Progress Report
I’m proud to say that I have finished up my final chapter additions in my manuscript, Truth Unbecoming. The extra scenes I added brought the manuscript up to 80,000 words and while I still have months of editing ahead of me, I’m excited about this step forward!
A blog I recently read spoke a lot about how writers must read to hone their skills, and in the past few months I’ve been able to read more than at any other time in my life. I’ve been loving it! I’ve seen not only the greatest writing that I aspire to (see my blogs about Sarah’s Key and A Distant Melody) but novels I have found not to be my style.
I’m working on building the proposal and query to submit to agents in the next month or so. I’ll let you know how that goes – it’s always a lengthy, challenging process, but part of the fun of novel writing!
Monday I’ll have a review of Scattered Petals, by Amanda Cabot. (Quick hint: it definitely lives up to the caliber of Paper Roses, the first book in Cabot’s Texas Dreams series. See my blog about that one here.)
Read MoreWhat I’m Reading: Poetry, Texas
Love Finds You in Poetry, Texas, by Janice Hanna is a delightful read with great word play and ties to the town’s name: Poetry. The stores are named Bonnets and Sonnets, Poetic Notions and such. The main character uses poetry to woo women to come to Texas as potential brides for the town’s many bachelors. In the process, she learns of her own feelings for the town barber.
This story flowed nicely, but it had so many characters, I honestly got a bit lost at times. There were some characters that were truly unforgettable and it all came together nicely in the end. I would have liked to see a little more conflict, but Hanna did a nice job of incorporating subtle conflict – no gunslingers here, just quiet tension and enough anticipation to keep the pages turning!
With solid writing and beautiful locations, this is everything you expect from a “Love Finds You” book.
Read MoreThe “to-read” pile
My “to-read” pile seems to double every week. My “to-read” list grows exponentially. (And that’s if I don’t surf around Amazon for more than five minutes.)
What to do?
Reading is so essential to the writer, for inspiration and renewal. But, I also need to get some actual writing time in. When I get hooked on those really great stories, I don’t seem to get much of anything else done around the home as I race through every page. Then, I get some books where they lag but I still try to plug through.
How do you balance life with your stack of books to read?
Do you trade in a few hours of sleep?
For those books that don’t hook right away, do you keep on reading or set it aside?
Do you try new authors or stick to your favorites?
I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment and I’ll post a following blog about the discussion!
Read MoreReview: Sarah’s Key
Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2008) is a World War II epic that will stick with you long after you finish the last page.
The story weaves in the 1942 roundup of French Jews by the French Vichy Police and their expulsion to their deaths in Nazi camps. Sarah, a ten-year-old French Jew, leaves her little brother locked in a secret cabinet when the police come for her family. She believes he’ll be safe there until they return. Sixty years later, Julia is researching the roundup for an article and the two tales converge and weave together in a way that changes the lives of all involved.
I’d argue that it will change the reader as well.
The extermination of millions of Jews is a sensitive subject for all countries involved. The French police under German domination went against their own citizens and expelled them, simply because they were Jewish.
Julia’s drive to get to the truth and take on this taboo topic while living and working in Paris, makes her a noble and sympathetic character from the start.
The novel started a little slow for me, but once everything starts piecing together, I was so hooked that I couldn’t set it down. I held my breath to the last page and was delightfully surprised by the twists and turns.
Highly recommended!
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