Thought you'd enjoy this. How many symptoms do you have? I DO NOT have books in my bathtub and that stack on the dining table can be easily explained.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2334878_identify-bibliomania.html
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Bah!
This has been a hard post to write, mostly because I suddenly lost most of the post that had been saved. So, anyway, let me explain again that today I am being a scold, which I understand is the feminine version of curmudgeon. I checked out the NYTimes best sellers and saw the same old names. Some are good writers, some write the same old book over and over and... I'm not even sure the old standbys write. Maybe they just tell someone, "Let's do another about a terrorist with a nuclear briefcase." Don't get me wrong. I love Janet Evanovich and Steig Larssen. I have read Lee Child and think he's a very good writer, just not my taste. I've read a couple of Ken Follett's doorstops and liked them.
So that's one scold. Another is publishers who, in this tricky time, only want sure things. It's not only my own problem with getting a novel published; it's seeing some of the really, really bad stuff that does get published. Dan Brown comes to mind.
Scold #3. Maybe it's me, but...First let me say I do read Literature (capital L) and, as every other kind of book, I like some, love some, throw some across the room. Recently I began to read The Wake of Forgiveness. Maybe some other time I would have liked it. That certainly happens. But I read over 100 pages and thought that was enough. The descriptions of East Texas are great, the horse races were great-the people not so much. I simply couldn't get involved. This is petty, but I have to tell you, I laughed at the part where the protagonist is examining a place where a heifer bites him and draws blood! In my childhood I had a lot to do with ranch animals. I was bitten by horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, snakes, but never by anything bovine. Cows do not have upper front teeth. I've been thrown from them and stomped and kicked by them, but never bitten. I told you it was petty, but it's also a red flag to me as a writer. ALWAYS check your facts. Some smartass out there will catch you.
Now I'm going to do my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) 2000 words for the day.Then I'm going to start reading Ape House.
So that's one scold. Another is publishers who, in this tricky time, only want sure things. It's not only my own problem with getting a novel published; it's seeing some of the really, really bad stuff that does get published. Dan Brown comes to mind.
Scold #3. Maybe it's me, but...First let me say I do read Literature (capital L) and, as every other kind of book, I like some, love some, throw some across the room. Recently I began to read The Wake of Forgiveness. Maybe some other time I would have liked it. That certainly happens. But I read over 100 pages and thought that was enough. The descriptions of East Texas are great, the horse races were great-the people not so much. I simply couldn't get involved. This is petty, but I have to tell you, I laughed at the part where the protagonist is examining a place where a heifer bites him and draws blood! In my childhood I had a lot to do with ranch animals. I was bitten by horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, snakes, but never by anything bovine. Cows do not have upper front teeth. I've been thrown from them and stomped and kicked by them, but never bitten. I told you it was petty, but it's also a red flag to me as a writer. ALWAYS check your facts. Some smartass out there will catch you.
Now I'm going to do my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) 2000 words for the day.Then I'm going to start reading Ape House.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
At 1am I finished the book. At 2, I finally got to sleep. Have you ever read a book that was so intense you had to put it down and go for a walk? Of Steig Larsson's three books, this one is the most hair raisng. It starts where The Girl Who Played With Fire ends. For you who haven't read that one yet, I won't say any more.
Anyway #3 takes the tension to a whole new level. It's brilliant, I think the best of the three-much more involved, believe it or not.I hate to say too much, but as a writer I amazed at the way he was able to keep so many story strands going so smoothly.
There's a lot about his background on the home page and you might want to check it out. I regret that he died at such a young age. Whether the lawsuit will solve the future of a next book is anyone's guess.
Anyway #3 takes the tension to a whole new level. It's brilliant, I think the best of the three-much more involved, believe it or not.I hate to say too much, but as a writer I amazed at the way he was able to keep so many story strands going so smoothly.
There's a lot about his background on the home page and you might want to check it out. I regret that he died at such a young age. Whether the lawsuit will solve the future of a next book is anyone's guess.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Anne Perry
I don't know how she does it. I read her two mystery series about Thomas Monk and Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, and learned a lot about 19th Century London. Then she came out with the World War I novels, also containing a mystery, as well as devastating descriptions of the war itself.
Now she's taken us back to 13th Century Constantinople in a stand alone novel, The Sheen of the Silk. I'm not far into it-it's a long one, a little over 500 pages, but I'm captivated.
A young woman,Anna, trained as a doctor by her father, disguises herself as a eunuch, Anastasius, and comes to find her twin brother Justinian, who has disappeared after being accused of killing a nobleman.
She gets involved in court and religious intrigue as nobles and church hierarchy use her rmedical skills. This is a time when the Church of Rome and the Orthodox Church are battling over the meanings of true Christianity.
