Book Review - Big Wheat by Richard A. Thompson

 Thanks to Carl Brookins for sharing another book review with us....


Big Wheat
By Richard A. Thompson
Poisoned Pen Press 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59058-820-8

World War I is done and Charlie Krueger’s older brother is never coming home. Charlie, his sister and their mother must cope with an increasingly abusive drunken father and husband. The summer of 1919 wanes and vast acreages of the Middle West prairies are thick with ripening grain. Up the long reaches from the banks of the Platte and the Missouri come the contract threshing crews and their machines, most followed by raffish bindlestiffs to supplement a farmer’s friends and relatives. The crews are often peopled by men of questionable backgrounds and are occasionally eyed with suspicion by local sheriffs who rarely chase criminals beyond their county boundaries.

When Charlie Krueger has a final confrontation with his father, he leaves behind a sorrowful mother and sister and the local girl he thought he’d love forever. He becomes a bindlestiff, traveling from farm to farm, learning
the threshing business and nurturing his love for machines.

The machines are new, complicated and prone to breakdowns. Charlie hooks up with a marvelously conceived traveling machine repair crew that becomes his new family. But lurking in the background is a killer, a killer who believes Charlie saw his latest brutal deed.  He seeks to find and murder Charlie. Meanwhile, the sheriff of Charlie’s home county has developed leads which point him toward Charlie as a murderer.

This then is the roiling plot which moves the story forward. Carefully constructed and set against the vast reaches of the plains states, the novel evokes a time and place and the attitudes of the people and the land in a
powerful and moving way. Readers will smell the dust, drip sweat and shrivel under the burning sun right along with the threshing crews. They’ll feel a clutch in the night as the sheriff and the murderer draw closer and
they’ll empathize with the casual corruption and the surmounting goodness of the characters the author has created.

A fine, exciting and unusual well-written novel I am pleased to recommend to all readers of crime fiction.

Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

Friday's Odds and Ends

In central Texas there is a wide area of devastation where trees are dying, as well as other vegetation. Environmentalists believe the sulfur dioxide emitted by the Fayette Power Plant is to blame. However, the plant's operator and the state's Environmental Regulator deny pollution is to blame for the swaths of plant devastation. Pecan groves in the area have seen crops dwindle from 200,000 lbs a year to 8,000.

Do you really believe the pollution is not causing the problem? 

Anti-gay activist Cindy Jacobs, who is a member of Generals International has posted a video explaining her belief that it was the repeal of the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ that caused all of these dead animals to be popping up all over the country, including the thousands of birds that fell from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas not long ago.  Her reasoning is that because homosexuality is a sin according to the Bible, the barrage of dead animals is a direct message from God.

Hmmmm. Not the God I believe in.

A novel idea. How about we write laws in plain English? This was proposed in a recent editorial by author, Linda Chavez, and I wanted to stand up and cheer when I read it. She pointed out the clarity and brevity of the Constitution, which was written so the common man could understand it.  In contrast, she compared the Health Care Act, weighing in on 2,400 pages to the fact that "we abolished slavery and gave former slaves the right to vote in 100 words.  We guaranteed women the right to vote in fewer than 40 words." "If legislators can't explain what they want to do in 100 pages of less, they probably shouldn't be doing it."

Hear! Hear!

Celebrating 191 years of marriage. Yes it's true. Three brothers who married three sisters over 60 years ago have between them 191 years of marriage.Growing up, the  Waters boys lived not far from the Webb sisters in the little Texas town of Dike, and eventually they all hooked up. Although the youngest couple did resist for a while. "We thought two was enough," the youngest Webb sister said. The couples enjoy traveling together and will be celebrating anniversaries this year by going on a cruise. And the secret to 191 years  of happy marriage? "A whole lot of give and take."

Bravo!!


What about you? Anything catch your eye in the news recently?

Guest Blog- Evelyn David on Writing as a Team

Writing Duets?

We're going to go out on a limb here. We're going to advise you to go against conventional wisdom about writing a book. Here's our suggestion: Find a co-author on the Internet and write 2 books and countless short stories together without ever meeting in person.

What? That sounds crazy.

We know. And we still recommend it because that's exactly what we've done and it has worked perfectly.

We know there are problems with collaboration. We've heard them all, and actually, most of them make sense…except not always. Herewith are the problems and how we've avoided them. Maybe collaboration can work for you too.

1. The creative process is by definition a solitary one and writing together only leads to a jumble of ideas.

We're not sure where the concept of the lonely artist stuck in an unheated garret pursuing his talent first was proposed as fact, but it's only half true. Yes, each of us brings to the table our own concepts and ideas. But that's a plus, not a drawback. It means we've each got someone to bat ideas off; someone to say "you've hit a homerun" or alternatively, "no offense, but that makes no sense at all." You're less likely to go off on a tangent if someone else is there to either remind you where you were supposed to be headed – or to listen if you truly believe that the new idea will only strengthen the storyline. Since it's a collaboration, where neither party has veto rights, you've got to be able to defend your choices, which can only make you plan and write more clearly.

2. You don't want to mix plaids and stripes together, or in other words, how can you combine two distinct writing styles?

That's a little tougher, but practice makes perfect. It works because of the first rule of any writing project, whether it's a third grade book report or a New York Times bestseller: Revise, Revise, Revise.

As each scene goes back and forth between us, it gets smoothed out. We both write all characters so it's less likely that the hero sounds like someone from Oklahoma (where Rhonda lives), while the heroine sounds like a New Yorker (where Marian lives). We work hard to make our characters distinct, but the overall voice of each book is Evelyn David, neither Rhonda or Marian.

3. The work load will never be equally distributed between the two collaborators.

Probably true at different points in the writing process. But like any good partnership, you each go in with honest intentions, work hard, and figure it all evens out in the end. No question that Rhonda is the tech genius of this collaboration so she handles all web site issues, including design. Marian tends to handle the business side of being an author (agent contact, bookstore relationships, publisher issues, and planning). We both do the writing, editing, and promotion. Over time we've learned each other's strengths and preferences - we shift tasks accordingly. Rhonda is the keeper of lists and files. Marian is the final word on punctuation and grammar. Rhonda likes working with photos and covers. Marian is wonderful at interviews. Neither of us is good at mingling at receptions and making small talk, but we do it anyway and commiserate with each other later. The bottom line is that we work together to achieve a common goal. Here's a clue - if you're keeping close track of the hours you spend or the tasks you handle versus what your co-author does, then you probably haven't found a partner who you trust enough to write with.

We've given a lot of thought to why we think our collaboration works and believe there are three important ingredients.

