Someone on Absolute Write's Water Cooler came up with a fun post. If you've ever had a DVD that has an Easter Egg on it - that is, something hidden by pressing weird buttons on your remote, etc. - have you put any sort of Easter Egg in your writing?
I have.
My only pub credit - a short story - had a female MC whose first name was Brielle. That also happens to be the name of a town down the Jersey shore, and I always LOVED that name (it's kinda pretty, ain't it?).
The other Easter Egg is, I think, more Easter Egg-like. My current WIP, which starts in 1974 New Jersey (notice a trend? ;-))moves to 1942 Los Angeles/Hollywood, and pretty much stays there for the duration. (World War II buffs should get that last bit - hopefully. :-)) I have one character (Margaret, Rita's adoptive mother) working at a fictitious movie studio called Durham Studios. There actually was, and I believe, still is, a Raleigh Studios located out there. As there's a Raleigh-Durham Airport, I figured I'd have a little fun and call the studio Durham.
Y'get it?
I feel so much like Wile E. Coyote - Super Genius.
And modest, too. ;-)
~Nancy C. Beck
28 December 2007
Time For Some Fun
Someone on Absolute Write's Water Cooler came up with a fun post. If you've ever had a DVD that has an Easter Egg on it - that is, something hidden by pressing weird buttons on your remote, etc. - have you put any sort of Easter Egg in your writing?
I have.
My only pub credit - a short story - had a female MC whose first name was Brielle. That also happens to be the name of a town down the Jersey shore, and I always LOVED that name (it's kinda pretty, ain't it?).
The other Easter Egg is, I think, more Easter Egg-like. My current WIP, which starts in 1974 New Jersey (notice a trend? ;-))moves to 1942 Los Angeles/Hollywood, and pretty much stays there for the duration. (World War II buffs should get that last bit - hopefully. :-)) I have one character (Margaret, Rita's adoptive mother) working at a fictitious movie studio called Durham Studios. There actually was, and I believe, still is, a Raleigh Studios located out there. As there's a Raleigh-Durham Airport, I figured I'd have a little fun and call the studio Durham.
Y'get it?
I feel so much like Wile E. Coyote - Super Genius.
And modest, too. ;-)
~Nancy C. Beck
I have.
My only pub credit - a short story - had a female MC whose first name was Brielle. That also happens to be the name of a town down the Jersey shore, and I always LOVED that name (it's kinda pretty, ain't it?).
The other Easter Egg is, I think, more Easter Egg-like. My current WIP, which starts in 1974 New Jersey (notice a trend? ;-))moves to 1942 Los Angeles/Hollywood, and pretty much stays there for the duration. (World War II buffs should get that last bit - hopefully. :-)) I have one character (Margaret, Rita's adoptive mother) working at a fictitious movie studio called Durham Studios. There actually was, and I believe, still is, a Raleigh Studios located out there. As there's a Raleigh-Durham Airport, I figured I'd have a little fun and call the studio Durham.
Y'get it?
I feel so much like Wile E. Coyote - Super Genius.
And modest, too. ;-)
~Nancy C. Beck
27 December 2007
Another Publish America Sting
Do these people never learn?
Apparently so, for Publish America (PA) has been stung yet again. This time, the Canadians decided to get into the act, throwing some horrendous poems this "traditional publisher's" way.
Called Painful Poetry by Alphabet, Pete Vere at SooToday included a couple of poems on his site.
Have some fun and read some of his intentionally crappy poems here.
That story begat another story, this time involving an "acquisitions editor" (why bother with such a title, when you except almost anything?) asking Mr. Vere to remove said acquisitions editor's name from the original post.
Priceless.
~Nancy Beck
Apparently so, for Publish America (PA) has been stung yet again. This time, the Canadians decided to get into the act, throwing some horrendous poems this "traditional publisher's" way.
Called Painful Poetry by Alphabet, Pete Vere at SooToday included a couple of poems on his site.
Have some fun and read some of his intentionally crappy poems here.
That story begat another story, this time involving an "acquisitions editor" (why bother with such a title, when you except almost anything?) asking Mr. Vere to remove said acquisitions editor's name from the original post.
Priceless.
~Nancy Beck
Another Publish America Sting
Do these people never learn?
Apparently so, for Publish America (PA) has been stung yet again. This time, the Canadians decided to get into the act, throwing some horrendous poems this "traditional publisher's" way.
Called Painful Poetry by Alphabet, Pete Vere at SooToday included a couple of poems on his site.
Have some fun and read some of his intentionally crappy poems here.
That story begat another story, this time involving an "acquisitions editor" (why bother with such a title, when you except almost anything?) asking Mr. Vere to remove said acquisitions editor's name from the original post.
Priceless.
~Nancy Beck
Apparently so, for Publish America (PA) has been stung yet again. This time, the Canadians decided to get into the act, throwing some horrendous poems this "traditional publisher's" way.
Called Painful Poetry by Alphabet, Pete Vere at SooToday included a couple of poems on his site.
Have some fun and read some of his intentionally crappy poems here.
That story begat another story, this time involving an "acquisitions editor" (why bother with such a title, when you except almost anything?) asking Mr. Vere to remove said acquisitions editor's name from the original post.
Priceless.
~Nancy Beck
26 December 2007
Rethinking
Since I decided on something different in the way my story will progress, I was faced with having to rethink how I'd get from Point A to B to C and so on. (Some of the stuff I wrote was dreck anyway, so it's not like I'm losing much.)
I bought an e-book on novel writing a couple of years ago and remembered something about writing down stuff in a linear manner; an overview and a more detailed view.
I thought it was a good idea, so I brought up those pages and printed them out. Basically, you start out by writing START at the bottom left of a piece of legal paper (or, if you have access to such stuff, A3 paper) and put FINISH in the upper right. It was like a re-do of the plot, but it was nice to actually see it written down (so to speak). This was the detailed view, and it's where I most of the rethinking occurred. It went very well, and I was able to then go onto the overview, which was called a template in this ebook.
This template is what I'm going to use to remind of the overall arc of the story. The ebook suggests a list of 1 to 10; I did 30 (which the ebook said wasn't a big deal). Anyway, this consists of short sentences that list the critical plot points; they're like the highlights of what's happening.
And I think these might come in handy later when I write up various lengths of synopses. (Yeah, like I'm looking forward to that.)
~Nancy Beck
I bought an e-book on novel writing a couple of years ago and remembered something about writing down stuff in a linear manner; an overview and a more detailed view.
I thought it was a good idea, so I brought up those pages and printed them out. Basically, you start out by writing START at the bottom left of a piece of legal paper (or, if you have access to such stuff, A3 paper) and put FINISH in the upper right. It was like a re-do of the plot, but it was nice to actually see it written down (so to speak). This was the detailed view, and it's where I most of the rethinking occurred. It went very well, and I was able to then go onto the overview, which was called a template in this ebook.
This template is what I'm going to use to remind of the overall arc of the story. The ebook suggests a list of 1 to 10; I did 30 (which the ebook said wasn't a big deal). Anyway, this consists of short sentences that list the critical plot points; they're like the highlights of what's happening.
And I think these might come in handy later when I write up various lengths of synopses. (Yeah, like I'm looking forward to that.)
~Nancy Beck
Rethinking
Since I decided on something different in the way my story will progress, I was faced with having to rethink how I'd get from Point A to B to C and so on. (Some of the stuff I wrote was dreck anyway, so it's not like I'm losing much.)
I bought an e-book on novel writing a couple of years ago and remembered something about writing down stuff in a linear manner; an overview and a more detailed view.
I thought it was a good idea, so I brought up those pages and printed them out. Basically, you start out by writing START at the bottom left of a piece of legal paper (or, if you have access to such stuff, A3 paper) and put FINISH in the upper right. It was like a re-do of the plot, but it was nice to actually see it written down (so to speak). This was the detailed view, and it's where I most of the rethinking occurred. It went very well, and I was able to then go onto the overview, which was called a template in this ebook.
This template is what I'm going to use to remind of the overall arc of the story. The ebook suggests a list of 1 to 10; I did 30 (which the ebook said wasn't a big deal). Anyway, this consists of short sentences that list the critical plot points; they're like the highlights of what's happening.
And I think these might come in handy later when I write up various lengths of synopses. (Yeah, like I'm looking forward to that.)
~Nancy Beck
I bought an e-book on novel writing a couple of years ago and remembered something about writing down stuff in a linear manner; an overview and a more detailed view.
I thought it was a good idea, so I brought up those pages and printed them out. Basically, you start out by writing START at the bottom left of a piece of legal paper (or, if you have access to such stuff, A3 paper) and put FINISH in the upper right. It was like a re-do of the plot, but it was nice to actually see it written down (so to speak). This was the detailed view, and it's where I most of the rethinking occurred. It went very well, and I was able to then go onto the overview, which was called a template in this ebook.
This template is what I'm going to use to remind of the overall arc of the story. The ebook suggests a list of 1 to 10; I did 30 (which the ebook said wasn't a big deal). Anyway, this consists of short sentences that list the critical plot points; they're like the highlights of what's happening.
And I think these might come in handy later when I write up various lengths of synopses. (Yeah, like I'm looking forward to that.)
~Nancy Beck
Hallelujah - Airleaf "Publishing" Is Out of Business
A so-called "publisher" has gone out of business - Airleaf Publishing (aka Bookman Marketing, aka who-the-hell-knows-what else). They spammed the crap out of plenty of writers, but those were the "lucky" ones; the unlucky ones put up tens of thousands of dollars for...nothing.
If you were scammed by Airleaf/Bookman, don't throw away those emails or any other paperwork you have. You might want to check out the new PODdy Mouth's post here for more information.
Who says Christmas wishes don't come true? ;-)
~Nancy Beck
If you were scammed by Airleaf/Bookman, don't throw away those emails or any other paperwork you have. You might want to check out the new PODdy Mouth's post here for more information.
Who says Christmas wishes don't come true? ;-)
~Nancy Beck
Hallelujah - Airleaf "Publishing" Is Out of Business
A so-called "publisher" has gone out of business - Airleaf Publishing (aka Bookman Marketing, aka who-the-hell-knows-what else). They spammed the crap out of plenty of writers, but those were the "lucky" ones; the unlucky ones put up tens of thousands of dollars for...nothing.
If you were scammed by Airleaf/Bookman, don't throw away those emails or any other paperwork you have. You might want to check out the new PODdy Mouth's post here for more information.
Who says Christmas wishes don't come true? ;-)
~Nancy Beck
If you were scammed by Airleaf/Bookman, don't throw away those emails or any other paperwork you have. You might want to check out the new PODdy Mouth's post here for more information.
Who says Christmas wishes don't come true? ;-)
~Nancy Beck
25 December 2007
A Christmas Carol
Christmas Eve was always a big deal in my house. My mother and father's generation, that generation who got married in the years following World War II, knew there would be problems among the families come Christmas Day. They wisely decided that we, my father's family (including his four brothers, one sister, and all their broods), would celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve; the other side of the family could then be tended to on Christmas Day without any bad feelings.
Then again, I heard something the other day that celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve might be more of a Polish tradition. Whether that's true or not...well, I guess I could do some Internet research and find out, but I'd rather not at this point in my life; I rather like the idea that my father's family decided independently to set aside Christmas Eve as "that side" of the family's celebration while accommodating their in-laws.
Anyway, I was watching A Christmas Carol last night. This was the 1938 version, with Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit. (Gene Lockhart is the judge in Miracle on 34th Street, who finds for the old man, Edmund Gwenn, that he is Kris Kringle.) Most people probably remember the 1951 version with Alistair Sim, as I think that's been shown on TV a lot more often than the 1938 version.
But I was watching the older one last night, and it got me to thinking about the novel, and about Dickens. We wannabes are endlessly told to find a good enough antagonist to block the way of our protagonist; they can be outright villains, or someone who thinks they're doing something good to the protagonist by constantly thwarting whatever the protag is going for. Of course, we're talking about people, mostly; Dickens went further, in that his antagonists for Scrooge were the Christmas spirit and charity. And Scrooge was an anti-hero, to boot; how could we possibly like this old miser?
But Dickens was such a great writer, that he pulled it off. He made the story completely believable, made it so that you really thought Scrooge had changed his ways.
So why did Dickens write this story? This was written when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, when the London fog of legend was hanging around (it was more of an industrial fog than any sort of natural fog), when people were paid pittances to work at these big factories, when the industrialists grew richer every day.
Lest you think this is a big diatribe against business, just read on...
What Dickens was trying to say to the industrialists was to treat their workers with respect, to treat them as human beings, not as machines. Give them living wages, so they had a decent roof over their heads, so they could buy food and clothing, maybe even have a little left over to buy something fun.
Dickens didn't think that was such a bad thing, and who in their right mind could? This dovetails with my last post on the kindness of others.
And I think it's a perfect sentiment and idea for this time of year, and ANY time of the year.
Have a safe and merry Christmas!! :-)
~Nancy Beck
Then again, I heard something the other day that celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve might be more of a Polish tradition. Whether that's true or not...well, I guess I could do some Internet research and find out, but I'd rather not at this point in my life; I rather like the idea that my father's family decided independently to set aside Christmas Eve as "that side" of the family's celebration while accommodating their in-laws.
Anyway, I was watching A Christmas Carol last night. This was the 1938 version, with Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit. (Gene Lockhart is the judge in Miracle on 34th Street, who finds for the old man, Edmund Gwenn, that he is Kris Kringle.) Most people probably remember the 1951 version with Alistair Sim, as I think that's been shown on TV a lot more often than the 1938 version.
But I was watching the older one last night, and it got me to thinking about the novel, and about Dickens. We wannabes are endlessly told to find a good enough antagonist to block the way of our protagonist; they can be outright villains, or someone who thinks they're doing something good to the protagonist by constantly thwarting whatever the protag is going for. Of course, we're talking about people, mostly; Dickens went further, in that his antagonists for Scrooge were the Christmas spirit and charity. And Scrooge was an anti-hero, to boot; how could we possibly like this old miser?
But Dickens was such a great writer, that he pulled it off. He made the story completely believable, made it so that you really thought Scrooge had changed his ways.
So why did Dickens write this story? This was written when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, when the London fog of legend was hanging around (it was more of an industrial fog than any sort of natural fog), when people were paid pittances to work at these big factories, when the industrialists grew richer every day.
Lest you think this is a big diatribe against business, just read on...
What Dickens was trying to say to the industrialists was to treat their workers with respect, to treat them as human beings, not as machines. Give them living wages, so they had a decent roof over their heads, so they could buy food and clothing, maybe even have a little left over to buy something fun.
Dickens didn't think that was such a bad thing, and who in their right mind could? This dovetails with my last post on the kindness of others.
And I think it's a perfect sentiment and idea for this time of year, and ANY time of the year.
Have a safe and merry Christmas!! :-)
~Nancy Beck
A Christmas Carol
Christmas Eve was always a big deal in my house. My mother and father's generation, that generation who got married in the years following World War II, knew there would be problems among the families come Christmas Day. They wisely decided that we, my father's family (including his four brothers, one sister, and all their broods), would celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve; the other side of the family could then be tended to on Christmas Day without any bad feelings.
Then again, I heard something the other day that celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve might be more of a Polish tradition. Whether that's true or not...well, I guess I could do some Internet research and find out, but I'd rather not at this point in my life; I rather like the idea that my father's family decided independently to set aside Christmas Eve as "that side" of the family's celebration while accommodating their in-laws.
Anyway, I was watching A Christmas Carol last night. This was the 1938 version, with Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit. (Gene Lockhart is the judge in Miracle on 34th Street, who finds for the old man, Edmund Gwenn, that he is Kris Kringle.) Most people probably remember the 1951 version with Alistair Sim, as I think that's been shown on TV a lot more often than the 1938 version.
