In the latest of my thoroughly successful series to become a top money-earning blogger, I have turned myself into an inspirational Fitness Expert. Let my real diet be no reason to be sceptical of my frankly dubious claims! Let my true exercise routine be no reason not to buy the stuff I say you should buy! And let my actual body shape be no barrier to your willingness to follow my inexpert advice!
How in Blog’s name is anyone supposed to sell a book nowadays, when 33,000 other books will be released on the same day as yours? The answer is to look for patterns. Unfortunately, this has global consequences… much like reading this blog on an empty stomach.
If you want to determine the state of humanity, just look at popular fiction, because we’re reading the opposite of what we’re living. Right now the people demand uplifting tales of generosity, kindness, and collaborative triumph over adversity. With that in mind, I’m predicting what we’ll be reading next, linked to whichever fresh disaster befalls the world this week. You’re welcome.
On what felt like the first and long-awaited spring day of the year, I think about how the things we do in this season could also be applied to fiction that’s been in hibernation for any period of time.
(And if anyone dares to make a comment about how writing a blog post about something instead of actually doing it is the ultimate procrastination, I will sic Tark and Mara on you.)
By this time we know why we should never live with one of the great fictional stereotypes: it’ll never end well. But publishing is changing, and the genre mash-up has already gained some ground. So what happens when genres collide? What would happen if a hard-nosed Cop from a Crime Novel shared a house with a hapless Chick-Lit Heroine?
It snowed a lot in Ireland this week, and nobody could talk about anything else. It’s very difficult to argue about snow, and a major weather event tends to bring people together. Thankfully, though, there’s always somebody online having a book-related brawl, just in case we’re ever in danger of getting too complacent about humanity.
Once upon a time, a blogger couldn’t find anything she wanted to read. So she did the unthinkable, and asked the good citizens of the internet for advice. This is about the only time this year you’re going to get a happy ending to a real-life story involving social media and human beings, so you may as well read what happened next.
In what will resound through the world as a shock move, I divide this post in two to ask: when is a 5-star review not a 5-star review, and why should they be banned? Then I attempt to completely subvert the laws of physics by asking you for ADVICE. Pop something bubbly. This may never happen again.
In January I shocked the world by reviewing the Year In Books 2017 before any of it had already happened. I am now reviewing my review in an even more reflective piece which is not to be mistaken for the kind of end-of-year filler posts one sees around this time where bloggers go over what they already said because they’re too drunk to provide new content. Merry Christmas!
Sometimes a little bit of space can give you more perspective than a Renaissance painting. This is a pretty way of saying that I’ve been travelling, I’ve been thinking a lot, and the implications of that may cause more harm than good. For starters, I’m being prolific. And I think we can agree that nothing good can come of me having lots to say.
