Author Archives: Haylee Swinford

Gary Paulsen: in memory

I was so sad to hear that Gary Paulsen died on Oct 13th. Hatchet and other middle grade survival novels like it were my favorite books when I was in elementary school. But I hadn’t read it in at least 25 years so in memory of Paulsen’s contribution to children’s literature, I decided to giveContinue reading “Gary Paulsen: in memory”

spook-tober reads: the hollow places

Imagine if you found the wardrobe to Narnia…only, instead of a wardrobe it was a hole in the drywall, and instead of a magical wonderland ruled by a Jesus-lion, it was a paper-thin nightmare world that trapped people in the “upside down.” Kara (lovingly referred to as Carrot by her quirky Uncle [who is mostContinue reading “spook-tober reads: the hollow places”

spook-tober reads: my best friend’s exorcism

My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a book about life in the 80s. It’s a book about demonic possession. It’s a book about classism. But more than absolutely anything, it’s a book about real, true, life-long friendship. Abby’s parents have fallen from high places and she’s the poor kid at a fancy private school on scholarship.Continue reading “spook-tober reads: my best friend’s exorcism”

characters to love

About two years ago, I casually turned on a television show I’d heard mentioned a few times. I was in a kind of gloomy mood and something set in the gloomy Scottish highlands sounded perfect. I turned on Outlander just to see if I’d be into it. I most definitely was. After watching the entireContinue reading “characters to love”

characters as worldbuilding tools

“DON’T INFO DUMP,” said every writing-advice-giver ever.  And that advice is so annoying, isn’t it? You’re going along, writing your first draft…or maybe you’re revising your old draft…whatever stage your in, if you’re trying to build a world in a well-paced, interesting story, then it can be difficult to find places for brief bouts ofContinue reading “characters as worldbuilding tools”

so you have too much worldbuilding exposition…

How do I know if I have too much exposition? ex·po·si·tionˌekspəˈziSH(ə)n/ (noun) a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory As a basic rule of thumb: if your exposition distracts from the main narrative, then it’s too much. That sounds a lot simpler than it actually is, though, doesn’t it? Because it’s difficultContinue reading “so you have too much worldbuilding exposition…”

spooktober reads: the hike

To start off my reading this spooky season, I read a recommendation from my husband. All he told me was that it was really weird, but I otherwise knew NOTHING about it. I really like going into books totally blind when I have a solid recommendation for it. I listened to the audiobook for thisContinue reading “spooktober reads: the hike”