Father's Day 2026

Finding the perfect read for your father depends on his personality. Whether he enjoys heart-pounding thrillers, touching memoirs, or deep dives into history this list offers recommendations suited to a variety of interests.

Consider the following top book recommendations for Father's Day:

• For the Thriller Lover: A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci or Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman. Both are fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat reads perfect for fans of mystery and suspense.
• For the Sentimental Dad: Big Fish by Daniel Wallace explores a son uncovering the truth behind his father's fantastical stories, while Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama offers a powerful, reflective memoir about identity, and My Father at 100 by Ron Reagan provides an intimate look at the man behind the public persona.
• For the Non-Fiction & History Enthusiast: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown is an inspiring, true underdog story about the 1936 US Olympic rowing team.
• For the Aspiring Handyman: Good Clean Fun by Nick Offerman is a great blend of woodworking guides, humor, and lifestyle.
• For the Geek & Sci-Fi Dad: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline provides a highly engaging, pop-culture-heavy adventure set in a virtual reality universe
• For the Creative Dad: Every Tool's a Hammer by Adam Savage is a chronicle of his life as a maker.

If you'd like to see my recommendations from previous years, check out these two pages: https://writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/2022/06/fathers-day-reading-gifts.html and https://writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/2021/06/7-fathers-day-reads.html

To see one publisher's recommendations for this year, check out: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/the-read-down/fathers-day-books-for-kids-adults/

How about you? Do you have any recommendations for our Father's?

Happy National Book Lover's Day!

I hope you're enjoying an excellent read today!

If you've never heard of this celebration, National Book Lovers Day harnesses all the excitement bibliophiles feel about books into one celebration on August 9th. *Bibliophile – a person who has a great appreciation for or collects books.

A day for all those who love to read, National Book Lovers Day encourages you to find your favorite reading place, a good book (whether it be fiction or non-fiction) and read the day away.

Curious about the history of this day, or how others are spending it? Check out:

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-book-lovers-day-august-9/

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

IWSG: Reader Responses

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs. You can also join us on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG, or on the Facebook page.

Now, IWSG hosts have changed up the format in an effort to make it more fun and interactive. Every month, they will announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Don’t forget to visit others that day to see their answers. Want to join, or learn more? Visit our - Sign-up List.

MAY QUESTION - Have readers ever responded to your writing in a way that you didn't expect? If so, did it surprise you?

MY ANSWER - Yes, actually. There have been several times that a reader reached out and compared my writing to another, much better known, author. In all three cases, I had never actually read anything by those authors at the time. I'm not sure whether to feel flattered that I'm compared to authors deemed "great" by others, or feel deflated because my work isn't more original - maybe a bit of both. We all bring our experiences to the writing, and the reading, table. Those experiences are just as unique as the individual, but also as recognizable as so many universal themes. If you enjoy reading and writing, just keep doing so - regardless of what others think and say.

How about you? Have readers ever responded to your writing in a way that you didn't expect? If so, did it surprise you?

Serious Series

In case you didn't hear, the amazing Beverly Cleary passed away a few days ago just shy of her 105th birthday. Her Ramona books were one of the earliest series that I enjoyed. The only earlier precursors might be the Mercer Mayer Little Critter books and the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel.

News of her death put me in a nostalgic frame of mind and I started thinking back to all of the book series' I have enjoyed over time, as well as to the ones I still haven't gotten around to reading. I also started thinking about the ones I would highly recommend versus the ones that might be a waste of time.

As a middle and high school student, I enjoyed several different variations or series of Nancy Drew. Then I discovered Christopher Pike and several of his horror series such as the Chain Letter and The Last Vampire before discovering and becoming consumed with R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Other author series I pored over in those years included L.J. Smith's The Secret Circle and Vampire Diaries as well as the Sweet Dreams romances by multiple authors. 

It would be so very difficult to pick the best book series ever written. You could argue genre, timing, in-depth creation of worlds, redefining characters, the number of generations who have enjoyed it, and so much more. Finding a new series to fall in love with has led to an all weekend binge for me in several cases. Some of the more popular series that I have enjoyed included Twilight, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, and more. Here are a few I've missed, but hope to try soon:

1.) The Brigid Quinn Series by Becky Masterman - the story of an FBI agent tracking down a notorious killer who murdered her colleague, this four-part crime series as been highly recommended to me.

2.) The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher - this fantasy series includes 16 books showcasing vampires, demons, and magic.

3.) Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan - this series based on Greek mythology has been in my TBR pile for a while. Students have often claimed the series is funny, and full of heroes, love, adventure, and characters I will never forget.

4.) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - while I did read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a young girl, I never picked up any of the other books in the series. It might be time for a revisit.

5.) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I was visiting Scotland when they first began filming the television series version. I watched a few, but I didn't care for them. However, as is usually the case, I have been informed the books are so much better and the series did not stay faithful to them.

There are so many more series that I have enjoyed, and many more that I have yet to try - more than I wish to cover in this one blog post.

How about you? What was your first series? What is your favorite? Do you have one to recommend as a "must read" or even as a "must avoid" series?

