The Reader

One Year!

2010-06-11T08:47:00.000-04:00

It is so hard to believe that one year ago today I posted my first blog. I’ve been a bad blogger lately, I know, but I’m going to try harder to be better in the coming months.

And now, to commemorate this wonderful event, a quote from Neil Gaiman.

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.”

Thanks for your support and I look forward to another great year

The Nook

2010-05-10T17:07:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago I finally made a decision on which reader I wanted and I purchased a Barnes & Noble Nook. I had been on the fence for a while about the whole e-reader thing until I saw someone using a Kindle on an airplane last year and it piqued my curiosity. I’m a fan of the paper book and I think I will continue to be, but there is something seductive about the slim volume that is the e-reader and really think that it will have some great applications for graduate school.

I will admit that I was a little hesitant to buy a Nook. I’d read about some problems online and I didn’t want to make such a big purchase that I’d soon regret. But I finally decided that if I didn’t but something that I would probably just regret the whole thing. When it comes down to it all of them are going to have some kind of problems, so I should just pick one. So I picked.

Thus far I’ve had very few problems with my Nook. It’s force-closed a time or two, but it runs on Android, and it’s to be expected. Some people reported that it was a little hard to get used to the way it opens books, but I haven’t had much trouble. The thing I’ve had the hardest time getting used to is the fact that the top is not touch screen, and that’s more about me than the device.

One thing that I like the best is that you can read whatever you please without anyone knowing. You can read anything from Jane Austen to Lauren Willig from Aristotle to Stephanie Meyer without tipping anyone else off.

It’s great.

Have the Hero Save the Day

2010-04-29T09:30:00.000-04:00

One thing that writers, specifically suspense writers, are told is that when the conflict is resolved the resolution needs to come from the main characters. If your hero is saving your heroine from a killer who’s following her, he needs to be involved when the take-down occurs, even if he’s not the one who physically does the taking down himself.

A while back I wrote about the video game “My Sims Agent” and showing not telling. Here’s another great lesson to be learned from My Sims Agent.

At the end of the game, you’ve solved the little mystery. You’ve saved the day, but unfortunately one member of your team has been pulled, along with the bad guy into another dimension (I know it’s kinda cheesy, but that’s okay). And now you have to finish those annoying little side games before you’re given you’re final mission (the secret one that you can only find by finishing everything) where you’ll be able to save your teammate. But you don’t get to go on the mission. You pick people to go. You sit there waiting while they do their thing, just waiting for the call to come that you’re needed, that you need to go save the day.

And that all never comes.

After a while of waiting you get a call saying that they’ve saved the team member. That the bad guy got away.

And that’s it.

No more.

It’s so anticlimactic. You feel cheated out of your chance to save the day.

I would imagine that that’s how the reader feels when the hero is sitting around drinking coffee, flirting with the heroine when he gets a phone call saying that the police picked up the would-be killer on a dead tail-light and the danger is gone.

Hey Kid - Short Story

2010-04-28T09:30:00.000-04:00

**NPR hosts a competition called “Three-Minute Fiction.” The goal is to write a short story about the prompt that can be read in 3 minutes (under 600 words).

About a month ago the prompt was this image:

This is the story I wrote (it didn't get picked, but that's okay).**

Hey kid.

Yeah, you. With the ear-things in your ears clacking away on your computer.

Hand me that newspaper will ya’?

Thanks.

You know what I like best about the newspaper? Everything in it’s yesterday’s news. None of this late breaking news crap. Everything in here’s done broke already. There’s nothing in there that hasn’t been checked and rechecked up the wazoo.

Whatsat? Dewey defeats Truman? Everybody makes mistakes. But that’s my point, had they waited a day ‘til it was old news, they woulda got it right. That’s the problem with this computer-web-net thing. Everyone wants their news right now and nobody cares if it’s right or not. I’d rather have real news later than maybe-real news now.

World events? Why should I care that some yahoo has blown himself up in Wherezitstan? I don’t live there. I don’t know anyone who lives there. I don’t own property there. What does it have to do with me? Is it going to affect crops in the US? Will it affect the cost of my coffee?

Speaking of coffee, where’s the waitress? Whatsat? I have to go up to the counter to get my coffee? I paid four-fifty for a cup of coffee and they won’t even bring it to me? How do I know when my coffee’s ready? I don’t remember what I ordered. Since they don’t have just black coffee here I told the guy in the green apron “I’ll have what he’s having.” It’ll probably taste like watery milk. All these frou-frou drinks taste like that. Whatsat? You can get black coffee here? Does it cost four-fifty? No? It’s a racket, I’m tellin’ ya.

I could have had free coffee at the hospital. But as crappy as this coffee is, that coffee’s worse. And it’s cold. Even free coffee should at least have the decency to be hot.

Why was I at the hospital? My wife’s a patient. She’s got cancer and our doctor back home didn’t know what more to do for her, so he sent her here. They’re doing tests. Always more tests. She says it’s like being in school again, only with needles.

We’ve been married forty-eight years, y’know. We were just out of high school. Thought we knew everything. That’s a laugh. Her daddy made us wait until we were done with school and I had a job. It wasn’t much of a job but it paid the bills. I started out as a farmhand. A cowboy you could probably say, but it didn’t have much to do with cows. I mucked stalls and sat on the tractor. We did well enough that my wife stayed home when our kids were little. Heck, By the time I retired I practically ran the place.

We have three kids. Two boys and a girl. She’s still my baby girl, even though she’s in her thirties. Our little miracle born eight years after her last brother. We’d given up havin’ a girl. She keeps tryin’ to plan a fiftieth anniversary party for my wife and me. Her oldest brother tells her not to bother; mama won’t be around that long. He’s such a bully, always was.

Oh, that’s my cell phone. About the only good thing that’s come from technology. Not that I want just everyone to be able to reach me at a moment’s notice, but it’s been useful since she’s been sick. She can get me whenever she needs me.

The latest test results are in.

If you find my coffee you can have it.

