Character Growth Keeps the Books Running

You gotta admire writers who keep a series going, but one that's 47 books long and still popular? J. D. Robb [aka Nora Roberts] does just that with her Eve Dallas novels. I'm late to the game, but I've just read Secrets in Death. Granted murder mysteries get a kick in the action from the unending ways and reasons to killing someone. The personal development of the sleuth doesn't have to carry the novel, just give it some momentum. A personal crisis can take a couple of books to resolve, but the crime is always solved in one...unless the villain escapes. I doubt many villains get away from Dallas.

Secrets in Death is the first Eve Dallas book I've read. I've read other Nora Roberts novels from time to time, mostly her paranormal ones. Don't know why I bought this one so late in the series, but I did along with another super popular writer of many, many books and series. Started both books at the same time, a couple chapters each. Dallas is the one I kept reading, to the point I stayed up late to "read one more chapter"...and the chapters are on the long side. Sometimes, I read two more chapters.

The mystery was intriguing. An obnoxious gossip columnist is killed in a bar under unusal circumstances. [Yeah, a cliche, but Robb/Roberts adds some interesting twists.] Who the murder victim was was as convoluted as who the killer turned out to be. Watching Dallas march through the procedural caught my interest and kept it. The mystery part provided enough entertainment to make the book worth while.

What makes the book, though, are the characters. As each clue is discovered, Dallas interacts with the suspects and the investigators. Each one is rounded out, some with more detail than others, but none of them are cardboard cut-outs. I'm almost tempted to go back to see how the major characters were developed, but I won't. I'm too lazy.

I've seen many mentions of "Robert's futuristic detective" series. On that note, I think Robb/Roberts falls flat. Serious science fiction readers wouldn't give her world building much of a pass. Everything is too generic, too vague to make the world feel different from our own time. "Airboots" and other "mod" terms just don't cut it.

Many of the reviews of the book complain that Secrets in Death isn't Robb/Robert's best book in the series. But it was more than good enough to amuse me at the end of the day. You can read a sample and other opinions at

Amazon       Barnes & Nobel       kobo/Rakuten

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Other Interesting Reading

Writer? Reader? Both? Found an interesting blog at The Swivet about writers shouldn't write in alone: Writing in a Vacuum: Why Community is Essential to Writers. Basically, it says writers should build networks. It got me thinking that readers should too. Only they're called book groups, meeting once a month to discuss a book over coffee. The blog is old, but the ideas are still good.

Interested in good writing? This list of the best writing blogs is making the rounds. I've seen several links to it, so I thought I'd share it. I really enjoy the Absolute Write blog, and if your're serious about writing, you should check their forums.

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 My Writing Rut

Editing. Editing. And, Editing Some More.

[On the Run]

Maybe Someday I'll Get Around to Writing Something New.

In the meantime, I'm working on the blurb for On the Run:

Orphaned teen travels across the country to discover her mother's secrets, unaware she's pursued by a demon seeking to destroy her.

Pillar Beccon can't remember ever belonging anywhere, especially not in the Freemage commune where she grew up. She's a null, a person without magic, the lowest of the low in Andor. When she gets the chance to learn more about her mother's family, she jumps at the chance.

The teen draws the attention of Grylerrque, a commander from The Demon Wars secretly surviving in Andor, who recognizes what Pillar is and seeks to feed her life force to her clutch. She sends her minions to capture her. Pillar escapes when Thelma Tankin, her mother's cousin rescues her, but the teen soon learns she was pulled out of the frying pan into the fire.

On the Run tells the story of Pillar's journey to find a place to call her own. The book continues the chronicles of Andor where a the mundane world clashes with one of magic and demons from another plane of existence. If you love paranormal stories of discovery and mayhem, this is the story for you.

Midnight Lines: Reaching for a Simple Stopping Point

I can just imagine it. Hundreds and hundreads of people staying up past midnight, searching for a dull spot to place a bookmark until tomorrow. Finding stopping spots is hard to do with a Lee Child Reacher novel, and the newest, The Midnight Line, is no exception.

