Posts by Leslie Lehr
The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz
Confession: she had me at the title. Ten years after my wedding, I still binge-watch the reality show, Say Yes to the Dress. But this novel is so much more. Brenda Janowitz has created three complex women, each worthy of books of their own. The alternating points of view are connected not only by…
Read MoreRecollections of My Nonexistence: A Memoir
Poetic & polemic. I’ve been reading Solnit for years, and felt lucky when she autographed a book for me after a talk at UCLA. I wanted to tell her I was writing a feminist memoir, but I left feeling insecure, overdressed for her quiet consideration. It’s thrilling to have a view into her life…
Read MoreHere She Is: The Complicated Reign of the Beauty Pageant in America
Brilliant. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Miss America since I was tiny, stuffing my swimsuit and strutting across the shag carpet the night women’s libbers disrupted the TV broadcast in 1968. I still watch, and I’m still ashamed. Only now, after reading Friedman’s enthusiastic analysis, I understand why. Friedman, the President of Nat’l…
Read MoreValentine
A stunning literary fiction debut. This is the kind of book you read for the language, words that translate scenery into emotional story world. The story is a richly-shaded portrait of a small hardscrabble town in Texas – and the women who survive it. The narrative line about the near deadly assault on a…
Read MoreReady to Publish? Twelve Tips.
Master carpenters have a saying: measure twice, cut once. It’s a waste of time, money, and materials when the parts don’t fit. Traditional publishers have an entire system of checks and balances to make sure their books are perfect. But when you self-publish, that burden is on you. So get out the measuring tape. Here are twelve things you…
Read MoreYour Story: Hold ’em Or Fold ’em?
Deep into a Skype session with a client in the United Kingdom, she threw up her hands. “Maybe I should just throw out the story and start over. What do you think?” It was a good question. This was the start of a six book series. She and her writing partner needed to be invested…
Read MoreThe Key to Memoir
According to the dictionary, “memoir” is a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources. Not very helpful, is it? It sounds an awful lot like a documentary, the old fashioned kind composed of a chronologicallist of events. Modern memoir is a drama, a compelling story with a narrative arc. Isn’t that…
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