The Cedar Park Blog has reviewed 257 books over the past three years. I’ve written all of these reviews except for a handful that my guest reviewer, Paul R Schwankl, stepped in for. (Thanks, Paul!)  

The focus of my blog has been

• historical novels

• mysteries, especially historical mysteries

• contemporary fiction, mostly novels plus some short story collections

• a few biographies, memoirs, and social histories

Hundreds of other books have returned to my local library unreviewed and mostly unread. The trend in fiction publishing today seems to be toward thrillers, horror, fantasy, and science fiction. These genres either disturb my sleep with nightmares or simply don’t capture my interest. Dystopian futurist novels are especially popular, perhaps as warnings about the trajectory of our society or perhaps as a way of saying, “It could be worse.” I reviewed one of these futurist books and decided that one was enough. Among memoirs, I’ve gravitated toward those by women who have triumphed over difficult circumstances in their childhoods.  

It’s now time for me to move on to other writing projects. In suspending my book review blog, I plan to devote more of my time to my own fiction and nonfiction writing. Stay tuned for news of

• a novel set in Detroit in the 1960s

• a guide to visualization for pregnancy and birth (with Johanne C Walters)

• a liturgical pageant for the Christian season of Advent

Meanwhile, you can check out my recent publications: a coming-of-age novel, Adventures of a Girl Architect, and a musical pageant, The Medieval Twelve Days of Christmas, both of which are available on Amazon.com.

This blog will be active until at least November 2021. The Archive of reviews, in the right-hand column, will be available for your browsing pleasure.

Thanks for checking in with the Cedar Park Book Review Blog!