1. Neither of us has a big ego, so there are never any diva moments.

2. We share a similar work ethic. Do what needs to be done and don't worry about the credit.

3. And probably most important of all – we share a similar (maybe warped) sense of humor. When life is dark and gloomy, when we are sure we could never compose a shopping list, let alone a book, we tend to crack a joke and laugh. Writing is a tough profession, full of frequent disappointments and frustrations. Laughter is essential.

Collaboration may not be for everyone, but for Evelyn David, it's been remarkable easy and fun for us. Try it. You might like it.

Good Luck!
Evelyn David

__________

 

The Sullivan Investigation Series
Murder Drops the Ball (Spring 2011)
Murder Takes the Cake - Paperback - Kindle
Murder Off the Books - Paperback - Kindle
Riley Come Home - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Autographed Copies and other e-book formats available through Wolfmont Press at
The Digital_Bookshop - http://tinyurl.com/DigitalBookshop

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah
- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah
- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries
- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The authors of The Brianna Sullivan Mysteries, Murder Off the Books, Murder Takes the Cake, and the short story Riley Come Home, Evelyn David is the pseudonym for Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett.

Marian lives in New York and is the author of 11 nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics ranging from veterans benefits to playgroups for toddlers! For more information on Marian's books, please visit her web site at http://www.marianedelmanborden.com 

Rhonda lives in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is the director of the coal program for the state, and in her spare time enjoys imagining and writing funny, scary mysteries. Marian and Rhonda write their mystery series via the Internet. While many fans who attend mystery conventions have now chatted with both halves of Evelyn David, Marian and Rhonda have yet to meet in person. 

Please check out Evelyn's website at http://www.evelyndavid.com and their blog – The Stiletto Gang - http://www.thestilettogang.blogspot.com/ for information about Evelyn David's appearance schedule and writing projects.

Be My Guest - Linda Faulkner

Thanks for allowing me to visit today, Maryann.  I really enjoy your blog and am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute.

One of the things I’ve learned in the past couple of years is that most of us writers have talents we’ve never tapped into.  Sure, we can write.  But we tend to stick to the same genres and formats.  Novelists don’t often write short stories; poets usually avoid crime fiction; and children’s authors seldom write erotica.

Stretching ourselves, however, helps hone our writing skills and, quite often, adds more money to our bank accounts.

I made this discovery by accident but it does emphasize the fact that writers write.  For a number of reasons I won’t bore you with, I found myself not having the time to write fiction from about 1994 to 2004.  That doesn’t mean, however, I didn’t write.  Without realizing it, I had incorporated my passion for writing into my day job:  workflows, forms, training and procedures manuals, magazine articles, a newspaper column, and educational texts.

It was in trade that I first became published and the skills I learned writing magazine articles and technical texts helped my fiction writing tremendously.  By necessity, I cut back on needless words and wrote tighter.  Deadlines became a fact of life, not something I flirted with or avoided.  Being asked to edit and/or revise became commonplace and no longer assaulted my ego.

Because of the money I’m earning at my technical and freelance writing, I’ve been able to sell one insurance business and devote the rest of my professional time to the insurance education business—and the writing and teaching I do for it.

Oh, and did I mention all that freelance writing netted me a contract to write a business book?  It’s the first in a series and I had a ball writing it.  I’m outlining the next book and it’s even more fun.

The more we writers open ourselves to new experiences and ways to hone our craft, the more successful we become.  And, by the way, my personal measure of success is being happy doing what I do.  As a writer, being able to spend the majority of my time writing—regardless of the topic or genre—makes me about as happy as I’m ever gonna be!

