What makes a serious author?

Last week I answered what makes a 'serious' writer, and added that a 'serious' author was something else. I was asked via Facebook to elaborate on this. Answer :  Someone who wants to become a serious author is someone who does their best to write every day, no matter how much. Writing and reading are critical…

Halloween Journal

How fun that my journal day falls on Halloween. While living in the USA Halloween was my favorite holiday. A day to dress up, which I love to do, and a day to get candy, which I love to eat. What's not to love!? However, alas, Japan doesn't really do Halloween beyond drinking parties at…

Shadow Family; Miyuki Miyabe (translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter)

Summary: In Shadow Family, readers are drawn into the amorphous world of Internet chat rooms-a world of people from all walks of life attracted by the possibility of being whomever they want to be. Police investigating the murder of a middle-aged office worker discover e-mail correspondence on the victim's computer that indicates he had been…