual father. (LITTLE WOMEN is based upon Ms. Alcott's family life, Louisa May being the impetuous, aspiring writer, "Jo".) While MARCH is slow to start and seems to initially flounder about without a sense of direction, it soon sharpens into a compelling, focused narrative. Mr. March's abolitionist idealism is juxtaposed against the realities of slavery and the depredations of war, an idealism which eventually costs Mr. March his innocence. Ultimately, it is a story of love and war, betrayal and heartbreak. The imaginative, heart-felt story, the poetic language and rich tapestry of setting, make MARCH a classic in its own right.

View all my reviews >>

March by Geraldine Brooks



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the classic, LITTLE WOMEN, we, as readers, become intimately acquainted the four "little women," and their mother, Mrs. March. However, we know little about their father who is away from home, serving the Union army as a chaplain during the Civil War.

In her Pulitzer prize-winning book, MARCH, author Geraldine Brooks writes from the perspective of Mr. March. She bases his absent character upon what is known of Louisa May Alcott's actual...

March by Geraldine Brooks



My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the classic, LITTLE WOMEN, we, as readers, become intimately acquainted the four “little women,” and their mother, Mrs. March. However, we know little about their father who is away from home, serving the Union army as a chaplain during the Civil War.

In her Pulitzer prize-winning book, MARCH, author Geraldine Brooks writes from the perspective of Mr. March. She bases his absent character upon what is known of Louisa May Alcott’s actual father. (LITTLE WOMEN is based upon Ms. Alcott’s family life, Louisa May being the impetuous, aspiring writer, “Jo”.) While MARCH is slow to start and seems to initially flounder about without a sense of direction, it soon sharpens into a compelling, focused narrative. Mr. March’s abolitionist idealism is juxtaposed against the realities of slavery and the depredations of war, an idealism which eventually costs Mr. March his innocence. Ultimately, it is a story of love and war, betrayal and heartbreak. The imaginative, heart-felt story, the poetic language and rich tapestry of setting, make MARCH a classic in its own right.

View all my reviews >>

Next week I'll be a part of the faculty at the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Spring conference in Portland, Oregon. Besides teaching various workshops, I have the privilege to participate in a WOW panel. In WOW, attendees pre-submit the first page of a manuscript. The first pages are read aloud (anonymously) and in random order, after which Scholastic editor Anna Bloom and I must respond. Distilled to its blunt essence, a WOW session asks the question, "Would...

Maybe I'm tootin' my own horn here, but I just have to say that the writing community here in the Pacific Northwest is pretty dang awesome. Not only are we a creative, friendly, and professional bunch, but we're generous too.

Not long ago, I asked my local writing community for book donations to help orphans in Tanzania. (Orphans Africa, a non-profit 501 (c) 3 charity which I co-founded, was having its first gala dinner and auction and we needed auction items.) Two days after I broadcast my...

Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Even as one who has spent considerable time in Africa, "in the trenches," so to speak, one who has many African friends, I cannot say that I truly understand Africans. Their different ways of thinking, their cultures, their perceptions, often leave me, a white Western woman, bewildered and exasperated. Should I spend the remainder of my life among them, I believe I would always be aware of the vast gulf of understanding that stands b...

If you've been thinking that I've dropped off the edge of the planet, you're right. I've been embroiled in some nasty computer issues. (Look closely enough, and you'll see bald patches on my scalp where I've torn out my hair.) It all started about a year ago when I bought a new PC with a Vista operating system. Over the next few months it acted like a child throwing a tantrum. I took it in to the doctor for analysis, and it came back just as ornery as ever. So when I heard about the Windows 7...

In response to yesterday's blog post (Historical Research Q&A), someone asked me the following:

Q: I'm wondering how to best organize and keep track of my research. I could do it by putting everything in computer folders, say one for each location. Then, I'll need a plot and subplot folder, one for laws of the period, a character folder…it goes on. How do you keep it all organized and accessible? Of course I am documenting my sources so I can find them again. So I guess my question is more...

As a writer of historical novels, I must conduct a lot of research. Over the years, I've become quite adept at finding what I need and separating the wheat from the chaff. Recently, I was asked some in-depth questions by a colleague regarding historical research. As they were common questions, I thought I'd share the Q&A  for those of you who also struggle with research. Hopefully it will be helpful. If you still have questions, post them to me here and I'll try to answer as best I can.

Rememb...

Not long ago, I gave some tried and true tips on how to find a top agent (See Finding That Top Agent, Part I). I hope that in the interim you've done some research and now have a sizeable list of some quality agents you'd like to approach. Now for part II. Call it what you will — the spiel, the pitch, whatever . . . now is the time to send your beloved manuscript to an agent and pray that magic happens.

Ours is a competitive business, perhaps one of the most competitive in the world. Agents...