Time Flying

I can't believe it's been over two weeks since my last post. I know I've kept busy but I'm not sure what I've accomplished.

Well, I have read a lot. The Memory of Water is a family drama featuring two estranged sisters and the son and ex-husband of one of them. I don't read a lot of literary fiction. I find too often that I can't care about the main character . . . or any of the others. But this one took hold of me.

I also read the Quickening trilogy of Fiona McIntosh. It had some interesting twists which she handled beautifully. There was one thing near the end that didn't really convince me, but I enjoyed the books all the same.

I've also been reading some non-fiction. How important is ritual? Not empty ritual that one practices by rote without thinking, but meaningful rituals that mark the stages of life, or perhaps the seasons. Some interesting questions have been raised and it has set me to thinking about this.

In a week or so I'll be doing an interview on podcast. More on this later when all is settled.

Meanwhile, we've had some weather that makes me think Spring will come this year after all. Eventually.

Fortune and Fate

Just finished the latest Sharon Shinn novel, Fortune and Fate, the fifth in The Twelve Houses series. I highly recommend this series. You can pick it up at any point, of course, as she works in the necessary back story quite well, but it’s best to start with the first, Mystic and Rider, and pick up the story at the beginning.

I’ve been trying to decide just what it is that I like so much about the series. It has a gripping plot and an interesting world but, as is most often the case, it’s the characters that keep me returning. In fact, as soon as I clear the pile of books sitting by my chair, I think I’ll start all over. (Of course, I’ve got some good ones waiting there, so it may be a while.)

What makes a character so compelling? That’s a question I think every writer would like to be able to answer. It only takes Shinn a few paragraphs to bring her characters to life. And she does the ‘evil’ characters really well. I think it’s harder to create a villian -- one you really, really want to see come to a bad end -- who seems real than it is to create a loveable character. But then, as much as we love the good characters, it’s the bad guys that keep us turning the pages. When will they get what they deserve?

Busy Week

It’s been a busy few days. I was in Toronto for the Ontario Librarian’s Association convention where I signed books last Friday. I stayed on for another day to go to a concert of early music which I enjoyed very much. Then back to Hamilton on Sunday morning, and more cold and more snow. And it looks like that pesky groundhog saw his shadow so I suppose there will be even more to come.

I finished the P.D. James book then read the new Carol O’Connell (Bone by Bone), J. A. Jance’s Cruel Intent, and Blood on the Strand by Susanna Gregory, all of which I liked a lot. So it looks like I’m back in reading mode. Now if I can just get back to writing mode.

I’m afraid the writer’s block isn’t going to be as easily overcome as the reader’s block. I met with my writing group today and took in the draft of a story I started last fall, so I am at least looking at work, but I really need to get on with the third book in the series. I know how I want to get started, but can’t seem to get myself going.

The blog heading has a new look thanks my terrific niece who is my ‘blog guru’, so to speak. A book and a cat. Not quite like 'a loaf of bread, a jug of wine ....' but I'm sure a poem could be made from it. I'll have to see what I can do.