I highly recommend that writers do serious research into all avenues of pursuing a writing career.  It’s amazing how much opportunity is out there.

~~~~~~

Linda is a prolific writer who has published fiction, non-fiction, and technical writing in a number of genres and formats.  In addition to spending over 30 years in the insurance industry as an education provider, insurance agency owner, insurance consultant, and founder/owner of three insurance businesses, Linda has been writing since childhood.

Her mystery, Second Time Around, was released in January 2009 and was nominated for a 2010 EPIC Award.  Her non-fiction book titled, Taking the Mystery Out of Business: 9 Fundamentals for Professional Success was released earlier this month.

As an entrepreneur and the founder of four businesses, Linda Faulkner knows all about what it takes to make it in the world of business. She's discovered that professional suicide is caused more by a lack of awareness than any other factor, hence her motto:  "Clueless is a dangerous place to be."

Book Review: Taking the Mystery out of Business

Before I do the review of this book, I want to mention that I am the guest today on the blog for Creatures & Crooks Books. The owner, Lelia Taylor, is known for being a cat-lover, so she has started a series of guest blogs about cats. Sometimes she'll let a dog in, just for variety, but primarily the focus is on our feline friends.  If you have time and the inclination, come on over and meet our indestructible cat.

Now, back to the regularly scheduled program:

Taking The Mystery Out of Business
9 Fundamentals for Professional Success
Linda Faulkner
NorLights Press
Nov 2010


Here is the back jacket blurb:

Taking the Mystery Out of Business: is a fresh, practical guide to the business world.  Author Linda Faulkner lays out the fundamentals, providing examples and tips so newcomers to the business world can easily gain an understanding of the challenges they face.  Experienced professionals will benefit from a refresher on basic strategies and how to stay ahead of the competition.

While the book is aimed for those who are full-time business people, there are things a writer can learn to deal with the business side of publishing. As we all know, we have been asked more and more of late to focus on marketing and promoting as part of our responsibilities as writers, and most of us are ill-equipped to do that well.

Some of the topics that I found most helpful were having the right mental attitude, relationships, organization, and time management. These are areas that I constantly need to be working on, and her advice was most helpful. One of the main things that popped for me when I read the chapter on mental attitude is that I need to stop saying with every breath how bad I am at marketing. Negative thinking has such a powerful sway over how we interact with people. I knew that on so many other levels, but had not applied it directly to marketing. So, from now on, my mantra is going to be "I am so good at marketing, I amaze myself."

Okay, maybe that's a little over the top, but whatever I come up with it will have a positive spin.

I highly recommend this book for all writers. Linda has the background and expertise  to be totally credible, and the book is written in a comfortable, easy to understand style.

I hope you will come back tomorrow and meet Linda when she is a guest here on It's Not All Gravy. I'm sure she will be happy to answer questions, so bring 'em on.

------
FTC disclaimer: The book was sent to me from the publisher with the hope that I would review it and host Linda on my blog. Since I love guests here, the second request was easy to fill. But I only reviewed the book because I liked it, not because they asked me to. Other than getting some great marketing advice, I have not benefited in any other way from this arrangment.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Today's Odds and Ends are going to be a little different. I'm going to have a couple of guests on my blog this coming week and I wanted to give a little introduction today.

Monday, Linda Faulkner will be here to offer some tips on the business side of writing. As much as we hate to admit it, this is a business, and the more informed we are about how to work in that arena, the better. We can all wish for the return of the day when writers wrote and someone else did the marketing and promoting, but that day will never come back.

Linda is a prolific writer who has published fiction, non-fiction, and technical writing in a number of genres and formats.  In addition to spending over 30 years in the insurance industry as an education provider, insurance agency owner, insurance consultant, and founder/owner of three insurance businesses, Linda has been writing since childhood. Her mystery, Second Time Around, was released in January 2009 and was nominated for a 2010 EPIC Award.  Her non-fiction book titled, Taking the Mystery Out of Business: 9 Fundamentals for Professional Success was released earlier this month.

I'm sure Linda will be happy to answer questions, so check back on Monday if you want help with a marketing issue.

On Wednesday, Evelyn David will be my guest to share their experience at collaborating. Yes, Evelyn David is really two people. The authors of The Brianna Sullivan Mysteries, Murder Off the Books, Murder Takes the Cake, and the short story Riley Come Home, Evelyn David is the pseudonym for Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett.

Marian lives in New York and is the author of 11 nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics ranging from veterans benefits to playgroups for toddlers! For more information on Marian's books, please visit her Web site at http://www.marianedelmanborden.com 

Rhonda lives in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is the director of the coal program for the state, and in her spare time enjoys imagining and writing funny, scary mysteries. Marian and Rhonda write their mystery series via the Internet. While many fans who attend mystery conventions have now chatted with both halves of Evelyn David, Marian and Rhonda have yet to meet in person. 



This is going to be another very helpful post for any writers who are considering collaborating. There are a lot of benefits to a collaboration. I know, I have collaborated with several other writers, but there are some pitfalls to avoid. This should prove to be a lively discussion, so plan to stop by if you have a question or two.

Pretty Pictures

My Liitle Barn

Instead of doing one of my usual rants about something, I thought I would just share some pictures I took this morning.

Texas has some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets that I have ever seen, and this morning was a great one. I'm glad my animals woke me up in time to see this and capture some of it.

We had several inches of snow here the other day, and it is so cold the snow is hanging around. My horse does not seem to mind it at all, as long as there is hay coming.

Our dog, Poppy, isn't bothered by the snow either, unless her ball disappears.

As any photographer knows, you can take a hundred shots before you get a special picture. Of all those I took this morning, I think this one is the best.

This one is kind of interesting. I played with cropping just a corner of a larger picture.

This process of finding just the right image is not unlike the challenge of finding just the right words to create an image in writing. Both take patience and perseverance.

Book Review: Bird Lives! by Bill Moody

Since I missed my usual Sunday review yesterday, I thought I would post one today.  Again, thanks to Carl Brookins for sending the reviews.

Bird Lives!
Author, Bill Moody
Publisher: Walker
ISBN: 0-8027-3327-1
pub. date: 1999
248 pages, hardcover

Another fine novel in the Evan Horn series.  A smoothly written psychological thriller.  it’s tight, fast-paced, and should greatly please fans of this type of novel.  It will also please fans of jazz music which today have nearly faded into oblivion.

We aren't talking about fusion jazz or the highly commercialized, big-venue stuff.  In fact, the practitioners of those kinds of highly commercialized music are the targets of a killer, the killer who forces piano player Evan
Horne to become a detective, on pain of more killings.  Horne is reluctant but he allows himself to be cajoled into taking on the assignment, first by Cooper, his detective friend, then by the FBI which cannot match Horne’s knowledge of jazz, a key element in the story.  Horne is really trying to make a comeback as a piano player after a serious injury.  Cops and Robbers is not a gig he wants to play right now.  The book is a compelling look inside the life of the performer who works the small clubs, as well as into the mind and psyche of a killer.

