Pop Culture
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2023 in book reviews
I read 102 books in 2023 and published my 5th novel, When Does Life Begin? on September 23. Here are my top 10 best reads in traditionally published novels. Top 10 best reads for 2023 (traditional) These are in order starting from favorite read of the year. Shutter by Ramona Emerson. I got to meet Ramona and have her autograph a copy of the novel during a reading at Arkansas Tech University. The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee. I met Tosca when she and I participated in a Brenda Novak…
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My 30 Favorite Male Singer-Songwriters
I recently wrote about my favorite female singer-songwriters, so now I’m writing about the male ones. My initial list was long, and it was extremely difficult to narrow it down to my top 30. That’s why you’ll see a lengthy list of honorable mentions. I’m not saying any of the artists are better or worse; I’m just basing the list on my favorites and the songs that have meant the most to me. A key difference in a lot of the male singer-songwriters is that more of them are lead singers of a band than the songwriters I admire who are female. It’s just how it is, I suppose. Now,…
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My 30 Favorite Female Singer-Songwriters
Female-led music that inspires me I’m an artist of the written word, and I adore music. It inspires my writing and helps me time travel for stories I set in the past. Lyrics are poetry set to music with a universal quality to help us feel less alone in the world. My favorite songs come from talented singer-songwriters who share their work with the world. In prep for this post, I started listing female singer-songwriters with works I enjoy and soon had a huge list of over 40 talented ladies. It was too big of an undertaking, so I tried to cut the list down to my top 15, but…
