Reading & Writing
The spirit of ’75 Friday, 30 November 2012 02:45 |  Written by Matt Kanner
Author Kevin Phillips, soon to visit New Hampshire’s original capital, explains why 1775 was the real year of our nation’s birth. Among the many historically significant happenings of 1775 was a shifting of New Hampshire’s capital city from Portsmouth to Exeter. Portsmouth had been the colonial capital, but the Patriots decided to shake things up. It was an example of their increasingly brazen attempts to defy the British government and establish their own American identity. “The revolution, in a lot of colonies, was a revolution of trying to destroy the previous political power centers,” said author Kevin Phillips.
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A campaign fantasyTuesday, 06 November 2012 21:06 | Written by Matt Kanner
Local author Dennis Nils discusses his debut novel, combining modern politics with epic myth. The central protagonist of local author Dennis Nils’ debut novel, “BWLF,” is Dan Morgan, a Democratic candidate for governor of Alabama and an expert in cognitive disorders. In addition to running against a popular local Republican, Morgan is forced to contend with a trio of murderous monsters, including a giant bird, a vicious sea serpent, and a mighty Neanderthal.
Who reigns supreme?Wednesday, 31 October 2012 00:00 | Written by Matt Kanner
Author and CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin talks about the Supreme Court’s swing to the right, and its chief justice’s battle with President Obama. The Supreme Court of the United States currently consists of six men and three women—the first time in history there have been three women justices. The court includes six Catholics and three Jews—the first time none of the justices have been Protestants. But more important than that trivia, said Jeffrey Toobin, is the fact that the court currently includes five Republicans and four Democrats. Those numbers, he said, are what defines the court today more than anything else.
Count CroninTuesday, 23 October 2012 21:20 | Written by Matt Kanner
Author Justin Cronin returns to Portsmouth with ‘The Twelve,’ the sequel to his apocalyptic vampire epic ‘The Passage.’ Cronin, a New England native now living in Texas, actually practiced firing a rifle in order to write the part—a skill he learned from his dentist. “For ‘The Passage’ I learned an awful lot about hand guns, and let me tell you, going to the shooting range on your lunch hour is a really good time,” he said. “To write this book, I had to learn to be a sniper. I had to learn to shoot a high-powered rifle.”
Walk on the wild sideWednesday, 10 October 2012 16:54 | Written by Karen Marzloff
Hallie Ephron tells why mystery writers have more fun Hallie Ephron knows what readers want. The popular author writes mysteries, but also dissects mysteries in reviews for the Boston Globe and coaches mystery writing students in workshops and conferences. Her book “Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: How to Knock ’Em Dead with Style,” published in 2005, is a favorite on the craft of writing a mystery. The Wire talked to Ephron about why we fall for mysteries.
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