More on this as I read the book. But check out Anne Perry-she's so skilled at setting up suspense.
Other news: Whidbey Writers Group has published its new book, Whidbey Writes Again. As always, the cover is beautiful, and the stories and poems are worth reading.
Now she's taken us back to 13th Century Constantinople in a stand alone novel, The Sheen of the Silk. I'm not far into it-it's a long one, a little over 500 pages, but I'm captivated.
A young woman,Anna, trained as a doctor by her father, disguises herself as a eunuch, Anastasius, and comes to find her twin brother Justinian, who has disappeared after being accused of killing a nobleman.
She gets involved in court and religious intrigue as nobles and church hierarchy use her rmedical skills. This is a time when the Church of Rome and the Orthodox Church are battling over the meanings of true Christianity.
More on this as I read the book. But check out Anne Perry-she's so skilled at setting up suspense.
Other news: Whidbey Writers Group has published its new book, Whidbey Writes Again. As always, the cover is beautiful, and the stories and poems are worth reading.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Time Slips
Mark Twain started all this, I think, with A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.When I first wrote my book, twenty odd years ago (before Diana Gabaldon came on the scene) I came up with a heroine coming to Scotland, staying in a castle B&B, and ending up in the 18th Century, dying at the Battle of Culloden. Over the years and many incarnations, the novel turned into a straight up historical novel, partly because I got more interested in the history, partly because I found Gabaldon's first novel unsatisfactory. I haven't read any more of hers, though heaven knows they're popular. Anyway, I haven't stopped enjoying time slip novels, such as the Jane Austin ones.
Recently I stumbled on the books by Rodrigo Garcia y Robertson. Is that a great name? At any rate, he has written a trilogy beginning with Knight Errant about The Wars of the Roses. The fact that Garcia y Robertson actually taught medieval history at UCLA and Villanova has a lot to do witih the excellence of the books. The heroine, Robyn Stafford, is smart and likeable. The hero is Edward Plantagenet. Robyn works in the movie industry, was a barrel racer, and is learning withchcraft. She gets into and out of some horrific situations, and in the second book, she manages to bring along essentials back to the middle ages: coffee, tampons, her notebook, etc. Sounds silly, but for me it works. The author's knowledge of details of the 15th Century gives the books authority. I have his two latest waiting for me at the library. Can't wait.
Recently I stumbled on the books by Rodrigo Garcia y Robertson. Is that a great name? At any rate, he has written a trilogy beginning with Knight Errant about The Wars of the Roses. The fact that Garcia y Robertson actually taught medieval history at UCLA and Villanova has a lot to do witih the excellence of the books. The heroine, Robyn Stafford, is smart and likeable. The hero is Edward Plantagenet. Robyn works in the movie industry, was a barrel racer, and is learning withchcraft. She gets into and out of some horrific situations, and in the second book, she manages to bring along essentials back to the middle ages: coffee, tampons, her notebook, etc. Sounds silly, but for me it works. The author's knowledge of details of the 15th Century gives the books authority. I have his two latest waiting for me at the library. Can't wait.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
A Couple of Winners
Once again our book club is reading a winner-this time a memoir: Heart in the Right Place by Carolyn Jourdan. I'll admit one point in the book's favor for me is the locale, the East Tennessee mountains. My ancestors came from there, and I'm pretty sure there are some distant relatives still there. The story sounds a little trite: city gal, making big bucks as aide for a state congressman, has to come home after her mother has a heart attack. Her father is a small town doctor and her mother was his receptionist. Of course the story arc is predictable. The longer she stays, the more she becomes involved in the people her father cares for. But it's the people, many so poor her father doesn't charge them, who make this story so funny and so poignant.
Tana French's mystery novels, set in Ireland, mostly Dublin, are books about a tough, gritty Ireland, with lots of bad guys and an undercover cop who's not exactly a total hero. In order (and it helps if you read them in order) they're In The Woods, The Likeness, and Faithful Place. Now that I've read all three, I want to go back to the beginning. In the early books we find out that detective Frank Mackey has nothing to do with his very dysfunctional family. In this one we find out why. It begins as a flashback. He's nineteen, waiting for the girl he's going to run away with, away from the slums where he was raised. You're grabbed right there, and French doesn't let you go for 400 pages. I finished reading the book at 1am, and just reread the last 20 pages again. Now that's a good read.
