Reading to World Cup to Crochet

My normal average monthly reading ranges from 10-20 books per month. But then came the World Cup. Normally, I don't follow any sports, but World Cup always makes me a fan. That doesn't mean I know the rules, except vaguely, but I love the idea of it being a game at anyone--not me--could play, from the sandlot to the stadium, and that it truly is "the world's game." Even though the US is out of the competition--don't get me started on the referee's calls--I still follow it and choose my favorite teams game-by-game.

The downside of all this four-year fandom is that my reading has taken a serious hit. I've read fewer books than normal this month--okay, so many I did get ten books read--and nothing really made me think "Wow, what a great book." I haven't even written up my normal reviews yet.

The upside is that because I was influences by Grandmothers who believed that "idle hands and an idle mind are the Devil's playground," I have rediscovered crochet. Crochet was my craft of choice from the time I was 16 until I discovered needlepoint when I was in my early 30s. Due to neck/back and eye issues, I've not been able to do needlepoint for awhile now. But I've not pickup up my crochet hooks, bought some yarn and have gone to town.

I started easy with double-thickness potholders and made two pair for myself, am nearly finished with two pair for one friend and than will do two pair each for another friend and the mother of her boyfriend. Because joy of craft sometimes overtake rational budgetary concerns, I'm also making an 8' vertically-stripped scarf from baby alpaca yarn.

Once World Cup is over, I hope my reading will return to more normal levels, but I think crochet may fight for it's place as well.

The Elements of My Reviews

On May 11th, Tom Schreck posted the interview I did for his series "Reviewing the Reviewers" (posted here on March 13th). As a result, a couple people have asked about my process for writing reviews.

When I was evaluating manuscripts for Poisoned Pen Press, they taught me to look at eight elements of a story. It is the combination of those elements which determine the quality of the book.

The eight elements are:
1. Hook – Does the story grab you from the beginning
2. Setting/Descriptions/Sense of Place – Is it evocative
3. Characters/Character Development – Do they come to live, do you know their back story, are they fully-developed
4. Dialogue – Does it work and provide a sense the character
5. Plot – Does it work, does it make sense
6. Cadence/flow/style – Does it keep you involved
7. Originality – This is an extra points element for when I find a story that is truly original
8. Overall quality of writing – What is my immediate reaction upon finishing the book.

And there you have it. I have found it a very effective, and helpful, way of looking at each book without ever diminishing my enjoyment of reading. Oh, and I do take notes as I read.

Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton

I don't normally post book reviews here, but I read a new book yesterday which deserves to be an exception.  Even so, this, and all my reviews will be posted on GoodReads.

BLOOD HARVEST (Susp-Rev. Harry Laycock/Dr. Evi Oliver/Ensemble-England-Cont) - Ex
Bolton, S.J. – Standalone – 3rd book
Bantam Press, ©2010, UK Hardcover – ISBN:  9780593064115   

First Sentence:  “She’s been watching us for a while now.”   

Reverend Harry Laycock has come to his new parish which includes Heptoncough in the Yorkshire Pennines.  Here there is an old church, a very old church a village which still carries out the old traditions and where young girls have disappeared or died.  One of the girls died in a house fire, but her mother, Gillian, never accepted her death and constantly roams the moors at night.  Psychiatrist Evi Oliver is trying to help her put her life back together.   Tom Fletcher and family have moved to the village having bought the only new house built in many years.  It was built on the old Church’s land, next to the graveyard.  They all learn that events of the past are still part of the present.

Although I really liked Ms. Bolton’s first two books, this one knocked my socks off.  Everything about it was so well done, it’s hard to know where to start.  Even from the page before the prologue, I was captivated. 

I am not a particular fan of prologues, but this one really worked.  However, I think the book would have been more suspenseful had the information in the prologue been in the correct chronological space within the story; about Chapter 50. 

