A Poetic Present

Out of nowhere -- and this is especially surprising because it has to do with a poetry book, and I thought no one reads poetry anymore -- Dusk Before Dawn got this stellar, utterly unsolicited review.

It sure makes me feel appreciated as a writer. It's about the best holiday gift I could get, as I come out of the dark cave in which I've been furiously writing all month.

So, as a reminder, that's the second surprisingly positive review for Dusk Before Dawn, the other being on Goodreads here.

Find it at:
Amazon
Nook
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Hard Work Ain't Pretty Until It's Done

In case you're wondering whether I'm still around, yes. I've been holed up, writing, writing, writing, to meet my goal of finishing The Seven Noble Knights of Lara before the end of the year. I'm close!

Luckily, I'm online enough to catch gems of articles like this one, which illustrates that although no author's routine is the same as another's, they all involve discipline. That's right, most people don't just wake up one day with a finished first draft. Read about the routines of Ray Bradbury, Joan Didion, Jack Kerouac, E. B. White, and so many others here, courtesy of Brain Pickings.

"A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper." E. B. White.

New Interview

Internationally interviewed author (yours truly) has this to share today, from the blog of the wonderfully helpful and supportive author Diane Major. Thanks for checking it out! And hooray for rhinos!

NaNoFINISHMo

The delightfully twisted Pavarti K. Tyler created this wonderful graphic, and I think a lot of authors are enthusiastic to use this month not to start a new novel but to finish one! Wish me luck. I'll be loading and unloading, packing and unpacking, and still trying to finish The Seven Noble Knights of Lara.

And, not to be missed! A brilliant take on the NaNo Rhino -- why haven't I heard of this before?

Scary Stuff: Amazon Author Rankings and a Move

Amazon is crazy about rankings, and they've always ranked books in a such a way that each author can track her own books, and the top ranked books are clearly visible to anyone who cares to look. Now they've taken to ranking the people behind the books. Take a look.

Of course, I'm not in the top 100. But as I looked through these, I was struck by the fact that I'd only ever read anything by J. K. Rowling out of all the authors in the top 100, and didn't find anyone else I would even consider reading (okay, maybe one or two). I'm probably weird, but an author's popularity doesn't attract me to their books. Does it attract you? Does it attract most readers? Is this author ranking the best thing for readers looking for new authors to read since sliced bread? Please comment and let me know.

In other news, I'm well into the boxes, tape, and cellophane. My husband and I are headed to Illinois to make our home for the foreseeable future.

For those of you keeping track, an appropriate response might be, "She's moving again?" It's my response, too, but we haven't made a go of it in Atlanta, wonderful as it may be, because my husband has been so unhappy at his job. The new move represents a new lease on life even more than the move to Atlanta did. It's a clean break and I can't wait to see what amazing doors open because of it.

Of course, it puts my goal of a complete first draft of my WIP, Seven Noble Knights, by year's end in severe jeopardy. For at least some of November -- NaNo challenge month, which I made such wonderful use of last year -- I'll be packing and unpacking all my notes and plot point scribblings. But I'm still going to do it. Just don't distract me.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to blog again. When I do, I will bring you some amazing historical posts and short, easy to consume bouts of logophilia. In the meantime, it would be a huge help to me if you play around with the carousel of books, below left, and click on them and consider liking them or leaving reviews. I'll thank you when I get back!

Something Red by Douglas Nicholas

I read this book very slowly, partly because of other commitments, but also because it begins as if it were a snail at the races. It's easy to put down in frustration, because the language is difficult, even for someone like me, who has spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about the thirteenth century. When the travelers are finally attacked by bandits, the author interrupts the action with the kinds of descriptions we've already read so much of: the mechanism of how to secure the carts so the attackers can't make off with them, what kind of arrow they're using, and how and when they were made.

Tenacious readers will be rewarded with a middle that reads like a horror movie: the characters get caught in a kind of mousetrap, in the snow, with dead bodies at every pass, and despite Molly's ability to deal with anything, it's possible to believe for a few moments that they're all going to die, either frozen or brutally murdered (and then frozen).

Especially tenacious readers will be rewarded with an ending unlike any other part of the book, and yet satisfyingly inevitable and maybe a little wistful. The ending will stay with me for a long time as an example of how to successfully end a complex book.

The book ends up working really well. Somehow, the reader cares about the characters that have come through so many words. Molly, Jack, Hob, and Nemain seem real and strong, and as if they have much more story to tell. The male/female balance of power and Molly's popularity were a pleasure to read about.

There is an obvious poetry to the language, and I enjoyed feeling as if I were actually living in the thirteenth century through the author's conjurings. The fantasy elements weave seamlessly into the history (it's been said before, but there's really no other word for how smoothly the two supposedly opposing elements meld). If you already have a thorough knowledge of the vocabulary of thirteenth-century English and Irish traveling life, or of you don't mind learning, this is the book for you.

Philippa Gregory’s Keynote Address at HNSLondon12

No, you don't have to be from the UK to be a historical novelist, but Philippa Gregory is, and she gave a wonderful talk at the Historical Novel Society Conference this year. Some day I'll go in person!