Overview The amazingly detailed cover drew me in and once I read the blurb, I was intrigued. How fortuitous that I stumbled across this find at a thrift store a mere month or so after returning from my trip to Salem, Massachusetts. I had always been fascinated by the history surrounding the Salem Witch Trials,Continue reading “Book Review: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, by Katherine Howe”
Author Archives: W. M. Ashley
6 Graphic Memoir Recs for Middle School World Lit
Hi Teachers! Below are some of the recommendations I have for those of you designing middle school curriculums for units that may or may not include memoir-writing, world literature, global awareness, cultural connectivity, etc. As always, please be sure to read these books before incorporating them into your curriculum as some of them may notContinue reading “6 Graphic Memoir Recs for Middle School World Lit”
Book Review: The Bone Houses, by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Let’s be honest, one of the main reasons I was drawn to this book was because of its cover…Wow! Although this was initially a book that was down at the bottom of my TBR’s, I am impressed by how quick of a read it was (once I finally sat down and read it!). Due toContinue reading “Book Review: The Bone Houses, by Emily Lloyd-Jones”
5 Reasons to Join a Creative Writing Group
If you’re a writer of fiction and poetry like me, you may be looking for ways to expand your writing community or help others showcase their own writing. Here I’ve listed some advantages I am inexplicably grateful for in my own creative writing group. 1. Give and receive feedback. Some writers (including myself) cringe whenContinue reading “5 Reasons to Join a Creative Writing Group”
August 2020 Reading Vlog
It’s about that time again! Below is my video blog about the books I’ve read/recommend for this month! Feel free to comment below for other book suggestions or to give your thoughts on any of the books I’ve reviewed. Books Included in Review: Blood Countess, by Lana Popović Bone Houses, by Emily Lloyd-Jones As YouContinue reading “August 2020 Reading Vlog”
Book Review: The Whispered Dance of Bees, by Carol Warburton
This book was an interesting one. Sometimes it seemed like the story took on different stories at different periods of the protagonist’s life and it is unclear what the main plot of the story was. However, it is not until towards the end of the book that the reader sees how these subplots drive theContinue reading “Book Review: The Whispered Dance of Bees, by Carol Warburton”
A Review of Starlight Mountain Theatre’s “The Scarlet Pimpernel”: 5 Reasons to Read the Book, Watch the Movie, and See the Play
Just yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing Starlight Mountain’s stage production of “The Scarlet Pimpernel” and boy, was it a spectacle! I had seen the play before (on a much larger scale), but this one was done with such a simple, yet impassioned panache, that it is worth mentioning. First, being an outside theaterContinue reading “A Review of Starlight Mountain Theatre’s “The Scarlet Pimpernel”: 5 Reasons to Read the Book, Watch the Movie, and See the Play”
Book Review: Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper
I came across this book during some independent research I was doing for an article I was writing about “Half-Hangit Maggie”, who had an ordeal similar to that of Hooper’s protagonist, Anne Green. As a piece of historical fiction, I was impressed, overall. The story flipped between Anne’s first-person narration as well as a limitedContinue reading “Book Review: Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper”
Calling All Writers: 13 Calls for Spooky Stories/Haunted Tales for Halloween 2020
Hello fellow writers! For those of you who love writing creepy stories like me, I’ve listed some paying and non-paying journals and anthologies who are looking for stories, poems, or manuscripts in the realm of the supernatural, the gothic, the horror, and/or the mysterious. Many have rolling deadlines while others have dates coming up soon,Continue reading “Calling All Writers: 13 Calls for Spooky Stories/Haunted Tales for Halloween 2020”
Book Review: Slave Stealers, by Timothy Ballard
For those of you who have not yet been exposed to the history writing of Tim Ballard—yes, the same Tim Ballard who runs the Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) to abolish child trafficking—this book is an in-depth account of his past experiences performing rescue operations against the child-slavery. What a lot of people do not realizeContinue reading “Book Review: Slave Stealers, by Timothy Ballard”
