Plum Spooky, by Janet Evanovich

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Cover ImageFinished 2-13-09, rating 3.5/5, mystery, pub. 2009

Elmer came back to the table, and Grandma trotted in with coffee and half an apple pie.  She served the coffee and pie, and Elmer reached for the cream and farted.

Broomph!

Flames shot out of Elmer’s ass, set his pants on fire, and ignited the upholstered seat on the cherrywood side chair.  Elmer jumped up and dropped his pants, drawers and all.

“Holy crap,” my father said.  “That smells like the slaughterhouse burned down.”

Chapter 22

This Between-the Numbers Stephanie Plum novel was a welcome surprise.  I have complained about the first two being too short in length, humor, and plot, but this one was fun and funny.  And it was just long enough to make it feel worth my time.

Diesel, the mysterious, world travelling, superpower infused hunk of a bounty hunter, is back in Stephanie’s life and bed.  The two are searching for geeky nerd Munch and ice-cold murderer Wulf.  The chase leads them to New Jersey’s Pine Barrens where any number of kooky characters live.  Carl the monkey joins them and spends most of the book playing video games and flipping people his middle finger. 

Diesel is front and center and Lula is spandex deep in her wedding plans to Tank.  Both Ranger and Joe were minor players, but I was okay with that, because I do get tired of Stephanie being in love with them both.   It did maybe lack a little romance.

This book had a farting theme.  Lula sneezed and farted most of the way through and then Elmer the Fire Farter takes the stage to catch things on fire with his rear end gas. 

And there were losts of monkeys.  I actually kind of liked Carl in this one.  There was a scene with him eating mashed potatoes at the Plum dining room table that had me laughing out loud. 

I liked this book more than some of the more recent Stephanie Plum books and would recommend it to anyone who likes a little bit of wacky in their mysteries.  Or anyone who likes monkeys.  And farts.

 

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Books & other thoughts

Starts with “H”

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These meme has been making the rounds and I finally decided to participate, so Heather at Book Addiction assigned me the letter H.  I am to list 10 things that I love that begin with the letter H.  Not too hard, right?  Well, let’s see…

1.  My Husband Jason is #1, of course!  He is my best friend and makes me strive to be a better person.  And he’s pretty much the best husband ever.

2. Hugs. Love ’em.  If I’ve met you more than once and haven’t seen you in awhile – expect a hug.

3. Home.  I love the home Jason and I have made for ourselves and I love going home to my parents’ house.  When I say home I could be talking about either one of these places. 

4. Holidays.  Thanksgiving is my favorite, but I enjoy Christmas and New Year’s as well.  I think Veteran’s Day is important to recognize and all veterans should get this day off work, no matter what their job is!

5. Hot tub.  Jason surprised me by buying a hot tub a few years back – while I was out of town.  I thought it was an unnecessary extravagance.  Now I think it is a de-stress necessity.

6. Hair color products.  I had gray hairs around 20, so hair color has been an important part of my life for awhile.  Actually, I’m going in today for color and highlights.

7. Herbal Tea.  This is pretty much the only healthy liquid I like (since coffee, Diet Coke, and wine are not considered healthy in excess).  Right now I’m loving Jasmine white tea.

8. Honesty.  Don’t tell me my butt looks fat in my favorite jeans, but everything else I can handle (and appreciate!).

9. Hats.  I wish I had more.  I own more handbags, but I wish I had more hats!

10. Half-Priced Books and any other bookstore.  I’m trying hard to avoid them because I need to read what I already own, but I’m not that successful!

Well, that wasn’t too bad.  If any of you want to try it  leave a comment and I can assign you a letter!

Noble’s Book of Writing Blunders, by William Noble

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Noble's Book of Writing Blunders: And How to Avoid ThemFinished 2-10-09, rating 4, writing reference, pub. 2006

But if your confidence is bursting and you are sure your new approach will work, then go for it.  Never, ever, assume that you must march to the same beat as everyone else.

Think bravely!

Act honestly!

Write imaginatively!

And make your own rules.

Last lines of the book

When you read interviews with published authors the advice that is most often given is to write.  So, I have always viewed writing instruction books with a skeptical eye.  But, Writer’s Digest has all of these writing books on clearance and I decided to pick some up cheap.  This is the second one I’ve read and it was a good read. 

