Note: Sorry for the slim pickings this week. I’m heading off to Canada and so am scheduling this post. Between last minute work on my goals and packing, I didn’t have much time to read blogs and articles.

What I’m Reading:

I forgot to mention that I finished Dreamveil: A Novel of the Kyndred by Lynn Viehl last week. I haven’t had time to write up my comments, and I didn’t want you to think I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. This one takes the series one notch higher, and besides, it involves one of my favorite characters from the first novel.

What I did finish this week was the fought over Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews. If you have been reading the Kate Daniels series, this one answers some of the longstanding tension in a wonderful way. If you haven’t been reading the series, what’s stopping you? This is strong urban fantasy with a snappy, but deep, main character, and every book provides a satisfying clash between good and evil while also building the series to a greater battle in the future, and trust me…things aren’t as black and white as they might seem.

Science

The things people are willing to do in the name of science! Interesting study regardless:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19092-fear-must-be-conquered-not-banished.html

From the look of things, “civilization” is the only support for monogamy…or at least that’s how it works in the insect world:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/26/hot_hot_insect_news/

Submitting

How to handle queries when an offer’s on the table:
http://www.johnsonliterary.com/blog/2010/6/24/the-politics-of-offers.html

Promoting

I stuck this here because most writers use blogging as a form of promotion, but here’s a good look at some of the pitfalls that can apply to many things, including writing, as much as maintaining a blog:
http://adriandayton.com/2010/06/why-anybody-can-blog-but-most-people-fail/

Writing

This is a long post including an analysis of the movie 2012 which looks at how important it is to provide readers/viewers with a sense of where the story is going. Now this is really in two parts. The first looks at a way to get a glimpse into the life of an editor/agent by “slushing” your To Be Read pile. Then the second part looks at what a story needs to grab the reader.
http://www.murderati.com/blog/2010/6/19/the-central-action-of-a-story.html