A book editor with decades of publishing experience shows writers how to avoid mistakes in this quick, whimsical guide. This concise guidebook borrows the idea of the Seven Deadly Sins from the Middle Ages and applies it to the craft of writing—revealing seven “Deadly Don’ts” that the author, a veteran book editor, has encountered time and time again in writers’ work. In addition to showing you how to avoid those all-too-common mistakes, she provides a “Divine Do” for each, offering useful take-aways writers can use to communicate more clearly and effectively, whether they’re working on a masterpiece-in-progress or just want to sharpen their everyday writing skills.

"A British champion discusses the most common causes of disaster in chess"--Cover.

We live with the idea of sin every day – from the greatest transgressions to the tiniest misdemeanours. But surely the concept was invented for an age where divine retribution and eternal punishment dominated the collective consciousness? In this lively collection of new writing, Nicola Barker, Dylan Evans, David Flusfeder, Todd McEwen, Martin Rowson, John Sutherland and Ali Smith go head to head with the capital vices to explore what we really mean when we talk about sin. The resulting mixture of erudite and playful essays and startling new fiction might not make you a better person, but it will certainly give you pause for thought when you’ re next laying the law down or – heaven forfend – about to do something beyond the pale yourself.

Malice that cannot speak its name, cold-blooded but secret hostility, impotent desire, hidden rancor and spite--all cluster at the center of envy. Envy clouds thought, writes Joseph Epstein, clobbers generosity, precludes any hope of serenity, and ends in shriveling the heart. Of the seven deadly sins, he concludes, only envy is no fun at all.Writing in a conversational, erudite, self-deprecating style that wears its learning lightly, Epstein takes us on a stimulating tour of the many faces of envy. He considers what great thinkers--such as John Rawls, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche--have written about envy; distinguishes between envy, yearning, jealousy, resentment, and schadenfreude ("a hardy perennial in the weedy garden of sour emotions"); and catalogs the many things that are enviable, including wealth, beauty, power, talent, knowledge and wisdom, extraordinary good luck, and youth (or as the title of Epstein's chapter on youth has it, "The Young, God Damn Them"). He looks at resentment in academia, where envy is mixed with snobbery, stirred by impotence, and played out against a background of cosmic injustice; and he offers a brilliant reading of Othello as a play more driven by Iago's envy than Othello's jealousy. He reveals that envy has a strong touch of malice behind it--the envious want to destroy the happiness of others. He suggests that envy of the astonishing success of Jews in Germany and Austria may have lurked behind the virulent anti-Semitism of the Nazis.As he proved in his best-selling Snobbery, Joseph Epstein has an unmatched ability to highlight our failings in a way that is thoughtful, provocative, and entertaining. If envy is no fun, Epstein's Envy is truly a joy to read.

A thrilling and bold take on the classic Western tale of redemption and revenge. ONE DEADLY MISSION.1857. Texas. A group of death row criminals is recruited by a priest for a suicide mission into Comancheria. Led by an outlaw with a bloody past, this deadly crew embarks on an action-packed adventure in this bold new vision of the American West. Written by Tze Chun (GOTHAM, ONCE UPON A TIME), drawn by Artyom Trakhanov (UNDERTOW, TURNCOAT), colored by Giulia Brusco (DJANGO UNCHAINED, SCALPED), and lettered by Jared K Fletcher (PAPER GIRLS).

More advanced techniques such as how to make characters not just dynamic but memorable, how to heighten the reader's sympathy and identification with characters, how to intensify suspense, how to avoid the fiction writer's seven deadly mistakes, and how to write with passion.

Compelling basic principles of economics every citizen should know to enable better personal decision-making and better evaluation of public policy.