AUTHOR Archives - Shelley Blanton-Stroud

Start Jane Benjamin’s adventure with Copy Boy–free upload

Shelley Admin2022-03-02T19:27:48+00:00AUTHOR, Copy Boy, Dust Bowl, Fact and fiction, FAMILY, feminist, feminist noir, FREE, Giveaway, historical fiction, historical thriller, Noir, Publishing|

I loved Mona's cranky, disgruntled humor in Elizabeth Gonzalez James's debut novel, MONA AT SEA. That's why I was so [...]

Grateful for early readers

Shelley Admin2022-02-28T21:41:59+00:00AUTHOR, Craft, historical fiction, historical thriller, Publishing, Tomboy|

Book-making is such a long process, full of landmarks. Today, seeing Tomboy's final cover, I'm very grateful to the authors [...]

Mustn’t let adults know

Shelley Admin2022-01-27T21:51:00+00:00AUTHOR, banned books, Fact and fiction, FAMILY, History, Justice|

I used to run The Banned Book Club for teenagers. We only read books that had been banned by libraries [...]

Cantankerous and fussy

Shelley Admin2022-01-18T18:25:24+00:00AUTHOR, Copy Boy, Fact and fiction, feminist, Grit, historical fiction, historical thriller, History|

I wrote Copy Boy, my first of the Jane Benjamin novels, in ten years, dipping in and out of the [...]

Interviews are dangerous

Shelley Admin2022-01-18T18:27:28+00:00audience, AUTHOR, Copy Boy, Craft, Dust Bowl, Fact and fiction, FAMILY, historical thriller, Interview|

It's like I'm a sophomore. It's fascinating to me how a person can turn sixty and still feel, well, sophomoric. To [...]

Launching the Mystery Review Crew

Shelley Admin2022-01-18T18:28:06+00:00AUTHOR, Craft, feminist noir, Giveaway, historical fiction, historical thriller, Interview, Mystery Review Crew, Noir, Online event, Video|

In just three days, January 10, the Mystery Review Crew website will launch, sharing news, reviews, interviews, videos and more [...]

The passing of Joan Didion

Shelley Admin2022-01-18T18:29:12+00:00AUTHOR, COLUMNIST, Craft, Fact and fiction, FAMILY, History, Joan Didion|

Sacramento-born author, Joan Didion, who passed away over the holidays, had an outsized effect on me, especially this idea from [...]

Peeping Toms and other critics

Shelley Admin2022-01-18T18:30:01+00:00audience, AUTHOR, Craft|

With Stories on Stage Sacramento co-director Dorothy Rice, I spent a December Sunday in the Crocker Museum's Friedman Court, facilitating [...]

Never off the rack

Shelley Admin2022-01-18T18:30:35+00:00AUTHOR, Barbara Stanwyck, Fact and fiction, Fashion, feminist noir, History, Noir, Renee Patrick Books|

I just subscribed to the Renee Patrick Books newsletter, drawn in by their Golden Age of Hollywood series, featuring legendary [...]

Proofreading’s a metaphor for life

Shelley Admin2022-01-18T18:31:07+00:00AUTHOR, Craft, Proofreading, Publishing, Tomboy|

Proofreading's a metaphor for life. I know. You're rolling your eyes. But wait. I've been proofing Tomboy before advance reader [...]