Judy Moreno

Ramona the Friend: A Childhood With Beverly Cleary

Photo Credit: HarperCollins/ beverlycleary.com I grew up homeschooled with three younger siblings and a small circle of friends. I lived in a small town with a small library that housed a small selection of books for small children. Some of those books were written by Beverly Cleary and featured, you…

Judy MorenoMarch 29, 2021

Fiction Miscellany

Larry McMurtry, Acclaimed Author of “Lonesome Dove,” “Terms of Endearment,” and “The Last Picture Show,” Dies at 84

Photo Credit: Diana Lynn Ossana The highly successful writer Larry McMurtry died yesterday, Thursday, March 25, at 84 years old. He’s known for penning his bildungsroman Lonesome Dove, the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain, and the adapted-for-film Terms of Endearment and The Last Picture Show, among many others; he’s overarchingly lauded…

Judy MorenoMarch 26, 2021

Fiction Listicles Listicles - Featured

What Happens When Humanity Destroys Its Own World?

The Apocalypse is on everyone’s minds these days. I may sound a little dramatic, but the events of the past year have justified speaking of catastrophic and cataclysmic occurrences with courage and a previous-unused bluntness. Suddenly, the unknown seems to be the expectation. One place where drama is usually very…

Judy MorenoMarch 26, 2021

Young Adult

C.B. Lyall Continues a Magical YA Series With “The Veil of Corruption”

Hong Kong teenager Wilf just wants to be “A Normal” and play soccer; even though his magic keeps getting in the way. In fact, “He wanted to tell his best friend the truth. That he’d been to a Magical Realm full of witches and wizards, and that he had himself…

Judy MorenoMarch 23, 2021

Listicles Miscellany

Sharing Some Favorite Poems on World Poetry Day

Sunday, March 21 may not immediately seem like an international holiday, but I'm here to tell you that it's a day to celebrate and honor an art form that resonates with all of us in some way: poetry. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I haven't always been…

Judy MorenoMarch 21, 2021

Listicles Listicles - Featured

10 Books by Contemporary Irish Authors to Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day

On Saint Patrick's Day, we tend to focus on the fun. Colorful rainbows ending in pots of gold, mischievous leprechauns dressed in jaunty Kelly green, and supposedly rare lucky shamrocks pop up in our typical lives for one cheerful day in mid-March. Goodness knows I have no problem with this…

Judy MorenoMarch 17, 2021

Children's Books Miscellany

Author of the Seminal “The Phantom Tollbooth,” Norton Juster, Passes Away at 91

Bill Greene/The Boston Globe/Getty Images Norton Juster captured the hearts and minds of many a reader with his uniquely playful acclaimed novel The Phantom Tollbooth, published in 1961. He died earlier this week in his Northampton, MA, home at the age of 91. His housemate, the talented Jules Feiffer, illustrated…

Judy MorenoMarch 10, 2021

Better Self Nonfiction

Faith, Hope and Love Transcend Suffering in Christian Memoir “Summer’s School”

Michael J. Hoggatt’s journey began in 1996. He thought that he wanted to be a history professor, not a Special Education teacher, but, as he says, “God had other plans.” As those plans unfold, we see him and his wife Mandy struggle to adopt a child, then finally welcome a…

Judy MorenoMarch 9, 2021

Children's Books Listicles

Read Across America With Our 7 Favorite Children’s Books About Reading

Today is a special day for book lovers, especially those who deeply appreciate the wonderful world of illustrated children’s books. March 2 is Read Across America Day, as named by the National Education Association (NEA). The Association includes over 3 million people — “educators, students, activists, workers, parents, neighbors, friends…

Judy MorenoMarch 2, 2021

Author Discovery Zone

Michael J. Hoggatt

https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Headshot-300x300.jpg Michael J. Hoggatt Christian Living/Inspirational A Christian Writer Focusing His Talents on Helping Those With Disabilities Mike is the President of the Disability Ministry Conference, an organization whose mission is to "Advance Quality Disability Ministry by Coming Together to Learn, Connect & Collaborate." He holds Masters in both Special…

Judy MorenoMarch 1, 2021

Author Spotlight Author Spotlight - Featured Nonfiction Nonfiction - Featured

Author and Historian Robert Strauss Discusses “John Marshall: The Final Founder”

John Marshall: The Final Founder (Lyons Press) by eminent scholar Robert Strauss boasts "entertaining historical tidbits within a fine short biography," according to Kirkus Reviews, and is about one of the greatest historical figures ever, according to my college-history-professor Dad. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin — these are names…

Judy MorenoMarch 1, 2021

Nonfiction Nonfiction - Featured

While “Singing All the Verses,” Peg Guilfoyle Proclaims the Full Spectrum of Life

“I have long been a person who sings all the verses.” So begins the resonant Singing All The Verses: Essays from a Mid-American by Peg Guilfoyle. Her story is fascinating. She was always a free spirit, drifting around the West in her twenties as well as living “the customary wandering…

Judy MorenoFebruary 24, 2021

Miscellany

Poet and Literary Paladin Lawrence Ferlinghetti Passes Away at 101

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who died on Monday at the grand age of 101, left a legacy that supersedes a simple definition. He was a writer, a mentor, a business owner and an advocate, among many other acclaims. He believed in the power of “poetry as insurgent art,” a phrase he used…

Judy MorenoFebruary 24, 2021

Fiction Listicles Listicles - Featured

Enhanced, Evolved, Engineered: 7 Novels About Transhumanism

Transhumanism — ever heard of it? Honestly, I myself hadn't for quite a long time. The Cambridge Dictionary defines the term as "the theory that science and technology can help human beings develop beyond what is physically and mentally possible at the present time. Transhumanism asserts that with all the…

Judy MorenoFebruary 23, 2021

Author Spotlight Book Club Network Nonfiction

Amy Herrig Talks Transformations in “No More Dodging Bullets”

“When we feel like all is lost, if we dig deep and look for a better way, we can find a greater strength and better version of ourselves than we ever knew before.” That’s what Amy Herrig did. After overcoming a heroin addiction as a teenager, she faced an entirely…

Judy MorenoFebruary 22, 2021

Author Discovery Zone

R.J. King Author Profile

https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DSC00068-300x300.jpg R.J. King General Fiction Author of a debut thriller about a detective and a prolific serial killer, going back into the past of both men and showing the journey they took to eventually end up on an inevitable collision course.