Tag: book-review

Sunday's Scrips: A Monthly Newsletter

Sunday’s Scrips: April 2026

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Whatcha Up To?:

  • I’ve been selected as a Reader for the High Plains Book Award! (More Below).
  • I’ve been selected as a Judge for the Women’s Fiction Writers Star Award! (More Below).
  • Join me for the last Flashlights & Firelight Online Book Club April 15, 2026 to discuss The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré! (More Below).

High Plains Book Award Reader!

The High Plains International Book Award is a prestigious award honoring books published in the previous year about the high plains area from USA to Canada. Volunteer readers determine which books become finalists and judges then determine which finalists win each award. There are several categories and it’s all very exciting! I’m reading now and winners will be announced in June.  

Star Award Judge!

The Women’s Fiction Writers Association gives out a Star Award every year for general and debut novels, and I’ve been selected as a Judge for this years entries. I just finished up reading and sending in my extensive reviews. Winners will be announced in September.

Flashlights & Firelight Online Book Club

Join us on Zoom April 15, 2026 at 6pm MT to discuss The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré.

April Timed Writing Prompt Available Now!

Want a chance to have your work featured on my website, social media, Patreon and Substack accounts? Send me your unedited, timed writing response for your chance to be featured! Find the latest prompt on Patreon or Substack.

Monthly Book Talks!

Love to read but never know what to pick up? Check out my monthly videos for my local Thompson Falls Public Library here. Remember to Subscribe for free so you never miss one. Book talks: like book club, but shorter.

Readings

Did you know I occasionally remember to record readings of my published pieces. You can check out the latest one here. Be sure to Subscribe so you don’t miss the next one!

Please forward this to those you think may enjoy it. As always, thanks for joining me. I appreciate you’re here.

NOTE: You can email me directly at sunday (at) sundaydutro (dot) com

Sunday's Scrips: A Monthly Newsletter

Sunday’s Scrips: July 2025

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Whatcha Up To?:

  • So.Many.Rejections! (More Below).
  • Wanna write for Five Minutes? (More Below).
  • Join us for Flashlights & Firelight Online Book Club July 18, 2025 to discuss The Broken Girls by Simone St. James (More Below).

Like Rejections?

Do you know I post my rejections every month? Obviously the names of the innocent are removed, but it can be interesting to read other peoples rejections. To help learn what’s a form letter, what’s a form +, etc. You can read them for free every month on Patreon or Substack.

June Timed Writing Prompt Winner

“The Plane”

By Michael Walker

It was only a short hop flight from Augusta to Columbia, South Carolina, but it was enough to scare me; I didn’t realize it was going to scare the shit out of me. I’m a terrible flyer. I don’t want to throw up—not terrible like that—but I’m positive that every flight is going to be my last. The thing is, I have a fabulous imagination, and I concoct numerous air-borne catastrophes, some of which happen at the same time. My vision of hell is a continuously crashing airplane on fire, filled with spiders.

Not this flight. We took off, and didn’t crash at the end of the runway, so that was good. We climbed and we were getting closer to God which was somewhat of mixed bag.

Michael Walker is a playwright turning novelist. Currently deconstructing a tome about four women meeting, into three novellas (as a collection) and the fourth woman’s story as a novel, tying in and wrapping up the three novellas.

July Timed Writing Prompt Available Now!

Want a chance to have your work featured on my website, social media, and Patreon accounts? Become a supporter and you’ll have access to my monthly timed writing prompt. Send me your unedited, timed writing response for your chance to be featured! Find the May prompt on Patreon or Substack.

Flashlights & Firelight Online Book Club

Join us on Zoom July 18, 2025 at 6pm MT to discuss The Broken Girls by Simone St. James.

Monthly Book Talks!

Love to read but never know what to pick up? Check out my monthly videos for my local Thompson Falls Public Library here. Remember to Subscribe for free so you never miss one. Book talks: like book club, but shorter.

Readings

Did you know I occasionally remember to record readings of my published pieces. You can check out the latest one here. Be sure to Subscribe so you don’t miss the next one!

Please forward this to those you think may enjoy it. As always, thanks for joining me. I appreciate you’re here.

NOTE: You can email me directly at sunday (at) sundaydutro (dot) com

35th Annual Book Awards Shortlists

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Becoming Little Shell has been selected as one of five books shortlisted for the 2025 Reading the West Awards in the Memoir/Biography category. If you’re wondering what this is, here’s the lowdown:

More than 180 books were submitted for consideration in the 35th Annual Reading the West Book Awards. Independent booksellers across fourteen states read and reviewed all the books to choose their favorites. Now we’re asking you to help select the best of the best! Scroll through or click on the categories to see the shortlist titles. Cast your ballot by May 31, 2025. Winners will be announced June 12, 2025.

Here is some info on who is behind all of this in the first place:

Reading the West was conceived to celebrate the diversity, courage, tenacity, expertise, and indie spirit of the bookstores in the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association. Our goal is to bring bookstores, books, and readers together, to promote the best of our regional authors and stories, and to feature the passionate recommendations of our booksellers.

I have mixed feelings about awards and, especially, ones that demand writers wave their hands and holler, “Vote for me!” Which is exactly what I am doing here. Awards help sales, and sales are still what makes more books possible.² Not just for me, but for other writers too. So please consider voting; I voted for myself to see how much of a hassle it is and it really wasn’t. So I sure would appreciate if you took a few moments to cast a ballot in Becoming Little Shell’s direction! HERE IS THE LINK. I’ll probably mention it a time or two between now and the deadline at the end of the month but I’ll try not to be obnoxious about it.

The above is shared directly from Chris’ Substack which you can find here.