September 14, 2016

When Ghosts of the City’s Past Linger: A Review of “The Appearance of Annie Van Sinderen,” by Simran P. Gupta

Posted by in Book Reviews
When Ghosts of the City’s Past Linger: A Review of “The Appearance of Annie Van Sinderen,” by Simran P. Gupta

Editor’s Note: With this book review, we take great pleasure in introducing Simran P. Gupta, a new and talented contributor to Fictional Café. Learn more about Simran at the end of her review. We hope to be seeing a lot more of her writing here at the Café! When Ghosts of the City’s Past Linger: A Review of “The Appearance of Annie Van Sinderen,” by Simran P. Gupta Katherine Howe’s YA novel, The Appearance of Annie Van Sinderen, is a perfect combination of spooky and romantic. The result is an equally enthralling and chilling story. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that Howe has written a love story in which one half of the equation is a ghost– yet she never says the word. As summer eases into autumn, this is a perfect book to…

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September 9, 2016

Podcast: “It Can’t Happen Here” by Sinclair Lewis, First Episode

Posted by in Book Reviews, Podcasts
Podcast: “It Can’t Happen Here” by Sinclair Lewis, First Episode

In 1935, a well regarded novelist named Sinclair Lewis published a book entitled It Can’t Happen Here.  The story concerns a senator who is perceived as a man of, for and by the people. But when elected president, he reveals himself as a dictator and turns the United States into a totalitarian police state. This is a story which, 81 years later, still makes Americans cringe. Yet as we look toward the 2016 presidential elections, it’s hard to escape the fact that the Republican candidate frequently rings this bell. For further evidence of this view, read this op-ed from the Boston Globe by Joan Wickersham, “An eerily familiar fiction.” Once a stage play, the novel was never made into a movie. Fortunately, it was made into an Audible Audiobook, which we are excerpting here with…

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August 29, 2016

Emily Harstone says Writers Must Be Readers

Posted by in Guest Posts, News
Emily Harstone says Writers Must Be Readers

There are essentially two schools of thought about how to become a writer. The older European school says read, read, read. The newer American school says, go to college – in particular a graduate creative writing program – and study to be a writer. Emily Harstone (a nom de plume) wrote the following article, “Why Writers Need To Read To Be Writers” for the AuthorsPublish website [if you’re a writer and you aren’t a member, you should be]. Following AuthorsPublish guidelines, here is an excerpt from Emily’s article. Go to the article link above to read it in its entirety. “When I was a child I read one book every day. And by a book, I mean a one hundred to two hundred page novel. Usually it was part of a series. Often it was nothing that would…

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August 26, 2016

Podcast: “Confessions of a Troll” Part 4

Posted by in Podcasts
Podcast: “Confessions of a Troll” Part 4

Here’s the last excerpt from Artemis Greenleaf’s delightful coming-of-age novel/podcast. If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve listened to over the past four weeks, please visit Podiobooks to download the entire novel [or the remaining chapters – you get to choose!]. When you visit Artemis’s site or podcast, please remember to praise and reward the author’s work with a review and a tip. Thank you. We really do appreciate it. Please click on the arrow below to listen to Part 4 of “Confessions of a Troll.”

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August 18, 2016

Partners in Caffeine: The Best Coffee This Side of Arcturus

Posted by in News
Partners in Caffeine: The Best Coffee This Side of Arcturus

We’re partners in caffeine-imbibing with a real coffee shop, the Cafe Monte Alto in Plymouth, New Hampshire. It’s a very cool place on Main Street, across the town green and down the street from Plymouth State University. They grow and sell fair trade coffees from their plantations in Peru, and boy, it’s a great coffee! We’re fortunate that their various roasts are not only outstanding, not only 100% Arabica shade grown, not only reasonably priced, but also available by mail order from their website. I never want to be without Monte Alto’s Dark Roast, so I order it in five-pound bags! We have a link to Monte Alto on our Home page. The owners are not only artistes in coffee roasting, but also love to have artists hang their work on the cafe walls and exhibit on their…

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August 11, 2016

Book Review: “Secrets Can’t Be Kept Forever” by Stephen Seitz

Posted by in Book Reviews, News
Book Review: “Secrets Can’t Be Kept Forever” by Stephen Seitz

I recently attended “Bookstock 2016,” the Woodstock, Vermont, annual book festival. Many of us authors had our published works on display, for sale, and it was there I met author Stephen Seitz and his wife Susan. He’s written quite a few novels in the mystery genre and as we talked I became more interested in reading his work. I bought this one, Secrets Can’t Be Kept Forever, in paperback. The story begins innocently enough, focusing on the trials and tribulations of Ace Herron, the crime reporter for a small local newspaper that’s been bought by a media conglomerate. In the course of his work he learns of a father who has embezzled a large sum from his employer, kidnapped his son, and taken off for parts unknown. Ace pursues the story, which takes many surprising twists…

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August 5, 2016

Our First YA Podcast: “Confessions of a Troll” by Artemis Greenleaf

Posted by in Podcasts
Our First YA Podcast: “Confessions of a Troll” by Artemis Greenleaf

Enter the world of Mordecai “Cai” Peterson, a regular ole everyday teenager who is about to fall down a social media rabbit hole. This is one heck of a fun podcast, whether you’re a young adult or an old one, like me. You can watch a well done video preview of “Confessions of a Troll” on Artemis Greenleaf’s website here. It’s a novel that’s been turned into a podcast from our friends at Podiobooks.com. Artemis Greenleaf, she of the lovely name, is indeed a real person and this is her real name. She lives in a small town near Houston, Texas. And if a woman writing in the first person as a 16-year-old boy isn’t enough for you, it’s read by an Englishman whose first name is Andrew. And very well read, I might add….

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July 29, 2016

Podcast: How To Save The World From Itself

Posted by in Podcasts
Podcast: How To Save The World From Itself

As the Firesign Theater once said, “You know, this is the midst of the disillusionment and heartbreak season and with the recent outbreak of that suicidal strain of despair up in Boston [Philadelphia? Cleveland?], well, you’d better keep a close watch on your emotions.” Yes, friends, irrespective of the turmoil between The Donald and Hillary, the madness of ISIS, our police shooting people of color, we live in a desperate world. How can things be made right? A long-time surmise is an attack on earth by aliens might bring the peoples of the world together and unite our squabbling against a common enemy: little green creatures from Mars. The basic plot probably came from the most-prescient English author, H.G. Wells [also featured in last week’s Podcast of “The Time Machine”], and was aptly titled The War of the Worlds, published in…

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July 22, 2016

Podcast: “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells

Posted by in Podcasts
Podcast: “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells

H.G. Wells was a true science visionary, as well as an accomplished fiction writer, exploring ideas such as burrowing into the heart of the earth, flying to the moon, and traveling through time. His novel The Time Machine was published in 1895 and has subsequently been adapted to radio, TV and film versions for over a hundred years. What you’re about to listen to is perhaps the finest adaptations I’ve experienced, created by the Alien Voices production company. Their production was released as a Simon & Schuster abridged audiobook, but I heard it on Mystery Play Internet Radio, one of my Old Time Radio [OTR] Internet radio stations. Here it is, and it is done well in two parts, each about an hour in length. Please click on the arrows below to listen to “The Time Machine” parts 1…

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