Each of the 29 blunders was covered in a chapter of 4-7 pages, which was long enough to address the issue and not too long as to make me close the book and not pick it back up.  These blunders were basic, but the way he wrote about each one took it one step further.  He didn’t only address point of view, slang, cliques, but also how each was perceived  by the reader.  Many of the blunders in this book he blames on laziness by the writer, but I also think a beginning writer faces the challenges he lays out.  Some of the chapters overlapped in content, but, for the most part, it was good. 

This book is written for the fiction writer.  He differentiates between the fiction narrative and journalism and how the rules for one are not the same as for the other.  These blunders are all about building tension in your story and keeping the reader invested in your book.

There are so many blunders that it is somewhat overwhelming.  If I was trying to remember everything in this book I wouldn’t be able to write a word!  That is why I quoted what I did at the top, because it was a great way to end the book.  I think my writing will be better off for having read this book.

Teaser Tuesday

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 teasertuesdays3

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

  • Grab your current read.
    Let the book fall open to a random page.
    Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
    You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given    !
    Please avoid spoilers!

“I live in a one-bedroom, one-bath, unremarkable apartment in a three-story brick box of a building on the outskirts of Trenton, New Jersey.  Usually I live alone with my hamster Rex, but at eight-thirty this morning, my roommate list was enlarged to include Carl the Monkey.”

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich, page 1

 

Tease me!

Scrambled Lovers Quiz

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Here’s how to play…Identify the fictional couples and leave a comment with the #, the names and the book or story that immortalized  them and I’ll cross it off the list. No Googling, that’s cheating and no fun!  I confess that #10 is a personal fave and most probably won’t know it. 

Unscramble these fictional lovers.

1. HLOOLET & EMDEONDSA  OTHELLO & DESDEMONA  (Othello), Mark

2. ZWIIIMTALFL  CRDYA & ZTHBLIEAE  TNTBNEE  FITZWILLIAM DARCY & ELIZABETH BENNETT (Pride & Prejudice), Aidan

3. TLESCART  RAAOH & TETHR  RETLUB  SCARLETT O”HARA & RHETT BUTLER (Gone with the Wind), Aidan

4. CTFAFHELIH & THREENICA  HEATHCLIFF & CATHERINE (Wuthering Heights), Aidan

5. OMROE & LTUJIE ROMEO & JULIET (Romeo & Juliet), Kathy

6. MEAJS  GUONY & LADEL  OUNYG  JAMES & DELLA YOUNG (Gift of the Magi), Bumbles

7. DDEARW  OSTREERCH & JEAN  YEER  EDWARD ROCHESTER & JANE EYRE (Jane Eyre), Bumbles

8. VIELRO  RARETTB & FREEJINN  LIVERICAL — OLIVER BARRET & JENNIFER CAVILERI (Love Story)

9. WEARDD & LEBAL EDWARD & BELLA (TWILIGHT series), Kathy

10. RECAIL  DANDRALL & MAIJE  SAFERR  CLAIRE RANDALL & JAMIE FRASER (Outlander series). Jenny

Scarlet Moon, by Debbie Viguie

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Cover ImageFinished 2-8-09, rating 3.5/5, ya fiction, pub. 2004

“Darling child, what you do does not dictate who you are.  Clothed in furs and jewels you would be the same person as you are when covered with ash and soot.”

“Do you really think that’s true?”

“I know it is.  I loved your grandfather, and we were very different people.  In loving him, though, and marrying him, I didn’t lose myself.  Rather, I gained something I had long been in want of.  Love makes you more than what you are, not less…”

This slim youg adult novel is the retelling of the classic Little Red Riding Hood story and I was enchanted.  Ruth was attacked by a wolf in the woods as a child and saved by her brother, Stephen, when he attacks and wounds the wolf.  Ruth heals, but carries the wounds from the wolf into adulthood.  Her brother and cousin, Peter, go off to fight in Jerusalem and Ruth is left to help her father as a blacksmith.  She makes frequent trips to her Grandmother in the woods and learns from her the power of healing and an enlightened way of looking at the world.

Nine years after the wolf attack Peter returns home from fighting without Stephen and Ruth is heartbroken.  Even Peter’s spirit seems to be broken. Then one day Earl William walks into her life and everything changes.  Ruth suddenly feels like a woman.  Except that William is harboring a mysterious and dangerous secret that could devastate her.

I have never been a huge fan of the Red Riding Hood tale, but I really liked this adaptation.  Ruth is a strong and brave young lady and a perfect heroine for young adults (hormones included!).  The parts of the story told from William’s perspective were chilling and compelling. 

