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With today’s dynamic publishing landscape and tight economic times, writers are increasingly expected to take on more of the marketing aspects by publishers for their books that make it to market. One subtle effect of this shift is that agents and publishers are looking at more than just the text of the book when deciding whether or not to sign the author. Yes, the author has to have written something great, but agents and . . . → Read More: Review: Every Writer’s Dream, by Jeff Goins 
It’s early in the morning—-the sun is not yet up, but here I am, typing away, coffee at the ready. What’s going on? Why aren’t I sleeping? Though I didn’t get home last night until 1:30AM, I’ve got things to write. You see, I’m just back from a creative writing residency as part of the Stonecoast MFA program in Creative Writing, at the University of Southern Maine–I’m brimming with ideas, energy, knowledge, and . . . → Read More: How to Choose a Creative Writing MFA Program 
I made a resolution to myself years ago that I would make a serious effort to pursue and improve my writing. I’ve always been interested in writing stories and telling tales–hey, maybe I’ll even write a novel one day–but somehow job, career, and family always seemed to take a higher priority. And so no progress was made toward my goal. There wasn’t enough time left over at the end of the day to . . . → Read More: Resolutions, Goals, and Improving Your Craft 
We’ve no doubt all heard the cliche, “It takes a village to raise a child.” But award-winning author Neil Gaiman turns this phrase on its head and, with The Graveyard Book, explores a much more interesting premise: “It takes a graveyard to raise a child.” The prospect leads to tantalizing questions. For those who can imagine it, can the dead teach a child how to live? Can the dead protect a child from being . . . → Read More: Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 
Here is the third annual Totally Awesome Gift Guide–a collection of gift ideas that go beyond the mundane. These gifts are curated based on: my personal review (i.e., after using the item, I found it to be totally awesome), or I just really, really want the item myself (i.e., it is totally awesome, period). So, here are some totally awesome gifts for totally awesome people (like you!). I’ve grouped them into three categories: . . . → Read More: Totally Awesome Gift Guide 2011   Books, Culture, Fitness, Gadgets, Reviews  audible, audio book, chin up bar, chinup, demonbell, ebook, ereader, five slices of death, gift, guide, heart-shaped box, ironkey, joe hill, kendall, kendall giles, kettlebell, kindle, klean kanteen, pull up bar, pullup, soundmatters, speaker, usb, weighted vest 
On Tuesday November 15, 2011, in the VCU Commonwealth Ballroom, day 1 of the VCU Cabell First Novelist Festival kicked off with an evening celebrating the novel, writing, reading, and building a career as an author. This two-day festival is a special event recognizing the tenth anniversary of the Award. The keynote talk was given by NPR book critic and novelist Alan Cheuse, who spoke on “First and Last Novels: Rumblings About Writing and . . . → Read More: VCU Cabell First Novelist Festival and panel discussion 
I was on a long flight from Los Angeles to Richmond, Virginia, and I thought I was going to go insane. It wasn’t because of the long flight itself, nor was it because of the hassles of air travel. No, I was going out of my mind because two passengers behind me were prattling on about some reality TV show and I couldn’t escape. It’s not like they were discussing an interesting show . . . → Read More: Read more and save your sanity with Audible 
Lately, the news channels have been flooded with talk about “Kindles” and “Nooks” and “ereaders” and “ebooks”. Most of the stories focus on specific products, and rarely are the simple questions addressed, like: “What is a Kindle?” or “What is an Amazon Kindle?”. I’ve even heard: “What is a Kendall Reader?”. So I thought I’d give a short introduction on the Amazon Kindle. Basically, the Amazon Kindle is a family of ereader devices made . . . → Read More: What is a Kindle? 
I received a beautiful postcard containing event information about the Think Small 6 biennial international miniature invitational. Note that as a part of this event I’ve been invited to read my story “Searching” at the November 11, 2011, 7PM flash fiction reading. This story is also a part of my collection of five haunting stories called Five Slices of Death. Hope to see you there! Related Posts:Think Small 6, artspace at Plant Zero, . . . → Read More: Think Small 6 Event Information 
History is not a discreet collection of independent events. What happens in one epoch, such as the Victorian Era or the Revolutionary Period, is not divorced from earlier events in the same epoch nor from events in previous epochs. Historical events are not blank slates—rather, there are always traces and artifacts left on the slate from what was writ before. And so with Before the Revolution: America’s Ancient Pasts, by Daniel Richter, it is . . . → Read More: Review: Before the Revolution, by Daniel Richter |
 
Kendall Giles is a writer and computer scientist on a quest to live an epic life. Read more: |
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Copyright © 2012 Kendall Giles - All Rights Reserved |
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