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writing

Exciting News

I hope you’ll excuse my being a little immodest today because I want to share something exciting with you. I’m going to be a published author! Are you sitting there thinking, “Wha?” like I did when I first found out? Are you dumbfounded like my friend who just stared blankly at me when I told him?

Let me clarify I wrote a short story that will be published, not a novel. I entered it in Buddhapuss Ink’s Mystery Times Ten YA Short Story Competition, which awards nifty prizes (including a Kindle) to the top three winners, and publication in an anthology for the top ten. I didn’t win the Kindle or any of the cash but my top ten placement, out of over 200 entries, is still beyond my expectations.

Back in January, I decided to enter the competition only four or five days before the submission deadline. I was doing a play at the time, which required rehearsals six days a week with a long commute. I also had deadlines on a couple of reviews for a magazine and needed to finish reading the books I was covering. I was exhausted.

But then I heard about this competition, thought, “Oooh, free Kindle!” and decided to go for it. It was a ridiculous decision in many ways—I’d never written short fiction, I’m not versed in YA, I had no idea if I could write in a young person’s voice, and, oh yeah, I was already overwhelmed with other obligations. But here’s the thing: If I start thinking I can’t do something and coming up with a bunch of excuses for not doing it, that’s when I know I have to do it. Otherwise, I’d have to accept I’m a loser before I even try.

So I wrote for four nights straight until three or four in the morning, sometimes falling asleep over my keyboard. Two days before deadline, I junked most of the story and started again from square two. I wanted to stop, wondering why I was abusing myself. But then the sadistic part of my brain called me a wimp so I kept going.

I submitted my story at 5 p.m. on deadline day. Even with sleep deprivation, I felt elated that I managed to finish it and on time to boot. I had beaten down that internal voice calling me a sissy; I could hear the Rocky theme in my head after I hit “send.” I expected nothing else from the experience because I felt I’d already won.

That’s why the news that I scored high enough to get published is astonishing to me. With this kind of luck, I should head straight to the nearby retirement home and challenge everyone to a game of Bingo. I’m deeply thankful to Buddhapuss for hosting the competition and all the judges who found my story not awful. This encourages me to not only continue writing, but to keep taking on challenges that look scary and daunting. Unless it involves stuffing a turkey, which I know I will never master.

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Book Review: Erin Kelly’s THE POISON TREE

The cover of Erin Kelly’s The Poison Tree is stunning, with its web of black branches against a blood red background. It conveys a sense of ominousness, daring me to peek inside and unravel its mysteries. Turns out Tree shelters deep, dark secrets all right but unfortunately I didn’t care much for the characters harboring them.

The story moves back and forth between the present—when Karen picks up her former lover Rex from prison after he’s served ten years for a double murder—and 1997, when the killings took place. We see Rex readjusting to life on the outside with Karen and their little girl while we gradually learn why he went inside in the first place. And Karen apparently has a giant secret that is harder to keep after Rex’s release.

I was a little surprised by one plot twist but not so much by the big final one because it was the only possible explanation for a series of mysterious incidents. And once that secret was revealed, there was only one way it could have been dealt with so the ending was not as shocking as the author perhaps intended.

Kelly paints vivid pictures of the London setting, both in the present and the past, but I found the three lead characters inaccessible. The three friends engaged in a hedonistic lifestyle in their youth so it’s no wonder they encountered such troubles. Biba is an irresponsible, self-serving party girl enabled by her brother, Rex. He indulges her out of guilt for perceived wrongs he committed during their wretched childhood, but at some point people need to grow up and stop using their past as an excuse for destructive behavior.

As for Karen, it’s understandable why she might be drawn to Rex and Biba—they’re exotic to her goody-two-shoes sensibilities—but after she’s repeatedly taken advantage of and treated like a doormat by Biba, I couldn’t fathom why she continued to put up with it. I lost my patience and sympathy for her after a while because people who choose to drink from the poisoned cup have to deal with the consequences.