Whatsat? Sports page? Sure. They’re last week’s scores anyway.

The Name of the Wind

2010-04-27T09:30:00.001-04:00

I recently finished the book The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This is a tough book to put into a genre or category because while strictly it’s a fantasy novel, at the same time it’s so much more. It doesn’t read like a traditional fantasy novel. There’s a social system rivaled by few other than Tolkien and Rothfuss has this amazing ability to blend things from this world with things from the world in his own imagination so well that you can’t see the seam.

The story is told on two layers. The first layer is that of the third person narrator. It is the story of an innkeeper in a small village. Strange things are happening in the surrounding areas and the superstitious townspeople are growing worried. They’re harkening back to traditions and fairytales and nursery songs in order to fight against things they cannot understand.

The second layer is told in the first person. It is the story of the innkeeper told to a man known as the “Chronicler.” He tells The Chronicler that his story will take three nights to tell. The Name of the Wind is night one.

There are only two complaints (or perhaps warnings) I have about this book. The first is that the first three chapters or so are a little on the confusing side. This is the part of the story told in the third person at the beginning. I sat there thinking “What’s going on?” most of the time. However the person I borrowed the book from warned me that she had the same problem, so I was prepared for it, though, and that helped. In some ways this confusing is good, because it means that Rothfuss throws you right into the story, with little time to get acclimated to the new surroundings. In any other genre this is the way you’re told to write, so it really shouldn’t be any different in this case. And don’t worry, the confusion doesn’t last long.

The second warning is that this is the first book in a trilogy, but it’s the only one that’s out yet, and it sounds as though it will be some time before the second book is out. So if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t want to wait… you probably won’t want to start this trilogy, as good as it is.

Festival of Faith and Writing

2010-04-22T20:07:00.002-04:00

Last week I attended the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. It was an amazing experience and I thought I’d share a little of what I learned.

· “Paradoxes are a truth standing on its head begging for attention” – Chesterton (from the Session on Imagery)

· Great art makes you feel humble. (more from imagery)

· “The way to paradoxes is the way of truth. To test reality we must see it on the tightrope.” – Oscar Wilde (also from Imagery)

· “Wherever two or three are gathered… there will be an argument” – Matt Ruff

· “Writing is one of those careers where many are called, but few are chosen.” – Matt Ruff

· “Trying to justify a story before it’s written is probably a waste of time” – Matt Ruff

· Start suspension of disbelief by suspending your own. – Matt Ruff

· Make real, flawed characters – Christa Parrish

· Don’t cater to the stereotypes – Christa Parrish

· If you’re a pain at night, and then you set the microwave on fire at 1:30 am, chances are you’ll get kicked out of the hotel (and if you don’t the angry lady in the room below yours will call the police) – fortunately I got to learn from someone else’s idiocy

· Picking up the phone will not stop the fire alarm from going off.

· A book needs to work on multiple levels. There needs to be the basic entertainment level, without it no one will want to read it. There should also be a deeper level that is there if the reader wants to see it – Joshilyn Jackson

· Ask yourself: How can I be more of the me that God wants me to be? – Joshilyn Jackson

· Love wins – Joshilyn Jackson

· Setting can be a character – Matt Ruff and Kathryn Davis

· “I like to do enough research that I know when I’m lying” – Matt Ruff (I think)

· “I let myself research, but I can’t write about something I don’t remember” – Kathryn Davis

· Don’t always write about what you know because you’re more honest and open that way – Michael Perry (I think)

· Always wear your boots. At some point something’s gonna go wrong and you’d better have your boots on. – Michael Perry

· “I became a writer because I was born baffled” – Parker Palmer

· Writing and reading are at their best an act of caring – Parker Palmer

· Most of us live lives of self-impersonation – Parker Palmer (Quoting someone else?)

· “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than others – Parker Palmer (Quoting someone else I think)

· Make them laugh. Make them cry. Make them wait. – Kate DiCamillo

· You compromise your beautiful novel the moment you begin to write it – Kate DiCamillo

· Make a cemetery file on your computer. Put the stuff that you love but can’t keep in that file so it’s still around and you don’t have to feel like it was unimportant. “Children of Divorce” Panel

· Write your story the way it needs to be written. The changes can be made in house later on – “Children of Divorce” Panel.

· “A dysfunctional family is a family with more than one person in it” – Mary Karr.

How do you say it?

2010-03-25T09:30:00.000-04:00

For any writer working in with a second language in their books one problem almost always comes up front pretty early… pronunciation. So many languages have silent letters, or letters that aren’t pronounced the same way. As a writer you want to get that across, but you want your dialogue and your narration to still sound natural and not forced. You don’t just want your narrator to come in and just tell the reader “It’s pronounced this way,” but you don’t want your characters to go through an awkward scene of explaining how it’s spelled or pronounced (especially not how it’s spelled, because the reader can see how it’s spelled).

I’ve seen writers do it different ways, having a non-that-language-speaker (that’s an elegant phrase :P) mispronounce it. But then you run into the difficulty of how do you spell the mispronunciation, and how do you show how to accurately pronounce it, etc.

I’ve seen writers ignore it. Look at the names in many Star Wars books and you’ll see names that look as though the writer banged the keys a time or two and then did copy – paste every time they needed to use the name. The writer gets used to seeing a name, not knowing how to pronounce it, but knowing that that clump of letters is associated with that character. I think this works best with science fiction and fantasy. And I’m going to stop heading down this track because my geek is showing.

Some writers pick new names. I think this is especially the case when almost all of your speaking characters are speaking this other language and the opportunity for mispronunciation is not really there.

You can provide a pronunciation guide at the beginning or end of the book. This can be especially helpful if you include a lot of little words in the other language in the book. Strangely enough, I think I’ve seen this done the most with Hawaiian terms.

However, last weekend I read what I think is the slickest insertion of how to pronounce a name I’ve ever read. It was in Tracie Peterson’s Dawn’s Prelude and the character’s name is Kjell (it’s Swedish).