The title refers to Charlie "Bird" Parker, arguably one of the greatest saxophone players whoever lived. Moody evokes memories of a time when acoustic jazz was played in small smoky clubs all over the world to
audiences of deeply dedicated fans who were as obsessed with their music as hip-hoppers are today.  It was a time with roots from early Armstrong, from Coleman and Coltrane, when Brubeck and Joe Williams, Count Basie and singers like Chris Connor and Anita O'Day were on the charts.

But, whether the music and the artists draw you, or whether you like well-written crime fiction in any setting, here's a story that will draw you in and satisfy your need.  Moody is a knowledgeable master of his element.
I give this one a firm positive recommendation.

Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

Friday's Odds and Ends

It might seem a bit odd to be doing this in the dead of winter, but I have been digging in my garden the last few days, turning a few rows a day. I remember when I used to be able to turn the whole plot in an afternoon. That young person is hidden somewhere under these older muscles that don't care for that kind of work anymore. Here in Texas we plant our first garden the end of January.

Republicans made history Thursday by staging the first-ever reading of the entire Constitution on the House floor as the legislative session began. While that was a noble gesture, I hope those serving in Congress will pay more than lip-service to the document.

Again, I marvel at the short sightedness of government leaders. Obama recently enacted a freeze on the salaries of government employees, starting with the ones at the bottom of the ladder. How about cutting salaries from the top down for a change? Did you know that the man who runs the U.S. Chamber of Commerce earns close to $3.9 million a year?

I am saddened and dismayed at news of the school shooting in Nebraska. We lived in Omaha for almost ten years and know families who had children at Millard South High School. Thankfully, those students have already graduated, so they were not personally affected by this tragedy, but my heart goes out to current students and staff who are dealing with all the ramifications. Back in 1993 I wrote a book about school violence, Coping with Weapons and Violence In Your School and On Your Streets, and I remember hoping that the violence young people deal with would lessen as time went on. This was before Columbine and other school shootings, and I am sad to say my wish did not come true.

To end on a brighter note. I read back in November about a couple who "gave the ultimate gift." Their 13-year old daughter, Taylor was killed in a skiing accident and her parents donated her organs, a gift that saved five lives. The parents then created a Web site for potential organ donors to sign up.  If you have ever thought about being an organ donor but just haven't gotten around to doing it, visit that site. The process for signing up is quick and easy and just may save a life.

Good News

I called to order copies of my latest book, Open Season, for a launch party later this month and found out the first print run has sold out and there are a number of back orders. Wowser, the book just came out December 15th  for library purchase first, then to the general public the first of January. Apparently the great reviews I got from Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal have really spurred sales.

While that is great news, and I will be dancing around my office on my next break, it does pose a bit of a problem. I am not sure if I will be able to get books for the party which is scheduled for Jan 27 at a local B&B. The owner has graciously offered to host the party and we nailed down date and time, etc, just before she took off for a two-and-a-half week vacation.

My editor says the second run is in progress and books should get to the warehouse by Jan 21. I'm a bit nervous about cutting it that close on getting books, but I have no way of contacting my gracious hostess to see if we can move the date. So, here I sit with invitations to make out, and I don't know if I should send them or not. "Oh, my, Oh, my, what am I to do?"

While I try to figure this out, enjoy a little sample of the book:

Grabbing a cup of coffee, Sarah  descended the few steps into the Homicide area, relieved that her fellow officers held to tradition. No one made a big deal out of her return, and no one mentioned John’s name. His desk, cleared of all papers and personal effects, stood in sharp contrast to the clutter on nearby desks. Seeing it brought an ache to Sarah’s heart she didn’t want to feel.

Walking past the desk, Sarah pushed the pain away and headed toward the briefing room. She opened the door and glanced around, finally spotting an empty seat at a table halfway into the room. She pulled out a chair and sat down, nodding to the woman in a smart, tailored suit across the aisle from her.

Must be fresh out of the uniform, Sarah thought, remembering her first week in civvies six years ago. The professional image had seemed important then, but quickly bowed to practicality. Socks lasted longer than nylons. Reeboks were easier to run in than heels. And there wasn’t a perp alive who cared diddly about whether you wore jeans or a skirt.

The woman turned to give Sarah the briefest of nods, and she recognized the mass of tight curls haloing a creamy mocha complexion as belonging to a former patrol officer. Angel?

Couldn’t recall her last name, but the woman had been at a couple of crime scenes with Sarah. Other than being a little too eager to prove herself, Sarah remembered her as more than capable. It wasn’t surprising that she’d made detective.

Sarah’s attention was drawn to the front of the room as Sergeant Murphy hitched his belt over his ample stomach and started outlining the on-going cases. “Simms and Burtweiler, you’re still on the Highland Park B&E case.” Murphy pulled another paper from the podium. “Frankfurt and Aikins, you pulled a cush one. Crime-watch meeting over at SMU”

“Can I go, too, Sarge?” Another officer called out. “My date book’s getting a little thin.”

A wave of laughter swept the room, and Murphy waited it out without even breaking a smile. When the last chuckle subsided, he continued, “Kingsly and Johnson, you’ve got the big one today. Homicide over at Northwood Mall. Call just came in from patrol.”

Sarah turned sharply to look at Angel, and the elusive last name clicked. Something else clicked, too. An attitude that Angel wielded like a sword, heralding the proclamation, “Don’t think that the only reason I’m here is because I’m a woman and I’m black.”

Sarah hated attitudes, especially ones that might be honed to a new sharpness by recent events. She held the other woman’s gaze, trying to get a read. It wasn’t friendly. She expected judgments from people like the Reverend Billie Norton and the crowds he managed to assemble for public outcry. He didn’t have a clue what it was like on the streets. But Angel knew. Everyone who ever wore a badge knew. So where were her loyalties going to fall?

Murphy’s voice cut into her thoughts. “You two might want to hustle your butts over to the crime scene before the corpse decomposes.”

Redemption or Just Good PR?

The other day my son and I were talking about Michael Vick and his comeback with the Eagles. I said I thought he should have been banned from pro football after the whole dog-fighting fiasco. My son countered that Vick had "paid the price. He got a lot more than just a slap on the writst. He went to prison for two years and lost most of his endorsement deals. Isn't that enough?"

That was a reasonable argument -  I really do respect my son's opinions - and I was almost ready to change my mind. Maybe the spin that Vick has been fully rehabilitated really was true, and I was being unfair in hanging on to my belief that the consequences should have been greater.

Then I read a piece from Jacquielynn Floyd in The Dallas Morning News on Jan 2nd. She reminded readers that Vick did a lot more than "engage in illegal dog fighting", which was the final charge of his conviction. He participated in the killing of dogs who would not fight, or who lost fights. Some of the dogs were hung like carcasses on a line, except they weren't dead yet. Others were drowned by forcefully holding their heads in buckets of water. And at least one dog was killed when Vick and another man held it by the legs and repeatedly slammed it into the ground.