Nerd verdict: Not-so-potent Poison

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Book Review: Walter Mosley’s THE LAST DAYS OF PTOLEMY GREY

Ptolemy Grey is a 91-year-old man living in a cluttered, squalid Los Angeles apartment, mostly forgotten by the world while forgetting his own past due to dementia. One day, Robyn, a 17-year-old orphan and family friend, comes over and starts cleaning up, sorting through the detritus and restoring order.  She also takes him to a doctor who’s looking for test subjects for an experimental drug treating dementia. The “Devil’s medicine” might kill Ptolemy but it might also recover his memory before he dies. Figuring he has lived long enough, Ptolemy trades whatever days he has left for the chance to remember what’s important to him and get his affairs in order. Once his memory returns, he realizes that includes seeking retribution for the murder of a family member.

Though it takes place in a brutal environment where people get gunned down and Ptolemy rarely leaves his apartment for fear of getting mugged, the novel is more a poignant examination of mortality and how one man is determined to face his end with dignity. Mosley is masterful in getting readers inside Ptolemy’s head, as jumbled as it is at first. Then, as his mind reawakens, we take a journey both painful and sweet through the landmarks of Ptolemy’s life, watching as he decides to take action to right some wrongs, to finally rid himself of regret about things he never did long ago.

Mosley also manages to slip in subtle statements about our current war, how news coverage confuses Ptolemy because he can’t figure out who the enemy is when he at least knew he was fighting Hitler as a soldier during WWII. Sometimes the outside world makes less sense than what’s going on in the old man’s head.

But the novel isn’t political. It’s a meditation on different kinds of love and how it can be found in unexpected places. Through Robyn, Ptolemy is able to find his way back to himself just as he’s ready to let go.

Nerd verdict: Bittersweet Days

Buy The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey from Amazon| B&N| Powell’s| IndieBound

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VIDEO: Lee Child on Jack Reacher vs. Joe Pike & Research

To celebrate the release of Lee Child‘s Worth Dying For today (my review here), I’m posting a couple clips of Child being interviewed by Jacqueline Winspear in a spotlight interview at Bouchercon 2010, the fantastic event from which I’m still recovering.

In this first clip, a fan asked Child something he’s been asked often: If Jack Reacher fought Robert Crais’s Joe Pike, who would win? Click play for his answer. (Go here to see Crais’s rebuttal.)

This next clip has Child talking about his diligent research process:

Do you agree with Child’s assessment of how a Pike vs. Reacher fight would turn out? Where should he set his next book and what movie should he watch for research?

Check back later this week for more Bouchercon videos!

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Winners of THE GLAMOUR OF GRAMMAR

With the help of Random.org, I selected two winners:

  1. Jodie Jackson
  2. Jann

Congrats! Please hit the contact button above and let me know where you’d like it sent. I’ll forward your addresses to Anna at Hachette Book Group, who will ship the book to you. If I don’t hear from you by Friday 9/10 at noon, alternate names will be chosen.

Thank you to all who entered. Stay tuned for giveaways of some great titles coming soon!

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Writing Tics That Bug Me

While reading, I’m willing to overlook many minor flaws if what I’m reading is interesting enough. But lately, I’ve come across the following issues so often, they’re beginning to feel like a shiv in my eye every time I encounter them. I’m not talking about blatant grammatical errors (also painful) but writing quirks that take me out of the story. Do any of these annoy you or am I just being bitchy?

  1. Unnecessary dialogue tags. The best writers know how to keep tags invisible and let dialogue speak for itself. It’s distracting when every line of dialogue is marked with adverbs or adverbial phrases. Examples from books I recently read: “he demanded angrily,” “she whispered mysteriously,” “he said inanely,” and “she announced confidently.” In all these instances, it was clear the characters were angry, mysterious, inane and confident, based on what they said. I think all those verbs were superfluous, too; “he/she said” should suffice if the dialogue is strong enough. I like it when a writer is so good, he/she omits the tags altogether because it’s clear who’s saying what and how. (Charlie Huston is a master at this.)
  2. Characters addressing each other too much in conversation. Paraphrased example from a recent novel: “Are you sure, Charles?” “Yes, I am, Jan.” “Be careful, Charles.” “Jan, don’t worry. I’ll call you, Jan.” Every conversation in the book was like this, which made me scratch my own nails on a chalkboard to relieve frustration. I’ve often talked to someone at a party or on a plane for hours and realized later I never got that person’s name because we just don’t address each other that much in real-life conversations.
  3. Overuse of “that.” As in, “I don’t think that he knows that I’m in love with him, but he might soon realize that I am the best friend that he’s ever had.” None of those “that”s is necessary. I don’t think that it’s needed ninety percent of the time that it’s used.
  4. Expository dialogue. Conversation between two sisters: “Have you talked to our grumpy, seventy-year-old dad lately?” “Well, now that he’s moved to the country and his cancer is gone due to his chemo last year, he’s in a better mood.” “How’s Troy?” “You mean my handsome, workaholic attorney husband who somehow managed to plan a surprise 40th birthday party for me last month? He’s great.” “Wow, I wish I had your glamorous life, with your perfect husband, two kids and New York City apartment overlooking Central Park.” Make it stop or I’ll throw myself out that apartment window.
  5. Omission of one of the five “W”s to indicate tough-guy ‘tude. Examples: “The hell you mean?” “The f*ck you think you are?” “The hell didn’t you say so?” Years ago, some writer decided cops and goombahs are too tough to use the five Ws. It didn’t bother me when I occasionally came across it but nowadays, the rampant use of this gimmick as a shortcut to denote surly characters has made it tiresome. The hell did this happen?