To set the scene. Lydia has just arrived in Alaska via boat (this is set in the early 1870s) and she’s been sea sick most of the way and she passes out, right into Kjell’s arms:

“Hello,” he said, softly. “I believe you fainted.”

“I suppose I did.” [Lydia] put her hand to her head. “I don’t travel well on the water.”

Kjell gave a chuckle. “You aren’t alone. Many folks have a hard time.” He thought she might ask him to put her down, but when she didn’t he started walking toward his carriage. “My name is Kjell. Kjell Lindquist.”

“Chell? What kind of name is that?”

“It’s Swedish. Doesn’t look a thing like it sounds.” (70)

Later in the book another character, a bad guy, calls him Chill all the time. I love it. It gives the pronunciation, without it seeming awkward. It’s practically perfect.

Peterson, Tracie. Dawn’s Prelude. Minneapolis: Baker House, 2009.

Show vs. Tell

2010-03-18T09:30:00.000-04:00

Any good writer, and probably almost all of the bad ones too, has heard the phrase “show, don’t tell,” at some point in their career. Actually, they’ve probably heard it a million times in their careers. From the classes that talk about descriptions, to the books on writing, to the writer’s workshops, that is a writing basic.

It’s an easier said than done kind of thing. Sometimes you worry that the point that you’re trying to make might just be too vague, that your allusion might be missed. So you tell your reader what you want them to see.

Or you want to be sure that your reader knows exactly how the characters are acting, specifically speaking, so you throw in that adverb so they know exactly what’s going on. We’ve all done it, there’s no need to be ashamed.

But, be it leading the reader directly where you want them to end up, or just not using strong enough verbs, too much telling is a sign of poor, or perhaps more accurately, underdeveloped writing.

The best example I can come up with to demonstrate this is the game My Sims Agent. This is a fun little game I have for the Wii system. I think it’s supposed to be for younger kids, but I’m not very good at any video games other than Bejeweled, so it’s right on my level. The basic plot of the game is that you’re running around the town trying to find clues to solve little mysteries, all of which build up to the big overarching mystery.

Every time you find a clue you don’t even have to try to guess what the clue means, the game out and out tells you, and it’s a little frustrating. Most of the time you’ve figured out what it means anyway, but all of the guess work has been taken out, all of the thinking has been taking out.

I suppose an example of a game with way too much showing and not enough telling would be the Myst series of games, where basically you had to guess what you were supposed to be doing the entire time, which just goes to show that it’s all about balance.

So next time you’re thinking about what to show or tell your reader think, is this a clue to a puzzle that they can solve on their own?

The Sleeping Beauty Proposal

2010-03-17T14:18:00.001-04:00

Bad blogger here.

I have an actual excuse for last week, my first graduate paper (an eight source annotated bibliography on Jacob’s Room and the Comedy of Manners).

This week my excuse is I’m on spring break, and by “I’m on spring break” I mean, I’m working. Oh how I miss being on the student side of academia.

However, I do have a recommendation for a good book. The Sleeping Beauty Proposal by Susan Strohmeyer.

Genie thinks that her hunky, English, writer boyfriend has finally proposed to her on national television… until he says that she said “yes” when she hasn’t actually talked to him. But her best friend has a “great” idea. No one (other than the two of them – and the not-fiancé of course) knows that they’re not engaged, so why not run with it? Wallow in the gifts. Bask in the bridal glow for a while.

And that’s all great, until a guy come along that Genie might actually like to be with. But of course, she’s off limits and that a line that a guy like him would never cross (or would he?).

The story is well told with great, crazy characters and a fun narratorial voice. Those that like Sophie Kindsella or Meg Cabot will like this great example of good chick lit.

Reading List

2010-03-04T10:23:00.001-05:00

Liz asked what the 24 books on my reading list for the year are. Here it is.

Classics:

1. North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell

2. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 1 – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

3. Persuasion – Jane Austen

4. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

5. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley

6. TBA

Devotional-Type Books

1. Surprised by Joy – C.S. Lewis

2. ~~The Four Loves~~ ~~– C.S. Lewis~~ (Completed)

3. Messiah – Jerry Thomas

4. Walk with God in Psalms – Don’t remember

5. Wild at Heart – John Eldredge

6. TBA

Books on Writing

1. Novel Ideas –Various

2. Art of War – James Scott Bell

3. From the Inside…out – Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck

4. On Writing Romance – Leigh Michaels

5. Write Away – Elizabeth George

6. The Writing Diet – Julia Cameron

Other Books

1. Alpha Beta – John Man

2. Gutenberg – John Man

3. The Welsh Girl – Peter Ho Davies

4. What the Dog Saw – Malcolm Gladwell

5. Atonement – Ian McEwan

6. The Man Who Made Lists – Joshua Kendall

The Boys are Back

2010-03-04T09:35:00.000-05:00

Normally I don’t review movies, but this past weekend I watched a really good movie that I hadn’t really heard of before. I heard about it for the first time poking around iTunes a few weeks ago, and I wrote the name down, and this weekend when my little brother was gone with school my mom and I rented it.

The Boys are Back is a movie about Joe, a man who rather suddenly finds himself a single father. Up until when his wife is diagnosed with advanced stage cancer he has travelled a lot for work and he’s never spent a ton of time with his six year old son, Artie. Now he finds himself raising a boy he doesn’t really know, who’s mourning the death of his mother. On top of this his other son, Harry, a fourteen year old boy he knows almost less, comes to live with him, adding to the chaos.

It’s a beautiful movie about fathers and sons and loss and recovery. Clive Owen stars in a film that is a far cry from his usual action flick, but he shines as the hurting and confused Joe. Nicholas McAnulty, in his debut role, as Artie is an adorable portrayal of the little boy in mourning. George MacKay is up to the task of playing the complex role of Harry, a teenager whose life has been thrown up in the air and he doesn’t know where to turn.

This film was inspired by the true story of Simon Carr, a writer and columnist for The Independent. Read about his story here.