But I was watching the older one last night, and it got me to thinking about the novel, and about Dickens. We wannabes are endlessly told to find a good enough antagonist to block the way of our protagonist; they can be outright villains, or someone who thinks they're doing something good to the protagonist by constantly thwarting whatever the protag is going for. Of course, we're talking about people, mostly; Dickens went further, in that his antagonists for Scrooge were the Christmas spirit and charity. And Scrooge was an anti-hero, to boot; how could we possibly like this old miser?
But Dickens was such a great writer, that he pulled it off. He made the story completely believable, made it so that you really thought Scrooge had changed his ways.
So why did Dickens write this story? This was written when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, when the London fog of legend was hanging around (it was more of an industrial fog than any sort of natural fog), when people were paid pittances to work at these big factories, when the industrialists grew richer every day.
Lest you think this is a big diatribe against business, just read on...
What Dickens was trying to say to the industrialists was to treat their workers with respect, to treat them as human beings, not as machines. Give them living wages, so they had a decent roof over their heads, so they could buy food and clothing, maybe even have a little left over to buy something fun.
Dickens didn't think that was such a bad thing, and who in their right mind could? This dovetails with my last post on the kindness of others.
And I think it's a perfect sentiment and idea for this time of year, and ANY time of the year.
Have a safe and merry Christmas!! :-)
~Nancy Beck
Then again, I heard something the other day that celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve might be more of a Polish tradition. Whether that's true or not...well, I guess I could do some Internet research and find out, but I'd rather not at this point in my life; I rather like the idea that my father's family decided independently to set aside Christmas Eve as "that side" of the family's celebration while accommodating their in-laws.
Anyway, I was watching A Christmas Carol last night. This was the 1938 version, with Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit. (Gene Lockhart is the judge in Miracle on 34th Street, who finds for the old man, Edmund Gwenn, that he is Kris Kringle.) Most people probably remember the 1951 version with Alistair Sim, as I think that's been shown on TV a lot more often than the 1938 version.
But I was watching the older one last night, and it got me to thinking about the novel, and about Dickens. We wannabes are endlessly told to find a good enough antagonist to block the way of our protagonist; they can be outright villains, or someone who thinks they're doing something good to the protagonist by constantly thwarting whatever the protag is going for. Of course, we're talking about people, mostly; Dickens went further, in that his antagonists for Scrooge were the Christmas spirit and charity. And Scrooge was an anti-hero, to boot; how could we possibly like this old miser?
But Dickens was such a great writer, that he pulled it off. He made the story completely believable, made it so that you really thought Scrooge had changed his ways.
So why did Dickens write this story? This was written when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, when the London fog of legend was hanging around (it was more of an industrial fog than any sort of natural fog), when people were paid pittances to work at these big factories, when the industrialists grew richer every day.
Lest you think this is a big diatribe against business, just read on...
What Dickens was trying to say to the industrialists was to treat their workers with respect, to treat them as human beings, not as machines. Give them living wages, so they had a decent roof over their heads, so they could buy food and clothing, maybe even have a little left over to buy something fun.
Dickens didn't think that was such a bad thing, and who in their right mind could? This dovetails with my last post on the kindness of others.
And I think it's a perfect sentiment and idea for this time of year, and ANY time of the year.
Have a safe and merry Christmas!! :-)
~Nancy Beck
18 December 2007
The Kindness of Others
I've been concerned about having good karma for a number of years now. Not only do I want to be able to sleep at night, but I truly want to be as kind to other people as I possibly can. You could say it's partially a fear thing, in that if I'm a rotten bastard to people, then that's going to come back and bite off my ass. The other part is the pleasure in seeing or hearing someone be nice back to you, by offering thanks, a pat on the back, or what have you.
Well, yesterday, I had a bear of time getting out of my parking spot at home. I had to get the hubby out to get the damn car out. Which he did :-), and he even got it out of the alleyway.
Fortunately for me, I got my car out of the parking spot today.
Unfortunately for me, I hesitated going out onto the intersecting road at the end of the alleyway.
MISTAKE!
I slid on the ice, sideways. I went back and forth, back and forth - but the car just couldn't get enough grip.
A nice older man in a pink house within earshot of the car came out. He tried to push the car in the back - no dice. Then he put some ice melt under the back tires - no dice. Then, unbelievably, a nice young guy in a cap came along. They both tried pushing. Nope. Then Cap Guy dug out some huge chunks of snow from under the front tire. Pushing still didn't work.
Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck at this point, but I managed to keep calm, as I know if I became too emotional, my mind would be mush. The old guy came out with some big-ass pieces of cardboard, which both men lodged under the back tires.
They pushed, I gave it the gas...and voila!! The car, she is free! I thanked them profusely as I drove off.
I wish each of those nice gentlemen the very best Christmas (or whatever holiday they may celebrate), and a healthy life.
~Nancy Beck
Well, yesterday, I had a bear of time getting out of my parking spot at home. I had to get the hubby out to get the damn car out. Which he did :-), and he even got it out of the alleyway.
Fortunately for me, I got my car out of the parking spot today.
Unfortunately for me, I hesitated going out onto the intersecting road at the end of the alleyway.
MISTAKE!
I slid on the ice, sideways. I went back and forth, back and forth - but the car just couldn't get enough grip.
A nice older man in a pink house within earshot of the car came out. He tried to push the car in the back - no dice. Then he put some ice melt under the back tires - no dice. Then, unbelievably, a nice young guy in a cap came along. They both tried pushing. Nope. Then Cap Guy dug out some huge chunks of snow from under the front tire. Pushing still didn't work.
Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck at this point, but I managed to keep calm, as I know if I became too emotional, my mind would be mush. The old guy came out with some big-ass pieces of cardboard, which both men lodged under the back tires.
They pushed, I gave it the gas...and voila!! The car, she is free! I thanked them profusely as I drove off.
I wish each of those nice gentlemen the very best Christmas (or whatever holiday they may celebrate), and a healthy life.
~Nancy Beck
The Kindness of Others
I've been concerned about having good karma for a number of years now. Not only do I want to be able to sleep at night, but I truly want to be as kind to other people as I possibly can. You could say it's partially a fear thing, in that if I'm a rotten bastard to people, then that's going to come back and bite off my ass. The other part is the pleasure in seeing or hearing someone be nice back to you, by offering thanks, a pat on the back, or what have you.
Well, yesterday, I had a bear of time getting out of my parking spot at home. I had to get the hubby out to get the damn car out. Which he did :-), and he even got it out of the alleyway.
Fortunately for me, I got my car out of the parking spot today.
Unfortunately for me, I hesitated going out onto the intersecting road at the end of the alleyway.
MISTAKE!
I slid on the ice, sideways. I went back and forth, back and forth - but the car just couldn't get enough grip.
A nice older man in a pink house within earshot of the car came out. He tried to push the car in the back - no dice. Then he put some ice melt under the back tires - no dice. Then, unbelievably, a nice young guy in a cap came along. They both tried pushing. Nope. Then Cap Guy dug out some huge chunks of snow from under the front tire. Pushing still didn't work.
Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck at this point, but I managed to keep calm, as I know if I became too emotional, my mind would be mush. The old guy came out with some big-ass pieces of cardboard, which both men lodged under the back tires.
They pushed, I gave it the gas...and voila!! The car, she is free! I thanked them profusely as I drove off.
I wish each of those nice gentlemen the very best Christmas (or whatever holiday they may celebrate), and a healthy life.
~Nancy Beck
Well, yesterday, I had a bear of time getting out of my parking spot at home. I had to get the hubby out to get the damn car out. Which he did :-), and he even got it out of the alleyway.
Fortunately for me, I got my car out of the parking spot today.
Unfortunately for me, I hesitated going out onto the intersecting road at the end of the alleyway.
MISTAKE!
I slid on the ice, sideways. I went back and forth, back and forth - but the car just couldn't get enough grip.
A nice older man in a pink house within earshot of the car came out. He tried to push the car in the back - no dice. Then he put some ice melt under the back tires - no dice. Then, unbelievably, a nice young guy in a cap came along. They both tried pushing. Nope. Then Cap Guy dug out some huge chunks of snow from under the front tire. Pushing still didn't work.
Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck at this point, but I managed to keep calm, as I know if I became too emotional, my mind would be mush. The old guy came out with some big-ass pieces of cardboard, which both men lodged under the back tires.
They pushed, I gave it the gas...and voila!! The car, she is free! I thanked them profusely as I drove off.
I wish each of those nice gentlemen the very best Christmas (or whatever holiday they may celebrate), and a healthy life.
~Nancy Beck
14 December 2007
Oy, Court Date
Well, just got a call from hubby. His court date is Friday, 1/4/08, at 8:30. (Boy, talk about getting it out of the way, although it's taken a long time in coming.)
At least we'll have the holidays together. After that...we'll just have to wait and see. (Not that he'd be going away for years, if he's to be put away, but still...).
Sigh.
~Nancy Beck
At least we'll have the holidays together. After that...we'll just have to wait and see. (Not that he'd be going away for years, if he's to be put away, but still...).
Sigh.
~Nancy Beck
Oy, Court Date
Well, just got a call from hubby. His court date is Friday, 1/4/08, at 8:30. (Boy, talk about getting it out of the way, although it's taken a long time in coming.)
At least we'll have the holidays together. After that...we'll just have to wait and see. (Not that he'd be going away for years, if he's to be put away, but still...).
Sigh.
~Nancy Beck
At least we'll have the holidays together. After that...we'll just have to wait and see. (Not that he'd be going away for years, if he's to be put away, but still...).
Sigh.
~Nancy Beck
Meh/Blah
Yesterday was a particularly crappy day. (I know: Cue the violins! ;-))
Not only was there an snow and ice storm (the sleet started at 9:00am, waaay before the weather people said it would), but my low back was absolutely killing me. (It's a bit better today.) So I hunkered down for the count, taking a naproxen and putting a hot water bottle on my low back.
I slept the entire morning on the couch, with our 2 sweet doggies lying nearby.
I felt hungry enough to have lunch, then the ol' back started up again, so the water bottle made another appearance.
This morning, even though I left the car running, I still had to scrape off some ice off the damn thing. Yeah, the ice was so thick that I had to use the scraper as a pick just to chop through it all. And when you're not exactly 100%...
Anyway, I made it in to work. I really wanted to finish up critting the novelette that I told someone I'd crit for them, but I wanted to do it justice, and yesterday wasn't the day for much of anything (except slogging around the house with dishelved hair, heh). So I'm going to try to finish it up over the weekend, where, of course, we'll have another storm to look forward to (Nor'easter', anyone?).
Ah well.
~Nancy Beck
Not only was there an snow and ice storm (the sleet started at 9:00am, waaay before the weather people said it would), but my low back was absolutely killing me. (It's a bit better today.) So I hunkered down for the count, taking a naproxen and putting a hot water bottle on my low back.
I slept the entire morning on the couch, with our 2 sweet doggies lying nearby.
I felt hungry enough to have lunch, then the ol' back started up again, so the water bottle made another appearance.
This morning, even though I left the car running, I still had to scrape off some ice off the damn thing. Yeah, the ice was so thick that I had to use the scraper as a pick just to chop through it all. And when you're not exactly 100%...
Anyway, I made it in to work. I really wanted to finish up critting the novelette that I told someone I'd crit for them, but I wanted to do it justice, and yesterday wasn't the day for much of anything (except slogging around the house with dishelved hair, heh). So I'm going to try to finish it up over the weekend, where, of course, we'll have another storm to look forward to (Nor'easter', anyone?).
Ah well.
~Nancy Beck
Meh/Blah
Yesterday was a particularly crappy day. (I know: Cue the violins! ;-))
Not only was there an snow and ice storm (the sleet started at 9:00am, waaay before the weather people said it would), but my low back was absolutely killing me. (It's a bit better today.) So I hunkered down for the count, taking a naproxen and putting a hot water bottle on my low back.
I slept the entire morning on the couch, with our 2 sweet doggies lying nearby.
I felt hungry enough to have lunch, then the ol' back started up again, so the water bottle made another appearance.
This morning, even though I left the car running, I still had to scrape off some ice off the damn thing. Yeah, the ice was so thick that I had to use the scraper as a pick just to chop through it all. And when you're not exactly 100%...
Anyway, I made it in to work. I really wanted to finish up critting the novelette that I told someone I'd crit for them, but I wanted to do it justice, and yesterday wasn't the day for much of anything (except slogging around the house with dishelved hair, heh). So I'm going to try to finish it up over the weekend, where, of course, we'll have another storm to look forward to (Nor'easter', anyone?).
Ah well.
~Nancy Beck
Not only was there an snow and ice storm (the sleet started at 9:00am, waaay before the weather people said it would), but my low back was absolutely killing me. (It's a bit better today.) So I hunkered down for the count, taking a naproxen and putting a hot water bottle on my low back.
I slept the entire morning on the couch, with our 2 sweet doggies lying nearby.
I felt hungry enough to have lunch, then the ol' back started up again, so the water bottle made another appearance.
This morning, even though I left the car running, I still had to scrape off some ice off the damn thing. Yeah, the ice was so thick that I had to use the scraper as a pick just to chop through it all. And when you're not exactly 100%...
Anyway, I made it in to work. I really wanted to finish up critting the novelette that I told someone I'd crit for them, but I wanted to do it justice, and yesterday wasn't the day for much of anything (except slogging around the house with dishelved hair, heh). So I'm going to try to finish it up over the weekend, where, of course, we'll have another storm to look forward to (Nor'easter', anyone?).
Ah well.
~Nancy Beck
12 December 2007
Terry Pratchett
I haven't read any of Terry Pratchett's books, and I doubt I ever will (I just don't think they're for me), but it was interesting to read in Publisher's Lunch that he has the beginnings of Alzheimer's:
That really, really sucks. Naturally, I wish him and his family well.
~Nancy Beck
We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism. For now work is continuing on the completion of Nation and the basic notes are already being laid down for Unseen Academicals. All other things being equal, I expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments but will discuss things with the various organisers. Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there's time for at least a few more books yet.
That really, really sucks. Naturally, I wish him and his family well.
~Nancy Beck
Terry Pratchett
I haven't read any of Terry Pratchett's books, and I doubt I ever will (I just don't think they're for me), but it was interesting to read in Publisher's Lunch that he has the beginnings of Alzheimer's:
That really, really sucks. Naturally, I wish him and his family well.
~Nancy Beck
We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism. For now work is continuing on the completion of Nation and the basic notes are already being laid down for Unseen Academicals. All other things being equal, I expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments but will discuss things with the various organisers. Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there's time for at least a few more books yet.
That really, really sucks. Naturally, I wish him and his family well.
~Nancy Beck
11 December 2007
And Now Something For The Wheel of Time Fans
I gave up on the Wheel of Time (WOT) series by Robert Jordan at about the 4 book mark, but plenty o'people plowed ahead through the rest of the series. Robert Jordan, unfortunately, didn't finish the series because of his untimely death.
Well, WOT fans, unite and rejoice! Tor has announced the Brandon Sanderson will finish the series.
The very last book of the series is entitled A Memory of Light. Yes, THE last WOT book, what a lot of fans have been dreaming of for a long time.
It looks as if Mr. Sanderson is a logical fit, as he credits Mr. Jordan as an inspiration for his decision to become a writer. I wish Mr. Sanderson a hearty congratulations and good luck, too. :-)
You can read about it on The Book Swede's blog.
~Nancy Beck
Well, WOT fans, unite and rejoice! Tor has announced the Brandon Sanderson will finish the series.
