Reviews
Two Incendiary Firefighting Memoirs
Dennis Smith’s Report from Engine Co. 82 and Lizbeth Hartz’ Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story are both memoirs about firefighters. One big difference is the setting: Smith’s in New York City, Hartz’s on a military base in Hawai’i. How accurate is Angel Hero? Every detail is true except for names, dates, and places—a necessary…
Read MoreFabulous Kirkus Review for Angel Hero!
In December, I received a terrific review for my book Angel Hero from Kirkus (whoo hoo!) Here’s the link in case you want to go there directly: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lizbeth-hartz/angel-hero/, but I’ll also publish it below. In their review, Kirkus designated Angel Hero a novel and gave it a wonderful review. However, this second edition is actually…
Read MoreWriting a Fictionalized Memoir, Part 3
For writers who do not invent dialogue, or make up events, or combine characters, but who do fictionalize details, a third category is necessary. If the writer tells the truth about events that actually occurred, uses genuine dialogue, and only changes details such as dates, names of places and people and their appearances, an appropriate…
Read MoreSisters in Crime, Ray Bradbury, and me — Part 3
Before settling on the title Angel Hero, two titles I came up with were God Solves the Case, and Detective God. I didn’t choose either one because both sounded like a trivialization to me, sort of like taking The Creator’s name in vain, even though both titles were apropos of my experience. God did solve…
Read MoreVirtually Grounded
On May 21st, I beamed as I read a recent five-star review for my book Angel Hero on Amazon. “Darkly Disturbing but Spiritually Uplifting,” wrote Hypnotist 101. “An exquisitely woven thriller, this excellent and compelling novel uses first-person narrative to great effect.” Hypnotist 101’s book about publishing on Amazon had helped me, so I’d praised…
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