Category: Literary Fiction

Book Reviews, Fiction Writing, Horror, Literary Fiction, New Words Learned, Psychological Fiction, Suspense/Thrillers, Words

Plant Lady – a Review

by Lisa • April 17, 2026 • 0 Comments

Do not dare disrespect her plants.

The Imaginary Life of Abigail Jones – a Review

by Lisa • January 12, 2023 • 1 Comment

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑏𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑙 𝐽𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠 is a captivating read, and the things that took place in Abigail’s life made me look forward to turning each page. The author’s vivid descriptions of seemingly insignificant details brought them to vibrant life.

The Bird that Sang in Color – a Review

by Lisa • May 26, 2021 • 0 Comments

This thought-provoking literary fiction book follows the lives of a dysfunctional Italian family—especially Donna Greco and her brother Vincent—from 1970 to 2012. The book leaves you with this question: When I look back over my life, what pictures will I see?

Notes from the Bonfire – a Review

by Lisa • April 2, 2021 • 1 Comment

What is poetry? This art form isn’t willing to be defined, labeled, or nailed down. Its words are the chiseled marble of language. It is a paint-spattered canvas, but the poet uses words instead of paint, and you are the canvas.

The Benefits of Breathing – a Review

by Lisa • May 27, 2020 • 1 Comment

All of the stories in 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 are about love. Some are afraid to love. Others love yet stay apart.Some only pretend to love, yet in many cases, love continues even after death. Not everyone is honest when it comes to love; some set out only to deceive. And never forget that the love of a dog, man’s best friend, is so very special.

The Curious Autobiography of Elaine Jakes – a Review

by Lisa • June 26, 2016 • 1 Comment

An autobiography is a history of a person’s life written or told by that person. What kind of autobiography would you write about your life? Would it be serious, telling of all the great things you have accomplished? Would it be sad, telling of all the losses you had suffered and all the hard times…

Writing Literary Fiction – Guest Post by Christopher Meeks

by Lisa • April 28, 2016 • 8 Comments

I recently finished my sixth draft of a new novel, which takes place in the Iraq war. I’m ready to show it to agents as I look for new representation. At the recent AWP Conference in Los Angeles, I attended a panel called “Agents on Agenting,” where afterward I asked Noah Ballard, an agent at…

The Middle-Aged Man & the Sea – a Review

by Lisa • April 26, 2016 • 1 Comment

Relationships are at the center of each of these stories. They will make you think about your own life, the people that you know, and what each of them might encounter in their day-to-day lives. Each of these stories is an extremely real slice of life. They are very well-written, and the characters are so genuine…

Literary Fiction: What is it Really? – Guest Post by Christopher Meeks

by Lisa • April 3, 2015 • 1 Comment

“Literary” is a type of book many people admire, but it’s not a genre that people necessarily seek. It’s even hard to call it a genre the way “mystery,” “romance,” and “paranormal” might be. Books that appear on Amazon’s literary bestseller list, for example, reveal how widely defined “literary” really is. For instance, this week,…

Love Will Make You Drink and Gamble, Stay Out Late at Night – a Review

by Lisa • April 2, 2015 • 0 Comments

Love Will Make You Drink and Gamble, Stay Out Late at Night is a book of short stories. Each of the stories is about relationships. They tell about the mistakes made, words misunderstood, and the resulting misadventures had. All of the stories revolve around life in Santa Barbara. This book has twelve short stories. One…