Do Cliches Matter if You Got Imagination? -- Review Neal Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane

    Don't know what took me so long to read Neil Gaiman's heroic childhood fantasy The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Maybe I was afraid of having my mind blown by what Gaiman does with the cliche of the loner, bookish kid not liking the caregiver his working parents dump on him.

   Of course, Gaiman wrapped the plot in magic, including three powerful immortals who pretend to be human on the farm at the end of the land.  The heroic battle comes after the narrator becomes the means used by a malignant entity to invade our dimension.

   This is supposedly an adult novel, narrated by an adult who had just given an eulogy at a funeral and decides to kill some time between events by visiting some of his childhood haunts. In matter of fact prose, the unnamed main character tells his dark tale of heroic sacrifice. Yet, the whole story takes place during the narrator's childhood, when he was seven-eight years old.

   The beauty in the reading comes in Gaiman's writing. Yeah. The Gaiman gives the reader the realistic whimsey at the core of all his books. It continually amazed me with how he manages to get such preternatural suspense from such a mundane, suburban setting. Even so, the action doesn't seem to have had much effect on the character. You might even say the story lacks character development. The kid seemed much the same to me at the end as the two ladies who livied at the end of the lane.

   I felt the tale skimmed along the surface of some great thoughts. The story did become a lyrical poem to the wonders of childhood with all its mysteries and what ifs. The bottom line, I think, is that Neil Gaiman has written another modern fairytale in his spare style with depths buried in the action rather than the description.

   Writers can take lessons from how Gaiman creates his images without noticeable adjectives. His descriptions widen the possibilities in the reader's imagination. Most writers narrow down the possibilities within their story lines.

A delightful coming of age story, beautifully written, which will stick into the back of your mind and resurface at unexpected times. Gaiman's amazing imagination and story-telling make this a must read for fantasy readers. You can read more reviews and samples on

Amazon     &     B&N Nook

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A Writer's Tool Kit & Interesting Links

   Came across a blog: Write Small: 5 Ways to Make Your Readers Care on Writer's Write by Mia Botha. One thing struck me was that people react to social crises much the same. They pick one cause or the problem of one person to work on. It's the details that matter.

   This pipsqueak writer is far too small to worry about Hugos or Nebulas, but it seems to me everyone should be aware of the current nomination process at the Hugos, a popularity contest which has always ignored some of the most enduring writers in the fantasy/science fiction genres. The Passive Guy, my favorite writing guru, posted this blog: Some Sad Puppy Data Analysis.

   Don't know how many of you read historical mysteries, but Jeri Westerson recently wrote a blog about how she came to write medieval mysteries: Writing Was My Secret. It made me wonder how many readers are secret writers. It's no secret that writers are readers.

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    Did enjoy my sister-in-law and daughter's visit. She says she enjoyed it too--in spite of the cottonwoods doing their spring-thing. Barely managed to keep my emails cleaned. The break did energize my #writing. While my brain forgot about the plot of On the Run, the back stories and socio-magical-political structure fell into place. The action and time lines in the whole Andor series have become more coherent in my brain. Like Doom for a Sold Soul happens before the Celestial Wars. Surprising since I write by the seat of my pants. Maybe there's some scientific basis for automatic writing.

   Didn't get anything done on my website...though people seem to be visiting it before I get all the SEO done. Since I haven't gotten anything corrected for the public. Here's the first paragraph of the current version of On the Run, which happens after the Celestial Wars.

   The waitress chewed a wad of gum so large her white-coated tongue appeared each time her jaw moved. Pillar Beccon lowered her eyes at the sight. “I’d like extra cheese.”

   It does get a little more exciting when she and her friends encounter a stalker at the bus station.

Leaving the Holiday Dust Behind & Traveling 2015's Writing Road

Hope you are refreshed after your Holidays ...

however you celebrate them

I've got a lot of cleaning up done, 

Including updating my author website.

Even enjoyed loafing around during my son's year-end visit, complete with a
Lord of the Rings movie marathon. Also saw the last of The Hobbit.
[I thought it dragged like the rest of them but love NZ scenery.]

Now it's back to the mundane, work-a-day world.

