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Anders Roslund: Knock-Knock/Three Days – book review
It was a great pleasure to discover Anders Roslund's crime story among the summer novelties of 21st Century Publishers (orig. 21. Század Kiadó). So far, I have read all three of his books that have been published in this country, and all three were outstanding...
How to improve our writing – part 12
The Ten commandments of writing scenes. The first and second commandments: 1. Respect the law of cause and effect. If, in a film, the camera zooms in on something, you can be quite sure that it will be of importance in the story later on. If it turns out that the...
Emily Gunnis: The Girl in the Letter – book review
Decades ago. An unwed teen mother locked away from the world. A mystery to be solved. When Ivy Jenkins falls pregnant, she is sent in disgrace to St Margaret's, a dark, cruel brooding house for unmarried mothers, to hide her shame from the eyes of the world. Her baby...
How to improve our writing – Part 11
The four stumbling blocks of concluding a novel: 1. The dead end I once read a manuscript where the protagonist visits a deserted island in Thailand with his friends, after lying to his parents that he has taken up work in Germany. The novel is full of surprises and...
How to improve our writing – part 10
The art of conclusion Lots of beginner writers manage somehow to struggle their ways to the end of their novels, through countless sleepless nights and downing hundreds of litres of coffee only to find they can't provide a conclusion to the work. They hang around the...
Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl – book review
One warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, Nick and Amy Dunne are preparing for their fifth wedding anniversary. After the romantic breakfast, the clever and fabulously beautiful wife of the good-looking Nick disappears. Nick is under increasing pressure...
How to improve our writing – part 9
How could you make your novel irresistible? Here are a few proven ways how to keep your readers’ attention and how to make your writing irresistible. 1. Excite curiosity Provoke the reader to feel interest. Uncover a secret, or on the contrary: create mystery....
Robert Masello: The Romanov Cross – book review
I’ve just finished reading the newly published novel, The Romanov Cross. His previous novel, The Einstein Prophecy, was based on an interesting concept, too, but the mystery really ripened here. I was totally preoccupied by the three genres as this novel is a...
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