Common Places - L

 

Communal Places for Literary Enthusiasts

L  When Antonio La Cava, a retired school teacher in Basilcata, Italy, realized a need for children to access books, he transformed his three-wheeler into what he calls the Bibliomotocarro (possibly Italy’s smallest library) to deliver books to children in remote communities.

“Without a book, so often a child is alone” ~ Antonio La Cava

  Fun Fact: Benjamin Franklin started his own Lending Library in 1731 (Philadelphia) called the Library Company (he served as a librarian), but it required a subscription fee of 40 shillings. Later, in 1790, one of the oldest libraries in the country opened in Franklin, Massachusetts where residents could borrow books donated by – you guessed it - Benjamin Franklin.

   

Communal Places - F

 

Communal Places for Literary Enthusiasts

F  Faulkner House Books – Pirate Alley, New Orleans

This charming bookstore in the heart of the French Quarter is located on the ground floor of the home where William Faulkner lived while completing his first novel in 1925. *Masks and Contact Tracing required

 

Do you own any books by William Faulkner?

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore” ~ William Faulkner

Communal Places - D

 

Communal Places for Literary Enthusiasts

D.  A rolling cart (for purchases) and an overnight bag (ha!) might be in order for a visit to the Dickson Street Bookshop in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The sheer volume of used and out-of-print books is a staggering delight for any reader. Setting aside ample time for browsing is highly recommended! The Doomsday Coffee & Roasterie is one of several nearby restaurants and is only a two-minute drive away.

 

Do you like to work or read in Coffee shop settings?

 

“There is no Frigate like a book to take us lands away” ~ Emily Dickinson

Blue Sludge Blues

Hi, Everyone! 

Any nail-biters out there? Keep the mittens handy and have a look at this Cover Reveal!

A collection of frights, from the psychological to the monstrous. These tales are a reminder of how much we have to fear: a creature lurking in the blue, sludgy depths of a rest area toilet; a friendly neighbor with a dark secret hidden in his basement; a woman with nothing more to lose hellbent on vengeance; a hike gone terribly wrong for three friends; a man cursed to clean up the bodies left behind by an inhuman force. These and other stories prowl the pages of this short story collection.

Release Date: March 15, 2018

Available for Pre-Order in e-book now at the following locations:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079WKB7PW

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079WKB7PW

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B079WKB7PW

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B079WKB7PW

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/792576

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blue-sludge-blues-other-abominations-shannon-lawrence/1128000342?ean=2940155139850

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/blue-sludge-blues-other-abominations

Will also be available in trade paperback from Amazon US and UK, Apple iBooks and everywhere else Smashwords distributes to, and Amazon in other countries.

Cover Design: Jeff Lawrence

A fan of all things fantastical and frightening, Shannon Lawrence writes primarily horror and fantasy. Her stories can be found in magazines and anthologies, including Space and Time Magazine, Dark Moon Digest, and Spinetingler. Though she often misses the ocean, the majestic and rugged Rockies are a sight she could never part with. Besides, in Colorado there's always a place to hide a body or birth a monster. What more could she ask for?

Social Media Links:

Website/Blog: http://thewarriormuse.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewarriormuse/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thewarriormuse

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Shannon-Lawrence/e/B00TDKPOAO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1519445371&sr=8-2

Smashwords Author Page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/thewarriormuse

 Let's keep this going, folks! Give a shout, save the date and share the news of the latest release by the demonstrably talented, multi-published, and well on her way to hybrid author, Shannon Lawrence!

Read, Write, Breathe - and Smile!

It’s National Reading Group Month and if you aren’t too engrossed in reading that epic novel, you could always sharpen your writing skills to write one with any of the many great resources offered by the Insecure Writers Support Group, founded by Alex Cavanaugh, right here and right now on this first Wednesday of the month, when IWSG members convene through blogging, Facebook, and Twitter to talk about whatever is on our writing minds and agendas. See what we’re all talking about here.

And if you dare... 

 

Just when I couldn’t imagine witnessing something exaltingly fresh, unexpectedly vivid - and absolutely free (yes, I thought I had ‘seen it all’), I spent a week watching seasonal transformations in the woods. I had one last fleeting thought of our sassy whiptail lizards, cavorting year-round in the unyielding desert back home before an autumn butterfly perched briefly on my keyboard as soaring treetops swayed in a bracing breeze that rushed the clouds across the sky as if they were late for something. 

You couldn’t have peeled me off that bench, from that place where it was suddenly clear how so many writers before me; Zane Grey, J.A. Jance, Stephanie Meyer and Barbara Park, had been so completely suffused in atmospheric inspiration.  

But I hadn’t come to write about nature or the weather, though I understand Climate-themed fiction is popular these days. Perhaps “The History of Bees” by Maja Lunde would lend insight as to how to keep them out of hummingbird feeders. As an adventurous spirit who still needs a home to return to, Barbara Kingsolver’s “Flight Behavior” certainly weaves the dreaded word extinction into my unsuspecting thought waves.

But what was I going to write about? Checking my inboxes is one of my favorite distractions, and that’s when I read the latest (at the time) IWSG newsletter in which Ninja Captain, Alex reminded us of the upcoming deadline for submissions for the annual Anthology. Four hours, four (single-spaced) pages later, and it’s history in the making! How’s your journey?

In answer to the optional Question of the Month: “Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?”  Indubitably ;-)

Happy Writing!

“Why can’t people just sit and read books and be nice to each other?” – David Baldacci, The Camel Club