Telling Lies - A Review by Tracy Krauss

I first heard about the book Telling Lies for Fun and Profit when it was mentioned by Rik Hall at the past fall conference. He mentioned it more than once, in fact, so I thought I better look into it. I discovered it was originally published 'way back' in the 80s, but has since been republished. I also discovered that it is just as relevant and insightful (and downright hilarious in spots) as it was back then! I can't believe I had never heard of it before! One thing to take note of for our purposes is that it is not a Christian book and the author, Lawrence Block, is not a Christian writer, but I believe the principles are sound and beneficial to all writers. Plus, its good for a few belly laughs. Just sayin'! Here is my review of the book:

What a gem! I literally laughed out loud at some points. The author has a very unique, albeit dry sense of humour that makes this book a pleasure to read. It’s a must for any author: successful, aspiring, or otherwise. In fact, after reading it through once, I wanted to go back and reread some chapters just for the enjoyment of it! Some chapters were more applicable to my current situation than others, but each one had at least one nugget of wisdom, from very practical writing ‘how-to’ kind of stuff, to more philosophical questions about writing as a calling versus a job. He includes plenty of personal anecdotes that serve to also show readers what ‘not to do’. I can’t believe I haven’t come across this book before. It’s timeless - as fresh and relevant now as it was when it was first published – despite the changes in the publishing industry. All I can really advise is, “Read it!”