Tana French's mystery novels, set in Ireland, mostly Dublin, are books about a tough, gritty Ireland, with lots of bad guys and an undercover cop who's not exactly a total hero. In order (and it helps if you read them in order) they're In The Woods, The Likeness, and Faithful Place. Now that I've read all three, I want to go back to the beginning. In the early books we find out that detective Frank Mackey has nothing to do with his very dysfunctional family. In this one we find out why. It begins as a flashback. He's nineteen, waiting for the girl he's going to run away with, away from the slums where he was raised. You're grabbed right there, and French doesn't let you go for 400 pages. I finished reading the book at 1am, and just reread the last 20 pages again. Now that's a good read.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The prologue of my second book, Gang Warily. I have about 41 thousand words-halfway through
MAY 1746
After the Battle of Culloden the armies of King George, led by his son The Duke of Cumberland, swept through the Highlands, stamping out any perceived sign of rebellion. Captured Jacobites, the supporters of Prince Charles Stuart, were imprisoned in Inverness and on ships in Moray Firth and the Thames in London. They were held in inhumane conditions, without medical help, and died in hundreds, their bodies tossed in the Firth and the Thames. The Royalists recaptured Fort William and Fort Augustus, and used them to spread terror. Women and children watched as their homes and crops burned, and starved in the following months. The clan system that had existed for hundreds of years died.
The composer Handel wrote Hail the Conquering Hero and Judas Maccabeus to honor the Duke of Cumberland. A flower, Sweet William, was named after him. In Scotland, it’s called Stinking Willie. Men under Cumberland showed an unparalleled viciousness. One such man was Captain Caroline Frederic Scott, who had been in charge of the prison in Inverness before he became one of the men leading retribution along the Great Glen. He was determined to wipe out all remnants of rebellion.
------------------------------------------------
Captain Caroline Frederic Scott stared at the man held between two redcoats, a sword and a musket at his feet. Rannoch Moor, barren and windswept, dotted with lochans, stretched around them under gray skies. Patches of snow still clung to the Grampian Mountains surrounding the moor.
The young man spoke in Gaelic, then in English. “My name is Davey MacGregor. I am bringing in my arms as you hae ordered.”
Scott, tall and blond, his face round and cherubic as a child’s, his blue eyes cold as the bitter wind, said, “I think you were planning to ambush my men. You are a MacGregor, not to be trusted, known to have fought for the usurper Stuart. You fought against His Majesty’s army at Culloden.”
Davey MacGregor shook his head. “I am obeying your orders to bring in my weapons.”
“You filthy Papist. Do you dare to question an officer of the rightful King?” Scott turned away and mounted his horse, then told his men, “He is a traitor. There are no trees to hang in from. Treat him as he deserves. Do not waste ammunition on him. And bring his horse. It looks a good mount.”
Davey MacGregor, 19 years old, younger brother of Calum MacGregor, cousin of Niall MacGregor, was bludgeoned to death by the musket stocks of His Royal Majesty’s loyal soldiers.
MAY 1746
After the Battle of Culloden the armies of King George, led by his son The Duke of Cumberland, swept through the Highlands, stamping out any perceived sign of rebellion. Captured Jacobites, the supporters of Prince Charles Stuart, were imprisoned in Inverness and on ships in Moray Firth and the Thames in London. They were held in inhumane conditions, without medical help, and died in hundreds, their bodies tossed in the Firth and the Thames. The Royalists recaptured Fort William and Fort Augustus, and used them to spread terror. Women and children watched as their homes and crops burned, and starved in the following months. The clan system that had existed for hundreds of years died.
The composer Handel wrote Hail the Conquering Hero and Judas Maccabeus to honor the Duke of Cumberland. A flower, Sweet William, was named after him. In Scotland, it’s called Stinking Willie. Men under Cumberland showed an unparalleled viciousness. One such man was Captain Caroline Frederic Scott, who had been in charge of the prison in Inverness before he became one of the men leading retribution along the Great Glen. He was determined to wipe out all remnants of rebellion.
------------------------------------------------
Captain Caroline Frederic Scott stared at the man held between two redcoats, a sword and a musket at his feet. Rannoch Moor, barren and windswept, dotted with lochans, stretched around them under gray skies. Patches of snow still clung to the Grampian Mountains surrounding the moor.
The young man spoke in Gaelic, then in English. “My name is Davey MacGregor. I am bringing in my arms as you hae ordered.”
Scott, tall and blond, his face round and cherubic as a child’s, his blue eyes cold as the bitter wind, said, “I think you were planning to ambush my men. You are a MacGregor, not to be trusted, known to have fought for the usurper Stuart. You fought against His Majesty’s army at Culloden.”
Davey MacGregor shook his head. “I am obeying your orders to bring in my weapons.”
“You filthy Papist. Do you dare to question an officer of the rightful King?” Scott turned away and mounted his horse, then told his men, “He is a traitor. There are no trees to hang in from. Treat him as he deserves. Do not waste ammunition on him. And bring his horse. It looks a good mount.”
Davey MacGregor, 19 years old, younger brother of Calum MacGregor, cousin of Niall MacGregor, was bludgeoned to death by the musket stocks of His Royal Majesty’s loyal soldiers.
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