  My biggest news. I'm still in editing mode. Have one project down -- Hear That Damn Owl? [It's up on Smashwords, and I'm waiting for it to appear on Nook so I can get it up on Amazon too.]  But have another story rumbling down the pike -- Taking Vengeance. I decided to re-edit it as well as do the new cover. While I liked the old one, this one gives Mariah more steel in her stare.

  The most helpful thing I read was an comprehensive list on The Write Life for editing manuscripts. Yeah, another list. But this one can help anyone who has to write reports or papers as well as trying to write books or stories. 25 Editing Tips for Tightening Your Copy. I think I'll always hire editing for my self-published stuff, but this list can help Old Cheapskate Here save some money.

My catalog of short stories keeps growing online.

  Someday, I might consolidate worlds and/or protagonists. But first I've got to get stuff out of my computer. Short reads seem to be the most efficient way to excavate. End result? I have a huge backlog to revise, polish, and self-publish.

  Other self-publishers might be interested in an article I discovered on Google+: Where Should You Self-Publish an eBook?. If you're interested in building a career, you need to read this to set up a marketing plan. I discovered my "by-the-pants" plan wasn't too far off the bullseye. I plan on continuing to use Smashwords and Kindle Direct. To me the combination seems to be the most efficient. Besides I understand the process. [Though I still make mistakes... or get distracted by solitaire.]

  Another article I found on the BookDaily emails that was particularly helpful was How to Get Bloggers to Review your Book by Emlyn Chand. The blog post has so much good advic]e I printed a copy of it so it wouldn't get lost in my computer. It's in my reference binder.

  I'm planning to using the tips to gather reviews for The Ghostcrow. I did a bunch of exchange reviews for Showdown at Crossings. But decided I really didn't like the process. First, I read too many full-length novels in exchange for a long short story ... and people expected five star ratings.

The only fly in my ointment.

  This was the year I came down with the "galloping croup". It really slowed me down, and even now, I'm running on half my cylinders. So, I've been doing some comfort -reading -- the first four Anne of Green Gables novels since my son left. What a master of characterization L. M. Montgomery was.

  [Confession: Even as a teen, I thought Anne and friends were rather sappy ... but the people and places they met were wondrous ... and still are.]

  Coughing or not, I plan to start my 2015 writing year right. Two pages of new stuff plus a bunch of editing is the plan. Against my better judgement, I'm going to work on a sequel to Noticing Jamilla ... and see how Cassy Mae fares on her flight from Docket's Diggings.

Then, there's The Ghoscrow waiting in the wings. Think I've got a bunch to keep me busy along with beta-reading and critiquing.

Hope your plans are revving up too.

Openings -- Deciding Whether To-Read or Not-to-Read

Which book do you pick up from your To-Read-Pile? You don't have one? Either you have more time than I do or you're obsessive on finishing what you start or some other reason.

Doubt if you don't read. You wouldn't be here if you didn't.

At the moment, I've about six books "in process". I've started them and stopped somewhere between the covers. I've put the bookmark in them ... and gone on to other things. Sometimes, it's even embarrassing. Like when I abandoned a book by Simon R. Green for Richard Castle's Frozen Heat. Gads ... the Frozen Heat author isn't even real and is probably a committee! Yet I dropped a bunch of competently written books to read it ... in two days, all 400+ pages. I think the opening lured me into the mystery.

"Oh, yeah, that's it, Rook," said Nikki Heat. "That's what I want. Just like that." A trickle of sweat rolled down his neck to his heaving chest. He groaned and bit down on his tongue. "Don't stop yet. Keep it going. Yes. ..."

What do you think is going on there? Some hot and heavy sex scene? Actually, it's a rehab session as Rook works to gain back muscle-strength after getting shot at the end of the last book. Of course, the scene segues into a homicide case that is directly linked to Heat's mother's death. The plots in the Heat books mirror the tv show. What ever. The scene hooks, and the "Castle team" keep the action moving without any info-dumps until Heat discovers her initials carved into the suitcase wheels ... a suitcase which contains a frozen body.

Not all openings are bait and switches like the above. This time I'll give an example from There Be Demons ... which my editor/publisher at Grumpy Dragon loved: 

"Vetis, a prince of demons, burst through the portal connecting Gehennathh to the city of Trebridge. His magnificence blazed brighter than the setting sun. The narrow gate, stretched by his bulk and wide horns, closed with a tired sigh. He rubbed his sore neck as he surveyed his new foothold on the human world." 