I was introduced to a number of the significant characters who immediately jumped off the page and made me want to know more about them.  I am also not usually a fan of ensemble casts.  Again, this worked.  Although Harry, the antithesis of a stuffy vicar and for whom I would have provided a different surname, and Evi, the physically impaired, intelligent and independent psychiatrist, are the pivotal characters, all characters were alive and their interactions realistic.  

Dialogue is such an important element of a story.  Ms. Bolton has a skill with dialogue that echoes in cadence the speech of the characters.  As well as establishing a strong sense of place, she incorporates the history and traditions of the area. 

Combined with all these ingredients, what caused me to read this 421 page book in eight straight hours was the authors voice and the plot.  The first half of the book is an amazingly skillful balance of humor…”I haven’t had this much success with a woman since I got drunk at my cousin’s wedding and threw up over the main of honour.”… and underlying, delightfully creepy menace.  There is a real sense of “things that go bump in the night” which made me happy I was reading the book during the day.  The second half of the book moved to police and forensic investigation, and a race-against-time fear.   The climax was filled with an increasingly ratcheted tension and surprises right up to the very end. 

One observation is that Ms. Bolton does have a penchant for her female protagonists to be somehow physically impaired.  While the overcoming of the particular impairment shows the character’s strength and resolve, it can also become formulaic or even cliché over time.  However, as this is a general observation and not a criticism of this particular book, it does not impact my rating at all.  In this case, it greatly added to the suspense.  This really was an exceptional, “wow” book and one I shan’t soon forget. I cannot wait for Ms. Bolton's next book

My True, Personal Ghost Story

Cindy Maher and I were exchanging emails about the sad loss of pets and sometimes feeling their spirits were still around.  I mentioned I had lived with a human ghost and she asked to hear about it.  Once I sent her the following story, she suggested I post it here.  So, on the proviso that she will also share her story with us, here it is.

My True, Personal Ghost Story

My former husband and I were looking for a house to rent.  From the moment I saw the turn-of-the-century, Craftsman-style house sitting on a hill--literally before I’d even stepped from the car--I knew I had to live there.  Almost from the day we moved in, I would find kitchen cabinet doors open and hear the open and close of the door to the outside side deck which connected the breakfast room to the back bedroom.  I would often sense someone in the kitchen.  I told Richard, we had a ghost.  Happily, he didn’t immediately send me to therapy.  After about a week, Richard came to me and said “we have a ghost.” 

I was in the kitchen one day and felt him--somehow, I knew it was a him. I just said “okay, here’s the deal.  I don’t mind you being here, but no funny stuff.  No more cupboards being left open, no knives floating around, nothing moving.  When I know you are here, I’m happy to say hello. I’ve no problem with you being here.”  After that, the movement stopped and when I felt him there, I’d chat with him.

One day, Richard and I were out in toward the back of our very deep yard.  We were picking plums when we saw our neighbor.  Richard commented that the property must have been beautiful once as you could see where there had been planting beds, paths, and water faucets.  He told us it had been previously owned by an elderly English couple; Fred and Edith Pfeiffer.  They absolutely loved to garden but they fought all the time; yelled at each other constantly.  One Christmas Day, Fred went out under the apple tree in the far back corner of the lot and killed himself with a shotgun.  Richard and I looked at each other; we just knew our ghost was Fred. 

Learning about Fred explained two things.  I only sensed him in the kitchen/breakfast room and the back bedroom.   I never sensed him any further out into the house.  I surmised the back bedroom was where he slept.  He could get to the kitchen via the deck without having to go through the house, which explained hearing the deck door.  We also learned they were very Catholic, so my guess was that he was afraid to cross over having taken his own life.

Richard sometimes had an explosive temper—never physical, just loud and rather frightening.  He would occasionally go off over seemingly small things that were accidental; his brother's girlfriend accidentally chipping the edge of an antique bowl and not telling me, my trying to carry too many items from the car and dropping an expensive bottle of wine; to me, dumb things not worth the extent of his reaction.