The very last book of the series is entitled A Memory of Light. Yes, THE last WOT book, what a lot of fans have been dreaming of for a long time.
It looks as if Mr. Sanderson is a logical fit, as he credits Mr. Jordan as an inspiration for his decision to become a writer. I wish Mr. Sanderson a hearty congratulations and good luck, too. :-)
You can read about it on The Book Swede's blog.
~Nancy Beck
And Now Something For The Wheel of Time Fans
I gave up on the Wheel of Time (WOT) series by Robert Jordan at about the 4 book mark, but plenty o'people plowed ahead through the rest of the series. Robert Jordan, unfortunately, didn't finish the series because of his untimely death.
Well, WOT fans, unite and rejoice! Tor has announced the Brandon Sanderson will finish the series.
The very last book of the series is entitled A Memory of Light. Yes, THE last WOT book, what a lot of fans have been dreaming of for a long time.
It looks as if Mr. Sanderson is a logical fit, as he credits Mr. Jordan as an inspiration for his decision to become a writer. I wish Mr. Sanderson a hearty congratulations and good luck, too. :-)
You can read about it on The Book Swede's blog.
~Nancy Beck
Well, WOT fans, unite and rejoice! Tor has announced the Brandon Sanderson will finish the series.
The very last book of the series is entitled A Memory of Light. Yes, THE last WOT book, what a lot of fans have been dreaming of for a long time.
It looks as if Mr. Sanderson is a logical fit, as he credits Mr. Jordan as an inspiration for his decision to become a writer. I wish Mr. Sanderson a hearty congratulations and good luck, too. :-)
You can read about it on The Book Swede's blog.
~Nancy Beck
10 December 2007
Having Trouble Getting In Your Daily Writing?
I'm sure there are plenty of nudges to spark your writing (like writing prompts, although prompts have never seemed to work for me), and I thought this site, Black On White, looked like an interesting place to help with that.
I haven't used it yet, but it might be something to look into. It has an email ilst, too, which might be a great way to have someone light a fire under your butt just when you need it the most (like if you've been rejected for the 20th time or something).
Since writing is such a solitary pursuit, it's always nice to find people who understand where you're coming from and can offer their support.
ETA: The original link I had (the url of which was suggested by the website) has been changed, bringing you to the welcome page of the site. (Sheesh! The things you have to look out for!)
~Nancy Beck
I haven't used it yet, but it might be something to look into. It has an email ilst, too, which might be a great way to have someone light a fire under your butt just when you need it the most (like if you've been rejected for the 20th time or something).
Since writing is such a solitary pursuit, it's always nice to find people who understand where you're coming from and can offer their support.
ETA: The original link I had (the url of which was suggested by the website) has been changed, bringing you to the welcome page of the site. (Sheesh! The things you have to look out for!)
~Nancy Beck
Having Trouble Getting In Your Daily Writing?
I'm sure there are plenty of nudges to spark your writing (like writing prompts, although prompts have never seemed to work for me), and I thought this site, Black On White, looked like an interesting place to help with that.
I haven't used it yet, but it might be something to look into. It has an email ilst, too, which might be a great way to have someone light a fire under your butt just when you need it the most (like if you've been rejected for the 20th time or something).
Since writing is such a solitary pursuit, it's always nice to find people who understand where you're coming from and can offer their support.
ETA: The original link I had (the url of which was suggested by the website) has been changed, bringing you to the welcome page of the site. (Sheesh! The things you have to look out for!)
~Nancy Beck
I haven't used it yet, but it might be something to look into. It has an email ilst, too, which might be a great way to have someone light a fire under your butt just when you need it the most (like if you've been rejected for the 20th time or something).
Since writing is such a solitary pursuit, it's always nice to find people who understand where you're coming from and can offer their support.
ETA: The original link I had (the url of which was suggested by the website) has been changed, bringing you to the welcome page of the site. (Sheesh! The things you have to look out for!)
~Nancy Beck
07 December 2007
The Latest On My Writing
I started in on Chapter 4 yesterday, clearing out quite a few things, combining other stuff, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
I revised about a third of it, and I wondered if maybe I should have another character, specifically, Viv, start in on her observations. (She's cynical, a wise-ass, and a usually caustic tongue, but she treats people who help her like gold; oh, and then there's something my MC, Rita, and she have in common, but Viv's not forthcoming about it).
Anyway, I'll probably print out this chapter and go over it even moreso, as I only have a vague idea as to where I was going with this when I originally wrote it, lol. I'm not sure if I want to go down the original road, but I'll see. Depends on whether it sounds squicky, and if I feel it's still important to the story.
Because at a certain point (the mid-point, that is), the story is going to veer into another, better direction than what I originally wrote. The middle is lukewarm at best, and most of it needs to go.
I'm also helping out a fellow writer by critting her novelette. I love the MC and found the story intriguing; pulled me in!
That's about it for now. Back to my day job! :-)
~Nancy Beck
I revised about a third of it, and I wondered if maybe I should have another character, specifically, Viv, start in on her observations. (She's cynical, a wise-ass, and a usually caustic tongue, but she treats people who help her like gold; oh, and then there's something my MC, Rita, and she have in common, but Viv's not forthcoming about it).
Anyway, I'll probably print out this chapter and go over it even moreso, as I only have a vague idea as to where I was going with this when I originally wrote it, lol. I'm not sure if I want to go down the original road, but I'll see. Depends on whether it sounds squicky, and if I feel it's still important to the story.
Because at a certain point (the mid-point, that is), the story is going to veer into another, better direction than what I originally wrote. The middle is lukewarm at best, and most of it needs to go.
I'm also helping out a fellow writer by critting her novelette. I love the MC and found the story intriguing; pulled me in!
That's about it for now. Back to my day job! :-)
~Nancy Beck
The Latest On My Writing
I started in on Chapter 4 yesterday, clearing out quite a few things, combining other stuff, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
I revised about a third of it, and I wondered if maybe I should have another character, specifically, Viv, start in on her observations. (She's cynical, a wise-ass, and a usually caustic tongue, but she treats people who help her like gold; oh, and then there's something my MC, Rita, and she have in common, but Viv's not forthcoming about it).
Anyway, I'll probably print out this chapter and go over it even moreso, as I only have a vague idea as to where I was going with this when I originally wrote it, lol. I'm not sure if I want to go down the original road, but I'll see. Depends on whether it sounds squicky, and if I feel it's still important to the story.
Because at a certain point (the mid-point, that is), the story is going to veer into another, better direction than what I originally wrote. The middle is lukewarm at best, and most of it needs to go.
I'm also helping out a fellow writer by critting her novelette. I love the MC and found the story intriguing; pulled me in!
That's about it for now. Back to my day job! :-)
~Nancy Beck
I revised about a third of it, and I wondered if maybe I should have another character, specifically, Viv, start in on her observations. (She's cynical, a wise-ass, and a usually caustic tongue, but she treats people who help her like gold; oh, and then there's something my MC, Rita, and she have in common, but Viv's not forthcoming about it).
Anyway, I'll probably print out this chapter and go over it even moreso, as I only have a vague idea as to where I was going with this when I originally wrote it, lol. I'm not sure if I want to go down the original road, but I'll see. Depends on whether it sounds squicky, and if I feel it's still important to the story.
Because at a certain point (the mid-point, that is), the story is going to veer into another, better direction than what I originally wrote. The middle is lukewarm at best, and most of it needs to go.
I'm also helping out a fellow writer by critting her novelette. I love the MC and found the story intriguing; pulled me in!
That's about it for now. Back to my day job! :-)
~Nancy Beck
03 December 2007
My Revisions
I realized late last week that I certain part of Chapter 3 in my WIP made no sense.
My MC, who's wearing nothing but a bra and panties (you'll have to read to find out why, lol ;-)), and only has a blanket to cover her, is standing in someone's house, talking as if she's wearing a dress or something.
Nope, says my brain, that wouldn't happen.
My MC is whisked back in time by a Roman goddess, so her mind's already a little messed up. ;-) So why should she be perfectly fine just standing around, in her undies, talking to people she's just met? And why wouldn't at least one of those people point out that, um, it ain't natural for a stranger to be standing around with a blanket tugged tight around her?
Yeah. Exactly. So I had to do some cuttin' and pastin' to get one of the other people to say something snarky to her, have her do a little freak, then run into another room, slamming the door behind her. Mission accomplished!
As it originally read, it was important, in that the MC received some good info about the people in the house, etc., but it wasn't right the way it was written. I feel it reads much better now, although a few tweaks here and there is not out of the question. I can guarantee there'll be some other revisions on this, but not as extensive.
The middle part of the story is going to drive me nuts, though. ::sigh:: I wasn't sure originally what I was going to do in the middle of the story, but I wrote what I came up with at the time. My latest idea (especially after reading about a writer Agent Kristin just recently took on) is from a book that's coming out in 2009, and that has an element or event that's the same in my story; different story, though (and I don't think the 2009 book is a blend of SF and fantasy).
Anyway, I took care of that over the weekend, and look forward to hashing out more stuff in the coming days and weeks.
I still plan to start sending out queries in February next year, and I'm determined to keep that deadline in mind.
~Nancy Beck
My MC, who's wearing nothing but a bra and panties (you'll have to read to find out why, lol ;-)), and only has a blanket to cover her, is standing in someone's house, talking as if she's wearing a dress or something.
Nope, says my brain, that wouldn't happen.
My MC is whisked back in time by a Roman goddess, so her mind's already a little messed up. ;-) So why should she be perfectly fine just standing around, in her undies, talking to people she's just met? And why wouldn't at least one of those people point out that, um, it ain't natural for a stranger to be standing around with a blanket tugged tight around her?
Yeah. Exactly. So I had to do some cuttin' and pastin' to get one of the other people to say something snarky to her, have her do a little freak, then run into another room, slamming the door behind her. Mission accomplished!
As it originally read, it was important, in that the MC received some good info about the people in the house, etc., but it wasn't right the way it was written. I feel it reads much better now, although a few tweaks here and there is not out of the question. I can guarantee there'll be some other revisions on this, but not as extensive.
The middle part of the story is going to drive me nuts, though. ::sigh:: I wasn't sure originally what I was going to do in the middle of the story, but I wrote what I came up with at the time. My latest idea (especially after reading about a writer Agent Kristin just recently took on) is from a book that's coming out in 2009, and that has an element or event that's the same in my story; different story, though (and I don't think the 2009 book is a blend of SF and fantasy).
Anyway, I took care of that over the weekend, and look forward to hashing out more stuff in the coming days and weeks.
I still plan to start sending out queries in February next year, and I'm determined to keep that deadline in mind.
~Nancy Beck
My Revisions
I realized late last week that I certain part of Chapter 3 in my WIP made no sense.
My MC, who's wearing nothing but a bra and panties (you'll have to read to find out why, lol ;-)), and only has a blanket to cover her, is standing in someone's house, talking as if she's wearing a dress or something.
Nope, says my brain, that wouldn't happen.
My MC is whisked back in time by a Roman goddess, so her mind's already a little messed up. ;-) So why should she be perfectly fine just standing around, in her undies, talking to people she's just met? And why wouldn't at least one of those people point out that, um, it ain't natural for a stranger to be standing around with a blanket tugged tight around her?
Yeah. Exactly. So I had to do some cuttin' and pastin' to get one of the other people to say something snarky to her, have her do a little freak, then run into another room, slamming the door behind her. Mission accomplished!
As it originally read, it was important, in that the MC received some good info about the people in the house, etc., but it wasn't right the way it was written. I feel it reads much better now, although a few tweaks here and there is not out of the question. I can guarantee there'll be some other revisions on this, but not as extensive.
The middle part of the story is going to drive me nuts, though. ::sigh:: I wasn't sure originally what I was going to do in the middle of the story, but I wrote what I came up with at the time. My latest idea (especially after reading about a writer Agent Kristin just recently took on) is from a book that's coming out in 2009, and that has an element or event that's the same in my story; different story, though (and I don't think the 2009 book is a blend of SF and fantasy).
Anyway, I took care of that over the weekend, and look forward to hashing out more stuff in the coming days and weeks.
I still plan to start sending out queries in February next year, and I'm determined to keep that deadline in mind.
~Nancy Beck
My MC, who's wearing nothing but a bra and panties (you'll have to read to find out why, lol ;-)), and only has a blanket to cover her, is standing in someone's house, talking as if she's wearing a dress or something.
Nope, says my brain, that wouldn't happen.
My MC is whisked back in time by a Roman goddess, so her mind's already a little messed up. ;-) So why should she be perfectly fine just standing around, in her undies, talking to people she's just met? And why wouldn't at least one of those people point out that, um, it ain't natural for a stranger to be standing around with a blanket tugged tight around her?
Yeah. Exactly. So I had to do some cuttin' and pastin' to get one of the other people to say something snarky to her, have her do a little freak, then run into another room, slamming the door behind her. Mission accomplished!
As it originally read, it was important, in that the MC received some good info about the people in the house, etc., but it wasn't right the way it was written. I feel it reads much better now, although a few tweaks here and there is not out of the question. I can guarantee there'll be some other revisions on this, but not as extensive.
The middle part of the story is going to drive me nuts, though. ::sigh:: I wasn't sure originally what I was going to do in the middle of the story, but I wrote what I came up with at the time. My latest idea (especially after reading about a writer Agent Kristin just recently took on) is from a book that's coming out in 2009, and that has an element or event that's the same in my story; different story, though (and I don't think the 2009 book is a blend of SF and fantasy).
Anyway, I took care of that over the weekend, and look forward to hashing out more stuff in the coming days and weeks.
I still plan to start sending out queries in February next year, and I'm determined to keep that deadline in mind.
~Nancy Beck
Evil Editor's Writing Exercise
I love going to Evil Editor's blog. Sometimes he has writing exercises, especially when the till is low.
I decided to partake of this one. Why? I dunno. Maybe it was because it had something to do with a private detective or something. Anyway, there are others that were submitted including from yours truly, and they all had me cracking up.
Mine is Number 6. Go ahead. Have some fun here.
~Nancy Beck
I decided to partake of this one. Why? I dunno. Maybe it was because it had something to do with a private detective or something. Anyway, there are others that were submitted including from yours truly, and they all had me cracking up.
Mine is Number 6. Go ahead. Have some fun here.
~Nancy Beck
Evil Editor's Writing Exercise
I love going to Evil Editor's blog. Sometimes he has writing exercises, especially when the till is low.
I decided to partake of this one. Why? I dunno. Maybe it was because it had something to do with a private detective or something. Anyway, there are others that were submitted including from yours truly, and they all had me cracking up.
Mine is Number 6. Go ahead. Have some fun here.
~Nancy Beck
I decided to partake of this one. Why? I dunno. Maybe it was because it had something to do with a private detective or something. Anyway, there are others that were submitted including from yours truly, and they all had me cracking up.
Mine is Number 6. Go ahead. Have some fun here.
~Nancy Beck
30 November 2007
Fantasy Book Recommendations
I'll get to how-to books in another post.
Lately, I've been buying books like they're going out of style. It's like I can't resist picking up something where a) the cover looks cool and b) the first page or two has me hooked. Although that didn't happen this past Saturday; absolutely nothing grabbed me.
Here, then, are the really good books I've read this year and can heartily recommend (in no particular order).
Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder (full review is here)
You might think that a story about a food taster in a military-type kingdom (for want of a better word) wouldn't make for a good, fast-paced story. And you'd be wrong. Written in first person, this is the account of Yelena, who murdered a higher-up's son. She doesn't attempt to say she didn't do it, only that she had a good reason to do it. She's taken from the dungeons and passes the test to become a food taster. She's kept there because she needs to take an antidote for the daily poison she's given (one of the stipulations for her life being spared).