Training an Artist

In order to even begin to learn how to play his instrument, it takes the guitarist weeks to build calluses on his fingertips; it takes the saxophonist months to strengthen his lip so that he might play his instrument for only a five-minute stretch; it can take the pianist years to develop dual hand and multiple finger coordination. Why do writers assume they can just “write” with no training whatsoever-and then expect, on their first attempt, to be published internationally? What makes them think they're so much inherently greater, need so much less training than any other artists?     - Noah Lukeman, THE FIRST FIVE PAGES

If you decide to write, it must become a repetitively practiced art form, or you cannot in good conscience call yourself a writer. You certainly wouldn't want a wedding planned, a house built, a baby delivered, a car mechanic, or a brain surgeon in your life that did not have plenty of practice and expertise. So, why would you accept less from yourself? That invested time and practice lend credibility, ease, expertise, and dare we hope: "a certain genius" to our chosen fields.

So, what are you doing to pursue your training and become an "expert, or genius" at writing? If you're looking for ideas, please check out: http://writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/2021/01/2021-conferences-workshops-and-literary.html and then continue reading books on craft as well as both fiction and nonfiction in a variety of genres.

Do you recommend any specific ideas for training? What works for you?

IWSG: Writing Changes the Reader

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs. You can also join us on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG, or on the Facebook page.

Now, IWSG hosts have changed up the format in an effort to make it more fun and interactive.Every month, they will announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Don’t forget to visit others that day to see their answers. Want to join, or learn more? Visit our - Sign-up List.

FEBRUARY QUESTION: How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

MY ANSWER: As a writer, I know what mistakes I'm making, or HAVE made, in my own writing. Subsequently, I'll start noticing some of those same mistakes in published works I'm reading. For example, if a writer has a "go to" word that they seem to be using over and over again. Also, as I study craft, I start noticing some of the issues or strengths pointed out by other authors and teachers. Anyone who has read or studied Christopher Voglers "Hero's Journey" can spot the archetypes, and stages in most stories. It would be easy to say that becoming a better writer makes it harder to read lazy writing by others. However, it can also make a writer into a stronger teacher and mentor for others. What about you?

How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

10 Tips for Working With Magazines

I'm often asked how I cultivate a relationship with editors that offers me a chance to continue writing for magazines. The truth is there is no SIMPLE or quick answer. I can only offer these ten tips.

1) Do Your Research  - Whether I've been seeking publication in a specific magazine, or if the editor has reached out to me, my first goal is the same. Before putting pen to paper or words to a computer document I have to do research. I need to know the target audience of the publication, standard length of articles, angle or stance on a variety of issues, as well as their preferred formats. The best way to learn this is to obtain several copies, and read them to get a good feel for the style. This serves as a guide when writing an article for them. 

2) Discuss the Idea With the Editor First - If you have an idea for a story you should discuss it with the editor of the target magazine. Most editors are more than willing to discuss an article. So, be sure to learn whether an editor prefers to be contacted by phone or email and talk to them about your ideas. Don't forget - most editors, agents, and publishers will NOT read completed articles without a prior proposal acceptance. 

3) Submit a Proposal - Most contributor guidelines say that you must submit a proposal first by sending an email to the editor. This is so editors can steer you towards an angle they will WANT to publish. Many magazines will refuse to read articles they have not previously been contacted about because they have a limited amount of reading time. Others will reject those article because it doesn't meet their current needs. So, save yourself, and the magazine, some time by querying ideas first.

4) Listen to the Editor's Advice - The editor wants you to be a successful writer. They want to know you are a reliable professional. So, if an editor points out issues with your work, don't take it personally. They are rooting for you to provide them with successful and necessary material, just as much as you want to be published.

5) Grab the Reader - The lead of any story is the most important. No matter how good your grammar, how many details you provide, or the quality of sources you site, if you don't hook the reader immediately then nothing else you've said will matter.

6) Provide Good Images - the old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" still reigns in most publications. So, be prepared to offer high quality digital photos or artwork with your article. Sometimes, the offer of these images can increase your amount of pay, or even determine if your article is published at all.

7) Submit Electronically - Most magazines in this digital era prefer to have articles and images submitted electronically. There are a number of benefits in this; it is fast and gives the editor something easy to cut, paste, copy, mark up comments, etc. Digital files increase turn over time and reduce paperwork.

8) Deliver -You will find it very difficult to get published if you renege on an article. That is, to get the go-ahead for an article after a successful proposal and not deliver the final product as or when stated. Committing to a particular article means sticking to the proposal outline and delivering the product. If you cannot meet the deadline or produce the product as proposed, then contact the editor to work out the issue. You must maintain a positive working relationship with the editor.

9) Above and Beyond - Be willing to step up and deliver work quickly. Several of the editors I work with know they can rely on me to help pull up the slack when other writers are overwhelmed. I always try to turn in my work BEFORE deadline, and am willing to take on rushed assignments. I know these facts have helped me in earning several assignments I might not have otherwise been given.

10) Multi Purpose Topics - Most magazines do not want to republish work you have done for others. They specifically request original and unpublished works from their writers. However, you can sill write several articles about the same topic, but from different angles. For instance, this month I have articles about the 2017 Super Bowl in two different publications. I wrote an article on "What Happens When the Super Bowl Comes to Your Town" for Houston Family Magazine which can be read here and an article on "How to Throw a Winning Super Bowl Party" for Thrive which can be read here.

While none of these tips can guarantee you will be published, your willingness to put in the required work will reflect a spirit of success. Never let rejections deter you. Receiving a byline followed by pay can require time and hard work. Just remember what Winston Churchill said, "Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about."