Allworth Press (Paperback), ISBN: 1-59115-099-7
Birthdays and Christmas may be the usual time for wonderful surprises, but when you make a name as a reviewer, the dog days of summer can prove almost as rewarding. Last Saturday I received a book for review and, well, it would have blown my socks off except it was over a hundred degrees and I wasn't wearing any. In all honesty, the book blew my mind. I have a bookcase full of books on writing, so I instantly reacted, "Not another one!" But being a compulsive reader, I opened Moira Allen's Writer's Guide immediately and started to read. My next conscious thought appeared when I closed the book: "Wow, this goes beyond great!"

Concise, straight to the point, with excellent and easily understandable examples, The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals answered questions I didn't know I should ask. I would recommend that every beginning writer grab it, read it, underline pertinent passages, and follow Allen's knowledgeable advice in every detail. Veteran writers will also find the book a valuable edition to their resource libraries.

In addition to sharing her own, considerable expertise, Allen brought in multi-published authors like Victoria Strauss, Lynn Flewelling, MaryJanice Davidson and a host of others to lend their insights. In addition, Karen Wiesner -- a writer whose book on electronic publishing I treasure -- wrote one of the back cover blurbs.

The book made writing a synopsis -- the bane of my writerly existence -- look so easy that I decided to apply Allen's method to an idea I first flirted with for six months ago. Lo and behold, I did it. Not without some minor mind skirmishes, you understand, but the rough draft of the synopsis took only three hours. This amazed me, because usually it takes me several weeks to come up with a few pages of nothing exciting.

This is one book on writing whose value exceeds its price by a large measure.

Patricia Lucas White

Patricia Lucas White's latest historical novel, To Last a Lifetime, was an Eppie finalist for 2003. To Last a Lifetime and two of her fantasy romances, the Sapphire Award-winning A Wizard Scorned and The Godmother Sanction, can be ordered through Hard Shell Word Factory. Her recent contemporary, PS, I've Taken a Lover, is available from Lionhearted Books.

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