There's lots of Christmas music out there. There are songs that lend themselves to the 4th of July. Lord knows there's a million songs that work for Valentine's Day. There aren't many that make me think of Halloween. This one comes close. (Actually, it makes me think of scary stories around a campfire.) If I'm in the right frame of mind, this song actually gives me goosebumps.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
Thursday Writing Quote Prempted ~ Mark Twain
Election day is coming up, so instead of a writing quote, I thought these words from Mark Twain might be appropriate.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect. ~ Mark Twain
Tuesday Teaser ~ No Second Chance
I adore Harlan Coben's books, so when No Second Chance
went on sale at Amazon, I snatched it up (even though I already own it in paper.) And there it is, sitting on my kindle, begging for a reread. So of course, I succumbed.
Blurb:
Marc Seidman awakens to find himself in an ICU, hooked up to an IV, his head swathed in bandages. Twelve days earlier, he had an enviable life as a successful surgeon, living in a peaceful suburban neighborhood with his beautiful wife and a baby he adored. Now he lies in a hospital bed, shot by an unseen assailant. His wife has been killed, and his six-month-old daughter, Tara, has vanished. But just when his world seems forever shattered, something arrives to give Marc new hope: a ransom note.
We are watching. If you contact the authorities, you will never see your daughter again. There will be no second chance.
The note is chilling, but Marc sees only one thing-he has the chance to save his daughter. He can't talk to the police or the FBI. He doesn't know whom he can trust. And now the authorities are closing in on a new suspect: Marc himself. Mired in a deepening quicksand of deception and deadly secrets-about his wife, about an old love he's never forgotten, and about his own past-he clings to one, unwavering vow: to bring home Tara, at any cost.
Both a white-knuckle thriller and an emotionally powerful tale about the loyalty of old friends and the bond between parent and child, No Second Chance is another masterpiece.
The First Paragraph:
When the first bullet hit my chest, I thought of my daughter.
The Teaser:
I would lay down my life in a second for my daughter. And truth be told, if push came to shove, I would lay down yours too.
Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! To see what others are sharing on the Teaser Tuesdays, check the comments at: http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/
Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea
went on sale at Amazon, I snatched it up (even though I already own it in paper.) And there it is, sitting on my kindle, begging for a reread. So of course, I succumbed. Blurb:Marc Seidman awakens to find himself in an ICU, hooked up to an IV, his head swathed in bandages. Twelve days earlier, he had an enviable life as a successful surgeon, living in a peaceful suburban neighborhood with his beautiful wife and a baby he adored. Now he lies in a hospital bed, shot by an unseen assailant. His wife has been killed, and his six-month-old daughter, Tara, has vanished. But just when his world seems forever shattered, something arrives to give Marc new hope: a ransom note.
We are watching. If you contact the authorities, you will never see your daughter again. There will be no second chance.
The note is chilling, but Marc sees only one thing-he has the chance to save his daughter. He can't talk to the police or the FBI. He doesn't know whom he can trust. And now the authorities are closing in on a new suspect: Marc himself. Mired in a deepening quicksand of deception and deadly secrets-about his wife, about an old love he's never forgotten, and about his own past-he clings to one, unwavering vow: to bring home Tara, at any cost.
Both a white-knuckle thriller and an emotionally powerful tale about the loyalty of old friends and the bond between parent and child, No Second Chance is another masterpiece.
The First Paragraph:
When the first bullet hit my chest, I thought of my daughter.
The Teaser:
I would lay down my life in a second for my daughter. And truth be told, if push came to shove, I would lay down yours too.
Nuggets for October
If you're a member of a critique group or if you just have a writing buddy, this is a great post on how to give feedback
http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2013/03/feedback-humility-and-the-sword-of-truth.html
An outstanding post about punctuating dialog
http://theeditorsblog.net/2010/12/08/punctuation-in-dialogue/
Writing a fight scene is never easy. This might help.
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/5-essential-tips-for-writing-killer-fight-scenes
Battle scenes are especially challenging. This post might help.
http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2014/10/writing-epic-battle-scenes.html
Trying to decide on writing in past tense or present tense? This should help.
http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2014/02/past-and-present-tense-which-why-when-and-how.html
Are you an Indie author who wishes you could get your books on Netgalley without having to mortgage your first born male child? Well, maybe you can. There's a thing called Netgalley co-ops.
But be aware that there's a possible downside. Check out the 8/27/14 comment on this kboards post.
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,193248.0.html
http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2013/03/feedback-humility-and-the-sword-of-truth.html
An outstanding post about punctuating dialog
http://theeditorsblog.net/2010/12/08/punctuation-in-dialogue/
Writing a fight scene is never easy. This might help.
