aching fingers starting tomorrow

I'd like to wish everyone about to embark on this years Nanowrimo good luck! Rather than post my word count each day - which I will be doing on the nano site anyway I've decided I'll just be off the blog for November. See you all in December.

Safer - and sad

This taking an arc out at lunchtime is a good idea - I've read a bunch of stuff that I wouldn't normally have picked up. Safer by Sean Doolittle is one such example. I test drove it over lunch and that was enough to make me take it home. Full review in March when it comes out but once you've read it you may never look at your neighbourhood watch quite the same way again.

Sadly we've lost another colleague at the store - I'm hoping she will come back when she is feeling better..... her encyclopedic knowledge of books and her sunny disposition will be missed:-(

Fault Line

I like Eisler's style of writing so this was an easy pick. It's out in March of 2009 so I'll post the full review then. What I can say is that it's a very contemporary book, raising more than a few moral questions and adding a family element makes it even better.

And now back to the re-writes.

Informal Book Club - update

I'm still waiting for the books to come rolling in - none have rolled so far.

Google analytics continues to provide me with impetus to post. People are visiting and what's more they keep coming back. If I had way too much time on my hands I could drill down through the data ad infinitum but I have to be at work in an hour and a half and I still haven't started the Eisler yet.

Signed Up

Today I officially signed up to do Nano again - my second year. It was so much fun to do last time and I'm really looking forward to November 1st! Of course this means I'll be off the grid for the whole of November no arcs, pre written reviews and funnies if there are any. Wish me luck.

The Graveyard Book and an arc by Barry Eisler

I borrowed a copy of Neil Gaiman's new book - as we didn't have an arc well not one I could find. Gaiman seems to be able to write for most genres and The Graveyard Book is aimed at younger kids. It's the story of Nobody Owens or Bod. His family died in unpleasant circumstances and it seems that young Bod is about to be next when he's saved by the Graveyard up the hill and its' inhabitants. With ghosts as parents and teachers and Silas who only comes out at night as his guardian Bod grows towards adulthood but the people who killed his family have never stopped looking for him. This book is a funny, scary, sweet coming of age story as only Neil Gaiman can tell it.

Finally got around to putting a pic on this site - it's the same one I've just changed my facebook one to. As my friends and family know only too well point a camera at me and don't expect good results (unless you're our wedding photographer!) Chris knows how to take sneaky ones (he's the one closest to the camera - obviously).

The Eisler arc called Fault Line isn't a John Rain - it seems he really has retired his ethical assassin and I can read this one a little slower it's not out until March next year.

New shift pattern rewrites and a creepy arc

So this week is the start of the 'new' shift pattern. Considering what a grinder that Monday shift is I was allowed an 'off the premises' lunch break. I embraced this by going to Sbucks with the first arc I could grab off the pile. 'The Angel Maker' by Stefan Brijs which I'll review in full when it comes out in January of 09. Creepy, really creepy, it gives you that unsettling feeling of seeing something nasty out of the corner of your eye and then you blink and it's not there. If I was younger this would be giving me nightmares. Good Halloween book.

Rewrites - I'm going to do another draft. Wendy is reading my manuscript at the moment and has given me some great feedback and constructive advice (thanks Wendy!). I spent my Saturday morning in bed with the laptop re-writing a scene in the third person so that I can make it more powerful.

And it seems to be the week for blasts from the past. I signed up to Friends Reunited 3 or 4 years ago put my profile up and actually forgot I'd done it. At the time it cost five pounds to sign up for a year so at the end of that year I let it lapse but the profile stayed up. Last week I got an e-mail from a guy I used to work with and when I went onto the site I recognized some of the people from my class at Grammar School so I e-mailed a couple of them. (Deb if you're reading this I did reply to your e-mail but it had no return address - leave me a comment I'd love to stay in touch.) So I'm now in touch with Helen and on Tuesday during our weekly phonecall Mum told me she'd run into the son of a friend of hers that I thought had left the village for good. I used to really fancy him (but never did anything about it) so I shall not say his name here a) so I don't embarrass him and b) in case he didn't realize how I felt about him back then. God I sound like a love struck schoolgirl!