What tics tick you off?

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What’s in a Name?

I recently asked Robert Crais fans in the Craisie Town part of my forum how their feelings about Elvis Cole would be affected if he’d been named something else, like Larry Jones. Blogger le0pard13 said he probably wouldn’t have started reading the books if that were the case, especially if Larry’s partner was named something like Lev Coen instead of Joe Pike.

This got me thinking about how character names play a large part in determining whether or not we want to read or watch something. Can you imagine Mark Twain’s tale about Huckleberry Finn being called The Adventures of Herbert Melton? Would 007 be as popular if he introduces himself as “Luftenhoser. Stan Luftenhoser”?

I think for the most part, authors put a lot of thought into character names, trying to make the moniker represent the personality. Crais has said he chose Elvis for his P.I. to let readers know they’re getting someone a little different, not your typical hard-drinking loner detective. Michael Connelly has made known Hieronymous (Harry) Bosch is named after the painter who created visions of chaos because Harry encounters chaos at every murder scene. And I think the last name of Sophie Littlefield‘s Stella Hardesty sounds like “hard as steel,” which she is.

So, have you ever picked up a book simply because you liked a protagonist’s name? Ever shunned a novel or movie because you didn’t? What if Harry Potter had been Harvey Scarsburn?

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Inside an (Un)Blocked Mind

I sat down today to write a post and found myself blocked. Nothing interesting came out. I scratched whole paragraphs, started over multiple times. Got frustrated until I remembered what Juan José Campanella, the director/co-writer of the Oscar-winning El Secreto de Sus Ojos, said at a screening I attended: There’s no such thing as writer’s block. There’s always something in your head, he said, it just may not be any good.

But the trick is to keep writing, so I did. I recorded whatever random thoughts flitted through my brain. Then I looked at what I wrote and decided to post it as is.

Ever have days like this?

I don’t feel like writing right now. Who’s making me? I don’t have to write anything if I don’t want to. This sucks. It’s a nice day. Wish I were outside.

Hey, the dog next door is quiet today. Wonder if the cops came out to give the owner a warning. Wait a minute. It’s TOO quiet. What happened to the dog?

Why do my thighs hurt? Oh, yeah, those new squatting exercises. I need a new chair. Did I take my calcium supplement today? I want some cheese. My bones will be brittle when I’m old. I’ll drink a glass of milk with my cheese.

I’ll watch some TV. Maybe that will inspire a post. Oh, Friends! Chandler’s so thin! Why is Jennifer Aniston’s hair brown? Joey never should’ve happened. Courteney Cox looks even hotter now than she did then. Her hair sure is black for someone non-Asian.

This coffee tastes funny. Husband says we’re out of regular so it’s extra bold decaf. Isn’t that an oxymoron? Heh heh. Love the word “moron.” Definitely funnier than “idiot.”

OK, back to work. Why did I just lose a Twitter follower when I wasn’t even tweeting?

What the hell?! Michelle “Bombshell” McGee and a Tiger Woods mistress might get their own reality show? What is happening to America?? I can’t even deal with this.

Focus, focus. Blog post, need one. Maybe something will come to me if I take a break. Mmm…soup.

It’s 11 p.m.! Gotta hit the sack. But I still have no blog post! Hmm. What if I make up some lame excuse to run this BS as a post?

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