On Star-Crossed Romance - Cheryl Brooks

Today's guest is the fabulous Cheryl Brooks whose Cat Star Chronicles are amazing! Her post gives us a glimpse into some of her ideas on research. You can read her article here

http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2011/06/guest-cheryl-brooks.html

and I've posted a review of her latest book, Virgin, that you don't want to miss.

http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-virgin-by-cheryl-brooks.html

Sourcebooks is giving two copies of Virgin away. Make sure you stop by and read how to enter the drawing!

Guest - Joan Maze

Good morning all! Our guest at Star-Crossed Romance today is Joan Maze, author of Murder By Mistake. Joan will be discussing one of my favorite topics - research! She's also giving away one copy of her novel, Murder By Mistake to one lucky Star-Crossed Romance reader, Make sure to stop by to see how to enter the drawing!

http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2011/06/guest-joan-maze.html

Have a Blessed Day!

Over Inflated Egos Thrive in the Literary World

Okay, I'm not one to give a lot of attention to people with superiority complexes but when they diss my gender...well, that warrants a closer look.

VS Naipaul finds no woman writer his literary match – not even Jane Austen
Nobel laureate says there is no female author whom he considers his equal

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/02/vs-naipaul-jane-austen-women-writers  


He uses terms like Literary match, Feminine sentimentality, and Limited worldview.  I'm not sure who labeled the man 'the greatest living writer of English prose' but I'll gladly take credit for labeling him the 'greatest misogynistic bore of modern prose'. 

One of the things I've always said about writing is that the fiction author should be invisible. That includes the author's gender. Naipaul says he can determine the author's gender within a paragraph or two. He apparently even created a 'test'.

 I took the 'The Naipaul test: Can you tell an author's sex?' and honestly, I found it almost as boring as Naipaul. But then again, maybe it's my Limited Worldview. Or my feminine sensibility that makes me think him boring. Or maybe it's his snobby attitude.


For the record, I got about 75% correct, including the paragraph from Naipaul which I found emotionally detached and remote. And, to be honest, somewhat trite and over done. So much for the 'greatest living writer of English prose'.