This is one of several fairy tale books from Viguie and I plan on reading more.  It was a pleasant way to spend a few hours!

The Stone Monkey, by Jeffery Deaver

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Cover ImageFinished 2-5-09, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2002

Lincoln Rhyme series #4

“We’re staying in Mahattan.”

Leaning closer so that Mah could not hear, Chang whispered, “Don’t be a fool. The Ghost will find you.”

Wu laughed.  Don’t worry about him.”

“Don’t worry?  He just killed a dozen of our friends.”  Gambling with Wu’s own life was one thing but to risk his wife and children was unthinkable.

Quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme is back in New York awaiting the risky surgery that may grant him limited movement.  His partner in crime and in love, Amelia Sachs, is against the surgery, but is trying to come to terms with it because it is what Lincoln wants.  They are both thrust into an INS investigation trying to locate a snakehead (smuggler of desperate Chinese people into the US unlawfully) in the middle of the ocean.  The Ghost is the most feared of all snakeheads because of his ruthlessness with the human cargo on his ships and because of his high connections which enable him to escape prosecution.

The Coast Guard locate the ship, but before they can board the Ghost blows it up.  He survives and kills anyone else who has lived, but two families escape him.  They escape into New York City where the Ghost hunts them down.  A Chinese detective proves very helpful to Rhyme with insight and friendship and the race is on to find the illegal immigrants before the Ghost does.

This Lincoln Rhyme installment was a different kind of book than the first three.  There was so much information about the Chines and Chinese American cultures that the story moved slower, at least the first half.  It was still really good, but I was able to put it down, which did not happen with the first three.  Also, there was less emphasis on Lincoln, which is okay, but I happen to love watching him outsmart everyone. 

I did like his close  friendship with the Chinese detective.  And Lincoln and Amelia’s relationship keeps moving forward, which I love.  Although you don’t have to read the series in order I think it is rewarding to see this relationship develop from the beginning.

This book has all the twists and turns and surprises that I’ve come to expect from Deaver.  He keeps you guessing-even when you didn’t know there was guessing to be done! 

I recommend this thriller especially if you are interested in the Chinese American culture.

We have a winner…

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I want to thank you all for stopping by and entering your name for a free Copy of Inside Out Girl by Tish Cohen.  Tish tells me that this book has just hit the Canadian Globe & Mail bestseller list.  Congrats, Tish!

Cover Image And the winner is…Wrighty!

Craft & Technique, by Paul Raymond Martin

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Finished 2-2-09, rating 3/5, writing instruction, pub. 2005

High tension dialogue calls for fewer beats (less stage business).  More beats will elongate a scene, as when characters get to know each other  over dinner.

Never resolve one conflict before presenting another.

The first idea that occurs to you for resolving a plot problem will be the first to occur to the reader as well.  So think again.

In fiction, as in real life, what is suggested is far more powerful than what is revealed.

This is just a sampling of the tips you will receive in this small book.  It looks and reads like the gift book Life”e Little Instruction Book, but is chock full of advice for writers, most specifically fiction writers.  There are more than 300 thoughtful reasons to buy this book.  It covers characterization, dialogue, plot, fiction techniques, style and voice.

There was no groundbreaking insight here, but I did enjoy it and think it worthwhile.  The suggestions were good and forced you to look at your own work and possibly find weak spots.  Some of what was covered I’ve read other places, but in this format it worked to jump start my thoughts and ideas, instead of making me want to take notes.

Included are quotes from established and diverse authors such as Mark Twain, David Sedaris,Virginia Woolf, Elmore Leonard, Vladimir Nabokov, and James Michener.  There were also a few exercises sprinkled throughout and some solid suggestions for name choice and editing dialogue.

This is not an instruction book.  It is more of an inspiration book.  I read the whole thing in a hour or so and came away with a few new insights and ideas and a renewed excitement to start writing.

This is a wonderful gift for the writer in your life.  It is published by Writer’s Digest Books and is on sale -50% off- for $4.50 (link here), which is a good deal for a thoughtful gift.

Teaser Tuesdays

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teasertuesdays2TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
  • Please avoid spoilers!

 

“In China, doctors are detectives of the soul.”  Then Sung leaned forward and said, “Hold your arm out.”

from The Stone Monkey by Jeffery Deaver, Chapter 19 

Go ahead.  Tease me.