Bad Blogger

2010-03-02T09:59:00.001-05:00

I’ve been a very bad blogger as of late. I wish I could say that it was because I’ve been doing so much reading and now I have tons and tons of books to review for you, but that’s not really true. Well, it’s partially true, I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading, but really no more than usual. I could probably also say that it’s because I’ve been taking a class and that reading takes up all of my time, but again, that would be an exaggeration. It takes a lot of time, and I’ve been doing remarkably well at doing my reading for this class (I don’t think I’ve been this on top of my reading since sophomore year of college), but I could probably still be blogging.

I wish I could say it was because I’ve been working out so hard and I am losing a ton of weight… but well… that isn’t true either. I’ve been exercising more than normal, but not that much. And as for the weight lost… well… nevermind.

I wish I could say it was because I’ve been spending so much time with my new boyfriend, but that would be an out and out lie.

I’ve just not been blogging. I think about it, but Tuesday comes around, and then Thursday, and I find that I don’t really have anything to say, and I don’t really feel like I have the time to say it. So I just don’t. When I spend my time writing it’s something else all together. I have a list on my computer of the competitions that I’m attempting to enter this year, and frankly I don’t have anything to enter. I have ideas, but they don’t go anywhere. I get ten or so pages into it, if even that far, and I run out of steam. Two months ago I set the resolution to write every day, among other things, and I’m relatively sure that I’ve messed up every one of them (I have a list of 24 books I want to read this year, and I’ve read exactly 1 of them).

But now I’m back, for a little while at least.

Yankee Book Swap

2010-01-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

This coming weekend is one of the favorite evens in the department where I work, The Yankee Book Swap. It’s sort of our answer to a holiday party, but about a month late, because students leave pretty early in December, and what with finals and everything, they’re a little busy at that time of year.

The basic premise is that of the White Elephant Gift. Everyone brings a wrapped book and then everyone draws a number. The person with number 1 can select any present from the pile (I keep wanting to type under the tree here) and then opens it for everyone to see. The person with the number 2 is allowed to either take Person 1’s present or pick their own. If Person 1’s present is taken, then they go back to the pile to pick another present.

Then comes Person 3. Person 3 is allowed to take any of the books that have been unwrapped or any book that is still in the pile. Anyone whose books has been taken may steal from someone else, providing there are books to steal, so long as it wasn’t stolen from them before (at least I think that’s how it works, there are some variations in the way the game is played). There are some regulations as to how many times a gift can be stolen, but they very and I’m not sure what they are.

This is my first year participating (because this is my first year working here), but from what I’ve been told chaos pretty much reigns king. Everyone tries to bring a hot item book (or a good gag gift) and there are certain titles that go round and round the room.

Selecting a book to bring for this year’s Yankee Book Swap was a rather stressful task. I wanted to pick a great book that would just go around and around, something that was brand new or something from the bestseller list. But what? And if it’s from one of those lists chances are I haven’t read it, and I don’t want to bring something I haven’t read because what if it’s awful? And to make things even more stressful, these are English Majors that are going to be unwrapping these, bring anything too fluffy and it reflects on you.

It was driving me crazy.

So weekend before last I headed down to the bookstore and spent a long time perusing the shelves and tables looking for the perfect book.

I finally found a great one, it probably won’t go round and round the room, but it’s a good English joke and should get a laugh or two if nothing else.

It brings to mind questions of aesthetics and taste and questions of what will and will not sell (or be stolen in the case of the Yankee Book Swap). I’m beginning to see a little clearer part of the difficult jobs that editors and agents have in finding the good books in between the everything else.

And The Winner Is...

2010-01-27T08:21:00.000-05:00

First I’d like to thank everyone who commented about their favorite historical non/fiction books. Next time I’m looking for a good historical fiction book I know where to go. Also, thanks to Lauren Willig for posting on her facebook page about this give-away and for taking the time to comment on some of the selections.

And now for the moment you all have been waiting for! Drum-roll please…

The winner selected by Randomizer is:

Dyylann!

Congrats and I hope you enjoy the book.

I’ll be posting another give-away in the not too distant future (1-2 weeks, I think), so keep checking back!

Sophie Kinsella

2010-01-26T08:50:00.001-05:00

**Don’t forget that today is the last day to sign up for the giveaway of a Hard Cover copy of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. Sign up ends at midnight EST and I’ll draw the name tomorrow! See you then!**

Today’s recommendation is Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella (author of the Shopaholic books). I know it’s not a recent book, but I still love it. It’s the story of a woman working in marketing (even though she’s barely more than a secretary) who, after a really bad meeting, gets drunk on a plane and spills all of her secrets to her seatmate. Secrets like the fact that she steals her roommate’s clothes when she’s not around, and that she feeds her coworker’s plan orange juice when she gets annoyed with her, and that she and another coworker have a code for when they want to go out for coffee. Seemingly innocent secrets to tell a complete stranger, right?

But then the stranger turns out to be the reclusive owner of the company she works for, and he’s decided to start taking a more front seat role in the company.

This story is an example of really well written chick lit. The story is well told, the voice of the narrator is very engaging. The main characters seem like real people, with real emotions, real flaws, and a slightly crazy family. Right now in the publishing industry it seems as though chick lit is dead (or is it making a comeback, I can’t really keep up) but I think that writers like Sophie Kinsella have a staying power that will be able to survive the rockings of the industry and keep producing great fiction.

Another great book I’d recommend from Sophie Kinsella is The Undomestic Goddess. When her job goes on the line because of a mistake that she can’t believe she made, Samantha goes on the run, and somehow ends up getting hired as a housekeeper, even though she can’t figure out what a vacuum bag is for. But with a little help from some friends, old and new, she just might be able to pull it off.

Sophie Kinsella is also published under the name Madeline Wickham, with several well sold titles under that name.