When the story first broke about the Bad Newz Kennels and the charges against Vick, it was also reported that he threw family pets into the pits with the pit bulls. Apparently he "thought it was funny to watch the pit bull dogs injure or kill the other dogs."

People who take delight in torturing and killing animals are usually labeled a sociopath. They are not simply someone who made a mistake, paid for that mistake, and is no longer a threat to society. A sociopath is defined as:  someone who behaves in a dangerous or violent way towards other people and does not feel guilty about such behavior.

And the behavior usually starts with killing animals in horrible, cruel ways.

Sure, Vick has expressed remorse and guilt over what he has done, but how much of that is genuine and how much is just enough to get back into the game? What do you think?

Book Review: Absolution by Susan Fleet

Absolution
By Susan Fleet
ISBN: 978-1-4357-0841-9
Pub. 2008, Lulu & Kindle

This brutal, dark and explicit novel has a compelling drive to the third-person narrative that makes it difficult to stop reading.  In part, I suspect, readers may be drawn on by an almost irresistible desire to learn how much further the author is willing to go.

Set in one of the most provocative cities on the continent, New Orleans, the author has created a nasty killer of similar proportions. The Sinner stalks his victims with a relentless attention to detail that one begins to wonder if he’ll get away with his crimes.  It reveals nothing to mention that he does meet an appropriate eventual end, because the mystery is in his identity, carefully concealed through most of the narrative.

As the title suggests, the psycho-sexual aberration at the heart of this killer’s impetus is rooted in an intense religiosity and the issues that raises. The sweaty pre-Katrina summer season in New Orleans only enhances the often oppressive feelings of many of the scenes.

The novel combines a multiplicity of viewpoints with several elements of subgenres of this kind of commercial fiction, relentless if sometimes mis-directed police procedures, multiple  murders, obscure and difficult motives and complicated relationships between members of a pretty large cast. The tension between the detectives and a local reporter, for example, is very well explored, as are certain racial elements.

If there are a few lapses in logic, an occasional unexplained coincidence, and some dialogue gaffes, overall, Absolution stands out as a highly credible effort.

Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

Happy New Year

It's official, 2011 started just 12 hours ago for those of us in the Central time zone of the U.S.A. I can't say exactly when for the rest of you. Get your own calculator out. LOL

A friend sent me a link to this cute New Year's Card so I thought I would share it today. It will wake up all those who are drooping from too much celebrating last night.

Friday's Odds and Ends

First I want to mention that today is the last day of the big sale from the BackList Books authors. 25% off already low-priced e-books from over 40 authors in a wide variety of genres. My book, One Small Victory, is one of the books offered. These books were all originally published by traditional publishers and the rights reverted back to the authors. Here is a LINK to the sale page.

Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? The eternal question. I started wondering about that the other day when reading the news, and I just don't know. Consider this:

From Fiction: A line from Father Flip in the play "The Altos, Like the Sopranos only Lower" : "I was lost, but found my way behind bars."

From Real Life: A pastor of a small church in Dallas after being arrested for breaking into a woman's house, defending her checkered past: "I've turned by life around. Since 1988, I have walked the straight and narrow path."

Hmmmmmm? I doubt the pastor ever read The Altos script or saw the show, but it is a scary coincidence that the words are so close.

I read this recently in The Dallas Morning News. "Because Dallas city processes for removing graffiti is so lengthy, the city is contracting with a lawyer who has been painting over the graffiti for several years, even though what he is doing is against the law.

So, instead of streamlining the process so city workers could do the work, the city would rather pay more money to a contractor? But, hey, why not change the law so people in the community could paint over the graffiti for free and not be breaking the law?

Oh, but that would be too simple of a solution for a bureaucracy.

And finally, Happy New Year.   Click on the link for a holiday wish from me to you.

Too Many Laws

In a recent column in The Dallas Morning News, Philip Howard put forth a unique idea, have federal and state laws expire after ten or fifteen years. He proposed that laws be repealed so they could be revisited instead of piling up like "sediment in a harbor."

Just think of how streamlined some aspects of government could be if laws determining how agencies are administrated were culled. IRS, anyone? That agency is so top-heavy with laws I wonder how it can even stand anymore.

Howard wrote, "Our political class assumes that, after a law is formed in the crucible of democracy, it should be honored as if it is one of the Ten Commandments, except it is more like one of 10 million."

Ten million laws. Whew. Who can even keep track of so many? Are some so obscure they haven't been read in decades? Where are they all stored?  Do new laws contradict old laws? Do we even know?

I like Howard's idea. He believes that "A healthy democracy must make fresh choices." Society changes and evolves, it doesn't remain in one place forever, but our laws do. Sometimes it is amusing to look at old laws that are still on the books in some states. We laugh at a law that prohibits spitting on the sidewalk, but nobody says, "Gee, maybe we don't need that law anymore."

And I'm guessing that at least half of those 10 million laws that govern us are as antiquated as that one.

The title of Howard's op-ed piece was "One nation under too many laws", and I agree. How about you?

Sale on E-Books

There is a terrific sale on the Backlist E-Books site on a wide variety of books from romance to mystery. The sale starts today, Dec 26th and runs  through Dec 31st.

The  books offered were once out in either hardback or paperback by traditional publishers, including my One Small Victory, and the authors retained the electronic rights to the stories. 

If you received a Kindle, Nook, or i-Pad for Christmas, this is a perfect time to load up on a few books. All 84 titles are offered at 25% off, so there are some good deals to be had over the next few days.

Here is a link to the Backlist E-Books site with all the information and coupon codes to get the 25% discount as you check out.

Happy shopping.

A Little Holiday Fun

Tis the day before Christmas and all is not done,
Things on the “to do” list number a million and one.
There are cookies to cut while the oven is hot,
And a gift for Aunt Mildred. Egad! I forgot.

There are presents to measure, to balance and wrap,
If the stacks are not even the kids will know in a snap.
The turkey is snug in the freezer so cold,
Will anyone notice if I put dinner on hold?

Tis the day to test stamina, courage, and brawn,
The survivors are heroes at next morning’s dawn.
Just when I thought I was running out of time
A stranger appeared with a smile so sublime.

He was dressed all in silver from his head to his toe.
And I blinked my eyes twice to see if he would go.
He patted my shoulder and gave me a latte,
“Your’re almost there,” he said. “The rest will be easy.

“Don’t worry, don’t fret, don’t get in a frazzle,
Together we’ll do it with narry a hassle.
I’ll hang the tinsel and check all the lights,
You bathe the children and kiss them goodnight.”

The kids were all tucked in their beds nice and warm.
(A threat to their presents always works like a charm.)
I’d finally decided, of course. It’s a dream.
That’s a mirage on my sofa eating toffee ice cream.

I was amazed at the picture that greeted my eyes,
My living room looked like Currier and Ives.
The stockings were stuffed, and so was the bird,
What magic he used was beyond any word.

He smacked his lips, gave a sly little wink,
“It’s time I was off to help other, I think.”
He twirled around once, then three time and more,
And in a twinkling was headed out my front door.

There’s no doubt about it; it was love at first sight,
For that stranger who saved me on Christmas Eve night.
No matter his name, he was really such a dear.
I wonder, will he return again in another year?

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, Good Cheer!

Where I am today....

