The author enjoys a Fourth of July party in a GIANT HAT.
What nonsense is this?
This nonsense is freelance writing guides, book reviews, satirical history, biblio-geekery, literary criticism, social justice commentary, cats, and assorted silliness. Also genealogy, wordplay, &etc.
Who are you, anyway?
In no particular order, I am a graduate student in literature, a freelance writer, an unabashed feminist, and a personal assistant to two extremely spoiled cats.
I got a law degree once. It didn’t take.
A likely story. What do you do?
To pay the bills, I write marketing materials for law firms – web content, blog posts, brochures, television and radio ad scripts, and so on. I also write English-education-related items: tests, curriculum, etc.
I’m currently working on an English-grammar guide for adults, tentatively titled DICK KILLS JANE: AN IRREVERENT GUIDE TO GRAMMAR. You can follow along with Dick’s murderous linguistic escapades by visiting the Dick Kills Jane Tumblr.
What do you do besides work?
In my “free time,” I review books, track down dead relatives, and cram my head full of English, history, and English history. Beginning in fall 2013, I’ll also be cramming my head full of an MA in English and teaching freshman composition.
Once in a great while, I get around to publishing a short story. Here are a few of the better ones (and by “better,” I mean “accepted by an editor who was not me”):
- “A Fish Out of Water“, All Things Girl, November/December 2010.
- “One Crucial Gift,” A Book’s Mind, October 2010.
- “Prikaza“, Expanded Horizons, November 2009.
“<a href=”http://allthingsgirl.net/writings/metamorphosis-novdec-2010/a-fish-out-of-water-by-dani-alexis-ryskamp/”>A Fish Out of Water</a>”, <i>All Things Girl</i>, November/December 2010.
“<a href=”http://abooksmind.com/blog/?p=69″>One Crucial Gift</a>,” <i>A Book’s Mind</i>, October 2010.
“<a href=”http://expandedhorizons.net/magazine/?page_id=943″>Prikaza</a>”, <i>Expanded Horizons</i> November 2009.
I do not write or publish poetry. You’re welcome.
The author with her great-great-aunt and great-great-uncle, or what’s left of them.
What are the best parts of this blog? And don’t say “all of it,” you egocentric cad.
If you’re new to the blog, welcome! Here’s a quick-start guide:
On Literary Analysis
- Five Reasons I Hate Les Miserables (The Show, Not the Book)
- the Liveblogging Atlas Shrugged series, for all your mocking-Atlas-Shrugged needs
- SAPPHIRA AND THE SLAVE GIRL: It’s Not Actually About the Latter
On Books, Reviews, and Collecting
- A Guide to Animals Used in Bookmaking
- How to Ruin Perfectly Good Books
- Of All The Books I’ve Reviewed This Year, Here Are the Ones You Should Read First (2012)
- Top Five Books for Figure Skaters
On Writing
- Freelance writing hints, tips, musings and tricks
On Law, Society, and Popular Culture
- Ban This Post!: Why Book Banning Makes Zero Sense
- Context Matters. Words Matter. On Quvenzhané Wallis and the Onion’s Tweet
- In Which Television Tells Me What I Want for Christmas
- On Trayvon Martin, Michael Donald, and “The Last Lynching in America”
- Should Convicts Be Allowed to Sell Memoirs Detailing Their Crimes?
- What We Talk About When We Talk About “Inappropriate” Books for Kids
On Fun
- the Feline Friday series, for all your catly needs. (See also the “and a cat” tag.)
Did you always want to be a writer?
As far back as I can remember, yes. Also, as far back as I can remember, people have been telling me that it’s not possible to make a living as a writer and I had better get a college degree in a “secure” field, like accounting or law.
The truth is that there is work aplenty for people who want to write it, but that few writers make a living writing just one type of thing. Those who can make a living just writing novels are rare; the many, many novelists who aren’t instant-name-recognition superstars (and a few who are) supplement their novel-writing income by writing other things: magazine articles, public-relations and marketing materials, indexes in books, translations, you name it. In these jobs, an adoration of writing isn’t as necessary as perseverance – but it helps.
Next time someone tells you it’s impossible to make a living as a writer, remind them that every printed object they see had to have been written by someone. Why not you?
Hi! I’m glad I found your blog! I was worried about the people and cats of Tashirojima also and was glad to hear the island survived the earthquake/tsunami with less severe damage than thought! You and I both love cats-I worked in a bookstore in the early 90s and rescued my little housemates when my sister and I moved in 1999.
Oops! I used my cat Tuxi’s name when she “wrote” to her friends on the Cats Working blog and forgot to put my name back! Anyway, I have a trip to Cat Island on my Bucket List when the people there get resettled and back to normalcy. Pictures before the quake look absolutely wonderful and the blue water beautiful. I’m hoping the radiation now doesn’t cause problems for the fishing industry there.
Dani, So great to ‘meet’ you. We share a passion for books, cats, second-hand acquisitions and genealogy (website http://www.socialhistory101.com and blog http://www.socialhistory101.info). I’ve read a few of your books reviews just now and love how you express yourself. I’m forwarding the blog address to my sister-in-law (who shares the first three of our passions) and is a cash-poor fashionista like you. She’ll love it! Thanks for sharing your conjoined heart and brain.
I like the post about things found in books. I use to work at a used bookstore and we found money in the books all the time. Once we found a few hundred dollars in a Harry Potter book. The owners mother quickly returned to claim the money when her son contacted her. I still to this day have bills from the UK, India, and Japan that I have found in other books. I also found this (I am vegan btw, so it is weird that I kept it) a hand painted image of 4 people playing instruments on dry skin of some animal.
I also have a picture of a woman who sold us books monthly for years. One day her husband came in with 10 boxes of books to sell. His wife passed away. I found a beautiful image of her in one of those books weeks later as I was pricing and shelving them.
I enjoy your blog and have nominated you for a Versatile Blogger Award.
You can see the nomination on my blog at: http://ticklingmyfancy.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/fine-praise-indeed/
I like the post about things found in books. I use to work at a used bookstore and we found money in the books all the time. Once we found a few hundred dollars in a Harry Potter book. The owners mother quickly returned to claim the money when her son contacted her. I still to this day have bills from the UK, India, and Japan that I have found in other books. I also found this (I am vegan btw, so it is weird that I kept it) a hand painted image of 4 people playing instruments on dry skin of some animal.
+1
Looking forward to more literary chirps from the cricket.
Hi there! I’ve written a feminist book with a cat in it and I’m wondering if you’re interested in taking a look at it? I love this site!
I would, and thank you! Email me at thebookcricket@gmail.com for my mailing address or with digital copy instructions if you’ve gone that route.
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I just posted on eBay a 1917 Girl Scout Handbook, I believe the 5th edition because it doesn’t yet have the 30 cent price on the cover. If you are interested, just go to ebay and type in Rare 1917 Girl Scout Handbook and it will appear. Thanks. Dave, Indianapolis