Book Covers

2010-01-21T16:41:00.009-05:00

**Sorry this is so late. I was behind on my reading for my class today and I was trying to get it done before class. It didn’t happen, but that’s okay.**

For the past few days I’ve been trying to come up with a cool background image for the cover of my NaNoWriMo Novel. I know… I know… I should be more concerned with something important, like editing it before the deadline or coming up with a real title. But this is what I’ve selected to focus on at the moment, so *shrug*

One thing that I never really considered all that much is the cover of a book. So much must go into the planning of the cover of a book. Not all books I realize, some books are rather straight forward. If there’s a definite theme of some sort that is easily visualized you can find that image and run with it.

But not so much with other books (especially for poor English majors who don’t really know what they’re doing.

I think of the great cover to a book like The Time Traveler’s Wife. That is an awesome cover that fits so well, but isn’t something that is directly in the book.

Another such book would be Dedication. This book, much like The Time Traveler’s Wife is not set solely in one time. This novel bounces between the main character’s childhood and adulthood and there are many images that could potentially convey parts of the story, but none so well as this cover portrays pretty much the whole story.

I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but a cover can tell so much about a story. To have a good cover is important because a picture is worth a thousand words (to go along with another cliché) and as any good writer knows it would be a shame to waste words.

First Give-Away!

2010-01-20T08:45:00.002-05:00

In honor of the recent release of the latest book in Lauren Willig’s Secret History Series, The Betrayal of the Blood Lily (I read it on my day off and it was excellent! One of her best) I am doing my first blog give-away! It’s a HARD COVER copy of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, the first book in the series.

All you have to do is start following my blog (if you’re not a follower already) and then leave a message talking about your favorite historical fiction (or non-fiction) book.

The give-away will run through Tuesday, January 26, 2010 (it will end at Midnight EST) and I will announce the winner on Wednesday, January 27. I also plan to do more give-aways in the future, so keep stopping by to see what’s in store!

Fancy Pants

2010-01-19T09:07:00.001-05:00

My book suggestion this week is Fancy Pants by Cathy Marie Hake. While all of the books in this series are good (and, quite frankly, I’m a big fan of Cathy Marie Hake in general) this one is my favorite.

It’s the story of young Sydney Hathwell, a young London socialite who moves to the US from England after the death of her father to marry a man she’s never met. When she decides that the match will never work she runs away to Texas to find her long lost uncle. The only problem is that her uncle thinks that she’s a boy, and that he has no use for girls on his ranch. That shouldn’t be much of a problem. She can pretend to be a boy for a little while… can’t she?

When she arrives at her uncle’s ranch and discovers that he’s out of town and they don’t know when he’ll be back, she realizes that she must carry on the charade far longer than she ever expected.

Big Tim Creighton, Sydney’s uncle’s partner at the ranch, sees the scrawny little boy who shows up and immediately decides that he needs to whip him into shape. He cuts his hair, changes his clothes, and does his best to turn him into a real man. The other ranch hands decide to help, by taking him to the local saloon and getting him drunk and a little time with one of the ladies that works upstairs.

It doesn't take very long for the women in their community to figure out what is going on, but what will happen when the men find out?

This is a very well told story, with great moments of humor mixed with moments of sadness and serious discussions about what it mean to really be a Christian. The characters are all very realistic and likable (the ones that are supposed to be likable anyway) and I just thought it was a great read all together.

And Now for the Insightful Chuck Post

2010-01-15T10:09:00.001-05:00

And now for the insightful Chuck post.

Yes, yes, I know that it’s not Tuesday, but this is only partially a recommendation that you watch one of the best shows on TV right now. Keep reading…

Something I’ve noticed about this show is that many of the episodes have an interesting story arc.

I first noticed this during the season 2 finale. My friends and I were sitting and watching with bated breath what might be the final episode of Chuck ever and as we watched this feeling of dread overtook us as they wrapped up loose ends. Chuck had the Intersect out of his head. Ellie and Awesome were married. Anna and Morgan were on their way to Hawaii so Morgan could learn to be a hibachi chef. And then, during a commercial break I looked at the clock and realized the episode was only half over! There was a lot left to come time wise… and sure enough, by the end of the episode Chuck was re-Intersected and Bryce was dead *sniff* and nothing was really all that tied up.

This past week or two I have been re-watching Chuck on DVD and I noticed that this was not a story arc that they used just once, but on a semi regular basis. Just when you think that everything is all hunky-dory something happens (usually right around the half way point of the episode) and the episode is not nearly as over as it appeared.

My guess (because I don’t do screen writing or television marketing or anything) is that they do this so you feel as though you’re getting more bang for your buck. If you think that the episode is over, and then it’s not it’s almost like getting two episodes at once, even if it’s just in the same hour slot.

So check out Chuck Mondays at 8 (EST) on NBC. It’s great.

E-Readers

2010-01-13T08:50:00.000-05:00

I know, 2 posts in one day (within one hour even)! Shocking!

But I found this on Rachelle Gardner’s blog and I’ve been thinking about e-readers lately (I’m considering purchasing a Nook) so I thought I’d pass it on.

http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/01/for-love-of-book.html

Long Distance

2010-01-13T08:24:00.002-05:00

Yes, Yes, I know I was supposed to say something insightful about a favorite book of mine, but the last week or so has been insane and it just didn’t happen. Expect a great commentary on the show Chuck in the coming weeks.

Two things today:

Check out this post on my friend’s blog about her dog that thinks it’s a cat. It’s awesome.

Also, I’ve been thinking about posting more writing on here, nothing particularly important, but little short stories and stuff that I’ve dabbled with, so here it is. The first installment:

Long Distance

“Who was the first person to say that long distance relationships don’t ever work?” I mutter to myself as I hit the last button on the remote and flip from a rerun of Friends to a rerun of How I Met Your Mother, waiting for your call.

I bet during World Wars One and Two they didn’t tell the guys that they should break up with their girls because long distance relationships didn’t work out. Or maybe they did. It seems like you hear all kinds of stories about Dear John letters a lot.

Maybe as the 49ers headed west across the frontier their mothers told them, “break up with this girl you’ve been courtin’, ‘cuz this long distance thing never works out. There will be some nice pretty girl out there for you to court.”