I'm over at the All Day, All Night blog written by a group of us all named Maryann - with various spellings of course. The title of the blog comes from the old song, "All day, all night, Maryann. Down by the seashore sipping sand....." Most of the authors there are romance writers, but they allowed me to be part of the group because I do have one romance novel, even though my main genre is mystery.

Today is my day to post, so I put up one about Christmas lists my kids did one year. Hop on over if you have a minute. That might bring back some memories of your own....

HERE IS THE LINK

Book Review- One Small Victory

I just received this wonderful review for my book and wanted to share it.

"One Small Victory will draw you into one mother’s desire to fight back and make a difference. With guts and determination, Jenny heads into dangerous drug trafficking territory. Though she puts herself into a situation that gets her in way over her head, I still had to admire her courage. The whole situation could have heaped a lot more grief on top of her family, yet she still went ahead with it.

With heart and soul and plenty of suspense, One Small Victory careens toward an outcome that could end in disaster—or it could result in one small victory against the war on drugs. Nothing is certain, and you won’t breathe easy until the story’s conclusion.

One Small Victory is a rare jewel among e-book reads, so I suggest that you download it now—right this minute. Go, go, go!" Margaret Marr for Nights and Weekends.com

That is just part of her review. If you would like to read the whole thing, click HERE  I am so thrilled and humbled.

E-Books Have Come a Long Way

It has been exciting to see the surge in e-book sales with the advent of the Kindle and the Nook and the iPad, as well as other reading devices. A lot of authors, including myself, are taking advantage of the interest in e-books by publishing new book straight to electronic formats, as well as putting up our back lists. In fact, there is a site now dedicated to BackList E-Books.  There you can find authors from the well-known like Paul Levine to, well, me.

The criteria for being listed on this site is that your books had to first come out in paper from a traditional publisher, so in a way the work is vetted for the reader.

Another exciting development for e-books is a recent announcement that The New York Times will start reviewing e-books on a regular basis. Wow, talk about validation.

While all of that is great news, what prompted me to write this post was a message I received in my inbox this morning:

We are collecting nominations for 2010 eBook of the Year. Please, nominate your favorite ebook here:

 Winners will be announced in The Huffington Post and will be alerted to over 2000 literary agents as well.

Sponsored byHow to Write a Query Letter.com

  To qualify for the award, the book nominated must have originated as an e-book, and I have two that qualify. Play It Again, Sam and Friends Forever.  A romance and a young adult novel. If you have a book that qualifies, head on over and nominate it for the award. If you don't, well, maybe you would consider nominating one of mine?

Thanks.....

Whats Wrong With This Picture?

A friend sent this message the other day and it really resonated with me.  I have edited the letter some to hide identities and for space constraints.

I'm so angry with the government in this country.  Not newly angered just still, and for more reasons.  My good friends and neighbors have both been unemployed for months now.  Both have lots of experience in retail, warehousing, etc, but so do thousands of others in the same boat.  What worries me is that I'm slowly watching them lose everything, and I know my friend is despondent, depressed and frightened.  She told me yesterday that she dreams of suicide. She's so not that person. She's me...the kind who sees the glass half-full and finds humor in everything...but something has stolen that person and left behind an empty shell.

Her biggest fear is becoming homeless. Her husband just received his last 1/2 of unemployment, which in itself creates a struggle, but now he's done.  There is no way they can live on $268 a week when they have a $575 rental, car payment and utilities...not to mention food. They haven't paid their rent this month, which incurs a $50 late fee as additional punishment when they are already down and out.

Two days ago, they stood in a long line at the senior citizen center to get free food.  I've been giving them what I can, have paid their electric bill once, and also we've bought things from them.  But that's sad too... I've watched their recliners be taken back, their washer and dryer disappear, and I know their Internet, which has become a priority because of all the resumes they send out daily, is eventually going to go.

Then I watch the news and hear about 6000 + earmarks  (6,714 earmarks worth $8.3 billion) ....ridiculous expenditures for a Nikita Khrushchev hiking trail, billions to study idiotic crap that can wait until America is healed, and I want to vomit.

I don't know where to turn to help my friends.  They are both depressed, have given up, and I fear for them both.

It's Christmas.  Isn't this supposed to be about family, love and celebrating goodness?  I fear it's lost on some of us this year. How can we celebrate when our friends are slowing drowning and Congress is more interested in waging their own little wars against the opposite party.

 Unfortunately this scenario is probably playing out across the country, and to solve the budget deficits local, state, and federal governments are trying to cut from the bottom instead of cutting from the top. Why is is always the little guy that has to suffer the most?

If you are interested Here is a link to more information about the earmarks and what they are costing.

Another Holiday Gift for Readers

Continuing my suggestions of good books to buy for Holiday gifts, I want to recommend books by Raymond Atkins. I read The Front Porch Prophet two years ago, and last year read Sorrow Wood Both excellent books.


The Front Porch Prophet  by Raymond L. Atkins
ISBN: 978-1933836386
Publisher: Medallion Press
Date of publish: July 1, 2008
Pages: 400
S.R.P.: $25.95

 (Now available on Kindle)

While The Front Porch Prophet is described as a humorous work of Southern fiction about two young men who come of age in North Georgia, it is at times as serious as a rattlesnake. In those moments, the author does not hold back when it comes to the tough issues of broken relationships, death and dying, divorce and a myriad of other not so pleasant moments along life’s journey.

A.J. Longstreet and his friend Eugene Purdue have been through a lot since their carefree childhood days spent playing football, pulling pranks, and trying to be the first to lose his virginity. The most recent being a dispute over Eugene’s ex-wife that left the friends estranged for several years. Yet, the toughest days are ahead.

One day Eugene asks A.J to come to his cabin – no easy feat as A.J. has to get past Rufus to get there. Rufus is described as a “cross between a Great Dane and a bear” and he guards the mountain that is home to Eugene’s cabin. A.J. does not even attempt the climb without his Louisville slugger.

The point of the visit becomes painfully clear when Eugene tells A.J. the latest news from the doctor. “I have cancer. I’m rotten with it. It’s terminal.”  After that pronouncement, there is a long silence described this way, “His words hung over the clearing like a gas attack over the Argonne. A gentle breeze blew through the branches, but the words would not disappear.”

There is much to enjoy in this wonderful book, and the use of language that is so precise and so evocative is just one aspect. The dialogue is some of the best ever written. It is natural, true to each character, and so funny in places readers will be hard pressed to stifle their laughter when finishing the book at work because they couldn’t bear to leave the story at home.

On the flip side of the humor is the very serious matter of death and dying and the fact that Eugene wants A. J. to put him out of his misery at the end. “You must be crazy. If you want to shoot yourself or blow yourself up, go ahead. But leave me out of it.” A.J. felt like he was breathing mud. “I know ten or fifteen people who would be happy to accommodate you. Hell, Diane’s daddy would pay you to let him do it.”

“I’d do it for you.”

For nearly six months, A.J wrestles with that request, and during that time the two men visit weekly and sift through the experiences of their lives and try to make sense of it all.

The remembering is as poignant for the reader as it is for the characters.

