Hi folks. It’s been a heck of a couple of weeks. I know I haven’t been around much – after all this time, the nasty bug COVID finally caught me. And it has been a challenge just to get out of bed. So not much got done, including this blog. But hopefully, starting Monday, that will change. Bear with me as my web designer does some things around here over the months of January/February. Hopefully, we’ll make this a better site for everyone.

Meanwhile, I hope you have a wonderful New Year! Here’s to better times in 2024!

Birthdays: Edwin Abbot Abbott (1838), Theodore (TF) Powys (1875), Hortense Calisher (1911), David Levine (1926), David Markson (1927), Abdulrazak Gurnah (1948), Kate Atkinson (1951), Peter May (1951), Sandra Cisneros (1954), Nalo Hopkinson (1960)

Abdulrazak Gurnah won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Quotes: “Why do cats sleep so much? Perhaps they’ve been trusted with some major cosmic task, an essential law of physics – such as: if there are less than five million cats sleeping at any one time the world will stop spinning.” – Kate Atkinson

“First publication is a pure, carnal leap into that dark which one dreams is life.” – Hortense Calisher

Tip: If writing genre fiction, determine what settings are common to your genre. E.g., science fiction – space ships, space stations, other worlds. Fantasy – medieval villages, woods. Cozy mysteries – usually small towns. This isn’t always true—far from it—but it is more common.

Jumpstart: She was driving on the highway, boxed in by trucks and bigger cars, her hands making imprints on the steering wheel. She hated this road, but she had no choice. Not if she was to get there on time…

PEPPERMINT COOKIE MURDER by Trixie Silvertale – This was a fun read – and a decent cozy mystery. But my favorite character had to be the arctic fox, Artikoa. Especially the way he helps her navigate the human world (money, slang, accounts, etc.). And the recipes at the end for the cookies? Yum!!!

FLAME AND SHADOW by AK Nevermore – Wow. This was not the kind of story I usually read, but once I got started, I could not put it down. The writing is witty, snarky, and comes across as if the character is sitting there in the room with you, just telling you about what happened. The world building is exceptional — though I will admit, I got a bit confused at times with the twists and turns of the plot. But the storytelling is amazing. And that makes any confusion worthwhile.

Birthdays: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807), Ford Madox Ford (1873), Erskine Caldwell (1903), Penelope Fitzgerald (1916), William Safire (1929), John Kennedy Toole (1937), Jack Chalker (1944), Jacqueline Wilson (1945)

Ford Madox Ford is best known for his book “The Good Soldier”

John Kennedy Toole won the Pulitzer Prize for his book “A Confederacy of Dunces”

Quote: “I have this belief that children become readers before they can read. They become hooked on books because they were read aloud to as a child.” – Jacqueline Wilson

“For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been.’” – John Greenleaf Whittier

“If you re-read your work, you can find on re-reading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by re-reading and editing.” – William Safire

Tip: Make each character unique. If you were to line up your characters next to each other, could you tell them apart? You should be able to. And so should your readers.

Jumpstart: The funeral was at high noon. It seemed appropriate somehow…

Birthdays: Jane Austen (1775), George Santayana (1863), Marie Hall Ets (1895), Noel Coward (1899), V.S. Pritchett (1900), Margaret Mead (1901), Arthur C. Clarke (1917), Nicolas Sidjakov (1924), Philip K. Dick (1928), Bill Brittain (1930), E.B. Lewis (1956), Sylvia Brownrigg (1964),

George Santayana is known for aphorisms such as “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” And “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

Marie Hall Ets won the 1960 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations of “Nine Days to Christmas”

Arthur C. Clarke is best known for his science fiction that sometimes led to real-world scientific discoveries.

Nicolas Sidjakov won the 1961 Caldecott Medal for “Baboushka and the Three Kings”

Bill Brittain’s book “The Wish Giver” was a 1984 Newbery Honor book.

E.B. Lewis was a two-time winner of the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations.

Quotes: Jane Austen: There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.

Margaret Mead: Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.

Arthur C. Clarke: Any sufficiently advance technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Philip K. Dick: I am basically analytical, not creative; my writing is simply a creative way of handling analysis.

Tip: When writing dialogue among multiple characters, be sure to use tags and action to show who is talking.

Jumpstart: “When would you like to go to?”

“What do you mean ‘when’”?

“I mean…this is a time machine. So…when do you want to go to?”

I had to think hard, but knew there was only one choice…

TO SKETCH A KILLER by Caryl Janis – The characters are believable and realistic, as are the events on the street in this mystery story. And there was one thread left kind of dangling that leads me to believe there might be other stories following this one. If there are, I will be looking for them.

DRAGGED TO THE WEDDING by Andrew Grey – This is a hilarious contemporary gay romance. James needs a date to his sister’s wedding in Montana. Because he hasn’t come out to his family, his date needs to be a woman. His best friend, Randy, introduces him to Daniella—who gets James’ heart thumping, but he’s never been drawn to women. It confused him until he discovers Daniella is Daniel who is also LaLa Bonafonte, a premier drag queen. And the fun begins.

PROMISE ME CHRISTMAS by Gini Rifkin – This is a medieval romance, and the author obviously did her research, but she doesn’t hit you over the head with the details. The world building is excellent and puts you there in the keep with the characters. This is a different kind of romance in that the main characters are already married, but with war literally on their doorstep, the two are often kept apart while longing for each other. But he promises he will be with her at Christmas—although things don’t look good for that happening.

TO LOVE OR PROTECT by Faith V. Smith – If you like a lot of heat, vampires, and a bit of suspense, definitely pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed.

REMNANTS OF FIRE by Alana Lorens – Definitely recommended. This one is different from the usual vampire story but has an ending that satisfies. Would I read more by this author? Again, definitely.