She becomes part of the castle and government intrigue--and is somebody trying to murder her? First in a series (this is typical for fantasy, BTW).
Magic Lost, Trouble Found, by Lisa Shearin (full review is here)
This is my favorite book of this year, and it's a debut, to boot. Rather than get more gushy over this story (heh), just read the full review for why I liked it so much and why I think you will, too. First in a series.
And it's not just the fact that two of the goblins are sexy. But that just adds more fun and complications to the story (a good thing, for sure :-)).
The Princes of the Golden Cage, by Nathalie Mallett (full review is here)
Despite question mark problems that irked (Daffy Duck: "Hmm, pronoun trouble!"), this is still a good read. Another one in first person and yet another debut, this has a Middle-Eastern flavor that takes it out of the usual European-type world of fantasy. I especially liked that the MC was a bookhound (kinda like me, heh), but didn't have a jelly spine. First in a series, although the main problem is wrapped up by the end.
Okay, there aren't many here, and I hesitate to recommend Throne of Jade only because you have to read the first in that series (His Majesty's Dragon, although I like better its title in Britain, Temeraire, which is the name given to the dragon). Read the first one before deciding if you'd like to continue with the series.
~Nancy Beck
Lately, I've been buying books like they're going out of style. It's like I can't resist picking up something where a) the cover looks cool and b) the first page or two has me hooked. Although that didn't happen this past Saturday; absolutely nothing grabbed me.
Here, then, are the really good books I've read this year and can heartily recommend (in no particular order).
Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder (full review is here)
You might think that a story about a food taster in a military-type kingdom (for want of a better word) wouldn't make for a good, fast-paced story. And you'd be wrong. Written in first person, this is the account of Yelena, who murdered a higher-up's son. She doesn't attempt to say she didn't do it, only that she had a good reason to do it. She's taken from the dungeons and passes the test to become a food taster. She's kept there because she needs to take an antidote for the daily poison she's given (one of the stipulations for her life being spared).
She becomes part of the castle and government intrigue--and is somebody trying to murder her? First in a series (this is typical for fantasy, BTW).
Magic Lost, Trouble Found, by Lisa Shearin (full review is here)
This is my favorite book of this year, and it's a debut, to boot. Rather than get more gushy over this story (heh), just read the full review for why I liked it so much and why I think you will, too. First in a series.
And it's not just the fact that two of the goblins are sexy. But that just adds more fun and complications to the story (a good thing, for sure :-)).
The Princes of the Golden Cage, by Nathalie Mallett (full review is here)
Despite question mark problems that irked (Daffy Duck: "Hmm, pronoun trouble!"), this is still a good read. Another one in first person and yet another debut, this has a Middle-Eastern flavor that takes it out of the usual European-type world of fantasy. I especially liked that the MC was a bookhound (kinda like me, heh), but didn't have a jelly spine. First in a series, although the main problem is wrapped up by the end.
Okay, there aren't many here, and I hesitate to recommend Throne of Jade only because you have to read the first in that series (His Majesty's Dragon, although I like better its title in Britain, Temeraire, which is the name given to the dragon). Read the first one before deciding if you'd like to continue with the series.
~Nancy Beck
Fantasy Book Recommendations
I'll get to how-to books in another post.
Lately, I've been buying books like they're going out of style. It's like I can't resist picking up something where a) the cover looks cool and b) the first page or two has me hooked. Although that didn't happen this past Saturday; absolutely nothing grabbed me.
Here, then, are the really good books I've read this year and can heartily recommend (in no particular order).
Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder (full review is here)
You might think that a story about a food taster in a military-type kingdom (for want of a better word) wouldn't make for a good, fast-paced story. And you'd be wrong. Written in first person, this is the account of Yelena, who murdered a higher-up's son. She doesn't attempt to say she didn't do it, only that she had a good reason to do it. She's taken from the dungeons and passes the test to become a food taster. She's kept there because she needs to take an antidote for the daily poison she's given (one of the stipulations for her life being spared).
She becomes part of the castle and government intrigue--and is somebody trying to murder her? First in a series (this is typical for fantasy, BTW).
Magic Lost, Trouble Found, by Lisa Shearin (full review is here)
This is my favorite book of this year, and it's a debut, to boot. Rather than get more gushy over this story (heh), just read the full review for why I liked it so much and why I think you will, too. First in a series.
And it's not just the fact that two of the goblins are sexy. But that just adds more fun and complications to the story (a good thing, for sure :-)).
The Princes of the Golden Cage, by Nathalie Mallett (full review is here)
Despite question mark problems that irked (Daffy Duck: "Hmm, pronoun trouble!"), this is still a good read. Another one in first person and yet another debut, this has a Middle-Eastern flavor that takes it out of the usual European-type world of fantasy. I especially liked that the MC was a bookhound (kinda like me, heh), but didn't have a jelly spine. First in a series, although the main problem is wrapped up by the end.
Okay, there aren't many here, and I hesitate to recommend Throne of Jade only because you have to read the first in that series (His Majesty's Dragon, although I like better its title in Britain, Temeraire, which is the name given to the dragon). Read the first one before deciding if you'd like to continue with the series.
~Nancy Beck
Lately, I've been buying books like they're going out of style. It's like I can't resist picking up something where a) the cover looks cool and b) the first page or two has me hooked. Although that didn't happen this past Saturday; absolutely nothing grabbed me.
Here, then, are the really good books I've read this year and can heartily recommend (in no particular order).
Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder (full review is here)
You might think that a story about a food taster in a military-type kingdom (for want of a better word) wouldn't make for a good, fast-paced story. And you'd be wrong. Written in first person, this is the account of Yelena, who murdered a higher-up's son. She doesn't attempt to say she didn't do it, only that she had a good reason to do it. She's taken from the dungeons and passes the test to become a food taster. She's kept there because she needs to take an antidote for the daily poison she's given (one of the stipulations for her life being spared).
She becomes part of the castle and government intrigue--and is somebody trying to murder her? First in a series (this is typical for fantasy, BTW).
Magic Lost, Trouble Found, by Lisa Shearin (full review is here)
This is my favorite book of this year, and it's a debut, to boot. Rather than get more gushy over this story (heh), just read the full review for why I liked it so much and why I think you will, too. First in a series.
And it's not just the fact that two of the goblins are sexy. But that just adds more fun and complications to the story (a good thing, for sure :-)).
The Princes of the Golden Cage, by Nathalie Mallett (full review is here)
Despite question mark problems that irked (Daffy Duck: "Hmm, pronoun trouble!"), this is still a good read. Another one in first person and yet another debut, this has a Middle-Eastern flavor that takes it out of the usual European-type world of fantasy. I especially liked that the MC was a bookhound (kinda like me, heh), but didn't have a jelly spine. First in a series, although the main problem is wrapped up by the end.
Okay, there aren't many here, and I hesitate to recommend Throne of Jade only because you have to read the first in that series (His Majesty's Dragon, although I like better its title in Britain, Temeraire, which is the name given to the dragon). Read the first one before deciding if you'd like to continue with the series.
~Nancy Beck
29 November 2007
Where the Hell Have I Been?
I know I said I'd leave a post on Black Friday with recommendations for good how-to books and fantasy books, too.
::har de har har::
Well, that came to pass, didn't it? ;-) There's been plenty o'happenin' around my neck of the woods. There was Thanksgiving, which we spent at my brother's house. He and the kids looked great, everything was fun - including their new dogs. Both are very sweet, although Emma (a golden retriever) loves to jump; but she'll also lick you within one inch of your life! :-) The other one, Jesse, is equally sweet, and kind of shy. She reminded me a lot of our own Frodo (a Husky/Malamute/Ingredient X mix), especially when we first got him; he was shy and nervous about everything around him.
The other significant thing over these past few days: I've revised the first 3 chapters of my WIP. Yay me! :-) I'll admit that I was a bit down about the opening (first chapter, actually). So I decided to try a couple of different ways of looking at it, including a complete overhaul of the opening scene.
Didn't work.
I decided to get out an old version of StoryCraft software. This is software based on the Jarvis Method (which is based on Joseph Campbell's ideas on the Hero's Journey). I think it helped me nail down exactly what I wanted to accomplish in this novel.
I also dug out an old electronic version (close to the original draft) of the complete WIP.
Before doing any revisions, I went online to kind of ease my mind as what I'd originally written. I found something that did just that; we have to get invested in the MC and her world before the inciting incident occurs. Mine occurs in Chapter 2. But I have foreshadowed a few things so it's not all "WTF?" moments. In fact, one thing foreshadowed isn't seen again until the end of the story. (That's like in a mystery story where you might describe a cane in intricate detail, and then have that cane used later on in the story for whatever reason. In fact, you better use that cane somewhere along the line, or why else go into such detail?)
Anyway, something clicked for me yesterday. I worked on those first 3 chapters throughout the day. Everything just flowed, until I got to the 3rd chapter. I had a few scenes with a minor character that were funny, and I tried to get rid of that character's insights and meanderings and think about what my MC would see and hear instead.
It was awkward, to say the least. The scene after that (which is the start of the next chapter) is in the MC's POV, and partially talks about what happened with her interacting with the minor character. I know, I know, I should've just done it in one or the other POV, but for whatever weird reason, I wrote it from opposing viewpoints. What I'll do is I'll go through what I wrote in the 3rd chapter and compare it to the 4th chapter, keeping what I think is good, trashing what I think is bad.
Oy. I want to get through the rest of the story by next February, do maybe one last revision or run through, then start crafting the query letter. ::gak:: I'd rather go to the dentist than do a query letter.
I'll do the recommendations thing tomorrow.
~Nancy Beck
::har de har har::
Well, that came to pass, didn't it? ;-) There's been plenty o'happenin' around my neck of the woods. There was Thanksgiving, which we spent at my brother's house. He and the kids looked great, everything was fun - including their new dogs. Both are very sweet, although Emma (a golden retriever) loves to jump; but she'll also lick you within one inch of your life! :-) The other one, Jesse, is equally sweet, and kind of shy. She reminded me a lot of our own Frodo (a Husky/Malamute/Ingredient X mix), especially when we first got him; he was shy and nervous about everything around him.
The other significant thing over these past few days: I've revised the first 3 chapters of my WIP. Yay me! :-) I'll admit that I was a bit down about the opening (first chapter, actually). So I decided to try a couple of different ways of looking at it, including a complete overhaul of the opening scene.
Didn't work.
I decided to get out an old version of StoryCraft software. This is software based on the Jarvis Method (which is based on Joseph Campbell's ideas on the Hero's Journey). I think it helped me nail down exactly what I wanted to accomplish in this novel.
I also dug out an old electronic version (close to the original draft) of the complete WIP.
Before doing any revisions, I went online to kind of ease my mind as what I'd originally written. I found something that did just that; we have to get invested in the MC and her world before the inciting incident occurs. Mine occurs in Chapter 2. But I have foreshadowed a few things so it's not all "WTF?" moments. In fact, one thing foreshadowed isn't seen again until the end of the story. (That's like in a mystery story where you might describe a cane in intricate detail, and then have that cane used later on in the story for whatever reason. In fact, you better use that cane somewhere along the line, or why else go into such detail?)
Anyway, something clicked for me yesterday. I worked on those first 3 chapters throughout the day. Everything just flowed, until I got to the 3rd chapter. I had a few scenes with a minor character that were funny, and I tried to get rid of that character's insights and meanderings and think about what my MC would see and hear instead.
It was awkward, to say the least. The scene after that (which is the start of the next chapter) is in the MC's POV, and partially talks about what happened with her interacting with the minor character. I know, I know, I should've just done it in one or the other POV, but for whatever weird reason, I wrote it from opposing viewpoints. What I'll do is I'll go through what I wrote in the 3rd chapter and compare it to the 4th chapter, keeping what I think is good, trashing what I think is bad.
Oy. I want to get through the rest of the story by next February, do maybe one last revision or run through, then start crafting the query letter. ::gak:: I'd rather go to the dentist than do a query letter.
I'll do the recommendations thing tomorrow.
~Nancy Beck
Where the Hell Have I Been?
I know I said I'd leave a post on Black Friday with recommendations for good how-to books and fantasy books, too.
::har de har har::
Well, that came to pass, didn't it? ;-) There's been plenty o'happenin' around my neck of the woods. There was Thanksgiving, which we spent at my brother's house. He and the kids looked great, everything was fun - including their new dogs. Both are very sweet, although Emma (a golden retriever) loves to jump; but she'll also lick you within one inch of your life! :-) The other one, Jesse, is equally sweet, and kind of shy. She reminded me a lot of our own Frodo (a Husky/Malamute/Ingredient X mix), especially when we first got him; he was shy and nervous about everything around him.
The other significant thing over these past few days: I've revised the first 3 chapters of my WIP. Yay me! :-) I'll admit that I was a bit down about the opening (first chapter, actually). So I decided to try a couple of different ways of looking at it, including a complete overhaul of the opening scene.
Didn't work.
I decided to get out an old version of StoryCraft software. This is software based on the Jarvis Method (which is based on Joseph Campbell's ideas on the Hero's Journey). I think it helped me nail down exactly what I wanted to accomplish in this novel.
I also dug out an old electronic version (close to the original draft) of the complete WIP.
Before doing any revisions, I went online to kind of ease my mind as what I'd originally written. I found something that did just that; we have to get invested in the MC and her world before the inciting incident occurs. Mine occurs in Chapter 2. But I have foreshadowed a few things so it's not all "WTF?" moments. In fact, one thing foreshadowed isn't seen again until the end of the story. (That's like in a mystery story where you might describe a cane in intricate detail, and then have that cane used later on in the story for whatever reason. In fact, you better use that cane somewhere along the line, or why else go into such detail?)
Anyway, something clicked for me yesterday. I worked on those first 3 chapters throughout the day. Everything just flowed, until I got to the 3rd chapter. I had a few scenes with a minor character that were funny, and I tried to get rid of that character's insights and meanderings and think about what my MC would see and hear instead.
It was awkward, to say the least. The scene after that (which is the start of the next chapter) is in the MC's POV, and partially talks about what happened with her interacting with the minor character. I know, I know, I should've just done it in one or the other POV, but for whatever weird reason, I wrote it from opposing viewpoints. What I'll do is I'll go through what I wrote in the 3rd chapter and compare it to the 4th chapter, keeping what I think is good, trashing what I think is bad.
Oy. I want to get through the rest of the story by next February, do maybe one last revision or run through, then start crafting the query letter. ::gak:: I'd rather go to the dentist than do a query letter.
I'll do the recommendations thing tomorrow.
~Nancy Beck
::har de har har::
Well, that came to pass, didn't it? ;-) There's been plenty o'happenin' around my neck of the woods. There was Thanksgiving, which we spent at my brother's house. He and the kids looked great, everything was fun - including their new dogs. Both are very sweet, although Emma (a golden retriever) loves to jump; but she'll also lick you within one inch of your life! :-) The other one, Jesse, is equally sweet, and kind of shy. She reminded me a lot of our own Frodo (a Husky/Malamute/Ingredient X mix), especially when we first got him; he was shy and nervous about everything around him.
The other significant thing over these past few days: I've revised the first 3 chapters of my WIP. Yay me! :-) I'll admit that I was a bit down about the opening (first chapter, actually). So I decided to try a couple of different ways of looking at it, including a complete overhaul of the opening scene.
Didn't work.
I decided to get out an old version of StoryCraft software. This is software based on the Jarvis Method (which is based on Joseph Campbell's ideas on the Hero's Journey). I think it helped me nail down exactly what I wanted to accomplish in this novel.