Even so, when Richard left me, I didn’t see it coming. The night 3 months after he'd moved out and in spite of our going for counseling, he announced he was filing for divorce and I was devastated.  I went to a friend’s house, sobbed my heart out, came home, and cried some more. Because I had become so physically overheated, I decided to take a shower before going to bed.  The house was so old, poorly insulated, and drafty, so I always kept the door closed to the back bedroom.  When I came out of the bathroom, situated between the two bedrooms, the door to the back bedroom was open.  This was not something Fred had ever done before.

I went to bed and sleep, but during the night awakened and was in that floating state where you know you’re not asleep but you’re not quite awake either.  I sensed someone standing by my bed and a stream of bright energy circling from him to me. I had a sense that I would be okay; the worst pain would be over and although it would still hurt, I would get through it. 

You know that difference you feel between when someone else is in the house but you can’t see or hear them and when you are absolutely alone in a house?  When I woke up in the morning, I knew I was alone and that Fred had left.  My theory is that by helping me with my pain, it allowed him to move on past his. 

It is odd how empty the house felt and how much I missed him as I always felt, during the two years I sensed he was there, that he was looking after me.  A few days later, my landlord’s gardener was there and called to me to see what he had found.  He had been working under the apple tree and found a completely intact green glass hip flask with a metal flip top, indicating how old it was.  He gave it to me, I cleaned it up and have had it ever since.  I figure it was Fred’s way of saying good-bye.

I ended up living in the house for 21 years until the landlord announced he was moving his college-aged kids in.  It was felt to be my safe place and I loved it.  Before I left, but after the house was empty, I went through with burning sage blessing the house, and thanking it for all the years it took care of me. 

I have had other brief experiences with the supernatural; heard the footsteps of one residual ghost and did not enter the hall where a less-than-welcoming presence seemed to exist, but nothing such as my experience with Fred.  Time and my life have moved on but I still have Fred's flask and think of him often. 

So there you are.  Just so I know I'm not alone, please do come and share your personal ghost experiences with me.

ADDENDUM from October 31st, 2020:  This has been a hell of a year, and tonight is not only Halloween, but there is a rare Blue Moon--they only occur approximately every 2.5 years, but it will be 2039 before another appears on Halloween.  In honor of that, my friend, author Brendan DuBois, posted his real-life ghost stories on Facebook, and others followed suit.  With their permission, I have added these to the comments.  Please feel free to add your stories, too.  Enjoy.

Book Covers

I belong to several on-line mystery groups--DorothyL, 4_Mystery_Addicts, Crime_Thru_Time and others. At some point, the discussion always turns to book covers and their impact/influence on the book buyer.

I am probably something of an anomaly in that I almost always know what book I'm going to purchase without ever seeing the cover. I buy books of authors whose past books I've enjoyed, books recommended to me by others, or those for which I've seen a plot summary that appeals to me.

That's not to say I don't appreciate cover art and it's value. As one whose profession is response-generation marketing, I know the importance of visual impact and how little time one has to catch the eye of your targeted market.

Ideally, the cover should be visually compelling and relative to the story. However, when wearing my collector's hat, I also know if I've started a series whose covers display a particularly style of cover art and the publisher changes that style part-way through the series, I am not best pleased.

In reading all the various discussions about covers, I admit to never having found them particularly interesting. So image my surprise when having watched a short video by Phyllis Theroux on creating just the right cover for her book: The Journal Keeper, A Memoir.

Watch and enjoy (copy and paste link into your browser):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKNEsrf4L7E&feature=player_embedded

Now the big question:  Did the book cover and/or video result in me buying the book?  No, it didn't.  However, my love of wing-back chairs did cause me to stop and look at the book and watch the video.  

Perhaps more importantly, the cover resulted in my writing this blog and passing the information on to all of you, who might never have heard of this book otherwise.  Who knows how many of you may buy it?  Word of mouth, or post, as the case may be, is a very powerful thing.

