I am real good at literature. I read it well. I write it well. I thoroughly enjoy it. I intuit it well. I went to school for English literature. I was editor-in-chief of my college literary magazine. I was an assistant editor for a big publishing company. I was a freelance editor. I’m a writer,…
There is nothing new under the sun, is there? And with ever-advancing technology and a growing (and growing) world population, there’s less new under the sun now more than ever. We are exposed to more than ever before, and there are just more options! And more options! More options worldwide and yes, more options in…
“Miss Maudie Atkinson baked a Lane cake so loaded with shinny it made me tight.” Scout Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird. I am a foodie. I am also, as you know, a writer, publisher, avid reader, and reviewer. Therefore, it is only too appropriate that I dot this literary blog every once in a…
I have a secret I would like to share with you. Turns out self publishing isn’t so new. In fact, it’s older than “traditional” publishing. Say what?! Maybe you’re not totally surprised. Personally, I had been coming to this conclusion slowly, over time. And in no way do I have great knowledge of the history…
It’s been two and a half years since I posted “Sound Advice,” an entry on The Starving Artist about reading. At the time, I was wanting to read more and also seeing it as part of my job as a writer, but I was struggling with a long string of books which were sub-par. I…
***BLOG UPDATE: As of July 28, 2015, I am no longer on this directory because I do not take review suggestions. It is still a great place to go looking for reviewers, however.*** I have no recollection how I came across The Book Review Directory a couple months ago. It might have been while looking…
How many times have you heard someone say, “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all”? For the most part, I actually believe in the truth of this advice. You see, I used to have anger management issues, which manifested largely when dealing with other drivers, customer service, and my kids.…
Oh, I can read like a champ. I mean, I can get all snuggled up in a corner of the couch with my favorite Navajo blanket and a glass of ice water, a black ball-point pen and a Burt’s Bees chapstick and read for hours. And I cover some ground, man! I can read fiction…
Sometimes things are just what you expect, but they are not at all what you expected. Thus went the first inaugural Read Local NC Book Festival. I participated in a number events on Sunday only, and every one of them went just about how I thought it would and yet was not at all what…
We are fast approaching the inaugural (their fancy way of saying first-ever-hopefully-of-many) Read Local Book Festival. The festival is a weekend-long event with general proceeds going to the libraries, and embraces local authors, bloggers, publishers, bookstores, and libraries from around the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and beyond). It would be a great time for…
APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur or APE: How to Self-Publish, by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch. I received an e-copy of this book, probably more than a year ago, for some sort of promotion. This book took me forever to read, for two reasons. First, it is an e-book, and I hardly ever pick up my…
So I’ve been too sick to read. Unbelievable, right? Well, actually, sometimes when I get migraines I can’t actually see, so that’s why I couldn’t read. Really throws my everything out of whack. However, I managed to watch two movies the other morning. Not saying I didn’t miss some action happening in the bottom right…
It does seem like I am always mentioning NaNoWriMo, doesn’t it? There are two reasons for that. First, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) now comes around three times per year. Sort of. There’s always the official month in November, but they now offer Camp NaNoWriMo, which can be attended in either (or both) April and…
“Come on ride that train, and ride it! Woo-woot! Come on ride that train, and ride it! Woo-woot!” An oldie and a… ah, well. The point is, now you’ve got a dancing song in your head and you’re ready to celebrate the launch of The Night of One Hundred Thieves with me by boarding The…
The Sale Is Here. The Pre-order Is Here. The Reading Is Coming. The Festival Is Coming. The Launch is Here! Whew! No wonder I have hives. (Actually, I think that’s seasonal allergies.) The Night of One Hundred Thieves is a fantasy/medieval magic realism novel about thirty-two thieves and one magical ring. They all want it.…
The idea for this blog post originated somewhere in my brain after I had read Stephen King’s On Writing and before I stumbled across a particular article on writers and money. In other words, some time in the past five to ten years. A couple weeks back, I found a link to THIS ARTICLE on…
What has happened to time? (Despite the fact that it is now flying by at exponential speeds (which I am told gets worse and worse as you age)?) I don’t know about you, but time here has busted right up. You see, I have ADHD. (Surprise! Just kidding. I write about this like once every…
Later this week, I am going to write a bummer of a post on how moms are almost excluded from a work-and-write lifestyle. Next week, I plan on reviewing Conan Doyle and sharing how I am mad at the internet. So I thought we should have a bit of uplifting, first, and talk about the…
In anticipation of the publication of my second novel, I have retired the book website for Benevolent, and launched a website for Devon Trevarrow Flaherty books (in general). Yeah, yeah. I know I already have a blog, but The Starving Artist is for platform building and for getting readers and writers and publishers to engage…
Whew, baby! Just realizing that I have a back-logged guest post from before I went all disappeared from the flu and bronchitis. Many apologies to Sandra Danby, whose post was supposed to coincide with the release of her first novel, last month. I am intrigued that she wrote a book that seems very similar to…
the starving artist 