I also dug out an old electronic version (close to the original draft) of the complete WIP.
Before doing any revisions, I went online to kind of ease my mind as what I'd originally written. I found something that did just that; we have to get invested in the MC and her world before the inciting incident occurs. Mine occurs in Chapter 2. But I have foreshadowed a few things so it's not all "WTF?" moments. In fact, one thing foreshadowed isn't seen again until the end of the story. (That's like in a mystery story where you might describe a cane in intricate detail, and then have that cane used later on in the story for whatever reason. In fact, you better use that cane somewhere along the line, or why else go into such detail?)
Anyway, something clicked for me yesterday. I worked on those first 3 chapters throughout the day. Everything just flowed, until I got to the 3rd chapter. I had a few scenes with a minor character that were funny, and I tried to get rid of that character's insights and meanderings and think about what my MC would see and hear instead.
It was awkward, to say the least. The scene after that (which is the start of the next chapter) is in the MC's POV, and partially talks about what happened with her interacting with the minor character. I know, I know, I should've just done it in one or the other POV, but for whatever weird reason, I wrote it from opposing viewpoints. What I'll do is I'll go through what I wrote in the 3rd chapter and compare it to the 4th chapter, keeping what I think is good, trashing what I think is bad.
Oy. I want to get through the rest of the story by next February, do maybe one last revision or run through, then start crafting the query letter. ::gak:: I'd rather go to the dentist than do a query letter.
I'll do the recommendations thing tomorrow.
~Nancy Beck
21 November 2007
You May Have Noticed Something...
...then again, you may have not.
WTF are you talking about, you say?
Well, I've been reading up on a pretty good fantasy review blog, one that does only fantasy debuts - Fantasy Debut Blog. It's quite good, and I notice Tia, the blog owner, picked up on the same debuts that I did (or maybe it's the other way around ;-)).
Anyway, that made me think (which isn't always easy to do, let me tell you). I'd changed the reviewing portion of what my blog is about to include mystery and romance reviews. I was starting to get into mysteries again, and I'd only just begun getting into romance (and I don't mean paranormal stuff, which I'd normally read anyway, because of the fantasy element).
Tia said something on her blog that struck a chord with me: She wanted to limit what she reviewed because she didn't have the time. So she chose to review only debut fantasy.
So...I've decided to only review fantasy. I'll still read mysteries and romances, but I won't do any reviews of them. I'll do all the other writerly-type stuff, too, but I'll just stick with fantasy reviews because it's what I keep turning to to read, it's what I write, and I understand most (if not all) of the tropes of fantasy.
Those reviews that were not fantasy I've already deleted. Since I have mucho books to go through, there'll be more reviews coming along, have no fear. ;-) (Or maybe you do fear it, thinking, OMG, more of those crap reviews about books I don't even care about? My hope is that you'll just click on the book cover, buy the book through Amazon, and throw a few pennies my way. Shameless plug, yes. Heh.)
I don't know if I'll be posting tomorrow, as I have to drive to my brother's house in south Jersey for Thanksgiving. I will post on Black Friday, with some recommendations on good books to buy (yessss, more Amazon book covers coming your way, mwahaha! ;-)).
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! :-)
~Nancy Beck
WTF are you talking about, you say?
Well, I've been reading up on a pretty good fantasy review blog, one that does only fantasy debuts - Fantasy Debut Blog. It's quite good, and I notice Tia, the blog owner, picked up on the same debuts that I did (or maybe it's the other way around ;-)).
Anyway, that made me think (which isn't always easy to do, let me tell you). I'd changed the reviewing portion of what my blog is about to include mystery and romance reviews. I was starting to get into mysteries again, and I'd only just begun getting into romance (and I don't mean paranormal stuff, which I'd normally read anyway, because of the fantasy element).
Tia said something on her blog that struck a chord with me: She wanted to limit what she reviewed because she didn't have the time. So she chose to review only debut fantasy.
So...I've decided to only review fantasy. I'll still read mysteries and romances, but I won't do any reviews of them. I'll do all the other writerly-type stuff, too, but I'll just stick with fantasy reviews because it's what I keep turning to to read, it's what I write, and I understand most (if not all) of the tropes of fantasy.
Those reviews that were not fantasy I've already deleted. Since I have mucho books to go through, there'll be more reviews coming along, have no fear. ;-) (Or maybe you do fear it, thinking, OMG, more of those crap reviews about books I don't even care about? My hope is that you'll just click on the book cover, buy the book through Amazon, and throw a few pennies my way. Shameless plug, yes. Heh.)
I don't know if I'll be posting tomorrow, as I have to drive to my brother's house in south Jersey for Thanksgiving. I will post on Black Friday, with some recommendations on good books to buy (yessss, more Amazon book covers coming your way, mwahaha! ;-)).
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! :-)
~Nancy Beck
You May Have Noticed Something...
...then again, you may have not.
WTF are you talking about, you say?
Well, I've been reading up on a pretty good fantasy review blog, one that does only fantasy debuts - Fantasy Debut Blog. It's quite good, and I notice Tia, the blog owner, picked up on the same debuts that I did (or maybe it's the other way around ;-)).
Anyway, that made me think (which isn't always easy to do, let me tell you). I'd changed the reviewing portion of what my blog is about to include mystery and romance reviews. I was starting to get into mysteries again, and I'd only just begun getting into romance (and I don't mean paranormal stuff, which I'd normally read anyway, because of the fantasy element).
Tia said something on her blog that struck a chord with me: She wanted to limit what she reviewed because she didn't have the time. So she chose to review only debut fantasy.
So...I've decided to only review fantasy. I'll still read mysteries and romances, but I won't do any reviews of them. I'll do all the other writerly-type stuff, too, but I'll just stick with fantasy reviews because it's what I keep turning to to read, it's what I write, and I understand most (if not all) of the tropes of fantasy.
Those reviews that were not fantasy I've already deleted. Since I have mucho books to go through, there'll be more reviews coming along, have no fear. ;-) (Or maybe you do fear it, thinking, OMG, more of those crap reviews about books I don't even care about? My hope is that you'll just click on the book cover, buy the book through Amazon, and throw a few pennies my way. Shameless plug, yes. Heh.)
I don't know if I'll be posting tomorrow, as I have to drive to my brother's house in south Jersey for Thanksgiving. I will post on Black Friday, with some recommendations on good books to buy (yessss, more Amazon book covers coming your way, mwahaha! ;-)).
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! :-)
~Nancy Beck
WTF are you talking about, you say?
Well, I've been reading up on a pretty good fantasy review blog, one that does only fantasy debuts - Fantasy Debut Blog. It's quite good, and I notice Tia, the blog owner, picked up on the same debuts that I did (or maybe it's the other way around ;-)).
Anyway, that made me think (which isn't always easy to do, let me tell you). I'd changed the reviewing portion of what my blog is about to include mystery and romance reviews. I was starting to get into mysteries again, and I'd only just begun getting into romance (and I don't mean paranormal stuff, which I'd normally read anyway, because of the fantasy element).
Tia said something on her blog that struck a chord with me: She wanted to limit what she reviewed because she didn't have the time. So she chose to review only debut fantasy.
So...I've decided to only review fantasy. I'll still read mysteries and romances, but I won't do any reviews of them. I'll do all the other writerly-type stuff, too, but I'll just stick with fantasy reviews because it's what I keep turning to to read, it's what I write, and I understand most (if not all) of the tropes of fantasy.
Those reviews that were not fantasy I've already deleted. Since I have mucho books to go through, there'll be more reviews coming along, have no fear. ;-) (Or maybe you do fear it, thinking, OMG, more of those crap reviews about books I don't even care about? My hope is that you'll just click on the book cover, buy the book through Amazon, and throw a few pennies my way. Shameless plug, yes. Heh.)
I don't know if I'll be posting tomorrow, as I have to drive to my brother's house in south Jersey for Thanksgiving. I will post on Black Friday, with some recommendations on good books to buy (yessss, more Amazon book covers coming your way, mwahaha! ;-)).
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! :-)
~Nancy Beck
20 November 2007
What I'm Currently Reading #5
After finally figuring out how to upload book pictures with my Amazon Associates link embedded within (yay!), I figured I'd post about what I'm reading.
It's a book I picked up several months ago. It's called Stolen Magic, by M. J. Putney. Apparently, it's the 2nd in a series, but it's not one of those books (at least so far) where the author expects you to remember what came in a prior book. (Methinks this is because the stories may be standalones, with nary a cliffhanger ending in sight.)
It's an historical fantasy, and it's set in 1748, just before the Industrial Revolution. Simon Malmain, Earl of Falconer, is a Guardian, a family of mages who try to keep rogue mages contained. Well, right off the bat, something goes wrong to the Earl: He's changed into a unicorn. (Cool.) He manages to get away from Lord Drayton, the rogue he's supposed to bring in. Instead, he barely manages to get away.
But Lord Drayton wants the unicorn back, for its magic. So one of his underlings takes Drayton's ward, a simpleton lass named Meg, and leaves her tied up in the forest, to bring the unicorn back...
I'm a bit further along now, and it's quite a nice read to this point. I enjoy combinations like this (that is, combining the historical with fantasy; SF is also enjoyable, as you will note in my post on Time and Again).
After that? Sheesh, my reading pile is, um, piled in a corner of this one room of the house. Plus, I've also got a few books at work, hidden away. (Mwahahaha!!) Anyway, I'm unsure where I'll go after this; I might go for one of the books at work, because I've given them short shrift lately.
~Nancy Beck
It's a book I picked up several months ago. It's called Stolen Magic, by M. J. Putney. Apparently, it's the 2nd in a series, but it's not one of those books (at least so far) where the author expects you to remember what came in a prior book. (Methinks this is because the stories may be standalones, with nary a cliffhanger ending in sight.)
It's an historical fantasy, and it's set in 1748, just before the Industrial Revolution. Simon Malmain, Earl of Falconer, is a Guardian, a family of mages who try to keep rogue mages contained. Well, right off the bat, something goes wrong to the Earl: He's changed into a unicorn. (Cool.) He manages to get away from Lord Drayton, the rogue he's supposed to bring in. Instead, he barely manages to get away.
But Lord Drayton wants the unicorn back, for its magic. So one of his underlings takes Drayton's ward, a simpleton lass named Meg, and leaves her tied up in the forest, to bring the unicorn back...
I'm a bit further along now, and it's quite a nice read to this point. I enjoy combinations like this (that is, combining the historical with fantasy; SF is also enjoyable, as you will note in my post on Time and Again).
After that? Sheesh, my reading pile is, um, piled in a corner of this one room of the house. Plus, I've also got a few books at work, hidden away. (Mwahahaha!!) Anyway, I'm unsure where I'll go after this; I might go for one of the books at work, because I've given them short shrift lately.
~Nancy Beck
What I'm Currently Reading #5
After finally figuring out how to upload book pictures with my Amazon Associates link embedded within (yay!), I figured I'd post about what I'm reading.
It's a book I picked up several months ago. It's called Stolen Magic, by M. J. Putney. Apparently, it's the 2nd in a series, but it's not one of those books (at least so far) where the author expects you to remember what came in a prior book. (Methinks this is because the stories may be standalones, with nary a cliffhanger ending in sight.)
It's an historical fantasy, and it's set in 1748, just before the Industrial Revolution. Simon Malmain, Earl of Falconer, is a Guardian, a family of mages who try to keep rogue mages contained. Well, right off the bat, something goes wrong to the Earl: He's changed into a unicorn. (Cool.) He manages to get away from Lord Drayton, the rogue he's supposed to bring in. Instead, he barely manages to get away.
But Lord Drayton wants the unicorn back, for its magic. So one of his underlings takes Drayton's ward, a simpleton lass named Meg, and leaves her tied up in the forest, to bring the unicorn back...
I'm a bit further along now, and it's quite a nice read to this point. I enjoy combinations like this (that is, combining the historical with fantasy; SF is also enjoyable, as you will note in my post on Time and Again).
After that? Sheesh, my reading pile is, um, piled in a corner of this one room of the house. Plus, I've also got a few books at work, hidden away. (Mwahahaha!!) Anyway, I'm unsure where I'll go after this; I might go for one of the books at work, because I've given them short shrift lately.
~Nancy Beck
It's a book I picked up several months ago. It's called Stolen Magic, by M. J. Putney. Apparently, it's the 2nd in a series, but it's not one of those books (at least so far) where the author expects you to remember what came in a prior book. (Methinks this is because the stories may be standalones, with nary a cliffhanger ending in sight.)
It's an historical fantasy, and it's set in 1748, just before the Industrial Revolution. Simon Malmain, Earl of Falconer, is a Guardian, a family of mages who try to keep rogue mages contained. Well, right off the bat, something goes wrong to the Earl: He's changed into a unicorn. (Cool.) He manages to get away from Lord Drayton, the rogue he's supposed to bring in. Instead, he barely manages to get away.
But Lord Drayton wants the unicorn back, for its magic. So one of his underlings takes Drayton's ward, a simpleton lass named Meg, and leaves her tied up in the forest, to bring the unicorn back...
I'm a bit further along now, and it's quite a nice read to this point. I enjoy combinations like this (that is, combining the historical with fantasy; SF is also enjoyable, as you will note in my post on Time and Again).
After that? Sheesh, my reading pile is, um, piled in a corner of this one room of the house. Plus, I've also got a few books at work, hidden away. (Mwahahaha!!) Anyway, I'm unsure where I'll go after this; I might go for one of the books at work, because I've given them short shrift lately.
~Nancy Beck
Time and Again - A Review
Touchstone, 400 pages
Back in the 1970s, my mother would get Reader's Digest Condensed Books delivered every month. (She still does.) And every month I would look through that fat book to see which of the abridged books I wanted to read. Sometimes there weren't any that interested me, but there usually was at least one.
This book was one of them.
I guess I've always been fascinated with the idea of time travel. Who wouldn't want to go back in time and check out historical figures or just observe a culture and its everyday life, something totally different from your own?
Simon Morley works as an illustrator/artist for an advertising agency in New York, a job he snagged after attending college and the army before that. His job pays decently but it's boring. A man comes to his office and tells him that he's with the army; the army/U.S. Government is working on a secret project. Would Simon be interested in taking part in the project? Si would have to leave his job and all of his friends behind - including his girlfriend, Kate, who owns a small antique shop - but as Si's parents are dead and he was an only child, the army guy tries to convince him that it shouldn't be too hard to make the break.
Si agrees to join, naturally. But he asks those who are heading up the project if he can pick the time period and the place. He chooses 1882 New York. The reason? Someone in Kate's family lived during that time, and she's always been curious about a half-burned letter and envelope (both colored blue, of all things); what exactly happened to her ancestor?
He goes back in time not by using any sort of machine, but by dressing in period clothes, living in an apartment that was around at the time he's going back to (1882), and by using some sort of hypnotic state.
It works, and he's transported to 1882 New York.
Kate manages to sneak in on one of his transports back, and they have an uneasy but interesting time of it. They find out that Times Square is every bit as noisy in 1882 and in 1970 (when the book was originally published), that certain landmarks aren't where they are in 1970, and that the Statue of Liberty's arm - the one with the torch - is on display!
Those in the project decide to push Si further within 1882 society by having him live among people; there, he falls in love with Julia, the niece of the owner of a brownstone. He meets up with Kate's ancestor...with not so good results.
He's then given an ultimatum by those running the project, something the original "owner" of the project refuses to be in on. But Si goes back one more time, deciding to take things into his own hands...
Mr. Finney gives some sort of claptrap about Eistein and his theory relativity to explain how Si and others can go back in time; it's quite lame, but I could go along with it.