Child's minimilist writing style is fascinating. You read one line sentence after one line sentence. Yet, he creates images that stick in your mind for days afterwards. He also doesn't loose you as the plot twists in and out, and round about. Oh, Child writes paragraphs too, but all his writing is as spare as a long-distance runner. He gets from the starting blocks to the finish line with few or any loose-ends dangling.

Complicated things can happen by doing simple things. In this case, Reacher finds a West Pointer's ring in a pawn shop and decides to return it to the officer. He soon gets a target on his back for being a "complication". He also lands in the middle of our opiod crisis and the lousy treatment our wounded veterans all too often get. The reader gets a lovely roller coaster ride along some back country roads.

Remember the Shadow who was always asking: "What evil lurks in the hearts of men?"

Well, Child keeps asking what evil can Reacher find along US highways and roads. This time he explores back-country, dirt roads, not the highways. That the setting was over the mountains from me was a added bonus. I always wondered what might happen up in the hills away from the firewords emporium. Used to hike in the mountains on the other side of the ridge, and Child's descriptions felt real.

Child made his name dishing out action and more action. If you're an action junkie, this may not be the book for you. As Reacher grows older, he's thinking more and more, even philosophizing. Read a sample and more reviews:

Amazon          Barnes & Noble          Rankuten kobo

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Other Interesting Reading

The local writing group, Northern Colorado Writers, has an interesting blog, The Writing Bug. I like it because writing usually bugs me. Besides, I know many of the writers. Any way, David Sharp recently wrote of blog on the importance of a writer's voice. You can check it out here: In search of Voice.

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My Writing Rut

Rendezvous with Demons is finally lurching forward. Have be writing around 750 new words a day, an improvement on the old 500 words a day if I was lucky. Another plus, is I haven't yet reached the episodic descriptions I wrote during NaNoWriMo. Am guessing that's a good thing.

Here's a sample--my tentative opening:

            A party. A party? You're going to a stupid party?
            An invitation to a post-exam party from a future Kingscourt flunky had goaded Britt Kelly to visit the posh northern neighborhood where she now stood, hands on her narrow hips and shaking her head in disbelief.  The dark morning silence the suburban river-bend park rang in her ears. Empty swings drifted back and forth on the early morning breeze as mist rose from the river that flowed through Trebridge.

            The banks of the river in her neighborhood were more likely to be filled with warehouses or garbage strewn lots than groomed grass and trees. That's where she belonged. Not among the neat rows of single houses, separated by groomed yards, that surrounded the park.

            But she had been invited, and she was curious. Mostly, about how her life might have been if her father hadn't abandoned his family for another woman when she was a teen.

            Not that I'm unhappy about how my life turned out. Wish Cahal had stayed in Trebridge, but you can't have everything you wish for.

There Be Demons is still getting decent Amazon and GoodReads reviews, but I'm rewriting and rewriting the book blurb. Effort so far: [Any body have any comments?]

Britt Kelly doesn't have time to be a demon fighter. After her parents' divorce, Britt Kelly's posh suburban life turns upside down. Not only must she cope with a new high school. But she learns she's an Angeli Chosen--picked to fight invading demons at the side Trebridge's four Gargoyle Guardians. Her family's main babysitter, Britt just wants to get grades good enough to escape the projects. Dreaming about her new crush, Cahal, takes even more of her time.

.

Gillen, the leader of the gargoyles, races to teach the four teens under his command enough magic to survive the coming demon battles. But he soon learns that teaching the four teens is like herding cats.

 Britt must learn to follow orders if her loved ones are to survive the coming fight between good vs evil.

You can see the old stuff at Amazon and Rakuten kobo. 

Who Knows What Secrets Lurk in the Heart of Sangamon?

Pat Stoltey knows, and she reveals them in the historical thriller, Wishing Caswell Dead.

It's easy to forget that the US Midwest was once the great western frontier where fierce Indian Wars were waged. Stoltey sets her tale in the 1830s when that frontier was only partly tamed.

In those days before the Civil War, Philadelphia debutante Mary Proud goes west with her soldier husband, but she is left destitute after his death. She leads a poverty-stricken life, with her two children, sadistic Caswell and victim Jo Mae. Caswell is found dead in the opening chapter, and the reader gets to amble through the minds of various Sangamon inhabitants, learning all the reasons why people in the small hamlet wished Caswell dead.

