February 2007 News:

My TBR (To Be Read) stack is slowly getting smaller and I’m working on several book reviews in between writing my monthly columns and working on articles to submit.

Click on my “Book Review” tab to see reviews of The Butterfly’s Dance by Christyna Hunter, Spiriting Around: A Modern Guide to Finding Yourself by Martin “Mark” Tomback, and Journey Back by Dan Martin.

This month, I’m pleased to announce that my article, “Alzheimers: Understanding the Disease and its Limitations,” was published by BlogCritics. Here is the article on BlogCritics.

In turn, after its publication, a very nice gentleman e-mailed me and asked if he could have my permission to copy my article to use as a handout in educational workshops and support groups. He is the supervisor for the Alzheimer’s Association Resource Center.

I was honored that my article will be used to help others who deal with the task of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s.

The Alzheimer’s Resource Center has linked to my article on their website as well. My article can be found in the resource center’s Daily News.

“Alzheimers: Understanding the Disease and its Limitations,” was also picked up by ROJO.

July/August 2006 News: Busy months of summer haven't kept me from running my fool head off, but they have kept me from updating my website and blog. Needless to say, I have been working behind the scenes trying to catch up on my reading and reviewing.

Click on "Book Reviews" to see my latest reviews of Psychedelic Six by Paul Spock, The Butterfly's Dance by Christyna Hunter, Window Seat: The Art of Digital Photography and Creative Thinking by Julieanne Kost, and An Inverted Sort of Prayer by Chris F. Needham.

Four books down and eight to go.
Those waiting on their reviews will be happy to know that I'm well on my way to completing my "to read and review" stack.

Back to reading! I'll keep you updated.

June 2006 News:

The months of April and May have seemed to slip by without me updating my website and blog. For those interested, please click on "My Blog" link to read the latest about AbsoluteWrite, my home away from home. For those who feel compelled to support a wonderful writing community, please click on one, or all, of the buttons below. AbsoluteWrite, in my opinion, is THE best writing community on the net. Please help if you can.

You'll also find an update on the last two months explaining why I've been missing in action. My apologies to all those authors out there awaiting my reviews. Your books will be read in the order they were received and I will, as always, give your hard work my utmost attention.

March 2006 News:

Kristina Kregiel, staff writer for The Sewickley Herald, called me for an interview a few weeks ago about my essay "Perseverance" and the Stories of Strength anthology. Here's the story.

You can also see it online here.

February 2006 News:

In case you missed the latest local review of Stories of Strength, it was published in the February issue of Pittsburgh Magazine.

I was asked to be a book reviewer for The Compulsive Reader.

Just finished reading the first book sent to me and will be posting my review by the end of the week.

It’s been a busy month, but I still managed to submit a few articles for publication.

I joined the Acceptance and Rejection Pledge threads at Absolute Write.

The motto for both pledges is: You can’t publish if you don’t submit.
I pledged to submit one piece a week. That’s only 52 submissions for the year.

Presently I’ve submitted 25 pieces to publications. At this rate, I’ll not only pass up my pledge, but also possibly triple what I’d anticipated.

Submissions: 25

Acceptances: 8

Rejections: 4

I'm getting closer to completing the edit on my novel Roadkill. Very soon I’ll be concentrating on writing a synopsis and submitting it to a publisher/agent. The research for both is still pending.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Roadkill will be in the mail before the end of this year to either an agent, or a publisher, who accepts manuscripts without agent representation.

For all my friends who continue to encourage me, thank you! To all those who continue to struggle with their writing, my advice is and always will be, keep writing, never give up, and always persevere.

Happy writing all!

January 2006 News:

What better way to start the new year than to update the latest news.
I'll be adding book reviews to the latest news section of my website until I compose a separate page.

Stories of Strength is listed as #17 in sales at Lulu. Please take a moment to purchase the anthology and help us donate 100% of the profits to disaster-relief charities. There are great book reviews everywhere for this book and its worthwhile cause. My essay, "Perseverance" was mentioned in the review at The Compulsive Reader.

The latest local review of Stories of Strength is published in the February issue of Pittsburgh Magazine. Just received my copy in the mail today. It should be in bookstores and online by the end of the month. Again, my essay was mentioned in this review, along with "The Truths About Rains and Floods," by Raymond K. Wong of Pittsburgh.

Speaking of Raymond Wong. I wrote a book review for his debut novel The Pacific Between.
I would recommend ordering it from one of the links below before you click off my site! If you'd like to know more about his novel, you can read my review of The Pacific Between at Absolute Write, Amazon.com, and Barnes and Noble.com

As soon as I hear about other publications that have picked up my review, I'll post them here.

Raymond K. Wong
Update: January 30, 2006

My review of The Pacific Between was published on BlogCritics on January 26, 2006.
It was also published by The Compulsive Reader on January 29, 2006.

My review of The Street Smart Writer: Self-Defense Against Sharks and Scams in the Writing World by Jenna Glatzer and Daniel Steven was published on BlogCritics on January 27, 2006.

Amazon.com also published my review.

While you are at either site, I'd suggest purchasing this very informative guide if you're looking to publish soon.

I've also become a Blogcritic. Check out the site when you have a few moments.

November News:

I've added a few novel excerpts to my site. Be sure to click on the short stories and novel excerpts link before you leave.

The excerpt from UNEARTHED was used as my initial entry for the Absolute Write Idol Contest. I won fifth place in the competition.

A shorter version of my essay, Perseverance, will be published in the AbsoluteWrite.com Stories of Strength Anthology. Make sure you bookmark my page and come back for the details. I'll post a link for purchase of the book when it is available.

The Stories of Strength anthology is ready for purchase at Lulu. Please order your copy today.

October News: This month has been quite busy. I joined the RWAOnline KIA Writing Marathon, which began October 1 and ran the entire month of October. I was on the Part-time Nookie Ninja team. During week two of the marathon, I took second place for the individual category for our team. You can check out my blog: WritingAfterDark for more news on KIA.

The Stories of Strength book is nearing publication. Keep checking back for more information on how to order the book.