Where this book truly shines is in its evocation of a time long past. You can actually feel the joy of being in a sleigh singing "Jingle Bells" and understanding what that meant; the aforementioned Statue of Liberty's torch arm being on display is a wonder, especially as it towers above the trees; and there are still farms in Manhattan at that time. And that's what Mr. Finney has imbued this illustrated novel with: a sense of joy, a sense of wonderment. And, yes, you read that right: There are black-and-white illustrations as well woodcut-type sketches of scenes around New York at that time (including a couple of photos of the torch arm). Be warned, though: Mr. Finney goes on and on with descriptions of the people he meets and the sights he sees, and they are quite wordy. For me, this worked, because I have a deep fascination with history. But I could see this being quite tedious for some.
Where I felt there was a let down were at various points in the plot. The beginning is quite slow until the army/government guy shows up. There is one scene later in the book where Mr. Finney is describing a fire in such detail; I felt some of that could have been cut. Si also lets loose with a whole big deal about pollution destroying the planet and all (this is 1970, and there were a lot of serious environmental problems at the time) which I felt was too preachy; where did that come from? There wasn't much foreshadowing - just a sentence or two - so that left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
Also, there are some terms that I found curious, even for 1970. Calling the women in the office "girls" was merely irksome (and I got over that pretty fast). But calling black people Negroes? Huh? WTF? I grew up at that time, and I can't for the life of me remember my parents or anyone in my family calling black people Negroes (or the disgusting other "N" word). Also, some of the clothing terms just sounded weird, like referring to men's dress pants as "wash pants" or something equally as strange.
So...I found the MC, Si, engaging, and the evocation of a time past fascinating. If you can get past the few downer things I've mentioned, you'll get to a most satisfying and understandable ending.
~Nancy Beck
Time and Again - A Review
Touchstone, 400 pages
Back in the 1970s, my mother would get Reader's Digest Condensed Books delivered every month. (She still does.) And every month I would look through that fat book to see which of the abridged books I wanted to read. Sometimes there weren't any that interested me, but there usually was at least one.
This book was one of them.
I guess I've always been fascinated with the idea of time travel. Who wouldn't want to go back in time and check out historical figures or just observe a culture and its everyday life, something totally different from your own?
Simon Morley works as an illustrator/artist for an advertising agency in New York, a job he snagged after attending college and the army before that. His job pays decently but it's boring. A man comes to his office and tells him that he's with the army; the army/U.S. Government is working on a secret project. Would Simon be interested in taking part in the project? Si would have to leave his job and all of his friends behind - including his girlfriend, Kate, who owns a small antique shop - but as Si's parents are dead and he was an only child, the army guy tries to convince him that it shouldn't be too hard to make the break.
Si agrees to join, naturally. But he asks those who are heading up the project if he can pick the time period and the place. He chooses 1882 New York. The reason? Someone in Kate's family lived during that time, and she's always been curious about a half-burned letter and envelope (both colored blue, of all things); what exactly happened to her ancestor?
He goes back in time not by using any sort of machine, but by dressing in period clothes, living in an apartment that was around at the time he's going back to (1882), and by using some sort of hypnotic state.
It works, and he's transported to 1882 New York.
Kate manages to sneak in on one of his transports back, and they have an uneasy but interesting time of it. They find out that Times Square is every bit as noisy in 1882 and in 1970 (when the book was originally published), that certain landmarks aren't where they are in 1970, and that the Statue of Liberty's arm - the one with the torch - is on display!
Those in the project decide to push Si further within 1882 society by having him live among people; there, he falls in love with Julia, the niece of the owner of a brownstone. He meets up with Kate's ancestor...with not so good results.
He's then given an ultimatum by those running the project, something the original "owner" of the project refuses to be in on. But Si goes back one more time, deciding to take things into his own hands...
Mr. Finney gives some sort of claptrap about Eistein and his theory relativity to explain how Si and others can go back in time; it's quite lame, but I could go along with it.
Where this book truly shines is in its evocation of a time long past. You can actually feel the joy of being in a sleigh singing "Jingle Bells" and understanding what that meant; the aforementioned Statue of Liberty's torch arm being on display is a wonder, especially as it towers above the trees; and there are still farms in Manhattan at that time. And that's what Mr. Finney has imbued this illustrated novel with: a sense of joy, a sense of wonderment. And, yes, you read that right: There are black-and-white illustrations as well woodcut-type sketches of scenes around New York at that time (including a couple of photos of the torch arm). Be warned, though: Mr. Finney goes on and on with descriptions of the people he meets and the sights he sees, and they are quite wordy. For me, this worked, because I have a deep fascination with history. But I could see this being quite tedious for some.
Where I felt there was a let down were at various points in the plot. The beginning is quite slow until the army/government guy shows up. There is one scene later in the book where Mr. Finney is describing a fire in such detail; I felt some of that could have been cut. Si also lets loose with a whole big deal about pollution destroying the planet and all (this is 1970, and there were a lot of serious environmental problems at the time) which I felt was too preachy; where did that come from? There wasn't much foreshadowing - just a sentence or two - so that left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
Also, there are some terms that I found curious, even for 1970. Calling the women in the office "girls" was merely irksome (and I got over that pretty fast). But calling black people Negroes? Huh? WTF? I grew up at that time, and I can't for the life of me remember my parents or anyone in my family calling black people Negroes (or the disgusting other "N" word). Also, some of the clothing terms just sounded weird, like referring to men's dress pants as "wash pants" or something equally as strange.
So...I found the MC, Si, engaging, and the evocation of a time past fascinating. If you can get past the few downer things I've mentioned, you'll get to a most satisfying and understandable ending.
~Nancy Beck
19 November 2007
This is Fun - Sort of
I was wandering about the blogoscape this morning, landing on agent Nathan Bransford's blog. A prior posted pointed to this post on Paperback Writer's blog.
Fun stuff - unless you fall into one of those categories.
My current WIP? Well, let's see. I'll go down the list:
"1. Amazing McTechno Thing. Your novel features a fantastic gadget, method of transportation or scientifical process..."
Well...kinda sorta. ;-) It's sort of a fantastic method of transportation, in that I have a Roman goddess (not one of the well-known ones) transport the MC back in time. She opens a door, and, amazingly(!!!), the doorway no longer is there. It's the front part of a movie studio administration building (made-up studio, of course), complete with bushes and path leading up to the front door. Heh. If you like that kind of fantastical stuff - and the way I describe it is, I think, a lot of fun (think of an old movie that opens in black-and-white but changes over to glorious Technicolor).
"2. Brother McVampires."
Not in this one. Although I have an idea germinating that includes some vampires in a weird, off-the-wall way, although neither (they're brothers) would be the MC. They would help out the MC (who's a werewolf, BTW), as they've already staked their claim (ha!! Get it, get it? Nudge, nudge, nudge...) Oops, sorry. But, yeah, it'll take place on Broadway and environs in an alternate New York (although some might say NYC is already there, heh ;-)).
3, 4, and 5 don't pertain to this WIP or my idea (or even another idea I have).
"6. Happily Ever McAfter."
This is a staple of most romances, of which I'm not writing one. My story has a bittersweet ending to it, which I think makes sense (at least, to me it does).
7, 8, and 9 don't pertain to anything I've written.
"10. Whodun McIt. Your novel has a murder mystery solved by an ex-cop, ex-therapist or ex-Fed detective with a dangerous but heart-of-gold sidekick who is beaten up or killed; the villain will either be a beautiful dame, a fat man or a good friend of the detective."
In my prior WIP (which I hoping will morph into something else), it was a murder mystery or sorts (paranormal division), but it was going to be solved by a woman about to lose her job, had just recently gone through a divorce, was fiercely protective of her dog, and worked out to exercise videos (not necessarily in that order). The villian was a beautiful dame, but she wasn't of this world, and was having a hard time getting used to a human body.
I suppose I could've done something with that, but it just wasn't working for me. Meh. I'm stealing some stuff from that and will be using it in something else.
A fun little exercise, nonetheless.
~Nancy Beck
Fun stuff - unless you fall into one of those categories.
My current WIP? Well, let's see. I'll go down the list:
"1. Amazing McTechno Thing. Your novel features a fantastic gadget, method of transportation or scientifical process..."
Well...kinda sorta. ;-) It's sort of a fantastic method of transportation, in that I have a Roman goddess (not one of the well-known ones) transport the MC back in time. She opens a door, and, amazingly(!!!), the doorway no longer is there. It's the front part of a movie studio administration building (made-up studio, of course), complete with bushes and path leading up to the front door. Heh. If you like that kind of fantastical stuff - and the way I describe it is, I think, a lot of fun (think of an old movie that opens in black-and-white but changes over to glorious Technicolor).
"2. Brother McVampires."
Not in this one. Although I have an idea germinating that includes some vampires in a weird, off-the-wall way, although neither (they're brothers) would be the MC. They would help out the MC (who's a werewolf, BTW), as they've already staked their claim (ha!! Get it, get it? Nudge, nudge, nudge...) Oops, sorry. But, yeah, it'll take place on Broadway and environs in an alternate New York (although some might say NYC is already there, heh ;-)).
3, 4, and 5 don't pertain to this WIP or my idea (or even another idea I have).
"6. Happily Ever McAfter."
This is a staple of most romances, of which I'm not writing one. My story has a bittersweet ending to it, which I think makes sense (at least, to me it does).
7, 8, and 9 don't pertain to anything I've written.
"10. Whodun McIt. Your novel has a murder mystery solved by an ex-cop, ex-therapist or ex-Fed detective with a dangerous but heart-of-gold sidekick who is beaten up or killed; the villain will either be a beautiful dame, a fat man or a good friend of the detective."
In my prior WIP (which I hoping will morph into something else), it was a murder mystery or sorts (paranormal division), but it was going to be solved by a woman about to lose her job, had just recently gone through a divorce, was fiercely protective of her dog, and worked out to exercise videos (not necessarily in that order). The villian was a beautiful dame, but she wasn't of this world, and was having a hard time getting used to a human body.
I suppose I could've done something with that, but it just wasn't working for me. Meh. I'm stealing some stuff from that and will be using it in something else.
A fun little exercise, nonetheless.
~Nancy Beck
This is Fun - Sort of
I was wandering about the blogoscape this morning, landing on agent Nathan Bransford's blog. A prior posted pointed to this post on Paperback Writer's blog.
Fun stuff - unless you fall into one of those categories.
My current WIP? Well, let's see. I'll go down the list:
"1. Amazing McTechno Thing. Your novel features a fantastic gadget, method of transportation or scientifical process..."
Well...kinda sorta. ;-) It's sort of a fantastic method of transportation, in that I have a Roman goddess (not one of the well-known ones) transport the MC back in time. She opens a door, and, amazingly(!!!), the doorway no longer is there. It's the front part of a movie studio administration building (made-up studio, of course), complete with bushes and path leading up to the front door. Heh. If you like that kind of fantastical stuff - and the way I describe it is, I think, a lot of fun (think of an old movie that opens in black-and-white but changes over to glorious Technicolor).
"2. Brother McVampires."
Not in this one. Although I have an idea germinating that includes some vampires in a weird, off-the-wall way, although neither (they're brothers) would be the MC. They would help out the MC (who's a werewolf, BTW), as they've already staked their claim (ha!! Get it, get it? Nudge, nudge, nudge...) Oops, sorry. But, yeah, it'll take place on Broadway and environs in an alternate New York (although some might say NYC is already there, heh ;-)).
3, 4, and 5 don't pertain to this WIP or my idea (or even another idea I have).
"6. Happily Ever McAfter."
This is a staple of most romances, of which I'm not writing one. My story has a bittersweet ending to it, which I think makes sense (at least, to me it does).
7, 8, and 9 don't pertain to anything I've written.
"10. Whodun McIt. Your novel has a murder mystery solved by an ex-cop, ex-therapist or ex-Fed detective with a dangerous but heart-of-gold sidekick who is beaten up or killed; the villain will either be a beautiful dame, a fat man or a good friend of the detective."
In my prior WIP (which I hoping will morph into something else), it was a murder mystery or sorts (paranormal division), but it was going to be solved by a woman about to lose her job, had just recently gone through a divorce, was fiercely protective of her dog, and worked out to exercise videos (not necessarily in that order). The villian was a beautiful dame, but she wasn't of this world, and was having a hard time getting used to a human body.
I suppose I could've done something with that, but it just wasn't working for me. Meh. I'm stealing some stuff from that and will be using it in something else.
A fun little exercise, nonetheless.
~Nancy Beck
Fun stuff - unless you fall into one of those categories.
My current WIP? Well, let's see. I'll go down the list:
"1. Amazing McTechno Thing. Your novel features a fantastic gadget, method of transportation or scientifical process..."
Well...kinda sorta. ;-) It's sort of a fantastic method of transportation, in that I have a Roman goddess (not one of the well-known ones) transport the MC back in time. She opens a door, and, amazingly(!!!), the doorway no longer is there. It's the front part of a movie studio administration building (made-up studio, of course), complete with bushes and path leading up to the front door. Heh. If you like that kind of fantastical stuff - and the way I describe it is, I think, a lot of fun (think of an old movie that opens in black-and-white but changes over to glorious Technicolor).
"2. Brother McVampires."
Not in this one. Although I have an idea germinating that includes some vampires in a weird, off-the-wall way, although neither (they're brothers) would be the MC. They would help out the MC (who's a werewolf, BTW), as they've already staked their claim (ha!! Get it, get it? Nudge, nudge, nudge...) Oops, sorry. But, yeah, it'll take place on Broadway and environs in an alternate New York (although some might say NYC is already there, heh ;-)).
3, 4, and 5 don't pertain to this WIP or my idea (or even another idea I have).
"6. Happily Ever McAfter."
This is a staple of most romances, of which I'm not writing one. My story has a bittersweet ending to it, which I think makes sense (at least, to me it does).
7, 8, and 9 don't pertain to anything I've written.
"10. Whodun McIt. Your novel has a murder mystery solved by an ex-cop, ex-therapist or ex-Fed detective with a dangerous but heart-of-gold sidekick who is beaten up or killed; the villain will either be a beautiful dame, a fat man or a good friend of the detective."
In my prior WIP (which I hoping will morph into something else), it was a murder mystery or sorts (paranormal division), but it was going to be solved by a woman about to lose her job, had just recently gone through a divorce, was fiercely protective of her dog, and worked out to exercise videos (not necessarily in that order). The villian was a beautiful dame, but she wasn't of this world, and was having a hard time getting used to a human body.
I suppose I could've done something with that, but it just wasn't working for me. Meh. I'm stealing some stuff from that and will be using it in something else.
A fun little exercise, nonetheless.
~Nancy Beck
15 November 2007
Poetry.com Is a Scam
This is probably old news to those who've been writing a while or to those who've researched the crap out of stuff (like me, heh).
Poetry.com and all of its iterations are SCAMS. Period.
This organization is as bad as PublishAmerica (PA) because they take everything. Want to see your poem with your byline? Buy one of their over-priced books (about $50).
Stay as far away from this one as possible.
Still unconvinced? That's okay; you should always do some research before sending off your babies. Try these:
Literary Scams
Absolute Write - Bewares and Background Checks
Ink For Blood LiveJournal - Poetry.com
If you want ideas as to where to send your poems as well as some nice support, the Absolute Write forums has a Writing Poetry section under Writing Studios. People there will give you the straight poop as to where to send your poems, payment, etc. (And by no means look for a literary agent; agents don't rep poems because there's not enough money in it for them, unless you happen to be well known, like Maya Angelou. If someone does offer to rep your poems, tell them to get lost: They're a scammer, only intereseted in separating you from your money.)
~Nancy Beck
Poetry.com and all of its iterations are SCAMS. Period.
