Tag: Fiction

The long-awaited mystery review

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itsaomToday I’m taking a look at In the Shadows by Susan Finlay.  I met her through Facebook and when news of her impending release was announced, I pledged my time to a review.  But first, the blurb:

There is a stranger amongst the residents of the cave-riddled village of Reynier, France.  Suspicious, they believe there’s only one reason Maurelle Dupre would be lurking in their small village – she’s a gypsy, a thief.  But a former Chicago detective turned mystery author, Dave Martin, who happens to be visiting his French grandmother, isn’t so sure about the beautiful stranger when happenstance causes them to meet.  He wonders why she seems so frightened and distrustful.  He knows he shouldn’t get involved.  The last time he trusted a woman in distress, the consequences resulted in the loss of his detective’s shield and his wife.  But, as always, the detective in him can’t seem to leave well enough alone.

However, what Dave couldn’t know is how persuading Maurelle to reveal herself will ultimately unveil something far worse than mere theft.

In the Shadows is a story of trust, belonging, and murder.

I’d like to start by saying that I don’t read a whole lot of mysteries.  I probably have a few in my massive TBR pile, but I think the last book I read that could properly be called a mystery is Mary Higgins Clark‘s Where Are the Children?.  It’s not that I don’t like a good mystery – I do.  It’s just not a genre I’ve read widely.  Also, this review may contain mild spoilers.   Read further at your own risk.

Why time travel intrigues us

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I had the great pleasure of reading the following post by James Wymore over on Will Macmillan Jones’s blog yesterday, shared as part of a book tour celebrating the release of Forbidden Future: A Time Travel Anthology.  The link there will take you to Amazon, where you can read more about the book.  It sounds fascinating, and at $.99 (for a limited time only), is a real bargain.

Anyway, I liked James’s post so much that I emailed him for permission to repost it here.  He was kind enough to grant my request, so without further ado, here ’tis:

Few fiction tropes have been delved into so deeply and so frequently as time travel.  Even if only as a thought experiment, I’ve never met somebody who didn’t speculate on how drastically one small difference in the past could change the present.  To be human is to enjoy 20/20 hindsight.  We seldom know the full consequences of the choices we make now, but we can always point to the critical moments in the past.  Just a nudge.  One small word, whispered in an ear at the right moment, and the entire future unfolds differently.

On the other end of the spectrum…

What a weekend!

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How was everyone’s weekend?  I spent mine mostly offline, fighting a migraine and watching TV.  Lots and lots of TV.  But it was good, because some of it qualified as research for The Lokana Chronicles.  After last week’s writing class and my two-day Reign marathon and a bunch of Wikipedia-browsing, I’ve got a bunch of ideas for revisions (which I’d just resumed and will now have to go back over, but at least it’s only a chapter or two).  I decided the book needs to be split in half, so I’ve got a lot of work to do because, once I’m done revising, I’m going to have to figure out how to wrap up the first half so that it feels like a complete book and then do the same for the second half.

Oy.  Vey.

icyWe had some snow over the weekend that made for lovely inspiration, but I felt too miserable most of the weekend to do much about it.  I finally got a chance to sit down this noon and work on a new short story, but then the phone rang, and there went half my lunch hour.  Hopefully I can get some more writing done tonight – that would be awesome!  I’m still feeling a bit blah, though, so I guess we’ll see what happens.

In other news…

Hungover

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Cover of "The Hunger Games"

Cover of The Hunger Games

Yep, I am suffering a massive book hangover after my all-weekend reading spree.  I still can’t believe that I stayed up all night reading Mockingjay, but it was just too hard to put down.  After seeing the movie, I was actually a bit indifferent about reading the books.  The movie left me with the impression they were leaving a lot out, but I was only mildly curious to find out what had been cut.  I managed about twenty pages or so in the first sitting, but once I picked up The Hunger Games Friday afternoon and sat down to have a good (uninterrupted) read, I found I couldn’t stop.

Since I saw the movie before I read the books, my mental image of what things looked like in the first book was pretty much what I’d already seen.  And every time Haymitch spoke up, I heard Woody Harrelson’s voice dripping sarcasm which, frankly, I thought was great.  I’m not sure anyone else could have played him better.  Same for Donald Sutherland as President Snow – he makes such a good villain!

Read no further if you’ve not already read the books.   Spoilers abound. Sort of.

Apology

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English: A map of the fictional nation of Pane...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Please excuse my lack of presence over the last couple of days.  I’ve become lost in Panem and hope to return shortly.  Meanwhile, have a great rest of the weekend!

(c) 2013.  All rights reserved.

Are they real?

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c. 50

c. 50 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Are you working through lunch again?” the man asked as I pulled out my notebook.

