The Mystery: Why Lukewarm?

The Read ...

It bothers me when a book leaves me lukewarm ... and not just because I'm a cheapskate.  Jeri Westerson's medieval mystery Veil of Lies did just that.  Oh, the characters are well drawn, even interesting, and the closed room mystery stands up well.  But ...

I decided I'd read too much Zoe Oldenbourg ... as will as Edith Pargeter/Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael), Michael Jenks, and many others who create richer stages for their characters.  Westerson's style strikes me as too modern for her subject matter.  What works for Reacher doesn't necessarily work for Crispon.  That said, I'll probably buy the others in the series.

Yeah, I started reading about medieval times quite early -- like in the sixth grade when I shocked the head librarian when I returned Anya Seton's Katherine about the John of Guant's (the Duke of Lancaster just prior to the War of the Roses) mistress and third wife.

Web and Other Good Stuff ...

Bet lots of writers are happy Nathan Bransford still blogs even though he stopped being an agent.  At the moment, he's writing a series of blogs on Harry Potter and the writerly world, one of which was "Five Writing Tips."

Let's take a dose of optimism and assume we got an agent who has a publisher on the hook.  If you don't and wonder if you should wait for an agent's representation before you publish, you might want to read Rachelle Gardner's blog on what an agent does.  Click here for Contract Pointers.

Author, Brigid Kemmerer has a couple blogs on "Revisions Made Easy" which struck me as helpful.  Loved it when she said "The girl was running through the park" wasn't passive voice.  Can you guess which word she said you should watch for instead of a "to be form"?

Are you dreaming of an e-Christmas?  The Consumer Reports, a service that vets various products, has a short run down on buying a e-reader.  --  Yeah.  I'm looking, but there are too many basic problems remaining for me to buy one ... including not having WiFi.

Last but not least, I'd like to extend sympathy to Kim Mullican who is in the Throes of Revision.  At least, I don't have the jaws of Janet Reid chewing up my pitiful queries.  [Mostly, because she doesn't represent what I write.  I, of course, am among the multitudes would love to have her as an agent.  --  Have you even noticed how much Janet Reid promotes her author's on her blog.

Progress ...

"What's that?" she asks.   Need I say more?  I'm behind in everything ... including critiques.

One thing ... from now on, I think I'll be talking about my Half-Elven on the Half-Elven blog.  Did send Dark Solstice out to an e-publisher after I finished the edits, but I'm still hitting my head against the next Renna tale.

Trivia ...

Between snow storms at the moment and got the cat TV installed, but the birds haven't found the feeder yet.  As for the weather, looks like the storms are going to roll across the mountains rather frequently [for the moment, at least].

Publish Post