Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but that new novel is so delightful.  Or perhaps, the dreariness of that tome is accentuated by the glimmering sunlight on the winter wonderland of snow outside.  Chances are, the book in somewhere in between.

But whether you think the book shines or whether you can only get through the first ten pages before putting it aside forever, the best gift you can give the author is an honest review.

Of course, all of us who write would…

The English language is simple.  OK, it's really not that simple, what with all its irregular verbs and myriad words borrowed from other languages.  But at least in English, we don't have to deal with fancy forms of letters.  The good old Microsoft Word keyboard just isn't set up for those either.

I first encountered this issue in my writing life in Grand Jeté  (yes, Jeté. not Jete).  The word is French and that little reverse accent is called an acute.  Other writers have…