Getting book reviews is often wonderful and even instructive for an author. You learn a lot by knowing what someone loved in your story and what they didn’t love as much. I especially value comments from fellow authors, who know how much goes into the writing and publishing of a novel. I was especially pleased when Suanne Schafer, editor, author, and regular book reviewer, read and reviewed my newest. Her full review and wonderful website… The post New Review of RETURN TO LERICI appeared first on RACHEL DACUS, AUTHOR ..read more

I would say that magical realism in poetry (and fiction) removes the argument of "likeness". It simply plunges the reader mysteriously into an altered world. It offers mystery as a doorway. It isn't always an easily entered door, but once you walk through, things have changed. Consider Louise Gluck's poem, "The Wild Iris". ‘It doesn't use metaphor or simile. The story is simply told from the point of view of a flower that is somehow conscious. The post Magical Realism in Poetry – Louise Gluck appeared first on RACHEL DACUS, AUTHOR ..read more

Clouds have always intrigued me. They’re like immense art murals on giant walls that you walk past every day without giving them thought. But I give them thought all the time. I try to decipher them. I take photos, hoping that later I can crack their mysterious code. I can’t help taking them personally, learning their names and causes. The evanescent formation mystify and grab me, as if they’re trying to say something to me.… The post When Clouds and Poetry Seem to Rhyme appeared first on RACHEL DACUS, AUTHOR ..read more

Great reviews of your book are compliments to be cherished and re-read while working on new books. Book reviews are hard to come by, so the good ones are valuable and can help a book’s visibiity. Here’s a link to a great review my new book just got. Writers need a team of well-wishing readers around them, and it’s easy to forget that you have such a team once the reviews have come and gone.… The post Great Reviews of Your Book appeared first on RACHEL DACUS, AUTHOR ..read more

I’ve been reviewing a book by a favorite poet lately, Alice Oswald, and thinking about magical realism in poetry. I realized one of the qualities I love in her poetry could be termed magical realism, if that term can encompass verse and imagery that evolves into story. Oswald is an acclaimed British poet, author of the award-winning book Dart, and has published a total of eleven volumes of verse. I happened to dive back into… The post Magical Surrealism in Poetry – Alice Oswald appeared first on RACHEL DACUS, AUTHOR ..read more

Things I’m thankful for have to do with love and the life it has led me to. Love has many forms and moments, and prose isn’t well suited to them. Photos and paintings can be. Music and poetry are especially good at embodying the ineffable experience at the core of what I cherish. It isn’t always about a person, a dog, or God. It’s sometimes a tiny dandelion struggling through hard-packed dirt, a rush of… The post Thankfulness and Holidays appeared first on RACHEL DACUS, AUTHOR ..read more

I was recently asked — what do you bring to your story that no one else can? It got me thinking. Where do my ideas for characters come from? They come from my experiences. One new character in this sequel to The Invisibles is based on my unusual family of origin. When we were in our teens, my brother and I were joined in our family home by two troubled teenagers. They were high school… The post Only You Can Tell Your Stories — Writing from Your Experiences appeared first on RACHEL DACUS, AUTHOR ..read more

I believe in having a happy, not a spooky Halloween.It was one of my favorite holidays as a child, because what’s not to like about candy, dressing up, and partying with your friends on a moonlit evening? Halloween’s named for spirits — All Hallows Eve, a time for remembering those departed from us. I was thinking about my late brother when I began a novel featuring a guardian spirit, two sisters, and a gently haunted… The post Trick-or-Treat! A Book Discount in Your Bag appeared first on RACHEL DACUS, AUTHOR ..read more

Warning — this is a rant about romance tropes that get under my skin and not in a good way. Plus recommendations for good romance reading. Did I get your attention when I mentioned billionaire? That category of fiction that’s blowing through old sales records, reinventing the romance genre, and — in my opinion — leading young readers astray. Because it’s the Cinderella formula that we all need to grow out of. We’re adult women… The post A Word About Billionaire (and Other Scummy) Romance Tropes appeared first on RACHEL DACUS, AUTHOR ..read more

I’ve been looking at lists of great first lines — in novels, poems, plays, essays. Most lists online include classics. I like the lists that have a qualifier, such as Funniest First Lines. When I’m browsing a bookstore and looking inside a book, the first thing I notice is whether itr has a hook or teaser first line. Hooks are the catchiest way to start but sliding into the scene with in-the-moment detail is also… The post 4 Kinds of Great First Lines – Novels appeared first on RACHEL DACUS, AUTHOR ..read more