Author A.G. Howard's official website.

My Library

Books for Aspiring Writers:

Below I’ve listed the books that guided me through the three-year odyssey of writing my first novel and on into the querying process. Over the years, I’ve accrued quite an extensive library, so for your convenience, I separated the titles into three categories:

Learning the craft—everything you need to know about the art of writing and editing your work.
Getting Published—how to craft those irksome query letters and debunk the lingo of novel proposal packages ... in essence, understanding what agents and editors respond to and what they abhor.
Writers’ Resources—great research and technical aides for your daily writing regime.

Learning the Craft:

100 Things Every Writer Needs to Know, Scott Edelstein
A Writer’s Guide to Fiction, Elizabeth Lyon
Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint , Nancy Kress
Novelists Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes, Raymond Obstfeld
Creating Character Emotions, Ann Hood
Novelists Essential Guide to Creating Plot, J. Madison Davis
Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting, Ron Rozelle
The Complete Guide to Editing your fiction, Michael Seidman
Fiction First Aid: Instant Remedies for Novels, Stories, and Scripts, Raymond Obstfeld
Scene & Structure, Jack M. Bickham
So You Want to Write, Marge Piercy & Ira Wood
The Company of Writers, Hilma Wolitzer
The Romance Writer’s Handbook, Rebecca Vinyard
The Writer's Book Of Wisdom: 101 Rules For Mastering Your Craft, Steven Taylor Goldsberry
When Good People Write Bad Sentences: 12 Steps to Better Writing Habits, Robert W. Harris
Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, David Gerrold
Write Tight: How to Keep Your Prose Sharp, Focused and Concise, William Brohaugh
The Writer's Digest Writing Clinic: Expert Help for Improving Your Work, Kelly Nickell
Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction, Harvey Stanbrough
On Writing, Stephen King

Getting Published:

Novel & Short Story Writers Market 2006 (Novel and Short Story Writer's Market)
Give ‘Em What They Want, Blythe Camenson & Marshall J. Cook
Literary Law Guide for Authors, Tonya Marie Evans & Susan Borden Evans
The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile, Noah Lukeman
The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Publicity, Lissa Warren
The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, Elizabeth Lyon
Your Novel Proposal from Creation to Contract, Blythe Camenson & Marshall J. Cook

Writers’ Resources:

Careers for Your Characters: A Writers Guide to 101 Professions from Architect to Zookeeper, Raymond Obstfeld & Frank Neuman
The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook, Sherrilyn Kenyon
Flip Dictionary, Barbara Ann Kipfer
Writer's Digest Grammar Desk Reference, Gary Lutz & Diane Stevenson
Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms, Marvin Terban
Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary, Sue Young
The Writer’s Guide to Character Traits, Linda N. Edelstein

Books for Recreation and Research:

As a full-time mom and writer, reading for leisure is one of my most decadent pleasures. I love to get lost in a fantasy world far removed, sharing the emotions and adventures of a character so finely crafted I can can feel myself wearing their skin. I also enjoy nonfiction books that will sharpen my story worlds or inspire my muse.

To find time for reading, I put off the dusting and the laundry for an hour (or a week) and curl up on the couch to finish those last two-hundred pages; I take a book with me everywhere I go, so when I have a spare moment at the orthodontist or I’m stuck at a red light, I read a sentence, or two, or a paragraph.

Listed below are some of the titles which have peppered my bookshelves from back in 2005 when I first started my writing odyssey to present day. They're divided by genre.

Non Fiction: