In Review: SHIRI

As readers, we sometimes take chances on books outside our comfort zone. It may be with a new author, writing style, series or genre, but whatever the reason, we take a chance and hope we won't regret it in the end. Then, there are times we confidently dive into a book with preconceived notions that it's going to be an incredible read. It doesn't always end up that way, but what a treat when our instincts prove correct. Shiri, by DS Taylor, falls into the latter category. From the moment I read the blurb and talked about it HERE, I knew I'd love this book. I was right.

Shiri is a brilliant historical fiction novel about triumph over tragedy. Set in ancient Egypt during the reign of the Pharaohs, Shiri, a shepherd girl witnesses the murder and destruction of her family and village. Against all odds, she sets off on a journey for revenge, justice, and in the midst of war, and enslavement, finds love and hope. 

Initially, it's Taylor's writing style that captivated me from page one. He is an excellent writer who crafted memorable characters that I easily fell in love with, while also writing despicable characters that I wanted to see die a long and painful death. But another one of Taylor's strengths was the dialogue, well written, and witty in all the right places. Even his descriptions were a joy to read. They were rich and vivid but never overdone. And he was able to describe violent fights and sex scenes in great detail without becoming grotesque or overly graphic.

Shiri was one of my favorite characters in the book, smart, strong-minded, brave, determined, loyal, everything I like in strong female protagonists. However, I do have one mini rant about the book and it has to do with the first five words of the novel which are (SPOILERS): “She was born a woman . . .” I cringed when I read that line. I still do. When I read it I imagined giving birth to my first child and the Doctor looking up from between my legs and saying, “Congratulations, it’s a woman!” David, you know I’m a big fan but, we are not born women, we are born girls or female if you want to be dry and technical and later mature into women. End rant.

The other thing I want to mention is that the book was divided into three parts. The first two focused on (SPOILERS) Shiri and Josef. I was completely wrapped up in their love story to the point that I had trouble transitioning to Part III of the book. I felt as though I had to put Shiri in the background to shine the spotlight on another character, Tiye. And at first, didn’t want to care about Tiye’s character and even fought it for a few pages . . . but, the story and Taylor’s writing, won me over once again and I quickly saw how important this storyline was going to be to Shiri’s character, and guess what? I fell in love with Tiye and her story as well.

Lastly, as a writer I understand as far as the plot is concerned, you can’t ‘put it all in there.’ Proper storytelling and editing compels you to get rid of unnecessary scenes that don’t drive the plot forward. However, there were two scenes that never really made it into the book that I would have liked to have read. (SPOILERS) The first was Josef’s reaction when Shiri told him she was pregnant. And second, the moment Shiri held her daughter in her arms for the first time. As I read, I anticipated these scenes in particular. It may be in part because I’m a mother, and these moments were very important in my life, but regardless, I remember being a little disappointed when these two moments were glossed over or written in as afterthoughts. Again, I understand you can’t write in every moment into the story, I’m simply reflecting a sentiment I had as a reader.  

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was  a compelling story, brilliantly executed, and I highly recommend it adults who enjoy historical fiction filled with action, adventure, love, and wonderfully crafted characters. 

I Miss You Blogfest

The idea behind this blogfest came from Andrew Leon at StrangePegs, and together with Matthew MacNish at the QQQE, and Alex J. Cavanaugh at Alex J. Cavanaugh, they've decided to host the Oh, How I Miss You Blogfest. These three guys are awesome bloggers and writers. If you don't know them already, check them out pronto. These guys rock! 

The blogfest is actually pretty simple, list one to three bloggers you really miss and one to three bloggers you would miss if they stopped blogging.

Well, I've only been blogging since February but I can already list a ton of people I'd miss if they suddenly stopped blogging. Mainly people I've had the pleasure of interacting with through this blog. So if you're reading this, yes, I'd miss YOU! (: 

But if I had to chose one, it would be the person who got me out here in the first place, and that would be Tia Bach at Depression Cookies. Tia and I met over two years ago and she convinced me to dive into the writing community by starting up a blog. She told me the writing community was a generous and caring group filled with talented writers and bloggers willing to help out, and you know what? She was right. Over the years, we've become close friend and I've even had the pleasure of meeting her and her wonderful family in person. In short, Tia is the sister I always wish I had. She's a talented writer, published author, editor and extremely hard worker and an all around good person. Her blog posts are uplifting, positive, inspiring, and informative. And, it never ceases to amaze me how much work she manages to get done in addition to being a wife and mother of three wonderful girls. So Tia, I'm sending you big hugs and I thank you for getting me out of my writers closet and for being such a positive force in this writing community.    <3 

Now, when thinking about a blogger that has been absent for a while, a few did come to mind. However, there is one in particular I'd like to mention and that's author and writer, Jack Flacco. I tried getting back to Jack's site but unfortunately his blog has vanished and the only traces of his old posts are what's left in my blogger feed. ): I miss Jack and his posts. They were great, funny but also informative and he always left kind comments. I don't know what happened, but I do hope Jack is doing well and hopefully someday he'll come back to the blogosphere.  

So if you're reading this, Happy Friday! Love all you guys and hope you have a great weekend.

 (: 

What's the 1st Rule in WRiTE CLUB?!

DL Hammons from Cruising Altitude (which you should seriously go check out if you haven't already) is hosting another round of WRiTE CLUB! I wasn't around last year for the first one but from what I've read, it sounds AWESOME! A quick breakdown of the writing competition: Beginning July 30th, weekly bouts will be held to determine winners for the play-offs and undisputed champion. Over the course of 12 weeks, your ANONYMOUS 500 word writing sample will go head to head with other entries in the ultimate writing championship. Anyone can take part and can submit entries from any genre.  For the complete set of rules and guidelines go HERE. 


Here are DL Hammons tenets (ring any bells?) copied from his blog post:

1st RULE: You MUST talk about WRiTE CLUB - Spread the word far and wide so we can involve as many writers as possible.  Display the WRiTE CLUB banner prominently on your own blog.  Write a post about it.  Tweet it.  Mention it on Facebook.  Encourage people to submit or vote.

2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about WRiTE CLUB – Once the competition begins you are not allowed to solicit votes.  All of the writing entries are anonymous, and we want it to stay that way.

3rd RULE: If someone taps out, WRiTING is over - Tapping out means a WRiTER can decide at any time during the 12 week competition to withdraw their name from the pool.

4th RULE: Only two people to a WRiTE - This is a head-to head competition, no ganging up allowed.

5th RULE: One WRiTE per week - No matter how many submissions I receive, there will only be one WRiTE per week.

6th RULE: No shirts, no shoes - Come on, tell me you didn't giggle at that one.

7th RULE: WRiTES will go on until Oct5th - On that date the 12 winners will be matched up against one another on daily posts until the ultimate WRiTER is chosen.

8th RULE: If this is your first week at WRiTE CLUB, you HAVE to WRiTE - Each week newsubmissions will be placed in a "newby" pool from which one half of the WRiTE will be made up.  The other WRiTER will come from the existing pool.  If there are no "newbies", both WRiTERS will come from the existing pool less the previous winners.

Do you have a writer's warrior spirit?
Curious to see how your writing measures up?
Then what are you waiting for, go sign up!

And Welcome to WRiTE CLUB.

just a little something to get you in the mood... (;