reading for writers: Community Board by Tara Conklin

In Community Board, Tara Conklin takes us inside the major depression of a woman whose husband has left her for another woman - yet she manages to make the story entertaining! The character isolates herself in her parent's empty home, eating only the canned goods her mother still stocks in what was a bomb shelter. Excerpts from a community board are her main contact with the outside world - and are the quirky sort of conversations you'd find on a Facebook community page. Also included are unfinished emails the woman writes to her husband, often about the hairiness of his new lover. The ending is quite satisfactory as well.

For writers this is worth reading because of the structure of the book - using social media excerpts within a larger narrative - and the use of humor in a serious story.

These Lost and Broken Things by Helen Fields

In These Lost and Broken Things, Helen Fields takes us inside a woman who is a killer in the early 1900s. The historical background is handled well. Formative pieces of the main character are given bit by bit. I didn't like her throughout, even at the end, but came to understand her enough to want to know what was going to happen.

Good plot construction; good getting inside an anti-hero. Nice linking the character's situation to overall women's issues and presenting those in the historical context.

A good novel for aspiring historical fiction writers to read.

My Comps

Books by McGuinn

When pitching a book, it's helpful to find comp (comparable) authors who either have a similar writing style or who choose similar trials for their protagonists. This involves reading a lot of authors - because not every writer in your genre will be a good fit.

Here are my comps. If you like any of the following authors, you might like my books, or if you like my books, you may like theirs, too:

• Colleen Hoover - We both write realistic stories with some intense scenes that deal with similar issues: sexual abuse, mother-daughter relationships, etc. All of my novels pictured above have teens dealing with tough times.

• Rhys Bowen - I read Above the Bay of Angels, which was historical fiction. If you like how her character grows through the story, you might like Peg's Story: Detours, which follows Peg from Christmas 1971 to Christmas 2000.

• Catherine Ryan Hyde - Brave Girl, Quiet Girl might be the closest match for Maggie's Story - Running Away - we both do intense, gritty realism that make you keep turning the page.

• Kristin Hannah - While Firefly Lane has friendship as the moving force, if you were drawn to the struggles of the character who goes from neglected child of an addict to super-achiever, Peg's Story - Detours may appeal to you as well. We both use gritty moments of realism to convey the larger situation.