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/5-essential-tips-for-writing-killer-fight-scenes
Battle scenes are especially challenging. This post might help.
http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2014/10/writing-epic-battle-scenes.html
Trying to decide on writing in past tense or present tense? This should help.
http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2014/02/past-and-present-tense-which-why-when-and-how.html
Are you an Indie author who wishes you could get your books on Netgalley without having to mortgage your first born male child? Well, maybe you can. There's a thing called Netgalley co-ops.
But be aware that there's a possible downside. Check out the 8/27/14 comment on this kboards post.
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,193248.0.html
Thursday Writing Quote ~ Phyllis Whitney
Sometimes there may be a really bad situation in which my heroine can take no action on her own. Then I bring on another character who has a strong drive, and perhaps a very different goal, so that she is forced into taking action. Suspense results. ~ Phyllis Whitney
Tuesday Teaser/Opening ~ See Jane Score
This week's teaser comes from See Jane Score
by Rachel Gibson.
Blurb:
This is Jane
A little subdued. A little stubborn. A little tired of going out on blind dates with men who drive vans with sofas in the back, Jane Alcott is living the Single Girl existence in the big city. She is also leading a double life. By day, she's a reporter covering the raucous Seattle Chinooks hockey team--especially thier notorious goalie Luc Martineau. By night, she's a writer, secretly creating the scandalous adventures of "Honey Pie" . . . the magazine series that has all the men talking.
See Jane Spar
Luc has made his feelings about parasite reporters--and Jane--perfectly clear. But if he thinks he's going to make her life miserable, he'd better think again.
See Jane Attract
For as long as he can remember, Luc has been single-minded about his career. The last thing he needs is a smart-mouthed, pain-in-the-backside reporter digging into his past and getting in his way. But once the little reporter sheds her black and gray clothes in favor of a sexy red dress, Luc sees that there is more to Jane than originally meets the eye. Maybe it's time to take a risk. Maybe it's time to live out fantasies. Maybe it time to . . . See Jane Score.
The First Paragraph (Chapter 1):
The locker room was thick with trash talk as Luc "Lucky" Martineau tucked himself into his cup and strapped on his gear. Most of his teammates stood around Daniel Holstrom, the rookie Swede, giving Daniel his choice of initiations. He could either let the guys shave his hair into a Mohawk or take the whole team out to dinner. Since rookie dinners cost between ten and twelve thousand dollars, Luc figured the winger was going to end up looking like a punker for a while.
The Teaser:
I've always been a sucker for dark men with bad attitudes. One look and I knew this man was as dark and as bad as a thunderstorm.
Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea
by Rachel Gibson.Blurb:
This is JaneA little subdued. A little stubborn. A little tired of going out on blind dates with men who drive vans with sofas in the back, Jane Alcott is living the Single Girl existence in the big city. She is also leading a double life. By day, she's a reporter covering the raucous Seattle Chinooks hockey team--especially thier notorious goalie Luc Martineau. By night, she's a writer, secretly creating the scandalous adventures of "Honey Pie" . . . the magazine series that has all the men talking.
See Jane Spar
Luc has made his feelings about parasite reporters--and Jane--perfectly clear. But if he thinks he's going to make her life miserable, he'd better think again.
See Jane Attract
For as long as he can remember, Luc has been single-minded about his career. The last thing he needs is a smart-mouthed, pain-in-the-backside reporter digging into his past and getting in his way. But once the little reporter sheds her black and gray clothes in favor of a sexy red dress, Luc sees that there is more to Jane than originally meets the eye. Maybe it's time to take a risk. Maybe it's time to live out fantasies. Maybe it time to . . . See Jane Score.
The First Paragraph (Chapter 1):
The locker room was thick with trash talk as Luc "Lucky" Martineau tucked himself into his cup and strapped on his gear. Most of his teammates stood around Daniel Holstrom, the rookie Swede, giving Daniel his choice of initiations. He could either let the guys shave his hair into a Mohawk or take the whole team out to dinner. Since rookie dinners cost between ten and twelve thousand dollars, Luc figured the winger was going to end up looking like a punker for a while.
The Teaser:
I've always been a sucker for dark men with bad attitudes. One look and I knew this man was as dark and as bad as a thunderstorm.
Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea
Thursday Writing Quote ~ Bill Johnson
If you’re writing a screenplay or novel, it’s your job to create a main character who will take a viewer or reader to places they want to go. Keep in mind that in life, many people feel stuck. A larger than life story character who refuses to be bound can be a real pleasure to journey with. ~ Bill Johnson 
Tuesday Teaser ~ The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green is one of those books that's been on my radar for a while since I've read John Green before, so I figured it was time.
The Blurb:Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.
The First Paragraph:
Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.