This organization is as bad as PublishAmerica (PA) because they take everything. Want to see your poem with your byline? Buy one of their over-priced books (about $50).
Stay as far away from this one as possible.
Still unconvinced? That's okay; you should always do some research before sending off your babies. Try these:
Literary Scams
Absolute Write - Bewares and Background Checks
Ink For Blood LiveJournal - Poetry.com
If you want ideas as to where to send your poems as well as some nice support, the Absolute Write forums has a Writing Poetry section under Writing Studios. People there will give you the straight poop as to where to send your poems, payment, etc. (And by no means look for a literary agent; agents don't rep poems because there's not enough money in it for them, unless you happen to be well known, like Maya Angelou. If someone does offer to rep your poems, tell them to get lost: They're a scammer, only intereseted in separating you from your money.)
~Nancy Beck
Poetry.com Is a Scam
This is probably old news to those who've been writing a while or to those who've researched the crap out of stuff (like me, heh).
Poetry.com and all of its iterations are SCAMS. Period.
This organization is as bad as PublishAmerica (PA) because they take everything. Want to see your poem with your byline? Buy one of their over-priced books (about $50).
Stay as far away from this one as possible.
Still unconvinced? That's okay; you should always do some research before sending off your babies. Try these:
Literary Scams
Absolute Write - Bewares and Background Checks
Ink For Blood LiveJournal - Poetry.com
If you want ideas as to where to send your poems as well as some nice support, the Absolute Write forums has a Writing Poetry section under Writing Studios. People there will give you the straight poop as to where to send your poems, payment, etc. (And by no means look for a literary agent; agents don't rep poems because there's not enough money in it for them, unless you happen to be well known, like Maya Angelou. If someone does offer to rep your poems, tell them to get lost: They're a scammer, only intereseted in separating you from your money.)
~Nancy Beck
Poetry.com and all of its iterations are SCAMS. Period.
This organization is as bad as PublishAmerica (PA) because they take everything. Want to see your poem with your byline? Buy one of their over-priced books (about $50).
Stay as far away from this one as possible.
Still unconvinced? That's okay; you should always do some research before sending off your babies. Try these:
Literary Scams
Absolute Write - Bewares and Background Checks
Ink For Blood LiveJournal - Poetry.com
If you want ideas as to where to send your poems as well as some nice support, the Absolute Write forums has a Writing Poetry section under Writing Studios. People there will give you the straight poop as to where to send your poems, payment, etc. (And by no means look for a literary agent; agents don't rep poems because there's not enough money in it for them, unless you happen to be well known, like Maya Angelou. If someone does offer to rep your poems, tell them to get lost: They're a scammer, only intereseted in separating you from your money.)
~Nancy Beck
14 November 2007
Support the Writers' Strike!
I usually live in a day-to-day haze, but even I've heard about the writers' strike going on in Hollywood.
The gist I originally got was that "writers are asking for too much" and "your favorite shows are going into reruns" and "your favorite shows might be canceled." Well, that might be the case, but so what? Writers are way down on the food chain, especially in Hollywood. They're expected to come up with brilliant scripts for very little pay.
I'm reminded of something I read in one of the many movie studio books I have lying around my house. I read about Fay Wray (yeah, she of King Kong fame) saying that she literally worked around the clock during The Depression, working on one movie during the day, taking a short break, then reporting for another movie at night. She said she was glad of the work at the time, but she was utterly spent, and I'll bet she wasn't well compensated.
Then the actors unionized, and producers could no longer do that sort of stuff.
This is along those lines. As an aspiring writer, I want the writers in Hollywood to get their due, whatever that is, be it more up-front money, more in the way of pensions, whatever. I know for a fact that most published fiction writers cannot write 10-12 hours per day; they have day jobs, just like the rest of us. (Stephen King and J. K. Rowling and other super successful writers are the exceptions.)
I really admire people like Tightrope Walker, who's a writer on House, my favorite TV show.
To get more insight into this, go to her post and read it through, as she's more up on this than I am. (It's a long post, BTW, but a worthwhile and enlightening read.)
I wish them all the luck in the world, and I truly hope this goes in the writers favor. (BTW, the support avatar on the upper right side of my blog I copied from here.)
~Nancy Beck
The gist I originally got was that "writers are asking for too much" and "your favorite shows are going into reruns" and "your favorite shows might be canceled." Well, that might be the case, but so what? Writers are way down on the food chain, especially in Hollywood. They're expected to come up with brilliant scripts for very little pay.
I'm reminded of something I read in one of the many movie studio books I have lying around my house. I read about Fay Wray (yeah, she of King Kong fame) saying that she literally worked around the clock during The Depression, working on one movie during the day, taking a short break, then reporting for another movie at night. She said she was glad of the work at the time, but she was utterly spent, and I'll bet she wasn't well compensated.
Then the actors unionized, and producers could no longer do that sort of stuff.
This is along those lines. As an aspiring writer, I want the writers in Hollywood to get their due, whatever that is, be it more up-front money, more in the way of pensions, whatever. I know for a fact that most published fiction writers cannot write 10-12 hours per day; they have day jobs, just like the rest of us. (Stephen King and J. K. Rowling and other super successful writers are the exceptions.)
I really admire people like Tightrope Walker, who's a writer on House, my favorite TV show.
To get more insight into this, go to her post and read it through, as she's more up on this than I am. (It's a long post, BTW, but a worthwhile and enlightening read.)
I wish them all the luck in the world, and I truly hope this goes in the writers favor. (BTW, the support avatar on the upper right side of my blog I copied from here.)
~Nancy Beck
Support the Writers' Strike!
I usually live in a day-to-day haze, but even I've heard about the writers' strike going on in Hollywood.
The gist I originally got was that "writers are asking for too much" and "your favorite shows are going into reruns" and "your favorite shows might be canceled." Well, that might be the case, but so what? Writers are way down on the food chain, especially in Hollywood. They're expected to come up with brilliant scripts for very little pay.
I'm reminded of something I read in one of the many movie studio books I have lying around my house. I read about Fay Wray (yeah, she of King Kong fame) saying that she literally worked around the clock during The Depression, working on one movie during the day, taking a short break, then reporting for another movie at night. She said she was glad of the work at the time, but she was utterly spent, and I'll bet she wasn't well compensated.
Then the actors unionized, and producers could no longer do that sort of stuff.
This is along those lines. As an aspiring writer, I want the writers in Hollywood to get their due, whatever that is, be it more up-front money, more in the way of pensions, whatever. I know for a fact that most published fiction writers cannot write 10-12 hours per day; they have day jobs, just like the rest of us. (Stephen King and J. K. Rowling and other super successful writers are the exceptions.)
I really admire people like Tightrope Walker, who's a writer on House, my favorite TV show.
To get more insight into this, go to her post and read it through, as she's more up on this than I am. (It's a long post, BTW, but a worthwhile and enlightening read.)
I wish them all the luck in the world, and I truly hope this goes in the writers favor. (BTW, the support avatar on the upper right side of my blog I copied from here.)
~Nancy Beck
The gist I originally got was that "writers are asking for too much" and "your favorite shows are going into reruns" and "your favorite shows might be canceled." Well, that might be the case, but so what? Writers are way down on the food chain, especially in Hollywood. They're expected to come up with brilliant scripts for very little pay.
I'm reminded of something I read in one of the many movie studio books I have lying around my house. I read about Fay Wray (yeah, she of King Kong fame) saying that she literally worked around the clock during The Depression, working on one movie during the day, taking a short break, then reporting for another movie at night. She said she was glad of the work at the time, but she was utterly spent, and I'll bet she wasn't well compensated.
Then the actors unionized, and producers could no longer do that sort of stuff.
This is along those lines. As an aspiring writer, I want the writers in Hollywood to get their due, whatever that is, be it more up-front money, more in the way of pensions, whatever. I know for a fact that most published fiction writers cannot write 10-12 hours per day; they have day jobs, just like the rest of us. (Stephen King and J. K. Rowling and other super successful writers are the exceptions.)
I really admire people like Tightrope Walker, who's a writer on House, my favorite TV show.
To get more insight into this, go to her post and read it through, as she's more up on this than I am. (It's a long post, BTW, but a worthwhile and enlightening read.)
I wish them all the luck in the world, and I truly hope this goes in the writers favor. (BTW, the support avatar on the upper right side of my blog I copied from here.)
~Nancy Beck
13 November 2007
What I'm Currently Reading #4
Yeah, I didn't label one as #3 because I was in a foul mood (to put it simply).
I finished up The Gun Seller
a few days ago; simply wonderful! I'm not going to offer up a review as it's outside the scope of this blog (it's a suspense/thriller novel), but suffice to say that although it's humorous, there's a definite plot. One of the things that got me about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was that while I found it funny (especially the thing with the towel), there was absolutely no plot. At least to me there wasn't a plot. (No doubt someone who reads SF/fantasy will beg to differ, and that's fine; whatever floats your boat, er, spaceship.)
If I'm going out of my way to read a book, I like to have some semblance of a plot. It doesn't haven't to be something "ripped from the headlines" or that will teach me something about the U.S. social fabric.
It's also possible that I just read HH at the wrong time; I may re-read it at some point. But with so many other books to read, it'll probably be a while.
Right now, I'm reading Time and Again by Jack Finney. This is one I read as a Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection back in the 1970s. Yes, it was actually printed then (1970, to be exact), and it's a lovely time travel novel. Si Morley, a NYC ad guy, travels back to NYC circa 1882. At first, he's merely curious about his surroundings, contrasting it with the "modern" NYC of 1969-70 (an almost-dying Hudson River, endless noise, lots of interesting old buildings replaced with ugly glass buildings), but then he becomes more and more involved with that society.
I hadn't read this since it originally came out (when I lived not too, too far from NYC), and I started to wonder if my tastes had changed: The beginning is quite slow. However, once Mr. Finney got into the specifics of 1882 NYC (imagine seeing the disembodied hand of the Statue of Liberty on display!), I raced through it. Quite evocative and totally mesmerizing.
And, of course, I understand why it's slow going at first. We have to see the Si in his dull ad job (he's into the sketching/drawing end of it), which is one part that motivates him to go back. Another is his current girlfriend, who would like to know what happened to one of her ancestors.
Anyway, I'm rolling along in this book, and should have a review up in a few days.
~Nancy Beck
I finished up The Gun Seller
a few days ago; simply wonderful! I'm not going to offer up a review as it's outside the scope of this blog (it's a suspense/thriller novel), but suffice to say that although it's humorous, there's a definite plot. One of the things that got me about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was that while I found it funny (especially the thing with the towel), there was absolutely no plot. At least to me there wasn't a plot. (No doubt someone who reads SF/fantasy will beg to differ, and that's fine; whatever floats your boat, er, spaceship.)If I'm going out of my way to read a book, I like to have some semblance of a plot. It doesn't haven't to be something "ripped from the headlines" or that will teach me something about the U.S. social fabric.
It's also possible that I just read HH at the wrong time; I may re-read it at some point. But with so many other books to read, it'll probably be a while.
Right now, I'm reading Time and Again by Jack Finney. This is one I read as a Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection back in the 1970s. Yes, it was actually printed then (1970, to be exact), and it's a lovely time travel novel. Si Morley, a NYC ad guy, travels back to NYC circa 1882. At first, he's merely curious about his surroundings, contrasting it with the "modern" NYC of 1969-70 (an almost-dying Hudson River, endless noise, lots of interesting old buildings replaced with ugly glass buildings), but then he becomes more and more involved with that society.
I hadn't read this since it originally came out (when I lived not too, too far from NYC), and I started to wonder if my tastes had changed: The beginning is quite slow. However, once Mr. Finney got into the specifics of 1882 NYC (imagine seeing the disembodied hand of the Statue of Liberty on display!), I raced through it. Quite evocative and totally mesmerizing.
And, of course, I understand why it's slow going at first. We have to see the Si in his dull ad job (he's into the sketching/drawing end of it), which is one part that motivates him to go back. Another is his current girlfriend, who would like to know what happened to one of her ancestors.
Anyway, I'm rolling along in this book, and should have a review up in a few days.
~Nancy Beck
What I'm Currently Reading #4
Yeah, I didn't label one as #3 because I was in a foul mood (to put it simply).
I finished up The Gun Sellera few days ago; simply wonderful! I'm not going to offer up a review as it's outside the scope of this blog (it's a suspense/thriller novel), but suffice to say that although it's humorous, there's a definite plot. One of the things that got me about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was that while I found it funny (especially the thing with the towel), there was absolutely no plot. At least to me there wasn't a plot. (No doubt someone who reads SF/fantasy will beg to differ, and that's fine; whatever floats your boat, er, spaceship.)
If I'm going out of my way to read a book, I like to have some semblance of a plot. It doesn't haven't to be something "ripped from the headlines" or that will teach me something about the U.S. social fabric.
It's also possible that I just read HH at the wrong time; I may re-read it at some point. But with so many other books to read, it'll probably be a while.
Right now, I'm reading Time and Again by Jack Finney. This is one I read as a Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection back in the 1970s. Yes, it was actually printed then (1970, to be exact), and it's a lovely time travel novel. Si Morley, a NYC ad guy, travels back to NYC circa 1882. At first, he's merely curious about his surroundings, contrasting it with the "modern" NYC of 1969-70 (an almost-dying Hudson River, endless noise, lots of interesting old buildings replaced with ugly glass buildings), but then he becomes more and more involved with that society.
I hadn't read this since it originally came out (when I lived not too, too far from NYC), and I started to wonder if my tastes had changed: The beginning is quite slow. However, once Mr. Finney got into the specifics of 1882 NYC (imagine seeing the disembodied hand of the Statue of Liberty on display!), I raced through it. Quite evocative and totally mesmerizing.
And, of course, I understand why it's slow going at first. We have to see the Si in his dull ad job (he's into the sketching/drawing end of it), which is one part that motivates him to go back. Another is his current girlfriend, who would like to know what happened to one of her ancestors.
Anyway, I'm rolling along in this book, and should have a review up in a few days.
~Nancy Beck
I finished up The Gun Seller
a few days ago; simply wonderful! I'm not going to offer up a review as it's outside the scope of this blog (it's a suspense/thriller novel), but suffice to say that although it's humorous, there's a definite plot. One of the things that got me about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was that while I found it funny (especially the thing with the towel), there was absolutely no plot. At least to me there wasn't a plot. (No doubt someone who reads SF/fantasy will beg to differ, and that's fine; whatever floats your boat, er, spaceship.)If I'm going out of my way to read a book, I like to have some semblance of a plot. It doesn't haven't to be something "ripped from the headlines" or that will teach me something about the U.S. social fabric.
It's also possible that I just read HH at the wrong time; I may re-read it at some point. But with so many other books to read, it'll probably be a while.
Right now, I'm reading Time and Again by Jack Finney. This is one I read as a Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection back in the 1970s. Yes, it was actually printed then (1970, to be exact), and it's a lovely time travel novel. Si Morley, a NYC ad guy, travels back to NYC circa 1882. At first, he's merely curious about his surroundings, contrasting it with the "modern" NYC of 1969-70 (an almost-dying Hudson River, endless noise, lots of interesting old buildings replaced with ugly glass buildings), but then he becomes more and more involved with that society.
I hadn't read this since it originally came out (when I lived not too, too far from NYC), and I started to wonder if my tastes had changed: The beginning is quite slow. However, once Mr. Finney got into the specifics of 1882 NYC (imagine seeing the disembodied hand of the Statue of Liberty on display!), I raced through it. Quite evocative and totally mesmerizing.
