I was a.w.o.l from blogland yesterday, just too darned tired. I’m so damned happy it’s Friday!! I’m skipping out of here early to get my hair done, then dinner and a movie (Constantine) tonight.
I had to put Ghoul aside for a bit to read Mary Janice Davidson's latest "Hello Gorgeous". It's a fast read, only 200 pages (of large font and mostly dialogue), and filled with her usual humor. I tried her first ‘Undead’ book, but it didn’t work for me—too frenetic, and got in the way of me bonding with the h/H. Bonding with the main character(s) is a deal breaker—along with not jiving with ‘voice’ — for me as a writer and reader. If the bond isn’t there I’m gone. So far this ‘light’ book is exactly what I need to counteract some of the stress I’ve been dealing with lately. The book is a keeper, I'll have to dig up, out of the TBR pile, the two other (non-undead) books I have of hers (that alternate history one in Alaska, and the Undercover double-novella)
I think I will finally be writing again this week-end. Odil feels *real* to me now, I can see his walk, the way he moves, his expressions. I can hear his voice. There’s still stuff to nail down, but that will happen as I write. He’s like a movie running through my head now. And, duh, I gave him a bit more GMC for that scene I was stuck on. :-P
Next thing, I’m ruminating over are the subplots. I don't want the ‘villain’ to walk onto the page and have the reader know immediately s/he is the one, (This is my first attempt at a ‘mystery’ subplot), so I’m trying to get my cast of thousands whittled down to manageable (don’t want the ‘romance’ to be overshadowed), while still leaving enough suspects. And I’m exploring their back-stories, motivations, and what will/could throw suspicion on them (everyone’s is guilty of something, right? g)
Sylvia and Alison have been talking about storyteller vs writer. I’m a little of both. I love the magic and fun of getting caught up in the unfolding of the story, the unexpected twists and turns, the emotion and laughter, and memories it can trigger. But I’m also in love with language, the rhythm or cadence, and the ways in which you can play with words. Reading this blog isn’t quite representative of my writing. I far more careless here. And even the excerpts I’ve posted have only shown the more ‘fun’ side of my voice, rather than the lyrical aspects.
Well, that’s it for today, I probably won’t check in again till tomorrow. Hope everyone has a Really Good Friday!
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2 comments:
I have MJD's Undead and Unemployed. That's the only one hers I've read though. I'm starting to think I should check out some of her others.
Have a good day!
How was her U&U for you? On one hand I enjoyed Hello Gorgeous enough to wonder if I'd been a tad hasty in my judgement of U&U, but, on the other hand, I found the characters/characterization in HG fairly shallow/under-developed, and didn't really admire the h (at times found her a bit trying). I think the things I didn't like in HG are bigger issues in U&U. :-( Hello Gorgeous strengths lies in it being a really enjoyable, fast paced roller-coaster of a 'caper', with lot's of wit and a couple of brief, but really *searing* love scenes. Great stuff, if that's what you're in the mood for. The price tag ($20 for trade size, 200 pages, big font) was a bit of a pinch, but I can't honestly say I feel gypped, since I throughly enjoyed it. The book was the equivalent of a big summer block-buster movie. Not a whole lot of substance, but mucho fun. :-)
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