So what makes a good opening, besides knowing after the fact that you and others got hooked? 

My opinion is that it's action. Both example have description. Both introduce characters. But both are contained within the action. Guess that's the summary of "show, don't tell" or the screenplay paradigm of novel writing.

Rating: Four Stars. I found Frozen Heat a nice read, but it's not a "keeper". 

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Am experiencing something new. Publisher edits on There Be Dragons. The submission process has been slow, probably complicated by finding an artist for Pat, the Pet, but the project is finally progressing. Contract's signed ... and change requests made, including one that I need kill someone to raise the stakes for my Gargoyle Posse. -- Explanation: That makes the book a definite YA even though my main characters are freshmen.

[The editor didn't think I should call my kids the "Gargoyle Gang", either, when one of my gargoyles was named Gang. Don't look at me. I didn't even notice it until my nose was rubbed in it. Don't know if I like "posse" or "crew" better. Anyone got any comments?]

The surprise is I'm enjoying reading the manuscript instead of cringing. The fact that the editorial comments are easy to change helps.

Oh ... Did anyone notice I cleaned up my sidebar on the blog? Need to go in and make changes on my websites too. -- Hopefully, next weekend.

Writers' Words, Writers' Worries -- 1

Okay, I know I hop around on the internet too much, but I come across so much interesting stuff. So, I'll share some of the comments I read and give links so I can pretend I'm not wasting my time.

I'll start with the saddest, a situation that all writer's face -- Quitting, via a The Passive Guy link. If I interpreted things right India Drummond describes what happened when she went looking for an author who disappeared from markets and social networking ... and her thoughts on the writer's situation. Maybe she even offers some support for writers who are thinking about quitting. 

Morgan Mandel says "editing is a real pain" in her blog on Sloppy Editing as she worries about the editing of Blessing or Curse, her five story romance/science fiction anthology. --  I can't agree with her more even though I just edit my own stuff ... over and over again. But then, I often think writings a pain ... but not writing is a greater one.

Then, Dean Wesley Smith made some comments on a blog which gladdened my heard: Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: Writing Fast. Summary. Everyone's different. Every project's different. Only he dishes up a lot of food for thought about the writing process while he discusses the myths writer's tell themselves. -- I'm a slow writer for a lot of reasons. I figure I've got to cut out the social networking and not play so much solitaire ... among other things. Editing as I go, on the other hand, helps.

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This has been sitting in my computer a few days. No excuses really ... except maybe I've been playing too much spider solitaire. Seem to be suffering from writer's block plus distractions so I'm going to publish this and go downstairs and read Kay Hooper's Haven.

Going Back to to an Author's Roots

Roots make a great metaphor and can mean many things for a author. In Laurell K. Hamilton's case: Her new mass paperback, Hit List, mines the beginnings of her Anita Blake series when she takes on Mommie Darkest, whose minions are killing were-tigers in Seattle. The biggest- baddie-of-all wants to possess Blake's body. There's more arse-kicking than rolling-between-the-sheets.

Perhaps Hamilton's greatest achievement here is how she weaves elements from her previous Blake books ... even the erotica ... to give Blake the tools she needs to come up with a satisfying ending. This book is leaner than the previous few in the series, and I liked how the action moved as many of the characters from previous adventures were woven into the plot. Of course, those who can't be named -- the Harl***in -- make almost invincible opponents until Blake brings her talents to bear ... and no, I don't mean her prowess in bed. 

Personally, I like Blake's sense that "god" is a non-judgemental being, who doesn't deny her/his help just because Blake doesn't follow a prescribed religion.

Hamilton also indicates the series will continue. One, an except of the hard back book , Kiss the Dead, is included. [I was pleased to see that Zerbrowski was featured in the first chapter, though he seemed more serious than before.] Two, Olaf, the serial killer with a fixation on Blake, escaped and disappeared with another victim.

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Have been struggling to produce more than 500 words a day, much of that rewrites. It's enough to make you wonder if you're doing the "right" thing. Like why am I doing all social networking stuff????

A blog by Yasmine Galenorn over at Life on the Fringe addresses much of that territory. Why not take a look at "Writing Tips: Just Do It". No hand holding here, just sound advice. You should be writing for yourself.

Then, there's L. M. Preston's blog on why she loves writing.