A Shout-Out for URGENT CARE by CJ Lyons

CJ Lyons is the real deal, and Urgent Care delivers the goods. (Some times cliches are a good thing.)


I'm tired of the "old format" book reviews, so indulge me over a cup of coffee, or glass of wine, while we talk about Urgent Care. 


This is CJ's third medical suspense and her background (pediatric emergency medicine, crisis counseling, victim advocate, flight physician, etc.) brings just the right touch of realism to the telling of a great tale.


(This is the part where anything resembling a book review turns more into a chat.) 


I wish I'd had a dramatic career before turning to writing. Mortgage banking is easy to demonize but kind of hard to make exciting. And selling Mary Kay? Uh-huh, yeah. A lot of story fodder there. (Where is that sarcasm font when I need it?)


CJ has developed four different, strong women in Urgent Care. I'd be proud to be a friend to any one of them. In each character, there's a trait that if I can't identify personally with, I can find sympathy for. 


And get this. One of her critique partners is Margie Lawson. Zowie. No wonder this was such a good read! 


My guess is that Dr. Lyons won't be available in mass market format much longer. She'll make the jump to trade and than hard cover and continue to build her readership. Oh . . . and Urgent Care is also available on Kindle. Wahoo!




(OT: Can any of you Blogger folks tell me where the spell checker for this new version can be found?)




CR: Jugglers at the Border by Robert Fate


It's all better with friends.

Open for Criticism

I just read where occasionally (and recently) a publisher will post an author's unedited manuscript online for a limited time and ask for reader's input. The one that occurred recently was further developed and ultimately published.

Years ago, Lisa Scottoline's publisher posted her first chapter online and asked for feedback. Apparently the writing was so bad it was difficult to figure out the plot. By the time the book was released, it was wonderful. ***read comments to learn what REALLY happened. ***

My first thought was wonder at the courage of the author, then curiosity as to the scope and quality of feedback. Finally, my wonder centered (and continues to center) around the question of how in the world those lousy manuscripts made it as far as they did.

Doesn't seem fair, does it?

CR: Urgent Care by CJ Lyons.

It's all better with friends. 

Writing Software

Stop the presses!!!!!!!


My favorite (to date) software program for writers is Scrivener. I acquired a Mac because I wanted Scriv. I've never regretted it and am now a solid Mac convert.


Scrivener is now actually contemplating coming up with a program for PCs. So, if you don't have a Mac, but have a high desire for Scrivener, let them know you support their effort.


Today, I bought something else. To be honest, I haven't cracked it open yet beyond making sure it loaded. But I can sense potential. And anything from Randy Ingermanson (the Snowflake Guy) is gonna be backed by integrity and value.


This software program will be for sale at a $100 price point. And I think Randy will get that price. But between now and Friday, he's selling it for $20. Yep, that's right. An 80% discount. Randy is a marketing guru, so I'm thinking he's betting on word of mouth from people who give it a try.


By the way, it will work on either Mac or PC. 


Disclosure: I don't get squat if you buy this. But if it ends up being of value to you? I get a warm fuzzy. I collect those.




CR: Urgent Care by CJ Lyons.


It's all better with friends.

Pad Shrug Clench

Who knew a simple question would unleash such passion? Followed by fear? Followed by downright silliness?

Here are some comments people (mostly writers) made when I asked the DorothyL group:

As a reader, do you find repetitious words and phrases in books drive you up a wall?

And as a writer, have you discovered you've fallen victim to using something that worked great one time over and over?

Here are some of the responses:

• padded barefoot
• shrugged shoulders (what other body part can be shrugged?) Well, darn it, I have some ideas. . . .
• eyes following and bouncing around
• body parts doing independent things . . . feet carried him, moved him, or otherwise shifted his position
• frisson of fear, or frisson of delight
• repetitive use of "gaze"
• getting peeved over this literary device. It's called metonymy and it's meant to be used. I admit I kind of like this position . . .
• shrugging in and out of garments
• tossing of garments and footwear
• clenched jaws, teeth and fists

The concept of floating body parts took on a life of its own.

So, I'm thinking that one of the things we want our early readers to watch for is overuse of our own pet words and phrases, and blatant, morbid positioning of body parts. Although I don't have a huge problem with some of these ("eyes cutting to the door", for example), I wouldn't want to use that description more than once in a manuscript.

CR: Urgent Care by CJ Lyons.

It's all better with friends.

Book Review: GREEN by Ted Dekker

Green is the fourth book, or the first, depending on how you look at Ted Dekker's Circle series. Actually, it says "Book Zero" on the jacket, but since I'd already read Black, Red, and White, to me it's the fourth.

Confused? Don't be. Because of the way they're written, you can start with either Green or Black and be right on target. They do indeed, form an intriguing circle. My preference however, is just the order I read them. B-R-W and ending with Green.

The science fiction/fantasy/allegory series revolves (pun intended) around a man by the name of Thomas Hunter who finds himself living in two worlds. One in present time, and one more than two thousand years in the future. Both worlds are in serious jeopardy of collapsing.

I read the first three novels immediately upon their back-to-back-to-back publication (a feat in and of itself) in 2004. Dekker has done such a masterful job in creating these characters and storyworlds that everything from the previous three books came back easily.

Action, suspense, intrigue and fantasy mark this series as underscores for man's desire to find something to believe in. For our need to find a power that lifts us and sustains us. To become better than who we are.

Dekker weaves theology into deft storytelling, creating a familiar landscape for people who believe in God, as well as a thrill ride of adventure for anyone who might pick them up and read with absolutely no background in Christianity at all.

To see a well-developed trailer, visit Ted's website, or go directly to it here.

Highly recommended.

CR: Urgent Care by CJ Lyons.

It's all better with friends.

How Much is Too Much?

Like most writers, I can get stuck on a word or a phrase and use it multiple times without recognizing what I'm doing.

I'm not talking about "ick" words: that, just, only, it, as, was, had, been . . . you know which ones.

"Fisted" is a cool word that is unusual enough that one use in a book is brilliant. Use it twice and I begin to take a closer look at the author's ability to evolve.

"Sigh" I'm not so sure about. It's almost a word I glance over without it registering. One of my writing partners suggested I do a search and find out how many times I use it. True, I'd used it twice in the two chapters I'd just submitted for critique, but I'd only used it five times in the entire manuscript.

A friend of mine discovered, after her book was on the shelves, that she'd used the phrase "bear of a man" way too often.

How much is too much?

As a writer, have you caught yourself (or more likely been caught) using a word or phrase more than you should?

As a reader, are there words that make you cringe?

CR: I'll be cracking the cover of Urgent Care by CJ Lyons tonight.

It's all better with friends.

Men of Mystery

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The image of this undeniably great-looking rooster came up on Morgue File when I entered the word "handsome" in the search box. I'm a writer. I can figure out why this belongs. Right?

On one of the writer/reader loops I enjoy (DorothyL), we've been having a fun discussion on who people think the best looking male writers are.

A friend on that loop (Jenny Milchman) and I diverted with stunning ease to fictional characters. We're both in agreement that Lee Child's Jack Reacher is quite the hunk (she describes him as looking a bit like his creator, except bigger and broader with rougher, less refined features).

I'm kind of angling toward Frank Quinn, John Lutz's detective in his novels. I see Quinn as broad shouldered, hair a bit unruly, on the quiet side. He's uncomfortable in a tux, but looks like they were made with him in mind. I think, to me, he's more attractive because he's looking for one woman to share his life. Whether he knows it or not.

Do you have a fictional man of mystery that gives you a bit of a thrill?

Pray tell!

CR: Green by Ted Dekker.

It's all better with friends.