Memories, bad and good, Can Propel Your Story

One of my joys this last Christmas was a copy of E. C. Tubb's last Dumarest book, Child of Earth. My son searched high and low for the last two [missing from my book shelves] only to find that the next to the last one was totally expensive. He couldn't find a "cheapie", and I told him to give up. I'm satisfied to know how Tubb depicted parts of earth once Dumarest finally arrived after some 33 books.

I started out liking the books because they were an interesting, easy to follow books after I was exhausted chasing kids. I've continued to re-read them over the years because they are well written and filled with action, however unbelievable.

The more important fact I learned:

Tubb has become something of a cult figure.

That isn't surprising to me because Dumarest is a space opera version of Jack Reacher, a good guy who's always one step ahead of the bad guys. The chase is always depicted in fast paced action scenes with interesting characters and villains. 

People still collect Tubb's books even though he's an obscure British writer who published Dumarest novels between 1967 and 2008. It's sort of weird that the long line of books on my bottom shelf are collector's items, almost a complete set except for the super-expensive next to the end book.

Child of Earth isn't a novel in the usual sense of the word. More of a novella padded with memories of important past events mentioned in the series. None of the solving a big problem after several adventures. The book is more of an escape story--without any of the imaginative world creation. Just a bleak, killing snowy environment and a limited number of characters. A nice read. But a novel, no. More of a guilty pleasure for Tubb fans.

If you want to learn more about E. C. Tubb's Dumerast, check out Amazon. Some of the reviews are really interesting, and I learned a lot. Since he died in 2010, it was surprising to see how many of Tubb's Dumarest books are ebooks and still being sold.

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Other Interesting Reading

It's the time of year when "my best ten books" lists sprout like leaves, in spite of the snow. Somehow, I doubt if many self-published books appear on them. Not many traditionally published books do, either. The Passive Guy has an interest take on publishing and books, arguing that there are way too many books being published. You might find it interesting, too.

Found another interesting blog about writing and New Year's Resolutions: Pat Stoltey's Blood Red Pencil blog about Colleen M. Story’s
 Overwhelmed Writer Rescue: Boost Productivity, Improve Time Management, and Replenish the Creator Within, There's a lot in the book that applies to everyone, not only writers.

Stoltey comments: The author also tells us a little flexibility and a lot of grit are the writer’s best tools for pulling us out of the quicksand and getting our feet on solid writing ground. I think the advice applies to everyone. Not giving up is one of the keys.

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My Writing Rut

Was going to get back into writing new stuff this month. *pause while looking sheepish* But had a problem. I was trying to write Rendezvous with Demons which is a continuation of On the Run. Only I couldn't remember details from the manuscript. So, I'm editing it again. I was only going to skim it, but I found lots of typos and passive "to-be" forms. 

Think it's a good idea. My copy editor charges by the hour so I get a double benefit. I refresh my memory and I save myself some money. A nice way to start the new year, all in all.