Libraries

The public library in Morris Plains, New Jersey, was right down the hill from where we lived. It was, and still is, located in a converted farmhouse, although without the two back extensions in my time. It was a quiet, cozy space to be and my best friend, Margaret, would hide away in the stacks and read for hours. I loved going by it every day on my way to school, but didn't spend a lot of time there.

My refuge was the school library. I was a volunteer in our school library all though high school, which meant I didn't have to go to home room or study halls. The librarian knew me. She helped me write the best essay of my school career by asking me the right questions to give me focus. She never questioned when I would read books "above my level." Rather, they would often recommend books they thought I might enjoy. I read classics, historicals, a bit of philosophy; I even read the Russians. I am so sorry I can't recall her name.

I hardly ever go to the library any more. Once I left school, I started buying and, more recently, collecting books. Some say I know have my own library. However, I shall always treasure libraries and, in particular, librarians.

Come and share your favorite library with me.

An interview with Tom Schreck

Tom Shreck, a fellow member of the mystery digest DorothyL, is doing a series called "Review the Reviewer" on his website www.tomshreck.com. One of those interviewed is...me. The following are my answer to his questions:

1. What really gets you interested in a mystery?

First and foremost, a great opening. That doesn't mean there can be a great opening sentence and the rest falls flat. I mean an opening sentence or paragraph or chapter that so captivates me, I've no choice but to continue reading.

Second, I read for characters. I don't always have to like them, but there has to be something interesting/appealing/redeeming about them. The strongest example is probably Ken Bruen's character of Jack Taylor. On surface, there is nothing to like about him. However, Bruen's superb writing always leaves me with a feeling of possible redemption.

On a broader level, I look at time and place. While I accept I may be missing out on some very good books, there are just some time periods and geographic setting in which I have no interest as they are ones to which I have no affinity. I'm not a big fan of the new Scandinavian mysteries. In spite of having a Viking ancestor in the 1300s, it's just not a location to which I can connect.

2. What bores the hell out of you?

Obviously anything poorly written, but I am so over serial killers, crooked/dirty law enforcement officers, gratuitous violence, addicts, adulterers, abusive men, too-stupid-to-life characters of either sex, the list goes one. I know all these things exist, but I'm not interested in reading about them.

Product placements and trying to be "current" is something I find both boring and causes me to really question why the author felt it necessary to include them. If an author has any hope of their book standing the test of time, I don't recommend they compare their character to today's heart throb of whom no one will know in two years, or of identifying a designer label known only to the rich and hip.

3. What delights you in a mystery?

I am delighted by humor. I don't mean contrived, visual humor. I mean wry, situational or character-driven humor which is part of the author's voice. I am delighted by an author whose style demands I read passages aloud. I should say while this delights me, it can definitely annoy my friends when I call them saying, "Listen to this!".

4. What cliches would you really like to see go away?

My number one irritant is the use of portents, foreshadowing, and/or cliffhangers. If I never read another, I'll be very happy. I'm not talking about a thread relating to a character which carries from one book to another. That can work as long as it's not a major plot element to that particular book. Any form of the "had she but known" portent will cause me to drop my rating on even the best book. To me, it is the sign of a poor author who feels they need a trick in order to keep you reading. Trust me, if the story is compelling, I'll keep reading.

I am also among those who can't stand when an author kills a pet in order to threaten a character. It has become predictable, is often gratuitous and usually could been accomplished in another way.

A great irritant to me is the current use of real historical figures or well-known fictional characters as detectives. I find it almost denigrating to the real person or insulting to the original author. I don't mind when either of those are used as secondary characters who are true to the original persona.

The last, of which I can think, is prologues. I know it has become common, but I am just not a big fan of prologues.

