Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Category Archives: Blogging & Writing


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LIAR! LIAR! Pants on Fire ‘Award’

Kimber the Magnificent here. Being all brilliant and beauteous. As usual. Telling you that Mom and I have been thinking. (Mom says “noodling.” No idea what that means. Or what pasta has to do with anything. But you know Mom!)

Anyway, you know we have our Big Kitty Litter Box in the Sky Awards, right? Reserved for books that hit it right out of the park in the Stinkasaurus Stupendi category. But we’re thinking of creating a new award: The Liar! Liar! Pants on Fire Award.

Cuz if it’s one thing that chaps our hides, it’s a book that’s not honest about who/what it is. You know the type? You pick up a title at a bookstore. Library. Online. Read the summary/synopsis. Think to yourself, “Hey! This sounds pretty good. I’m in!”

The Unpardonable Book Sin

You start reading. Then, wham! It starts getting warm and toasty. The fire alarm goes off. And you realize you’ve been had. Lied to. Cuz the book you grabbed on the basis of its own description turns out to be something else. Commits the Official Mom and Kimber Unpardonable Book Sin: Pretends to be something it’s not. Misrepresents itself. Fakes it. Has a hidden agenda.

So. Not. Cool.

Tip for Authors: (Throwin’ this in for free): You soooo don’t want to do this. Mom’ll nail ya on it. Every time.

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Mrs. M & Tales of a 4th Grade EVERYTHING

Her name was Mrs. Manderson. Tall, slim, and brunette, Mrs. Manderson was an elementary school teacher. But not just any elementary school teacher. Nope. Mrs. Manderson had a rare knack for opening windows into worlds unknown via books.

She was probably the best teacher I ever had. She was certainly the most memorable. Especially when I was in “Mrs. M.’s” fourth grade class.

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The Kimber Awards 3.0

You know we’re pretty picky when it comes to books, right? Like, we have Standards. Submission Guidelines. And we chuck out tons of bookish junk all the time, like the neighbor’s cat hawks up hairballs. 

But we also have favorites. And not just books or genres. In fact, we have some fave authors we want to tell you about. Cuz today we’re awarding The Biggest Bow Wow of them all:

The Kimber Awards.

What? You haven’t heard of this prestigious honor? Maybe that’s cuz I, Kimber, just made it up. 

Well, okay. Mom helped. A little. She lobbied for “World’s Most Super Duper, Seriously Splendid, Extra Excellent, Terrifically Talented, Genuine Genius-y, and All-Around Awesome Author Awards.”

I nixed that. After all. Someone has to be the adult in the room. 

Where was I? Oh yeah. The Kimber Awards. … Continue reading →


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10 Books That Shoulda Won Pulitzers

Hang around Booklandia for any length of time – say, 20 minutes or so – and you know that authors whose books have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize pretty much have their tickets punched for the rest of their authorly lives. Cuz the Pulitzer Prize is a Big Deal. (Not as big as our PAWsome Book Awards, of course. Nobody can top that.)

But wait a minute. What about worthy books that shoulda won a Pulitzer but didn’t? 

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A Review of ‘Reedsy Discovery’

 

You’re an author looking for a thoughtful, quality review of your latest magnum opus. You’re a book reviewer looking for thoughtful, quality books to review.  You’re both looking for some cred. Some traction. Where do you go?

That can be a challenge. It depends on several factors, including – but not limited to – how hard you want to work and how much you want to pay or be paid. But another key question is whether or not your work will get the quality attention and exposure you want. After all, it takes a lot of work, time and effort to write books or book reviews. So where can you go to get the most “bang for your buck”?

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What is Strong Writing?

What is “strong writing”?

“Strong writing” is somewhat subjective. Pose the question to 100 book reviewers or authors and you’re likely to get 100 different responses. Or variations on a theme.

Our Version

So what do we mean by “strong writing” in fiction? Glad you asked. Here’s the 4-1-1 (the short version):

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Big Kitty Litter Box Awards 5.0

One of us used to feel a teensy twinge when an author complained about a negative book review. For a lousy book.

Now she just laughs:

 

Newsflash, Cupcake: We do honest reviews here. We’ve panned Pulitzer Prize winners we thought weren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. We’ve also heaped praise on unknown indie authors who earn it. So don’t whine about a negative review. You sound like the “wah-wah” adult in Peanuts.

Cuz guess what, Toots? We So. Don’t. Care.

Now that we’ve got that outta the way, buckle up. Cuz it’s time for another rip roarin- edition of Big Kitty Litter Box in the Sky Awards. Cuz, holy Meow Mix! You don’t want to waste your valuable time on lousy snoozers that make fish wrap look delish, right? We already did that. So you don’t have to. You’re welcome. (Note: We received complimentary copies of most of these titles in exchange for honest reviews.)

Here’s the short list of qualifications for a Big Kitty Litter Box in the Sky award:

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Rattlensnakes and Reunions

 

The Smartest Member of the Family. (Don’t tell Kimber I said that, okay? I’ll never hear the end of it.)

Mom and I were nosing through Draft Posts That Never Saw The Light of Day recently. (Well, I was nosing. Her Momness was … um… snoozing.) Anyway, we found this post that we thought deserved a second chance. It’s about being a writer. Kind of.

So here ya go. You’re welcome:

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GUEST POST: Author Carmen Leal on ‘The Lifesaving Power of Dogs’

“I Chose You” author Carmen Leal.

By Carmen Real

Author of I Chose You, Imperfectly Perfect Rescue Dogs and Their Humans.

Winner of our first-ever Pawsome Book Award.

Take it away, Carmen:

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On June 18, 2015, an inattentive driver in a large SUV slammed into our small Subaru leaving me with a concussion and moderate frontal and temporal traumatic brain injury. As cliched as it is, everything changed in an instant. I went from loving my job as a concierge in Hawaii creating dream vacations for guests to dreading having to deal with people because of the never-ending level ten migraines.

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‘I Chose You’ Wins Prestigious Award

I Chose You

Imperfectly Perfect Rescue Dogs and Their Humans

By Carmen Leal

Publisher: Wag Away Publishing, 2022

Pages: 264 pages

Genre: Non-fiction/Inspirational

Via: Blog Tour

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“I know these dogs!” saith Kimber the Magnificent. “They’re my BFFs!”

Her Momness: “Okay, Kimmi. But everyone’s your BFF.”

Kimber: “So?”

So…. You’ve heard of the Pulitzer Prize? The Newbery Medal? The Nobel Prize? Small potatoes, bub. They’re nothing next to the Official Mom-Tested, Kimber-Approved Pawsome Book Award.

The Pawsome Book Award

“What’s a Pawsome Book Award?” you ask. Good question. It’s like sunshine on a cloudy day. Birthdays. The first day of summer vacation. Christmas morning. BFFs. All rolled into one.

Reserved for the top one percent (that’s 1% for those in the back) of all books read, the Pawsome Award is our highest honor.

I Chose You is the first-ever recipient of this prestigious award. Here’s why:

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