Summer Reads

I was surprised the first time I heard that book sales dropped in the summer.

Really?

I remembered that as a kid, I'd spend long afternoons transported to other places, introduced to other ideas, all summer long through library books. Summer, to me, was prime time for reading.

As an adult, it all kind of seemed the same. Who in the world would stop reading just because it was summer?

The rationale is that people spend more time doing other things in the summer. Gardening, golf, pool, beach, hiking, whatever. Really? Enough to make that big of a difference?

So I'm asking, what are you hoping to read this summer?

Opening my Kindle (which doesn't come close to completing the books on my TBR list) I find these intriguing titles:

THE BONE POLISHER by Timothy Hallinan ( I can't believe there's a Hallinan out there I haven't read);

A few Michael Connelly's (ditto what I said about Hallinan);

THE SHOP and ICON by J Carson Black;

WHOSE HAND? by Judith Yates Borger (I enjoyed WHERE'S BILLIE? so much I can't believe I haven't read this one yet);

Something from J.D. Rhoades, who I've truly enjoyed;

And OMG… just found a Lisa Gardner in my cloud!!!

Then there's the new Alafair Burke and Zoe Sharp and oh-so-many more.

So really, what's on your list for this summer? Are you reading less?



It's all better with friends.

ARE YOU A WRITER OR WHAT?

First, a bit of a rant and then on to what I want to talk about.

I'm reading a novel right now by a best-selling author of many books. This is the first one I've read of hers. The writing is good, I'm pretty sure the story will eventually be good, but I'm so bored with the relationship between these two characters I can hardly stand it.

They have a history. I get it. But every time the storyline seems to be moving to THE STORY, their history is mentioned yet again. I get it already. I'm beginning to believe that this rather thick paperback could have used some serious editing. And frankly, I'm a little concerned about how many scenes might be incorporated later because "sex sells" even if it's gratuitous and has zilch to do with the story. (There has been none up until this point, but it sure looks like the groundwork is being laid . . . so to speak.)

End of rant.


So now . . . are you a writer or what?


I included something from James Scott Bell's The Art of War for Writers a while ago about acting as if you are a successful writer. Not in any kind of prima donna way, but with assurance and confidence. You can read that post here.

In the August 2010 issue of The Writer (a magazine I can usually always get something out of), there's an article where several top-notch authors share the best advice about writing that ever came their way. The price of the issue is worth this article alone.

I've picked one to talk about because I think it's important (and have recently discovered Alafair Burke). Ms. Burke tells readers that the best advice she ever got was to think of herself as a writer. Period.

If you don't treat yourself seriously, who will? I know of a wonderful best-selling inspirational author whose husband still thinks of them as "those little stories" his wife writes. Um . . . what?

We can begin to feel silly if we're not agented or published or selling screenplays or having people write us enormous checks for doing what we love to do. We get uncomfortable seeing ourselves as writers because we're a little lower on the writing pyramid, and it's a long way up. So, we let other things mess us up. We feel guilty for the time and effort this job requires.

My friend and critique partner, Kelly Irvin, once commented about how difficult it was for her to spit out the words that she was a writer. Her first book was published this year, with a second contract from the same publisher, and a two-book contract just in from another publisher. I think, for Kelly, it's a little more real now.

But what about the rest of us?

Repeat after me, "I am a writer. I am a writer. I am a writer."

(By the way, Sue Grafton said the best advice she ever received was, "Park your butt at your desk and get on with it.")




CR: Aha! You thought I might slip. Nope. No way. Unless I decide I really, really like this book, it's not gonna show up here.

It's all better with friends.

Female Suspense Authors . . . Add Two

I'm bustin' my buttons with excitement. It's kind of like when you learn a new word and suddenly notice that word everywhere you look.

(Okay, yeah. The picture has nothing to do with buttons. But I promise you, if you go to Morgue File and put in "buttons" this little fella is in the pile of pics to choose from. And I couldn't say no.)

A few weeks ago, I shared a conversation my friend Leslie and I had regarding top-notch female suspense writers and the apparent lack thereof. Like magic, I've found two to add to a list I hope to see growing as the year goes by.

These women should be household names. Seriously.

I recently completed Angel's Tip by Alafair Burke. It was terrific. A strong—but still vulnerable—female protag in a solidly written suspense involving a serial killer . . . what more could one hope for? In fact, based on that read, I've preordered her new one, 212.

Today at lunch I opened the cover of The Bone Chamber by Robin Burcell. I only had time to read one chapter, but I know this is going to be a fabulous story filled with high energy, suspense, and authoritative juice. In only a few short pages, I'm wowed.

The connective tissue, aside from fantastic writing, is the flavor they each lay down in their stories. Authenticity. It doesn't come from detailed, textbook data strewn across the page, but rather from subtle imagery and assumption that the reader is neither a dummy or a frustrated student of minutia. They don't have to show me how much they know, because by achieving a brilliant balance I trust them both implicitly. They don't allow facts to get in the way of the story.

I'm hooked.




It's all better with friends.