“Yeah, but this is fun work,” I replied, smiling.  I plopped the MS for The Lokana Chronicles down on the table.

He bent closer to inspect the title page.  “What’s this?  A novel?”

“Yep.  And here’s the sequel,” I said, removing the MS for Remnants from my purse.  It hit the table with a thud.

He took another look.  “You wrote these?”

My waitress joined us.  “You’re a writer?”

“Yep.”

Her eyes widened.  “Wow!  I always see you writing in your little notebook…”

“This is usually what I’m working on,” I said, smiling again.

I told them a little about my work and the man asked if he was part of my story.  I said no.   Then he asked,

And now, an interview!

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Will's PhotographAs promised, I have an interview for you with the lovely Will Macmillan Jones, author of the hilarious Banned Underground books.  It might have taken me a little longer than I first thought to get this posted, but what can I say?  Writers are not necessarily the most organized lot.  (Some may very well be, but I most certainly am not.)

KK: So, now that you’ve done it a couple of times, what’s it like to put out two books a year?

WMJ: What’s it like?  Let me see…imagine being run over by a lawnmower, thrown in a washing machine, a tumble drier and finished off in an old fashioned mangle.  It’s hard going.  As you know, I don’t write especially long books, mainly for commercial reasons.  But even so it is very hard work, both creatively and practically.  But actually quite rewarding too.  I can now look at my dressing table and see a line of my books.  Yes, I’m really that sad as to have them on show in my bedroom, so that I can see them when I wake up.

KK: I see nothing wrong with that.  In all honesty, I would likely do the same thing. 🙂  They say it takes three books to see success.  Do you feel like that’s true?   Why or why not?

The Banned Underground: The SatNav of Doom

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TSODThe latest installment in The Banned Underground series, The SatNav of Doom definitely holds up to the standard set by the first four novels (you can read my reviews of them here, here, here, and here).  Chock full of humor as always, I laughed my way through The SatNav of Doom at an admittedly slower pace than the previous books, but that was due to my overwhelming open house (and moving) preparation and is in no way a reflection on this fine novel.  Indeed, settling down with Fungus and the gang for a rockin’ gig was a welcome relief from my moving stress. 🙂

The discerning reader will find many gems along the way to the Edern’s enchanted Fairy Hill hideout.  From wonderful musical jokes to brilliant pop culture references, there’s plenty here to make you giggle, grin, and even guffaw.   For example:

We are the champions, my friends!

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campnano

I did it!  I crossed the 50k line tonight!  Well, I probably actually crossed it sometime this noon, but I typed across the 50k line tonight and validated everything tonight and holy crap, you guys!  Fifty thousand words is a lot of freaking words!

Okay, so that’s my excitement for the night then.  I know I can write another 50k because I’ve done it before (The Lokana Chronicles is roughly 100k) and that it will probably take that many more before my story is all done, but I’m just trying to focus on one thing at a time right now, especially since I was hoping to have this story nearing completion by this point in time.  I can’t believe I’ve been working on it for almost a year now and I’m only half done.  I had hoped to be so much further along than this!  But I suppose that’s just the way it goes, huh?  That that’s all part of being a mother/wife/friend/office drone/writer.  There are only so many hours in the day and I only get one of them, sometimes two, to write.

But I’m greedy – I want more.

Luckily, my work schedule is about to get a lot less hectic, so that should help.  Naptime will once again be writing time!  And with school starting back up in just a few short weeks, perhaps homework time can be writing time, too?  I guess we’ll see.

In the meantime, I’m going to celebrate my Camp Nano win by going to bed early tonight.  I could definitely use the sleep.  How has everyone else done with their Nano goals?  If you haven’t done Nano, why not try it come November?

(c) 2013.  All rights reserved.

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Down for the count: My reaction to the recent authonomy kerfuffle

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That’s right, I’m feeling a bit let down tonight.  See, I’ve taken my work down from authonomy.  The fit hit the shan late this afternoon (or at least that’s when it hit my attention, anyway) and after much reading and much soul-searching, I decided that this was the right thing for me to do.

What could have prompted such a decision?  The story of Carl Ashmore, author of The Time Hunters.  The book was up on authonomy a few years ago and reached the Editor’s Desk (if you’re unfamiliar with authonomy, the top five books each month make the desk and receive a review from a HarperCollins editor).  The review was good, stating that the book had “…terrific potential.

You can read all about it here and here.  Suffice it to say, Mr. Ashmore published his novel and it began to sell well and now all of a sudden, there’s a new series called Time Hunters being released by HarperCollins that is eerily similar to Mr. Ashmore’s work.   Anyway, check out the links above for the full scoop.