Author Archives: Barbara Howe

Pay Dirt

Posted on 5 October 2018 by Barbara Howe

The ghoul claims he’s cursed. Ozzy Turner tells him he isn’t, and Ozzy ought to know. He makes a living breaking curses and finding lost items, and every test he knows has come up empty. He’s right; when the ghoul … Continue reading →

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George

Posted on 22 September 2018 by Barbara Howe

In most ways, Melissa is a typical fourth-grade girl: she likes to wear pink, she cries when upset, she has a BFF, and she loves Charlotte’s Web. She loves the character of Charlotte so much that she’s devastated when she … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Fiction | Leave a comment

Resurrection in Progress

Posted on 15 September 2018 by Barbara Howe

You would think, wouldn’t you, that a computer science professional who’s been in the business for decades would know the value of backups? I do, and I have most of the content of my blog backed up on my home … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life | Leave a comment

Rendezvous with Rama

Posted on 27 July 2018 by Barbara Howe

The year is 2131. Aboard the Solar Survey ship Endeavour, Commander Bill Norton and a team of scientists are on a mission to intercept and glean what information they can from an alien spacecraft as it hurtles through our solar … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Fiction | Leave a comment

Thirteen Orphans

Posted on 15 July 2018 by Barbara Howe

Years ago in the Land Born of Smoke and Sacrifice, a China-like alternate reality, the winners in a war exiled the losers into our reality. The exiles—the young emperor and his twelve advisors, each personifying an animal in the Chinese … Continue reading →

Posted in Noblebright Fantasy, Urban Fantasy | Leave a comment

The Lord of Dreams

Posted on 30 June 2018 by Barbara Howe

Be careful what you wish for, as you will surely get it. Claire Delaney, normal American teenager, wishes she could be a hero. She is immediately snatched out of her bedroom by a delightfully dangerous figure, transported into the world … Continue reading →

Posted in Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Noblebright Fantasy | Leave a comment

Have His Carcase

Posted on 15 June 2018 by Barbara Howe

What would you do if you came across the body of a man with his throat cut, so recently dead that the still-liquid blood is running in a glistening stream down the side of the rock he is lying on? … Continue reading →

Posted in Mysteries | Leave a comment

Léon and Louise

Posted on 3 June 2018 by Barbara Howe

Léon and Louise, by Alex Capus, is a charming love story, but is not a formulaic romance. The book spans decades and two wars, and the two title characters spend far more time apart than they do together. They meet … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction | Leave a comment

A Short Rant About ‘Home’

Posted on 26 May 2018 by Barbara Howe

I recently started reading a book where the otherwise fine opening scene was marred, for me, by one little detail: the narrator kept referring to the place she lived as a treehome. This irritated me for a couple of reasons. … Continue reading →

Posted in On Writing | Leave a comment

Cunning Devil

Posted on 12 May 2018 by Barbara Howe

Ozzy Turner is a man you don’t want to cross. He is a cunning man, aka white witch; a magic user specialising in breaking curses and finding lost items or people. A man dedicated to protecting his community, the town … Continue reading →

Posted in Urban Fantasy | 1 Comment