And, of course, I understand why it's slow going at first. We have to see the Si in his dull ad job (he's into the sketching/drawing end of it), which is one part that motivates him to go back. Another is his current girlfriend, who would like to know what happened to one of her ancestors.
Anyway, I'm rolling along in this book, and should have a review up in a few days.
~Nancy Beck
12 November 2007
The Princes of the Golden Cage - A Review
Night Shade Books, 320 pages
I saw a review on a writer's blog or website and was intrigued, especially as the general idea here - that of Arabic princes locked up in a cage - is based on historical fact.
The story, though, is pure fiction.
Prince Amir lives in luxury with the rest of his brothers, except that they can't leave the premises. Then, once his father decides on his heir, the rest are free to go - that is, the rest will be killed. After all, who needs the rest of them?
While Amir's father is off doing what sultans usually do, his sons are fighting it out among themselves, with their positions as favored to be the heir posted for all to see.
Amir, alas, is well down the line, and he doesn't mind it in the least. He can handle a sword pretty well, but he's decided to keep away from all but two of his brothers. He keeps himself entertained with books, especially with books on magic, and working on alchemical experiments.
Living the life of a monk, Amir's life is upset when one of his brothers is murdered in a strange way; it looks as if it has dark magic written over it, something which the Grand Vizier thinks Amir might be able to figure out.
Or is Amir being looked at as the murderer precisely because of those experiments?
He meets up with one of his blonde brothers, Erik, after the first murder, but Amir cannot figure out what is going on or how to stop the murderer; his brothers are dropping like dead flies.
Romance comes into it when Amir picks up something of Erik's, a locket with a picture of a fair-haired maiden inside. Amir is almost instantly smitten with her, yet dismisses himself as a suitor because he is so far down the heir line; she is betrothed to the next Sultan.
Amir and his brothers have never been outside the palace, aka the cage. Will Amir die with the rest of them without tasting freedom?
I found this an enjoyable read. Parts were tedious, but the story moved along at a decent clip. I found Amir to be an interesting character - a bookworm with a bit of a temper (at times). What endeared me even more was how he cared for the two brothers nearest him, Mir and Jafer, both of whom seemed to be insane. Amir was afraid one of his other brothers would do them harm, so he usually would get food with them, and talk to them...when they would allow him to do so.
What brings this book down slightly might just be personal irritations, but they are irritations nonetheless. There were a lot of run-on sentences. While I don't mind run-ons from time to time, I just felt there were too many so that my eyes would glaze. (There must been quite a few for me to remember them, unfortunately.) Fortunately, this was not an ongoing problem, just one that seemed to crop up from time to time.
The other irritation were the obvious questions not ending in question marks. I'll admit that that's nitpicky. But it brought me out the story anyway, to the point where I'd say, "Question mark, question mark!" Either the author has something against using question marks (which I doubt) or maybe her editor just missed this. I can't imagine that most of those question were actually statements made by different characters. (Sure, I get that questions can be said in such a way that they sound more like statements, like when a character is pissed off at someone.) Again, that I noticed it means that maybe the editing was off.
That's not to take away from this story, however. I found the story and characters interesting, and look forward to the next in this trilogy (seems like most fantasies are trilogies now-a-days).
Anyway, worth a looksee.
~Nancy Beck
The Princes of the Golden Cage - A Review
Night Shade Books, 320 pages
I saw a review on a writer's blog or website and was intrigued, especially as the general idea here - that of Arabic princes locked up in a cage - is based on historical fact.
The story, though, is pure fiction.
Prince Amir lives in luxury with the rest of his brothers, except that they can't leave the premises. Then, once his father decides on his heir, the rest are free to go - that is, the rest will be killed. After all, who needs the rest of them?
While Amir's father is off doing what sultans usually do, his sons are fighting it out among themselves, with their positions as favored to be the heir posted for all to see.
Amir, alas, is well down the line, and he doesn't mind it in the least. He can handle a sword pretty well, but he's decided to keep away from all but two of his brothers. He keeps himself entertained with books, especially with books on magic, and working on alchemical experiments.
Living the life of a monk, Amir's life is upset when one of his brothers is murdered in a strange way; it looks as if it has dark magic written over it, something which the Grand Vizier thinks Amir might be able to figure out.
Or is Amir being looked at as the murderer precisely because of those experiments?
He meets up with one of his blonde brothers, Erik, after the first murder, but Amir cannot figure out what is going on or how to stop the murderer; his brothers are dropping like dead flies.
Romance comes into it when Amir picks up something of Erik's, a locket with a picture of a fair-haired maiden inside. Amir is almost instantly smitten with her, yet dismisses himself as a suitor because he is so far down the heir line; she is betrothed to the next Sultan.
Amir and his brothers have never been outside the palace, aka the cage. Will Amir die with the rest of them without tasting freedom?
I found this an enjoyable read. Parts were tedious, but the story moved along at a decent clip. I found Amir to be an interesting character - a bookworm with a bit of a temper (at times). What endeared me even more was how he cared for the two brothers nearest him, Mir and Jafer, both of whom seemed to be insane. Amir was afraid one of his other brothers would do them harm, so he usually would get food with them, and talk to them...when they would allow him to do so.
What brings this book down slightly might just be personal irritations, but they are irritations nonetheless. There were a lot of run-on sentences. While I don't mind run-ons from time to time, I just felt there were too many so that my eyes would glaze. (There must been quite a few for me to remember them, unfortunately.) Fortunately, this was not an ongoing problem, just one that seemed to crop up from time to time.
The other irritation were the obvious questions not ending in question marks. I'll admit that that's nitpicky. But it brought me out the story anyway, to the point where I'd say, "Question mark, question mark!" Either the author has something against using question marks (which I doubt) or maybe her editor just missed this. I can't imagine that most of those question were actually statements made by different characters. (Sure, I get that questions can be said in such a way that they sound more like statements, like when a character is pissed off at someone.) Again, that I noticed it means that maybe the editing was off.
That's not to take away from this story, however. I found the story and characters interesting, and look forward to the next in this trilogy (seems like most fantasies are trilogies now-a-days).
Anyway, worth a looksee.
~Nancy Beck
08 November 2007
Critting
I've be doing some critting this week over on Absolute Write's Share Your Work forum. I've been doing some pretty extensive crits, and I guess I'm just curious as to how some of the writers are going to take what I've given them.
Not that they have to take anything of what I've said, of course. Everyone knows their own stories better than anyone else (at least, they SHOULD know).
So far, one writer agreed that his descriptions were overwhelming the story, although he didn't take too kindly to my not liking omniscient POV. (That, of course, is a personal thing which I didn't make clear in my original crit. My bad.) Another liked what I had to say about her prologue, and was going to keep it in mind. She's already posted a revision (which I haven't gotten to yet).
I critted another 2 stories (whew!) today. One was about dragons. I felt this writer started in the wrong place, opening with a last-of-its-species dragon. I mistakenly thought this was the MC until I read on, where he talks about people in a nearby village (and one person in particular). When he has this particular person look up at the mountain and see what he thinks is a dragon - yup, I think this is where your story starts, because something is going to happen.
Another one was an excerpt from further into a story. It was interesting, but I felt this author used too many run-on sentences - including the very first one! (This wasn't from the opening chapter, but somewhere in the middle of the book.) I just finished reading a book - which I should post a review for - where the author did pretty much the same through several portions of the story. Drove me crazy. And another odd thing was that a number of questions that were clearly questions didn't end in a question mark.
Crack that whip!
Meh. I know it's not something to get completely overwhelmed by, but I did find it irritating, thinking "Question mark! Question mark!" over and over.
I'll probably post that review tomorrow. It's a debut (I love finding new authors, don't you?), and I still found the story pretty good.
~Nancy Beck
Not that they have to take anything of what I've said, of course. Everyone knows their own stories better than anyone else (at least, they SHOULD know).
So far, one writer agreed that his descriptions were overwhelming the story, although he didn't take too kindly to my not liking omniscient POV. (That, of course, is a personal thing which I didn't make clear in my original crit. My bad.) Another liked what I had to say about her prologue, and was going to keep it in mind. She's already posted a revision (which I haven't gotten to yet).
I critted another 2 stories (whew!) today. One was about dragons. I felt this writer started in the wrong place, opening with a last-of-its-species dragon. I mistakenly thought this was the MC until I read on, where he talks about people in a nearby village (and one person in particular). When he has this particular person look up at the mountain and see what he thinks is a dragon - yup, I think this is where your story starts, because something is going to happen.
Another one was an excerpt from further into a story. It was interesting, but I felt this author used too many run-on sentences - including the very first one! (This wasn't from the opening chapter, but somewhere in the middle of the book.) I just finished reading a book - which I should post a review for - where the author did pretty much the same through several portions of the story. Drove me crazy. And another odd thing was that a number of questions that were clearly questions didn't end in a question mark.
Crack that whip!
Meh. I know it's not something to get completely overwhelmed by, but I did find it irritating, thinking "Question mark! Question mark!" over and over.
I'll probably post that review tomorrow. It's a debut (I love finding new authors, don't you?), and I still found the story pretty good.
~Nancy Beck
Critting
I've be doing some critting this week over on Absolute Write's Share Your Work forum. I've been doing some pretty extensive crits, and I guess I'm just curious as to how some of the writers are going to take what I've given them.
Not that they have to take anything of what I've said, of course. Everyone knows their own stories better than anyone else (at least, they SHOULD know).
So far, one writer agreed that his descriptions were overwhelming the story, although he didn't take too kindly to my not liking omniscient POV. (That, of course, is a personal thing which I didn't make clear in my original crit. My bad.) Another liked what I had to say about her prologue, and was going to keep it in mind. She's already posted a revision (which I haven't gotten to yet).
I critted another 2 stories (whew!) today. One was about dragons. I felt this writer started in the wrong place, opening with a last-of-its-species dragon. I mistakenly thought this was the MC until I read on, where he talks about people in a nearby village (and one person in particular). When he has this particular person look up at the mountain and see what he thinks is a dragon - yup, I think this is where your story starts, because something is going to happen.
Another one was an excerpt from further into a story. It was interesting, but I felt this author used too many run-on sentences - including the very first one! (This wasn't from the opening chapter, but somewhere in the middle of the book.) I just finished reading a book - which I should post a review for - where the author did pretty much the same through several portions of the story. Drove me crazy. And another odd thing was that a number of questions that were clearly questions didn't end in a question mark.
Crack that whip!
Meh. I know it's not something to get completely overwhelmed by, but I did find it irritating, thinking "Question mark! Question mark!" over and over.
I'll probably post that review tomorrow. It's a debut (I love finding new authors, don't you?), and I still found the story pretty good.
~Nancy Beck
Not that they have to take anything of what I've said, of course. Everyone knows their own stories better than anyone else (at least, they SHOULD know).
So far, one writer agreed that his descriptions were overwhelming the story, although he didn't take too kindly to my not liking omniscient POV. (That, of course, is a personal thing which I didn't make clear in my original crit. My bad.) Another liked what I had to say about her prologue, and was going to keep it in mind. She's already posted a revision (which I haven't gotten to yet).
I critted another 2 stories (whew!) today. One was about dragons. I felt this writer started in the wrong place, opening with a last-of-its-species dragon. I mistakenly thought this was the MC until I read on, where he talks about people in a nearby village (and one person in particular). When he has this particular person look up at the mountain and see what he thinks is a dragon - yup, I think this is where your story starts, because something is going to happen.
Another one was an excerpt from further into a story. It was interesting, but I felt this author used too many run-on sentences - including the very first one! (This wasn't from the opening chapter, but somewhere in the middle of the book.) I just finished reading a book - which I should post a review for - where the author did pretty much the same through several portions of the story. Drove me crazy. And another odd thing was that a number of questions that were clearly questions didn't end in a question mark.
Crack that whip!
Meh. I know it's not something to get completely overwhelmed by, but I did find it irritating, thinking "Question mark! Question mark!" over and over.
I'll probably post that review tomorrow. It's a debut (I love finding new authors, don't you?), and I still found the story pretty good.
~Nancy Beck
05 November 2007
Airleaf Victims, Unite!
Read up on this on the Absolute Write Water Cooler (see the sidebar for the link to the general site), and on the Writer Beware site. Apparently, Airleaf aka Bookman Marketing, has been spamming the hell out of people for a few years.
That would be bad enough.
What's worse is that Airleaf enticed enough poor souls to part with their money, to have their book, er, published.
Which makes sense in a few cases.
But Airleaf bilked these people out of more than $1,000 in a lot of cases. Well, Bonnie Kaye, who coughed up $1,850(!!) to Airleaf, decided it was time for revenge against this sham marketer and/or publisher (or is it both? Sheesh!). She's started a website to get back at them. It's called Airleaf Victims Fightback, and on it, she gives her story and those of others who've been scammed.
Good for her and 90+ authors who've decided to take legal action against the company in the state of Indiana. Go to the website and read some of the stories - one poor man was taken for $10,000!
Airleaf must be completely shameless. I hope for the best for Bonnie and all authors who've been defrauded. Maybe the law, at the very least, shut down Airleaf!
~Nancy Beck
That would be bad enough.
What's worse is that Airleaf enticed enough poor souls to part with their money, to have their book, er, published.
Which makes sense in a few cases.
But Airleaf bilked these people out of more than $1,000 in a lot of cases. Well, Bonnie Kaye, who coughed up $1,850(!!) to Airleaf, decided it was time for revenge against this sham marketer and/or publisher (or is it both? Sheesh!). She's started a website to get back at them. It's called Airleaf Victims Fightback, and on it, she gives her story and those of others who've been scammed.
Good for her and 90+ authors who've decided to take legal action against the company in the state of Indiana. Go to the website and read some of the stories - one poor man was taken for $10,000!
Airleaf must be completely shameless. I hope for the best for Bonnie and all authors who've been defrauded. Maybe the law, at the very least, shut down Airleaf!
~Nancy Beck
Airleaf Victims, Unite!
Read up on this on the Absolute Write Water Cooler (see the sidebar for the link to the general site), and on the Writer Beware site. Apparently, Airleaf aka Bookman Marketing, has been spamming the hell out of people for a few years.
That would be bad enough.
What's worse is that Airleaf enticed enough poor souls to part with their money, to have their book, er, published.
Which makes sense in a few cases.
But Airleaf bilked these people out of more than $1,000 in a lot of cases. Well, Bonnie Kaye, who coughed up $1,850(!!) to Airleaf, decided it was time for revenge against this sham marketer and/or publisher (or is it both? Sheesh!). She's started a website to get back at them. It's called Airleaf Victims Fightback, and on it, she gives her story and those of others who've been scammed.
Good for her and 90+ authors who've decided to take legal action against the company in the state of Indiana. Go to the website and read some of the stories - one poor man was taken for $10,000!
Airleaf must be completely shameless. I hope for the best for Bonnie and all authors who've been defrauded. Maybe the law, at the very least, shut down Airleaf!
~Nancy Beck
That would be bad enough.
What's worse is that Airleaf enticed enough poor souls to part with their money, to have their book, er, published.
Which makes sense in a few cases.
But Airleaf bilked these people out of more than $1,000 in a lot of cases. Well, Bonnie Kaye, who coughed up $1,850(!!) to Airleaf, decided it was time for revenge against this sham marketer and/or publisher (or is it both? Sheesh!). She's started a website to get back at them. It's called Airleaf Victims Fightback, and on it, she gives her story and those of others who've been scammed.
Good for her and 90+ authors who've decided to take legal action against the company in the state of Indiana. Go to the website and read some of the stories - one poor man was taken for $10,000!
Airleaf must be completely shameless. I hope for the best for Bonnie and all authors who've been defrauded. Maybe the law, at the very least, shut down Airleaf!
~Nancy Beck