~~~~~~~

Today I am a guest on the Roses of Houston blog, where a whole series of posts have focused on the Holidays and different traditions and recipes.  Hop on on over if you have a minute to spare.

Holiday Gifts

Today I am over at Terry O'Dells blog Terry's Place where I am sharing a bit about  what it means to give and receive a gift. If you have a minute, stop by and let us know what gifts mean to you.

I learned a lesson one year that has stayed with me for a long time.

Holiday Gifts for Readers

 Last year, my wish list for the holidays included several book and I thought I would share them here on the blog for people who might want a suggestion for a book to get for someone in their family.

On the top of my list was The Dark Horse, by Craig Johnson, now out in paperback. My husband said I only wanted the book because it had "horse" in the title, but that is not true. I had read a review of the book in The Dallas Morning News and was intrigued by the reference to the book being "a literary mystery."

I was not disappointed. This is a wonderful book, with narrative so vivid and rhythmic I found myself pausing to savor a phrase or a sentence. The character of Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire stands counter to stereotype, and his wit elicited many a chuckle.

This is the fifth mystery to feature Walt Longmire (after 2008's Another Man's Moccasins). He is a man who is more interested in the truth than the letter of the law, and he has his doubts about Mary Barsad's guilt when she confesses to shooting her husband, Wade, after Wade allegedly burned down their barn with all Mary's horses inside. Even though the crime is out of his jurisdiction in a neighboring county, Walt can't shake the feeling that there's more to Mary's story. He isn't above a little trickery as he poses as an insurance agent to do some off-the-record investigating.

The story takes place in the small town of Absalom, whose main attraction are the fights at the local bar. There Walt meets an illegal immigrant bartender with a knack for crime solving, the Barsads' loyal cowhand and some ranchers who may have had their own reasons for wanting Wade dead. 

I highly recommend this book for mystery lovers, horse lovers, and readers who like a lot of  layers to a story and the characters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am a guest at Margaret West's blog today, sharing an unusual Christmas tradition at the Miller household. Look for the glass of mulled wine on the site and you will find the POST

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer:  This book was purchased and given to me as a gift. Other than having such an enjoyable book to read, I have not benefited in any way from this review.

Book Review -Ringside 1925: Views From The Scopes Trial by Jen Bryant

Ringside 1925: Views From The Scopes Trial
Jen Bryant
ISBN: 978-0375940477
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Date of publish: Feb 12, 2008
Pages: 240 - S.R.P.: $18.99


In the summer of 1925, the residents of Dayton, Tennessee had a first-hand look at a controversial trial that centered on the debate between evolution and creationism. The community of less than 2,000 citizens was primarily an agricultural region, with most folks believing in the latter, especially the hard-core Baptists like Betty Barker.

The trial is the famous Scopes “Monkey” trial, named for the teacher, J.T. Scopes, who introduced the concept of evolution to the science class one day. The state of Tennessee has just passed the “Butler Act” that prohibited the teaching of evolution, and the Civil Liberties Union decided to challenge that law by taking the issue to trial.

For ten days, the town of Dayton bustles with activity and visitors who come great distances to see the trial. Reporters from across the nation come to cover the trial that is pitting Clarence Darrow against the famous orator, William Jennings Bryan. It is a boon for the owner of the boardinghouse, Tillie Stackhouse, who is one of the nine narrators of the story, which is written in a poetic, free-verse style.

The influx of visitors also puts extra money in the pockets of Willy Amos and his pa, who know all too well that “colored” folks get paid a lot less than white folks. But they are enterprising and find ways to capitalize on this opportunity. They set up extra seating in the courthouse for all the visitors and sell the monkey-face flyers that people buy to put in the windows of their businesses and their homes.

There are also other, more subtle, effects of the trial on a number of people in the town. Marybeth Dodd gets the courage to apply for college, despite her fear that her father will not allow it. Willy Amos meets the famous Clarence Darrow and dreams of being the first “colored” lawyer in that area. And several young teens open their minds to possibilities outside of the rigid parameters of small-town thinking and Sunday school.

Even though the book is written for readers 12 and up, it can be enjoyed by adults as well. Each narrator has a distinctive voice that is presented through variances in the rhythm of the verse.  For example, the reporter’s verse is written in a literary style, while those of the young boys are written in a simple style that reflects their lack of world view and education.

Readers will be charmed and captivated by this wonderful book and come to cherish each of the narrators as their personal stories unfold. It is a perfect choice for readers on your holiday gift list, and it invites people to think about the science vs. religion debate that is still going on these many years later.

Contest continuing....

L. J. and I are going to continue the contest for the free books for a few more hours. The drawing will be later this afternoon and announced tomorrow.

Good luck everyone....

And the winner of L.J.'s book is Sabrina Ogden. Congrats, Sabrina.

The winner of my book from the folks who left comments on L.J.s blog for me is Dani Greer. I threw all the names in a hat and had my husband pick one, so Dani did not win just because she said she had never read one of my books. I'm sure none of the other responders had either. LOL

Trading Places

L.J. Sellers is my guest today. We decided to do something fun and trade places for a day, so I am guesting on her BLOG today. I hope you enjoy what she has to say today, and please do check out her books. She writes some terrific mystery/suspense.

What Makes Me Keep Reading
I recently posted on my own blog about what makes me put down a novel, so to be fair, I thought I’d post about what makes me keep reading.

1. A great opening in which something unusual, unexpected, contradictory, or violent happens. For example, in Secret Dead Men by Duane Swierczynski, the third sentence caught my attention. “..but a couple of kids organized an impromptu club with a mandate to experiment on her corpse.”

2. Intriguing characters who are unusual, unexpected, contradictory, complex, or compelling. From the first page of the same story: “Then again, what do I know? I was a dead man impersonating an FBI agent.”

3. Characters who don’t fit the current clichés. I like cops who aren’t cynical, FBI agents who aren’t workaholics that can’t handle relationships, private investigators who aren’t alcoholic loners, and women who are soft on the outside and tough on the inside.

4. Complexity! I like parallel plots, interwoven stories, and multiple points of view. And if it all comes together in a way that surprises me and makes perfect sense, I pick up the next book by that author.

5. Passion about a subject. I like politics, religion, and social issues in novels as long as it works for the story and doesn’t overwhelm it.

6. Multiple plot points and plots twists that leave me thinking: Wow! Stunning, but believable.

7. Moderate levels of crime and violence written with sensitivity to the subject, the victim, and the reader.

8. Just enough detail (setting and character) to make the story real. I like Elmore Leonard’s approach: Only write the parts that people will read.

9. Believable relationships of any and all kinds.

10. Fast-paced narrative with a great balance of dialogue and action, in which the surprises just keep coming.

Of course, these are the kind of stories Maryann and I write. (smile)  What makes you keep reading a novel?

~~~~~~~~~

L.J. will give one lucky person an electronic copy of Passions Of the Dead. Leave your e-mail address in the comment box and we will draw the winner at the end of the week.
~~~~~~~~

L.J. Sellers is an award-winning journalist and the author of the Detective Jackson mystery/suspense series. The Sex Club, Secrets to Die For, and Thrilled to Death have been highly praised by Mystery Scene and Spinetingler magazines. Her fourth Jackson story, Passions of the Dead, has just been released. All four novels are on Amazon Kindle’s bestselling police procedural list. L.J. also has two standalone thrillers, The Baby Thief and The Suicide Effect. When not plotting murders, she enjoys performing standup comedy, cycling, social networking, and attending mystery conferences. She’s also been known to jump out of airplanes.

