Author Archives: jamesdmacdonald

Originally posted on Dr. Doyle's Blog:
From now through the 11th of April, in honor of the arrival of new growth and brighter days, my usual rate for a full line-edit and critique drops back to $1000.  Furthermore, you can purchase a gift certificate for a friend or colleague at the seasonal price, to…

Originally posted on Dr. Doyle's Blog:
It’s that season again . . . time for one of my semi-regular posts where I clear my throat nervously, point at the “About” link in the header, and let people know that I offer editorial and critique services for a reasonable fee. (It’s been a long hard…

Originally posted on Dr. Doyle's Blog:
Because hoo, boy, am I feeling peevish at the moment. Peeve the first: taught versus taut. Taught is a verb; it’s the past tense of teach:  Jack taught Joe how to tie knots. Taut is an adjective, meaning stretched or pulled tight, the opposite of slack:  Joe pulled…

Originally posted on Dr. Doyle's Blog:
Franklin W. Dixon.  Carolyn Keene.  Victor Appleton.  Familiar names, all three, as are their literary creations:  The Hardy Boys.  Nancy Drew.  Tom Swift.  How do these authors manage to have their names on such long-running series?  (The first Hardy Boys adventure appeared in 1927; the most recent just…

Originally posted on Dr. Doyle's Blog:
She read a New York Times interview with Kazuo Ishiguro about his forthcoming novel, The Buried Giant, which takes place in a non-historic just-post-Arthurian England, in which the author frets that his audience will say that it is fantasy.  (To be fair, it contains. among other things, a…