Epistolary Novel

What do you think of epistolary novels? I read a recent one the other day and was of two minds. On the one hand, I enjoy the creativity behind a book composed of fictional letters, and the genre is as old as novels themselves. At the same time, how many people in real life write letters anymore?

I tried my hand at an epistolary novel once. I liked it, but several agents I met at a writer’s conference baulked at the idea of an epistolary novel. They’re very difficult to sell and rarely do well commercially. But I’m more concerned with this type of novel from an artistic point of few. Modern communication has changed so much, that a series of lengthy letters now seems archaic and difficult to related to in many ways.

So what do you think? Have epistolary novels had their day? Or is there hope for them in adapting them to the modern world?

World Cup!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably been following the exciting finals of the World Cup this year. I’ve never enjoyed watching soccer (futbol) so much! In fact, of the original top 3 teams I picked during the 32 team stage, all of them made it to the semi-finals. Why didn’t I put money on them?! Oh, well.

With literally over 3.2 billion viewers estimated world wide, it’s a safe bet that if you’re reading this you’ve watched at least one game in this year’s tournament.

Croatia and England had a heck of a game today. Both of them are stellar teams. I’ll definitely be rooting for England to get the number 3 spot against Belgium Saturday, but I’ll also assuredly be rooting for Croatia to get the final cup against France on Sunday. May the best team win!

Happy Independence Day!

We celebrated this 4th of July as we often do. With lots of food, fireworks, and friends. The kids are getting used to looking forward to the holiday, now that they’re old enough to remember previous years.

It’s extra fun too, because our town happens to be one of the few in our area where you can still do fireworks at home. Nothing against the professionals, just sometimes it’s fun to do them yourself. I guess it’s the pyro in me.

I hope all of you have a spectacular 4th and that your summer is shaping up nicely. I’m definitely looking forward to more BBQs and watching the garden grow. What are you looking forward to this summer?