What kind of book appeals to a book club? Books that stimulate conversation, books that make you think, books that open new areas of life–new places, people, culture, books that tell the story behind the story, books you relate to personally. A book may appeal to one member and turn off another, but that’s half […]
J. A. Chernov’s first novel is a thriller must read. I don’t read very many thrillers, because most of them pay little attention to characterization. Terrorizing is the chief aim. J. A. Cherov’s debut novel, Cascadia’s Curse, proved an exception. She is a technical and non-fiction writer by profession and this skill shows in the […]
HAWKINS LANE, my fourth novel, has arrived—at least for those of you who read e-books. You’ll find it at http://www.amazon.com/Hawkins-Lane-Judith-Kirscht-ebook/dp/B00VK98VW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1428104987&sr=1-1&keywords=Hawkins+Lane Those of you who prefer your books in paper will have to wait for a couple of months, but here is a taste. When we are young, many of us, like Erica […]
My last blog on Renee Simpson’s I Can’t Swim, talked about the mastery of creating characters who are flawed, lovable and deeply authentic. Wallace Stegner, renowned author of the West explores the mysteries of love and endurance in this, the last novel of his award winning career. “Floating upward through a confusion of […]
If you are a reader of either fiction or memoir or an author who struggles with the boundaries between the two, Renee Simpson’s fictional memoir, I Can’t Swim, is a read you shouldn’t miss. It combines the best of both genres. The voice of Rebee combines the innocence of childhood with the dry Queens […]
I’ve always envied authors who have no trouble answering that question. I’ve yet to find an answer that satisfies me on any of the books I’ve written, and HAWKINS LANE is no exception. But I’ll give it a try. It’s fiction. General, contemporary, realistic, mainstream fiction. Not very helpful, so let me give you a […]
I apologize for my absence from this blog for the last month, but hope you all have been too busy with holidays to notice. My excuse? I’ve been hard at work revising my fourth novel, HAWKINS LANE, and revising takes the kind of concentration that leaves other things untended. I sent it off to […]
Wishing you a peaceful holiday and a New Year with lots of reading time!
Where did HOME FIRES come from? That’s probably the most frequent question asked of authors, and my answer is almost always, “Who knows?” For me, that’s the fascination of writing fiction—that surprise, astonishment even, and what emerges from places I recognize but have no conscious access to. But I also know that answer only makes […]
I’ve been asking myself why I’m drawn to novels whose characters are caught up in the crises of our times. By “our” times, you understand, I mean in my lifetime, which may be “historic” to many of you. In any case, the book I’m reviewing today, Carey Harrison’s Justice, shed light on that question. […]
This week we voted. Not really. Washington State now has mail in- ballots, so the sense of community action is lost—among other things. I found the picture above, labeled, “Presidential Election, 2016,” in the midst of hundreds exploding in the red, white, and blue celebration of the day. Grim and gray, it expressed […]
If you’re a fan of sea legends, like the Flying Dutchman, or puzzles from the past, like Dan Brown’s Da Vince Code, I invite you to read Michael Hurley’s The Prodigal, a novel that mixes the aura of such mysteries with parables and romantic suspense for a lively and absorbing read. Kirkus reviews […]
Judith Kirscht lives and works in the beautiful Puget Sound area. She is the author of four published works of fiction with more to come soon!