Jo Mae's attempts to gain control of her life after years of abuse is the thread that stiches the tale together. Sounds dreary, but the fate of Jo Mae provides a hook to pull the reader through the narrative. I found her the most powerful of the several raconteurs in the story. The others characters are well-drawn, with quirks, faults, and strengths, but it is Jo Mae that shines.

Stoltey weaves a tightly contstructed narrative which keeps the reader engaged even though the book is more about revealing its characters' inner lives than creating surprising plot twists. She also captures the period and speech patterns well. An enjoyable and intriguing read with a wonderful depiction of a historical time which isn't often seen.

Sample a few chapters and see the other reviews of this newly published book on

Amazon          Nook

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Other Interesting Reading

Was recently asked to do a guest blog on someone else's blog, like write a short essay or op-ed piece. "About what?" I asked. While I got very little direction, I did manage to bumble through. Margaret McGaffey Fisk has some great ideas about writing blogs. A lot pertains to writers, but it applies to many different endeavers. Take a look.

Do you like reading blogs about of books? Found a link to the 100 most influential, often read book blogs. Probably something for everyone in this list, so says the pipsqueak.

Perhaps the most interesting blog I read came via the Books Go Social author support group. Jonathn Vars, a Christian fiction writer, did a guest blog on plots, specifically HOW TO CREATE A PLOT FROM NOTHING IN 5 STEPS. Many writers might think the steps simplistic. I think their very simplicity makes them easier to understand and implement.

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My Writing Rut

Still working on On the Run. My editor has told me she's available earlier than she first thought. Not like getting your tail feathers lit to get you moving. Fortunately, I was more than half-way done when she told me. Below is an excerpt from the opening scene set in a bus station:

As she took another bite of her gooey sandwich, the station’s energy shifted gears, became so intense even Pillar’s weak talent felt the rising pulse. A chill crawled over Pillar’s shoulders and down her back. She dropped her sandwich to turn around again.

 “Look at all the people coming through the platform doors,” said Mari. Her eyes gleamed.

Pillar groused to herself. Nothing like being addicted to danger. She enjoyed adventures, too, but didn’t care to play with fire. Some amusements aren’t worth the heat.

Mari’s voice squeaked with excitement. “Hey, Tally, a girl just came in. She looks like she’s been traveling a reeeaaaally long time, just like a roamer. Do you think her family tossed her out?”

Must apologize. Had this written by Sunday. Yesterday, I waltzed around with my daily stuff, including getting a temporary bridge put in my mouth... Didn't get this published, but here it is today.

Does a Series Need All it's Ends Tied -- Odd Thomas?

    Decided to review on the odd side this week, the last of the Odd Thomas series--Saint Odd, by Dean Koontz. When I picked up the first book, I first thought, "Interesting. Koontz is writing about an idiot savant. Might be interesting."

   Koontz had me hooked by the second or third chapter. Definitely by the time Odd was on the run. The abandoned hotel is one of the scariest settings I've encountered. It's still in my mind several years later.

   Scary, supernatural "things" or is that "entities" are the norm in Odd Thomas life as he weaves a path between the good and evil, building mystical skills beyond his ability to see ghosts and mourning his lost love who was killed in a terrorist attack at a shopping mall, even though they are destined to "be together forever". Yeah, Odd Thomas suffers from "survivor's guilt".

   Koontz uses a very narrow, first person point of view in the Odd stories. The reader knows nothing but what Odd tells them. Fortunately, Odd is a minute observer while he wonders about people, things, and the supernatural. I won't go into the technical aspects of Koontz's writing. He's a master, and the construction of the novel is masterful, even if he did leave a huge number of dangling loose ends.

   The hallmark of a Koontz story is action. In Saint Odd, the villains are chasing Odd from the get-go as he tries to sneak back to the town he left because something significant's going to happen. More important, I think, is Odd's distinction between "killing" and "murder". Odd Thomas is the good guy, but he only ends a human life to save himself or other innocents. Murder is the killing for selfish purposes. For some reason, that thought keeps bubbling up to the surface of my mind. So, I'll consider it profound.