About Passions of the Dead -- A working-class family is brutally attacked in their home and only one survives. Detective Jackson is assigned to investigate and soon uncovers a blackmail scheme. But the forensic evidence is confusing, and the girl who survives has no memory of the horrific event.
When another home invasion occurs, Jackson is confident they’ve nailed the perpetrators. Yet the case grows even more entangled. When the survivor disappears, Jackson fears for her life—but can he find her in time to save her?


Read an excerpt  HERE  http://ljsellers.com/wordpress/jackson/passions-of-the-dead

Where to Find Me Today

Well, one place is here in my office, except when I go to the art center this afternoon to put the set back together for "Scrooge."

The other place is at Louise Wise's blog "Wise Words." This is a terrific site for authors to share a bit about themselves and their books, and she was kind enough to do an interview with me that is posted today.

Louise also interviews publishers and is involved in other promotional endeavors. Her latest is: Authors On Show (AOS) is a website for writers and readers - anyone with a love of books. It promotes writers and offers advice: book reviews, author features and interviews.

The new site is also fun for readers who can come and meet new authors and promote blogs about books. One of the things I have always enjoyed about being interviewed on blogs such as "Wise Words" is that I get to meet people who love books as much as I do. And I have found new authors to read.

So, without further ado, here is the link to my interview   Stop by for a visit if you get a chance.

Trying to get Back on Schedule

Honest I am.

I thought when I cut back to posting only three or four days a week I could keep up with the blog, but it always seems that other things demand more and more of my time.

Scheduling is always hard when you have two or three major things going on at the same time. But this year I have a lot things that all need my attention right now. My new mystery, Open Season, is being released this month, so I am busy trying to promote that just a bit. As all authors know, it it imperative that we really work at promoting, especially when the book first comes out.

Open Season is heavily marketed to libraries first, so I did a mailing of postcards to a number of libraries. Now I need to plan a launch party and virtual book tour for January when it will be available to the public. Not to mention make some time to work on the second book in the series.

My young adult novel, Friends Forever, is being re-released by a new publisher this week, so I should probably be doing some publicity for that.

On top of that, are my responsibilities to "Scrooge". It takes six weeks to prepare for a show and the work seems endless. The upside of putting in endless hours for a show is the fun along the way and the end result. If you would like to meet some of the wonderful cast I have been working with, here is a link to a story I did for WinnsboroToday.com

My position as Managing Editor for the online magazine is another challenge to my time. Each month it seems harder and harder to keep up with all that job entails, as well as fit in some other freelance editing.

Throw the Holidays into the mix, and I am really feeling a time pressure. I have to remind myself to stop and take a breath now and then. I also am trying to make daily to-do lists and prioritize the items so I take care of the must-haves before doing anything else. That is a challenge for me, as I am not a list kind of person. Nor am I very organized. Just ask my husband. Plus, I always seem to run out of the day before I run out of the list. Some items go on tomorrow's to-do list.

When you start feeling overwhelmed with tasks, what do you do to find balance and ease the stress? Have you made tough choices to give up some activities to have more time for work?

Book Review-The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies by Kathleen Hills

The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies
by Kathleen Hills
Poisoned Pen Press, January 2008
hard cover,316 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59058-476-7


The author of this novel has a strong background in rural America, particularly in the Upper Midwest. It shows in many of the nuances that affect the progress of this story. The novel is replete with icons of small towns, some of which are isolated from the mainstream.

The book is set in the tiny Upper Peninsula Michigan town of St. Adele where once again we ride along with one of the most reluctant and phlegmatic lawmen we are likely ever to encounter. His name is John McIntyre and he is the town constable. He didn't want the job in the first place and he can think of a hundred things he'd rather be doing and places he'd rather be than the sun-blasted hay field of former conscientious objector, Ruben Hofer.

Hofer has been murdered, that's plain to see. His head was blasted open by a rifle shot while he sat on his tractor raking hay. It is almost immediately clear that the man's family is one likely source of murderous
intent. Hofer was not a nice man. He drove his two teen-aged sons in cruel and oppressive ways; and his eleven-year-old daughter, Claire, has already been pushed to warped and dangerous attitudes about life.  is wife is morbidly over-weight and only the youngster, Joey, constantly playing with his make-believe farm in the yard outside the kitchen of the school-house-turned-family-home, seems almost normal.

Author Hills continues to invest her stories with an array of intriguing characters although I got a little tired of the sheriff's on-again-off-again almost incompetent investigation. Moreover, the two teen-agers do not
become distinct characters in this book until very late, which I found to be a weakness.

Nevertheless, the story is informed by very real human emotions and conflicts and the author's handling of the religious, political and historical elements of the book tell us she has done careful research. The book is, as is true of all her books, well-written.

Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

Community Theatre Productions

Some of you astute readers may have noted that I have been off the normal schedule of posts this week. So kind of you not to point that out. LOL

So today I thought I would share with you the reason my "best laid plans" have gone awry. Every year for the past four years, I have been involved in mounting the production of "Scrooge" at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts. I adapted the script from an old radio show from the 1930s that starred Orson Welles and  have directed the show for three years. Last year I was in the production as the Narrator, and John Milligan, Scrooge, took the reins as director. BTW, what an incredible actor he is. He is pictured here with Maddy Nittmo, a high school student, who is also very talented. The dark ghost in the next picture is Ashland Tipton, who is also in high school. She is a dancer and it is wonderful to see her glide across the stage "like a mist coming out of the darkness."

Scrooge and The Ghost of Christmas Past at Rehearsal

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come - The Scariest Ghost of Them All

In addition to six weeks of rehearsals, there are so many little details that have to be taken care of to get a show to opening night, and I envy professional companies that have production  and tech staff. We have our troupe of actors, a few people at the Art Center who can help, and me, so needless to say I have been very busy this month.

Every year as I get into the last two weeks of pressure to get the set finished, the props, the playbill, advertising, costumes, posters, and pictures, I wonder why I do this year after year. Then I get my answer on opening night when the magic happens. Anyone who has been involved in performing, professionally or as an amateur, knows what it feels like when the curtain goes up and the show begins. We are transported into another world for a little while and there is nothing quite like being on stage.

We open tomorrow, Friday, so most of the pressure is over. Still I won't be posting my usual Friday's Odds and Ends. There are always some last minute details, like maybe working on my lines. LOL

I want to publicly thank my cast and crew for all their hard work and dedication. It has been a real pleasure to work with everyone.
 

Ebeneezer Scrooge, We have come for You

There is also magic when a professional photographer gets an amazing shot. I love this picture taken by a local photographer, Jim Dyson, of Mr. Jim's Studios.