Here Come Da Judge

Well, it's going to be an interesting next few days, from what I can judge.

Beause I'm going to judge-- twice!

First is a speech competition for High Schoolers. Should be an interesting time.

And Monday night, March 4th, I'll be at Martha's Exchange in Nashua, NH, for the
New Hampshire Writers' Project Regional Finals for Literary Flash.

Yup, I'll be one of three judges deciding the merit of readings from people's flash stories.

I asked if I should be Simon Cowell, or Paula Abdul...

Should be a good time-- drop on by.

Author Meet and Greet

In the snowy depths of February, we had an Author Meet and Greet, sponsored by the Tyngsboro Library, with much help and support of their Friends of the Library. Great time meeting new people, munching on refreshments, and supporting the reading community. And a number of authors there, most represented by Rosstrum Publishing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Review

Hello there-- sorry I've been quieter than usual-- still working on edits to A Shadow on the Wall, the third Zack Taylor novel. Very tough to make every line, every scene as good as it can be.

While waiting for that to come out, here's a review I just received of the first Zack Taylor book,
A Memory of Grief. Got a rating just short of "Great." Not too shabby for a debut novel!

REVIEW:  In “A Memory of Grief” by Dale Phillips there is a line that I first questioned “Taylor is a loner who makes friends easily…” which I thought was odd.  When you read this novel you then understand it.  It is a fast paced conversation packed novel.  The eastern seaboard is well travelled within this novel and Dale shares his novel with descriptions that are bountiful in nature.  Therein lies a recognizable theme and plot.  The settings are described with enough detail to provide a mental picture.  The setting of the eastern seaboard and Maine are essential to Dale’s storyline.  It is very clear who the protagonist and antagonist are here.  The dialogue is easy to read and flows well within this story.  It is grammatically correct with accurate punctuation as well.  There are no conflicts within that need to be resolved.  There is a climax to this story as well.  Dale Phillips point of view was consistent and easy to follow.  Enjoy this work of fiction based in Maine and around murder and mayhem for the main character Taylor. “A Memory of Grief” has the perfect title and the tale that ensues will keep you on your toes and pinned to your seat as you will not want to put it down.  Your imagination will run wild until you get back to it.  No way to put this down, for me, because of the fast paced action. Drama, action, conversations and storyline are a delight to read.  It is with high hopes that we see another novel by Mr. Phillips.
Anastasia Cassella-Young, Reviewer
Mind Fog Reviews

Warring With Trolls

My last post was on encountering trolls on the Internet, and it proved to be timely. Writer John Scalzi has been in the news recently, with his response to a multi-year battle with a particularly odious online troll and his minions. You can read baout the epic battle in the Guardian and Salon, among other places, as Scalzi's response is the proper way to deal with such ugly hate. When life gave him lemons, he made a tasty lemon chiffon pie, and shared the goodness with everyone.

This troll and his ilk are those arrogant, self-proclaimed alpha males, who get off on insulting anyone who isn't like them, or agree with them. They seek to engage in flame wars (vitriolic arguments on blogs), and spend their time spewing hate and vast amounts of stupid.

People are funny, except when they're mean and nasty. Then they need the loving mallet of correction, and a donation to charities that promote good things.

With natural disasters like superstorm Nemo to worry about, can't we just be a bit nicer to each other?