Can’t you just imagine the pilgrims leaving Europe for the colonies and that lovelorn teenage in knee britches and a funny hat looking back at the girl waving at him on the dock and his dad patting him on the shoulder and telling him, “Forget about her son. Long distance things never make it.”

Or the fair maiden, watching her knight ride off into the sunset, off on a crusade, while her father calls in the next suitor because “These long distance relationships never survive. What is the difference between one knight and another anyway?"

Or the Legionnaire, headed from Rome to some eastern city where his regiment has been called. Him turning and looking back at the toga clad girl waving at him sadly and his buddy telling him, “You’ll find some pretty eastern slave to fill your time. Long distance relationships never last.”

The lonely cave teenager refusing to go flirt with the girl in the next cave because he’s thinking about the girl who lived there before and his mother grunting at him, “We’ll never survive if you don’t forget about that girl and find a new one. Long distance things never survive.”

Did they sit there waiting for a letter to arrive? To see a piece of paper with that familiar scrawl? A scroll with a recognizable seal? A rock with a picture on it? Something to tell them that the one they loved hadn’t forgotten them, was still thinking of them.

I sigh and then my phone buzzes your ringtone.

“Hi,” I breathe.

“Hi,” you reply. “Thirty-seven more days until I get to see you again.”

I grin. “I know. Seems like forever.”

“You know what they say, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder.’”

My grin grows wider. I wonder who was the first person to say that.

The Book that Changed My Life

2010-01-06T10:39:00.001-05:00

**This was supposed to go up yesterday, but anyone’s who’s ever worked at a University could tell you that the first week of a semester is INSANE! So here it is.**

I just read The Book that Changed My Life. One of the professors at the University where I work used one of the chapters for one of her classes and it caught my attention.

In this book 71 writers talk about the books that have changed their lives. The authors include Anne Lamott, Frank, McCourt and Jack Prelutsky, among others, and the books they discusss include The Lord of the Rings, A Room of One’s Own, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Even though I had never read many of the books discussed, I felt as though some of the things that were said were practically pulled from my head. All of the entries were short, though some were shorter than others, so it was a pretty easy and quick read. It was interesting to see the wide variety of books that have affected writers, and the ways they have been affected.

Another aspect of the book that I liked was the fact that a portion of the sale of each book goes to the organization Read To Grow. This organization provides books for every child born in several hospitals in Connecticut (I believe) in the hope that these books will encourage a love of reading in children that will last with them forever. I really believe that reading to children is the way to create children who love to read, and any organization that encourages this has my support (providing their legit of course).

No Kiss Blogfest! Horray!

2010-01-02T09:30:00.001-05:00

And it’s the Official No Kiss Blogfest day! Horray!

This is an excerpt from something I’ve been working on on-and-off for a long time now. Stephanie is the witness in a high-profile murder, and is now under the protection of the US Marshalls. Because she’s deaf, they had to call in Michael, because he’s one of their only people who knows American Sign Language. Stephanie has worked very hard to learn how to read lips, so sometimes he speaks to her, when signing is not convenient. They are flying her to his home town to hide because the murderers are now after her.

Stephanie was frozen in her seat. She hated flying. She’d always hated it. When she was growing up her family had taken one plane trip, to Disney World in Florida when she was six and they’d never flown anywhere ever again, not with her anyway. She’d been so terrified of the plane and everything that was going on that her parents had almost been asked to leave the plane. They’d rented a car to drive home and she had never gotten on a plane since, until now.

“We’ll be landing in about twenty minutes,” Michael said, sitting down next to her again.

Something, some noise most likely, distracted him before he’d barely sat down, and he got up and went back to the front of the plane. Stephanie wished he’d stop doing that. Every time he did that she was absolutely terrified that he’d just received news that the plan was crashing and they only had a few minutes left to live, not that she’d say that to anyone. She hadn’t even told anyone of her fear of flying. They were actually lucky she hadn’t started screaming like she had two decades before.

It wasn’t very long before Michael was back at her side. “Ever been to Chicago before?” he asked.

Stephanie nodded.

“My family has a farm about twenty minutes out of the city. My dad and my brother live out on the farm. There’s plenty of room for us to spread a little, more room than we had in your condo at the very least. We’ll have a bigger group with us, I’ll introduce you when we get there,” Michael explained.

“How long will we be there?” she asked, trying to ignore the lurching of her stomach as they started to descend a little bit.

“As long as it takes,” he replied, not looking at her eyes.

Suddenly the plane dropped. Stephanie fought to keep from screaming. Lord, please tell me this isn’t happening! She thought.

Michael must have seen her terror because he reached out and touched her arm. “Are you okay?” he asked.

* * * * *

“Why didn’t you tell me you were afraid of flying?” Michael asked, putting his arm around her. He would have pulled her in close to him, but then she couldn’t see what he had to say next. “Stephanie, you know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. I wouldn’t put you anywhere I thought you wouldn’t be safe.” He spoke the words aloud, but quietly, not loud enough Amy could hear them over Thom’s snoring.

Then he pulled her in close. He could practically feel the fear coming from her body. For some reason it hurt a little. It hurt him that she didn’t trust him to keep her safe in this. Not that there was much he could do if the plane started to go down, but he wasn’t going to think about that.

Michael was amazed at Stephanie’s ability to trust him in the other situations they’d encountered thus far. He knew it had to be hard for her to not ask questions, to simply go along with what he said, but she did it. Over and over again she did it. He wanted to be worthy of her trust. He wanted to be someone she could trust through thick and thin; in the big things and the little things.

Something drew him to kiss her on the forehead. He simply brushed his lips against her soft skin, but it caused her to look up into his eyes. He felt something in the pit of his stomach as he gazed into her beautiful green eyes. That something made him want to press his lips to hers, to kiss all her fears and worries away. He saw the same something in her eyes and he leaned forward. Slowly Stephanie’s eyes fluttered shut as she licked her lips slightly.