The Teaser:
Which meant there was quite a lot of competitiveness about it, with everybody wanting to beat not only cancer itself, but also the other people in the room. Like, I realized that this is irrational, but when they tell you that you have, say, a 20 percent chance of living five years, the math kicks in and you figure that's one in five...so you look around and think, as any healthy person would: I gotta outlast four of these bastards.
Thursday Writing Quotes ~ Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler's Rules of Mystery Writing 1) It must be credibly motivated, both as to the original situation and the denouement.
2) It must be technically sound as to the methods of murder and detection.
3) It must be realistic in character, setting and atmosphere. It must be about real people in a real world.
4) It must have a sound story value apart from the mystery element: i.e., the investigation itself must be an adventure worth reading.
5) It must have enough essential simplicity to be explained easily when the time comes.
6) It must baffle a reasonably intelligent reader.
7) The solution must seem inevitable once revealed.
8) It must not try to do everything at once. If it is a puzzle story operating in a rather cool, reasonable atmosphere, it cannot also be a violent adventure or a passionate romance.
9) It must punish the criminal in one way or another, not necessarily by operation of the law…. If the detective fails to resolve the consequences of the crime, the story is an unresolved chord and leaves irritation behind it.
10) It must be honest with the reader.
Tuesday Teaser/First Paragraph ~ Don't Let Me Go
Re-reading is one of the hazards of seeing a book I loved on sale, so this week I'm re-reading Don't Let Me Go
by Catherine Ryan Hyde and loving it just as much this time as the first. Going to have to find more by this author.
The Blurb:
Former Broadway dancer and current agoraphobic Billy Shine has not set foot outside his apartment in almost a decade. He has glimpsed his neighbors—beautiful manicurist Rayleen, lonely old Ms. Hinman, bigoted and angry Mr. Lafferty, kind-hearted Felipe, and 9-year-old Grace and her former addict mother Eileen.
But most of them have never seen Billy. Not until Grace begins to sit outside on the building’s front stoop for hours every day, inches from Billy’s patio. Troubled by this change in the natural order, Billy makes it far enough out onto his porch to ask Grace why she doesn’t sit inside where it’s safe. Her answer: “If I sit inside, then nobody will know I’m in trouble. And then nobody will help me.”
Her answer changes everything.
First Paragraph:
Every time Billy looked out his front sliding-glass door, he saw the ugly, gray L.A. winter afternoon move that much closer to dark. A noticeable difference each time. Then he laughed, and chastised himself out loud, saying, "What did we think, Billy Boy, that that the sunset would change its mind and break with tradition just this one night?"
He looked out again, hiding behind his curtain and wrapping it around himself as he leaned in front of the glass.
The little girl was still there.
The Teaser:
He had come out here to ask questions, not to answer them. And yet it had seemed so natural, so inevitable, when the roles reversed on him. In fact, he wondered why he'd ever thought he could be the grown-up in this--or for that matter, any other--conversation.
By the way, I should maybe mention that the movie Pay It Forward was based on one of this author's books.
Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! To see what others are sharing on the Teaser Tuesdays, check the comments at: http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/
Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea
by Catherine Ryan Hyde and loving it just as much this time as the first. Going to have to find more by this author. The Blurb:Former Broadway dancer and current agoraphobic Billy Shine has not set foot outside his apartment in almost a decade. He has glimpsed his neighbors—beautiful manicurist Rayleen, lonely old Ms. Hinman, bigoted and angry Mr. Lafferty, kind-hearted Felipe, and 9-year-old Grace and her former addict mother Eileen.
But most of them have never seen Billy. Not until Grace begins to sit outside on the building’s front stoop for hours every day, inches from Billy’s patio. Troubled by this change in the natural order, Billy makes it far enough out onto his porch to ask Grace why she doesn’t sit inside where it’s safe. Her answer: “If I sit inside, then nobody will know I’m in trouble. And then nobody will help me.”
Her answer changes everything.
First Paragraph:
Every time Billy looked out his front sliding-glass door, he saw the ugly, gray L.A. winter afternoon move that much closer to dark. A noticeable difference each time. Then he laughed, and chastised himself out loud, saying, "What did we think, Billy Boy, that that the sunset would change its mind and break with tradition just this one night?"
He looked out again, hiding behind his curtain and wrapping it around himself as he leaned in front of the glass.
The little girl was still there.
The Teaser:
He had come out here to ask questions, not to answer them. And yet it had seemed so natural, so inevitable, when the roles reversed on him. In fact, he wondered why he'd ever thought he could be the grown-up in this--or for that matter, any other--conversation.
By the way, I should maybe mention that the movie Pay It Forward was based on one of this author's books.
Thursday Writing Quotes ~ Stephen King
I think talent as a writer is hard-wired in, it’s all there, at least the basic elements of it. You can’t change it any more than you can choose whether to be right handed or left handed. ~ Stephen King
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)