5. What topics, themes etc would you like to see more of in mysteries?

I don’t read for topics or themes. I may put a book down because of its topic or theme, going back to Question 2, but I can't think of a particularly topic or theme that would cause me to pick a book up. Okay, maybe books relating to Shakespeare, lost manuscripts, archeology or some form of art but the book itself had better be good or it may be the last of that author I read.

6. What mistakes do you think authors make?

The biggest mistake, of which I can think, is not having strong editors. And I mean having both a content and grammatical editor. Every author should have a grammatical editor and any author of a series needs both. The author should also listen to their editor. If the editor says the book is 200 pages too long and drags in the middle, listen to them. Bigger is not necessarily better.

7. Do you write? Would you like to?

No. I am too much of a perfectionist Virgo to ever be a writer. I wrote my first blog yesterday, and that was traumatic. Even answering these questions is difficult. I would spend so much time worrying about the accuracy and correctness of each word, I'd never get past the first sentence.

8. Who are your favorites?

That is such a long list I couldn't possibly list them all, and it changes over time. A few current favorites are Louise Penny, Fred Vargas, Peter Lovesey, Collin Cotterill and Susanne Alleyn. Long time favorites include Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder series, Dick Francis, and Robert B. Parker.

At the end of last year, I did an analysis of that years' reading. I found it very interesting that my reading was an exact split of 50/50 between male and female authors, while 38% of the books were US authors and 61% were non-US, with the year before looking almost the same.

9. Why did you start reviewing? If you really hate a book will you still review it?

I started reviewing for myself in order to keep a record of what authors and books I liked, or didn't like, and why. I then became a reader of manuscripts for Poisoned Pen Press who provided me with some excellent guidelines for writing reviews. That refined my style. I have been the coordinator of The Easy Bay Mystery Readers' Group since 1995 and, each month, would relate some of my reviews to them. That started me emailing all my monthly reviews to the group, as well as posting them on DorothyL and 4_Mystery_Addicts. From there, it has grown. I now post my review on GoodReads, Amazon (US, UK and Canada), and Crime_Thru_Time (for historical mysteries). In addition, I am now a contributing reviewer to Criminal-History.co.uk, and the e-newsletter, Calamity's Corner out of Australia.

I personally buy almost all the books I read. The disadvantage is the impact on my budget. The advantage is being able to be completely honest. There are a few, very few, authors who know they can send me their books and I'll read them. I do receive other books, from authors and/or publishers. Some I read; many I don’t. I do review every book I read, even those I don't finish.

I work very hard to provide a fair, honest review. I never criticize the author. But I think it is important to provide an honest opinion--and it is my opinion--whether positive or negative, as long as I clearly explain why I feel as I do.

What I find most interesting, and most supportive of that decision, is when there is a book about which it seems everyone is raving. I read the book and find I disagree. When I post my review, I almost always receive emails from people thanking me saying they had wondered what they were missing or whether they were the only one who felt differently.


I love books. I love reading them, collecting them, seeing them on my shelves, having them on my Kindle. I sincerely thank all the authors and all the book sellers who so enrich my life.

All my reviews can be seen on GoodReads at: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/250195

Similarities

I read a lot. After while, I start noticing similarities that might not be apparent to others.

The other day, I read "Girl in a Red Tunic" by Alys Clare. This is a series set in 1100's England. There are two protagonists; Abbess Helewise and Josse d'Acquin and, while both characters are in each book, they alternate as to who has the principal focus.

I wasn't far into this current book when it struck me that the series style is a Middle Ages version of S.J. Rozan's Lydia Chin/Bill Smith books. To be correct, I should state this the other way around as, I believe, the Clare series started prior to the Rozan.

What I like about both series is that there is not an intimate relationship between either set of protagonists, although some of us are holding out hope for Bill and Lydia. In each pairing, the characters come from very different backgrounds, yet have become friends and are always there for each other. And isn't that what real friendship is about.

I am certain there are many other series that reflect this same model. Come on in and let me know your favorites.