Every writer lives for reviews. For the fledgling writer, anxious to establish herself in the literary world, a good review is a small step forward in her career pathway. Reviews are the professional writer’s bread and butter…literally. The more reviews a writer receives on Amazon, for example, the higher the book climbs in Amazon’s ratings, resulting in more exposure, resulting in more sales, etc. etc. But even the indie author who writes and publishes for the pure pleasu

Like most people, I value my family above anything else on this earth. Yet, as my mother-in-law, Iris, told me decades ago when I asked why her disagreeable older sister always seemed to be feuding with her siblings, she replied, “Well, I love her - always will, but she’s been at odds with somebody in the family forever. Some people, if they weren’t family, you’d never have anything to do with them. You can’t pick your family like you can pick your friends.” Aunt Alice, t