Just before their lips met the plane dropped again and Stephanie stiffened before burying her face in his shirt.

Day Five of the Countdown to the No Kiss Blogfest

2010-01-01T09:30:00.000-05:00

Some thoughts on the perfect almost kiss.

The perfect almost kiss.

What goes into the perfect almost kiss? What actually qualifies as an almost kiss that’s not a real kiss? Does it have to be on the lips or will any kiss disqualify it from the “almost” category?

For example: If someone goes in for the kiss and it ends up being instead rerouted (unintentionally or intentionally on the part of the kissee) by the turn of a head, landing on the cheek, does it still count? Or if the kisser kisses the kissee on the cheek or forehead (intentionally) instead of on the lips, does it count as an almost kiss?

Also, in order for a perfect almost kiss to occur does the kiss need to be interrupted? Can, rather than interruption, one member of the kiss decide that the kiss should not occur and therefore avert it? Would it still qualify for perfection?

Or, if they are interrupted, who/what must/should do the interrupting? Should it be a human force or can it be a so-called “Act of God” (be it happenstance or because God actually doesn’t want you to kiss)?

These are all questions one must consider (or at least, I have been considering) when composing the perfect almost kiss, because, as we all know, the perfect almost kiss can be almost as good as the real thing.

In fiction anyway.

Tomorrow's the big day!

I was going to add a clip or two for today from either the TV show gLee or Bones but could not find the clips I was looking for. They're both great shows, though, so check them out.

See ya' tomorrow! (Oh, and Happy New Year!)

Day Four of the Countdown to the No Kiss Blogfest

2009-12-31T09:30:00.000-05:00

Day Four of the Countdown to the No Kiss Blogfest!

This is from one of my favorite books, Match Me if You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. In this scene Annabelle is a matchmaker and Heath is her client. They are away at a camp with some mutual friends and after a night of dancing and more than a little drinking they have just kissed. Annabelle broke it off after only a moment, and they are now discussing it.

[Annabelle] heard [Heath] sigh. “We’re talking about simple physical attraction brought on by some moonlight, a little dancing, and too much liquor,” he said. “Do you agree that’s what this is?”

“I guess.”

“Basic physical attraction.”

“I suppose.”

“I don’t know about you,” he said, “but it’s been a long time since I’ve had such a good time.”

“Okay, I’ll admit it was fun. The dancing,” she added hastily.

“Damned right it was. So we got a little carried away. Nothing more than circumstances, right?”

Pride and self-respect dictated that she agree. “Of course.”

“Circumstances… and a little animal instinct.” His huskier pitch began to sound almost seductive. “Nothing to get worked up about. Are you with me?”

He was throwing her off stride, but she nodded.

He moved closer, his gravelly whisper a rasp over her skin. “Perfectly understandable, right?”

“Right.” She was still nodding, almost as if he’d mesmerized her.

“Are you sure?” he whispered.

She kept nodding, no longer remembering exactly what the question was.

His eyes gleamed in the moonlight. “Because that’s the only way… you can explain something like this. Pure animal attraction.”

“Uh-huh,” she managed, beginning to feel like a bedazzled, bobble-headed doll.

“What sets us free”—he touched her chin, the barest brush—“to do exactly what neither of us can stop thinking about, right?” He dropped his head to kiss her.

The night wind hummed; her heart pounded. Just before his lips touched hers, his eyelids flickered, and she glimpsed the faintest hint of cunning loitering in those green irises. That’s when it hit her.”

“You snake!” She pushed against his chest.

He stepped back, all wounded innocence. “I don’t deserve that.”

“Ohmygod!” You’ve just put me through Sales 101. I bow to the master.”

“You’ve had way too much to drink.”

“The Great Salesman asks just the right questions to get the mark agreeing with everything he says. He makes her nod her stupid head until it feels like it’s coming off her neck. Then he dives in for the kill. You just tried to make a sale!” (192-3)

Phillips, Susan Elizabeth. Match Me if You Can. New York: Avon Books, 2006. (192-3)

Day Three of the Countdown to the No Kiss Blogfest

2009-12-30T09:30:00.001-05:00

Day three of the Countdown to the No Kiss Blogfest!

This clip is from one of my favorite TV shows ever, Firefly (May it rest in peace). This may not totally count, but it’s absolutely hilarious. (It's the first 3 and a half minutes or so... For some reason it wouldn't let me pull a clip.)

Day Two of the Countdown to the No Kiss Blogfest!

2009-12-29T09:30:00.001-05:00

Day two of the Countdown to the No Kiss Blogfest!

This excerpt is from Leaving Carolina, the new novel from Tamara Leigh from Multnomah. Some background for the story is that Piper, the narrator, has wandered into some poison ivy and Axel is providing her with some lotion that is supposed to help, if you get it on early enough. Also, Axel was wounded in battle and he lost a leg and wears a prosthesis. This is after their first kiss. Afterward he discovered that she was seeing someone else, someone she is no longer dating.

[Axel] steps forward and extends the bottle of lotion. “If the rash appears, wash again. If nothing else, it should lessen the severity.”

“Thank you.” Our fingers brush as I accept the bottle, and attraction hums through me. Did he feel that? I glance at him in time to catch the curve of his mouth before it flattens and his brow pinches. […]

I snatch my hand back, only to wonder where to put it. As the options are limited, I clasp it with the other around the bottle, but it feels awkward. No wonder my clients groan and complain about the tasks I breezily set for them. It takes a tremendous amount of preparation and practice, both of which I’m lacking.

“What I didn’t say was that I hardly notice it anymore.”

Disbelief crosses Axel’s face, and I’m reminded of his fiancee’s inability to reconcile herself to his loss of a limb. “It makes a lot of women uncomfortable.”

“Not me,” I say with an eagerness that surprises—and embarrasses—me. “I mean, yes, it came as a shock, as I had no idea your limp was anything more than that, but it isn’t off-putting. In fact, I think you’re…” This is not the direction I should be going.

“What?”

