Tag: Brian Freeman

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: 4/22/16

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

I’m not going to lie – I’m one of those annoyingly “glass is half full” kind of people (unless it’s a cup of coffee and then I actually get kinda panicky when it’s getting past the halfway mark).  So’s my BFF Paul.  He posted this piece on Facebook the other day and it resonated.

I had to read Gary Snyder’s work during an undergraduate post-modern literature class.  His work has stuck with me all these years – glad to hear he’s still out in the world.

In my estimation, Rolling Stone took a dive in credibility after the botch job they did on the UVA rape case.  However, I couldn’t help but read this piece about some college kids who became immigrant smugglers.  As a writer, I read pieces like this to help inform future characters.  Sometimes articles I come across get archived as future story ideas or things that help me with research.

Celeste Barber recreating celebrity Instagrams – this was good.  Provided much needed larfs.

And not gonna lie – been spending way too much time wrapped up in the mania surrounding Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday.

And no – this is not a cooking blog, but damn … might need to break out the skillet for these pork chops!

***

Listening to: Prince.  2016 – you suck.

Reading: Finished Brian Freeman’s “Immoral.”  It was good to revisit the book, I had totally forgotten the ending.

Fiction Update: Edits.  Edits.  Edits.

Enjoy the weekend!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: 4/15/16

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

I decided to stop trying to come up with pithy titles for these “Friday Fare” posts, because if I had my druthers, this article would be entitled “Friday Fare: Spring Has Freakin’ Sprung!”  Yeah … I think dates are better.

Here’s what caught my attention this week on the webs:

One of the members of my writers group sent out these 10 writing tips from Flannery O’Connor. The one that resonated with me?  Number 6.

My love for L.M. Montgomery is well documented on this blog. This article reveals Ms. Montgomery’s painstaking edits on her final “Green Gables” novel “Rilla of Ingleside.”

I found some future #TBR (To Be Read) material in this article from Psychology Today that talks about the books that prosecutors write after the conclusion of career-making cases.

And finally, because writers need to eat – this recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

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Listening to: Latest obsession is Sturgill Simpson.  So much so that I sent this video to my mom to listen to.  And this one to my brother.  (I actually need to call my dad and tell him about this musician, just haven’t got that far yet.) And then I pre-ordered his new album (THAT COMES OUT TODAY!).  And bought his previous album that has this song.  I think that pretty much covers how much I adore this musician, you concur?

Reading: I finished “Revival” by Stephen King and really enjoyed it.  Just started Brian Freeman’s “Immoral.”

Fiction Update: I actually had one of those grown up, writer moments this week.  I had a great day on Sunday of editing.  And then I had my writer’s group on Tuesday.  I had gotten my reading done for them in advance and really felt like I had achieved some sort of mythical balance between being a writer and providing constructive feedback to my tribe.  It was fricking weird.  But yes, editing.  It’s going.  I’m not near as productive as I wish I was, but I’m trying to be as efficient as a full-time worker, mom, wife, etc., can be.

Happy Friday, friends!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: Waitin’ for the weekend

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

The Interwebs have been ripe with damn good articles this week:

I’ve made no secret of my adoration of J.T. Ellison.  Her (adopted) hometown paper wrote an awesome article about her path in the writing world and her recent successes.  And so yeah, I’m biased because I’m a fan of Ms. Ellison’s, but considering how the newspaper industry has gutted their editorial staffs and the tendency for “quantity over quality” I was gratified to see that the reporter did their work and contacted more than Ms. Ellison and one other person for a quote.

Brian Freeman is a Minnesota author who has a cultivated quite a following with readers through his Jonathan Stride novels.  While I always joke that I’m usually about 10 years behind when it comes to following trends, I actually hopped on the Stride zeitgeist in 2005/6 when his first novel “Immoral” came out.

If my local writers group, the Rochester Literary Guild, had a patron saint; it would be Bob Dylan.  I think a pilgrimage to Tulsa is in my future …

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Listening to: I’m still kinda obsessed with the Dave Rawlings Machine and I’m going to be damn unapologetic about it.  This song slays me and has been added to the soundtrack list for at least one of my writing projects.

Reading: Read another Alexandra Sokoloff book.  And it was good.

Fiction Update: It’s been a crazy work week with some daunting deadlines.  I did make it to the Twin Cities Sisters in Crime meeting where I got to hang out with some of my tribe members and do burgers and beer with my writer friend Emily.  But for the sake of sanity, I’ve been focusing on work and trying to be a decent family member this week.  I’ll spend some time this weekend working on finalizing my short story for submission.  That deadline’s March 15th and I’m feeling pretty good about my story and the edits I’ve gotten back from fellow writers.

Wherever you’re reading from, I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!