    Definitely recommended Saint Odd, but you might want to read some of the other books in the series if you haven't done so, especially the previous volume. An epic tale of good vs evil. Granted it gets a little boring when good wins, but that's what we're rooting for. Right? Too bad it's the end of the series. But, there is the possibility of a continuation if Koontz every gets around to it. Meh.

See excerpts at Amazon and B&N Nook.

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Interesting Link

   Cate Hogan, a writer/editor of romance novels, recently posted an article on 8 useful tools for writers , information that can improve writer's communications and money making ability. The tips also apply to anyone who emails a lot. I realize emails are a little old fashioned in this day of smartphones. But, when I want to "talk" to people, I prefer the amount of information I can convey via emails as opposed to texting.

   Of, course, I could write a letter... ... ...

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My Writing Rut

   Ended up backtracking last week. Added another chapter to On the Run where Pillar learn moreabout her past and her abilities.

Sigh. 

   Maybe I'm done with the academy now and can get on to Nate. Not really much to say. I've been under the weather and just didn't have the energy to stare at the computer as long as usual. For some reason, I don't feel the enthusiasm I felt last week. At least, I'm getting back to the part of the story I wrote last Spring. And then, I have to have the showdown with the demon -- about which I don't have a clue outside of the brief description of the aftermath when Nate gather's up Pillar's pieces.

One Murder, Two Murders, Three Murders, More? Plus Protagonistcide.

    Yah gotta be remarkable to survive for fourteen books. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child persevere by writing about murder most ingenious, so ingenious that their main sleuth, Aloysius Pendergast almost didn't survive this book. Yeah. Obviously, I kept reading Blue Labyrinth. It's a complex mystery filled with arcane lore by accomplished masters of the art.

   What's not to like, besides the chilling spook factor, common in most of the Pendergast books. It barely registers in this volume? The book concentrates on fast moving twists and turns between two interrelated murders of the mundane kind.

   Turns out Pendergast's fabulous fortune is based on a grandfather's lethal patent medicine, and the main villain seeks revenge on Pendergast. Sounds like a simple enough except for all those twists and turns. Plus, the secondary characters get to shine as they put the pieces of the puzzle together to save a cantankerous friend and mentor.

   Yeah, super sleuth Pendergast is brought low by an villain seeking revenge for crimes he didn't personally commit, but I thought the writers a little too coy. I felt they took too long to introduce the mastermind. You have a super obsessive behavior here, ready to carry revenge unto the third and fourth generations. I would have liked more details on the ultimate villain in this episode of Pendergast's dealings. The authors gave the villain way to short a shrift.

   On the plus side, I didn't get annoyed that the book was 500+ pages. I'm guessing that super-short chapters do speed up the reading of a book. Granted you still read in information-arcs, but they seem to speed along, helped by action and questions and unsuspected murders and with the clues buried in the vaults of the New York Museum of Natural History. [It's inspiration is one of our must-sees when we go to New York City.] Anthropology gets as good of PR from Preston & Child as Aaron Elkins gives forensics.

   This story is character driven with the secondary characters given important roles in the sleuthing. Granted I always feel that Pendergast is a little too invincible to be true, but the team makes the "hero" super vulnerable in Labyrinth, leaving the other characters to solve the conundrums of fast-paced, twisting plot.

    Highly recommended. Make sure you block out good-sized reading sessions because the odds are this book won't have you reading "one more chapter" past your bedtime, but five or six or more. The time adds up even if the chapters are short.

Read excerpts and more reviews of Blue Labyrinth on Amazon and B&N Nook.

There's also sample chapters of Crimson Shore, the next book in the series.

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My Writing Rut

Ta Dah!

    Would you believe I got my demon attack on the Beccon Academy first-drafted? Heh. Heh. I'm not going to tell you what happened, other than Pillar survived. Soon she'll be on the road again. Excuse me while I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment.

   May have to change the cover for On the Run. Found this lovely picture of a house that's almost perfect for the book's middle. Just thought I'd share it to show how I waste time on the internet. Need to get an ending on the book before I try to fiddle with anything else. Yeah it's going to be another demon fight, but she soon meets an ally.