Oh Well. “You’re attractive, even with that whole”—I wave a hand at his lower face—“mustache-goatee-ponytail thing you have going on.”

His skepticism remains in effect, though I do detect amusement.

“I mean it.”

“Under the circumstances, you shouldn’t.” He smiles. “You are taken.”

Reminded of the last time attraction drew me to him when Grant and I were still “on,” so to speak,” I feel an urgent need to update him. “Actually, it’s basically over between me and… the man I was dating.”

Axel tilts his head. “Should I say I’m sorry?”

I almost laugh. “Would you mean it?”

“It depends on how heartbroken you are.”

Why am I not? I was practically engaged. Or was I? “I’m recovering fine.”

He glances at my mouth, which suddenly feels dry. And in need of kissing. Not good.

I hold up the lotion, “Thank you again.”

Without giving him time to respond, I hurry around the side of the cottage. (294-6)

Leigh, Tamara. Leaving Carolina. Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2009. (294-6)

Count Down to No Kiss Blogfest - Day 1

2009-12-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

January 2^nd is the Official No Kiss Blogfest, so I’ve decided to start a five day count down to kick off this big event by posting some of my favorite non-kisses from page and screen.

And to kick off the countdown I would like to start with a scene from the TV show How I Met Your Mother

Lady Emily Ashton Series - Tasha Alexander

2009-12-22T11:44:00.000-05:00

First I want to thank everyone who commented yesterday. I hope everyone comes back.

Next, I’d like to go WAH! because the ACFW announced who will be teaching the Early Bird session at the 2010 Conference, and it’s James Scott Bell. So here is goes: WAH!

Third, I’d like to talk about a series of books I’ve been reading that I would like to recommend. I know it’s been a while (like a month) but I’m back on board here (I think).

Today I’d like to talk about the Lady Emily Ashton Series by Tasha Alexander. These books follow the adventures of Lady Emily Ashton, a young widow who discovers a love for adventure outside the traditional life of society in Victorian England. These are mysteries with a thread of romance, all told from the first person perspective of Emily.

The first book in the series And Only to Deceive tells the story of the time shortly after Emily comes out of mourning for her husband. They had only been married a very short while, and Emily did not know him well, but after his death she begins to read the books in his library and his journals and discovers things about her late husband she never knew, and she falls a little bit more in love with him as the days go by. While she is getting to know him a little too late rumors are spreading that her husband’s death may not have been as innocent as she was lead to believe, and the man closest to her husband may be to blame.

The following books, A Poisoned Season, A Fatal Waltz, and Tears of Pearl, tell stories as Emily finds that she is not satisfied with simply being who society expects her to be and that she wants more out of life than parties, much to the dismay of her mother.

For those who like the Secret History books from Lauren Willig (new one Betrayal of the Blood Lily is coming out next month btw) I think that this will be right up your alley.

OFFICIAL Kissing Day Blogfest!

2009-12-21T10:10:00.001-05:00

Woo-Hoo! I’m super excited about today and I didn’t even know it existed until about half an hour ago. It’s the OFFICIAL Kissing Day Blogfest! Bloggers all over the blogosphere are posting their favorite kissing scenes.

This kiss is from my current WIP Matches & Matrimony.

To set the scene a little Amanda (the narrator) and Jordan are good friends. Jordan is getting married in a month or so and he has been fighting with his fiancée, Sarahlynn. Amanda has a crush on Jordan, so the whole wedding business has been difficult for her. They are currently trapped in Amanda’s bathroom (it’s a long story involving a distracted contractor – Jordan – and a defective doorknob). Fortunately when they got trapped they had food with them (which is more than a little disgusting now that I think about it). Anyway, here it is:

“Are you going to eat the rest of your chips?” Jordan asked. I’d eaten my sandwich while he was telling me about this guy that he’d hired that was really nice, but a bit of an idiot who had to be walked through each step of every process about every time he did it. I knew how he felt.

“I’m willing to share,” I flirted. I immediately started berating myself. I wasn’t supposed to be flirting with him. He wasn’t available to flirt with.

He scooted from where he’d been sitting by the tub during our whole conversation over to where I was sitting by the sink. He started picking the chips off my plate.

“You’re a really good listener,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to totally unload on you like that. I guess it just all came out before I could stop it.”

I smiled. “It’s okay. We all need to unload every once in a while.”

He picked at my chips some more, then he turned and looked at me. “You’re a really good friend, Amanda.”

“You’re a good friend, too,” I replied.

Then, almost in slow motion, it happened. Jordan reached one hand over, cupped the back of my head in his large palm, and pulled my face to his. And then he kissed me. Not a simple, friendly kind of kiss, but a real kiss. A full, close-your-eyes-and-throw-yourself-into-it kind of kiss.

There was a part of me that immediately said that this was wrong, but the part of me that had been longing for this for months was louder, and I slipped one hand behind his neck and started to kiss him back.

He pulled away slightly, only for a moment, to angle his head a little better before claiming my lips once again, only now deepening the kiss. But that moment was all the rational part of my brain needed to tell me that what I was doing was wrong and that I needed to stop. And this time that voice won out.

I wrenched myself away from him, and quickly stood up. “Jordan!” I cried. “What are you doing? What are we doing?”

Jordan also stood. He looked slightly confused for a moment, before his eyes widened and I knew that he realized exactly what I was talking about.

“Oh, God,” he whispered, more as a prayer than an expletive. “Amanda, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have… I don’t know…”

“Jordan, I’m not the one you need to apologize to. That’s Sarahlynn.”

Jordan’s eyes grew wide again, before he closed them as though he were in extreme pain. “Sarahlynn,” he moaned.

“Yeah. You remember her. Your fiancée, Sarahlynn. The woman you’re going to marry in a month. That Sarahlynn.”

He sank back down to the floor and then buried his face in his hands. “What am I going to do?”

“Nothing,” I told him. “You do nothing. You say nothing. You change nothing. You only do exactly as you’ve planned on doing for the last three months. You marry Sarahlynn at Christmas. You forget that this ever happened.”