The Books Pile Higher

Trivia:  I did a bad.  While going down the grocery aisle to the light bulbs, I got snared by the books section.  Walked away with three more to add to the to-be-read pile.  Including a Lori Foster (of Gaby, the Paladin fame.)  It's part of a short story collection with another author who I can't remember at the moment.  (Multiple author collections are one of the ways I add authors to my must-look-at file.) -- Oh, there isn't a zombie among them, I don't think.


Learning from What I Read:  I skimmed through another 100 pages of Laurens' Temptation.  They've gotten to the heavy panting stage, but the MC still is looking for "the highest of the high" among the gentry.  I'm half way through the book, and not much has happened except the "staring-at-each-other-across-the-mall" stuff.  (At least they don't giggle.) Only they didn't have malls in the 1820s, just village greens ... where they don't hang out. 

I'll be skimming this book ... mostly because I'm still looking for the mystery.  Also, she has failed to draw me into the world to the extent I accept whatever the characters do as being the right, even if it's stupid.  Besides I have Christine Feehan, James Doss (with Daisy Perika, my main lady), and Lori Foster waiting on the shelf among others.

If Laurens was a beginning writer, I'm sure someone would tell her to begin where the action begins.  Maybe all the coy posturing and growling possessiveness is standard for romances.  If so, I'm hopeless as a romance reader.  After all, I decided to marry the old man because he had the same blood type as me.  (An important factor when you're Rh negative, and kids enter the equation.)

Writing:  I think I'm writing too much.  Not only am I reading for only about a hour+ a day, but one of my critiquers is pounding me over the head because Tangled has too many characters.  According to the norms of most of the books on the shelves, she's right.  But, Tangled is part of the Half-Elven story which I wrote for myself at the beginning.  

So, the primary story is written in front of a tale of political intrigue involving the ruling family and their enemies ... and potential allies.  --  Yeah, it's funny.  The novice writer starts out with a multiple viewpoint story in which everyone has their two-cents to contribute, and I let them say it.

Another criticism about Tangled:  I "tell" too much.  Yeah, I do because it simplifies the telling when presenting multiple interpretations of events.  So will I listen?  Well, yes, sort of.  Still, I think it's interesting when people look at the same facts and come up with different conclusions.  Also, I don't flick out the cross when someone tells ... as long as it isn't an info dump.

Emma?  I'm going to start rewriting what I have from a younger point of view the beginning of the week.  Not that there will be that much, mostly changing facts here and there.  Hopefully, I'll add some depth to the characters along the way.


Progress:  Not much.  

I'm going to have to go back and look at a couple of short story submissions from June.  I think it's time to send some status queries.