"Has there been a well-regarded or lauded author you keep trying out as a reader but have never connected with their books? Toni Morrison is my answer to that question. I have attempted several of her books (Jazz, Paradise, and Love) over the years but have never...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 197: To Leave A Warrior Behind by Jon Tattrie
by MHill | Jun 10, 2026 | Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
"Writing isn't about doing what everyone else tells you to do. Writing is about doing what your creative voice wants you to do." I begin this review with those two sentences from Kristine Kathryn Rusch's The Write Attitude. Rusch writes about what a writer's mindset...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 195: Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami
by MHill | May 26, 2026 | Book Reviews, Haruki Murakami, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
Have you ever picked a book from your library and started reading it? I did that a few days ago with Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami. Murakami is one of my favorite authors, and this is my eighth book of his I’ve read and reviewed on this blog. I was...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 186: Break Blow Burn & Make by E. Lily Yu
by MHill | Feb 15, 2026 | Book Reviews, Christianity, Christianity & Art, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
"In this day and age, it may seem anachronistic to aspire to eternal works, or to ask for help from God with a painting or a poem. But we do not have any chance of accomplishing the first without the second." E. Lily Yu wrote the above sentence in the last section of...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 160: Killing The Top Ten Sacred Cows Of Indie Publishing by Dean Wesley Smith
by MHill | Jan 13, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
In my previous review, I shared that I have unlearned some beliefs about being an author-publisher thanks to Dean Wesley Smith (along with his wife, Kristine Kathryn Rusch) with his blog series shattering sacred cows about the publishing industry. In the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 159: Killing The Top Ten Sacred Cows Of Publishing by Dean Wesley Smith
by MHill | Jan 9, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
In the last ten plus years as an author-publisher, I have learned about the publishing business on that level. Also, I have carried a lot of beliefs that I'm unlearning. Dean Wesley Smith (along with his wife, Kristine Kathryn Rusch) has helped in that unlearning...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 158: Rethinking The Writing Business by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
by MHill | Jan 6, 2025 | 2025 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
Think Differently! Those words came to me during my morning prayer time a couple of weeks ago. Prayer is my time for personal reflection and conversation with Christ, sharing my concerns and those of others. Since hearing those words, they’ve been constantly on my...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 151: To Barcelona and Back by Pamela Sargent
by MHill | Aug 23, 2024 | 2024 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, MH Travel, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing
I truly believe that the universe has a way of bringing the right book into your life when you need it most. This is the case with To Barcelona and Back: One Writer’s Tour of Spain by Pamela Sargent. Sargent, a veteran science fiction writer, was at a crossroads in...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 125: The Language of the Night by Ursula K. Le Guin
by MHill | May 1, 2023 | 2023 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
"All Art is entertainment. That's so clear it's fatuous to repeat it. Art and Entertainment are the same thing, in that the more deeply and genuinely entertaining a work is, the better art it is. To imply that Art is something heavy and solemn and dull, and...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 124: The Way of the Writer by Charles Johnson
by MHill | Apr 22, 2023 | Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Writing
As a writer, I have always been curious how other writers practice their craft, what they read, and how they conduct business. I believe you can learn a lot from other writers that are further down the writer's journey than you are. Charles Johnson's The Way of the...