Sheila's Guests and Reviews

They have heat ratings for romance novels. Since I sometimes review romances I've been trying to work them out so I'll use the right words. To the best of my knowledge: Burning means vividly graphic detail in sexuality and vocabulary. These ones probably go further than I'd choose to read. Hot means detailed sex scenes with plenty of body parts. They're not my scene either, but I'm happy to read and review them once in a while. Moderate might be moderately explicit, but spares the reader's worst blushes. More about feelings than body parts. More euphemisms rather than intricate detail. Warm emphasizes the feelings even more, letting the action slide under the bedsheets. Subtle stays above the belt (a euphemism I learned at a Christian writers' conference). Soothing closes doors. And cool keeps sensuality on the backburner in favor of unencumbered emotion. (Okay, I like sevens. I had to have seven ratings in my list!) But what about ratings for fa...

I've been trying to find a definition of fiction. Someone says it's the art of imagining the unreal then rendering it real enough with words for others to believe in it. I'd try "temporarily believe." I wouldn't want people permanently convinced that my fictional worlds were true. But the intended audience surely has something to do with it. Someone writing a fictional account of a saint's life, with the intent to inspire, will presumably write for an audience that can be inspired by saints. Someone eager to prove that capitalism leads to world domination will write for readers of similar political views. And someone trying to bring history to life presumably looks for readers who believe real history matters. This led to me wondering, what if your intended readership (say Christian women) includes readers of more than one political persuasion (says she as a European Christian, therefore almost by definition somewhat different from an American one)? Shou...

My novels have mathematical titles - I even call them " mathemafiction " when I'm feeling whimsical. The titles have the advantage that there aren't many other novels sharing them, but that doesn't help people find theem on Amazon. You type one title, and Amazon helpfully guesses you really meant another. So my novel (Divide by Zero - the only one published yet) languishes behind Continental Divides and the Zeros of Dangerous Ideas - and then only if you specify you're looking for a book. Divide by Zero has the disadvantage, of course, that nobody knows what it means, but it's perfect for my book - a village divided under the infinite horror of a terrible crime. Would you pick it up? (Please do!) And will you read the companion novel Infinite Sum, where a middle-aged woman seeks escape from the sum of past trials? Perhaps you'd rather go for a novel with more fire in its title? I've just read two very different, fiery tales, and enjoyed them b...