Monday Roundup

For the last few days I've been flat on my back - I hate being ill and I was wiped so I didn't get a chance to jump into any books. Today however I'm fighting fit, so back to it.

Finished the Ellory yesterday - A Quiet Belief in Angels is already out but it is interesting how the story of Joseph Vaughan mirrors Ellory's life. Good page turning mystery, Vaughan's voice is strong and he doesn't go deep into gory details. Also finished Lev Grossman's The Magicians and while there is much to like about this book I didn't love it. There are nods to Harry Potter, Narnia, etc but towards the end there was more humping than fighting and one character who was begging to be killed off wasn't. Plus magic wasn't the gift it was supposed to be but Quentin could never turn away from it completely despite everything he lost.

Also did my first book talk last week which was scary good. I blew through the nine or so books I had but the twenty (!!) - or so ladies that attended said they enjoyed it and they picked nearly all of the books I pitched them. The other thing I did was start reading chapters from the Nikki Heat novel by 'Richard Castle' a) to see if it was any good and b) to try and suss out who abc are using to write it and so far my guess would be Patterson.

September tomorrow and I can finally post a bunch of reviews I've been sitting on for months!

Accents can be a curse as well as a blessing

Over the last two days my english accent has landed me in a little trouble. Not in the store - at least not so far. So here's the story. I was posting a couple of submissions and a birthday card for a friend who lives in Mallorca, Spain. The guy posting his letters held the letter box open for me and I thanked him. Then he looked at me, looked at the letter and gave me what we at home used to called the stink eye. Then he told me that you english should be ashamed of yourself. I managed to not say 'what for posting a letter' and I don't think he was outside my house at 5am this morning when it was raining and the sprinklers were on so I can only guess that he was holding me personally responsible for the UK government's latest dumb decision. To clarify my position life means life if a convicted terrorist has terminal cancer - tough let him die in prison. The incident left me a little shaken and the more I think about it the angrier it makes me.

Monday Roundup and a submissions horror story

Finished and blurbed Rizzo's War and that means I'm up to date with my arcs! until I go into the manager's office tomorrow and see more that I want to read.

I'm still cringing over this and I would've caught the mistake if I had double checked the submission before I sent it out. I used the correct name and address for the agent but (argh) used the previous agents name as the salutation. I doubt she will read my blog after this but if you do - sorry! Note to self - check and re-check everything

Kid in a candy store

The absolute last thing I should be doing is seeing reading material everywhere. I've got blurbs to do for next month's Inkslinger but yesterday I did just that. Rizzo's War is coming along nicely and the story proper is just starting but I'm halfway through the book which means that the characters are well-established and on my break I was supposed to be reading that but...Terry Goodkind's new one The Law of Nines (it's The Rule of Nines oops!) caught my eye. Several chapters later it was still holding my attention. Goodkind normally writes sci-fi but this is a newly published mystery thriller and we didn't have an arc for it which kind of bummed me out but served as a reminder to concentrate on the book in hand. Then in the back room I saw another search for Atlantis based thriller but I mananged to resist - just and finally the awesome and wonderful Sally who I worked with last night managed to snaffle an arc of Lev Grossman's The Magicians which she will pass on to me after she's read it.

Monday Roundup - one day early

Apart from sending off two more submissions (keeping ten out there at any one time) Mondays are the only day this month I get to write.

Hunger Games is YA and came out about a year ago. It's a nightmare scenario of a nationwide reality show gone mad that manages to keep you turning the pages and rooting for the young heroine all the way to the end. Won't say any more about it because we are discussing it for club J.

I knew 'The Murder of King Tut' was going to be a page turner. But James Paterson's unfussy style makes the book fairly race along. Published in September. Still reading the Ellory and about to start on Rizzo's War.

Good job I'm organized

Getting an agent is a little like speed dating - you have to impress them right off the bat if you are going to get another date - or in my case a request for a partial. Now this works both ways, I got a snail mail rejection yesterday that didn't even give the name of the agent I submitted to which would've left me scratching my head if I hadn't set up a submission spreadsheet. I know these people are busy I read Nathan Bransford's blog and I even participated in his agent for a day competition. In my old job we had form letters for all of the consultants, we could get up to 500 applications in a day if a file ended up in the no box I simply printed out a copy of the letter and left it for the appropriate chap to sign or initial when there were a lot. Off my soapbox and back to Hunger Games.

This working for a living is playing havoc with everything else!

In life we must have balance - I'm not sure which philosopher said that but at the moment my balance is out of whack. When even your horoscope says you've taken on too much well it's enough to make you drop your coffee in your lap (and I don't recommend it - it was iced and iced coffee on cream trousers not a good look!)

Posts might be a little slim for the next four weeks, but I will still be reading when I get the chance. Have to read Hunger Games for Club J by Sunday and there's another arc in my box Rizzo's War. Also the Lev Grossman book The Magicians - I managed to sneak the first chapter last night - think a Harry Potter style academy for magic in upstate New York with nods to Rowling, CS Lewis's Narnia etc. Managed to cram a bit of writing in yesterday as well. I know have a clear timeline for the second book, one that makes sense plot wise.

Quietly Brilliant

I read a review of A Quiet Belief in Angels last week and it is so not my usual read. For a start it's set in Georgia but comparisons to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were enough to attract me to it, the story spans a character's life and it is a literary thriller and I'm hooked.

Monday Roundup

Finished reading The Coral Thief, out in September by the same author as Ghostwalk - which I now have to read. This wasn't one I asked for it seems I've landed on a list - which is fine by me. Two other arcs I picked up The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson and A Quiet Belief in Angels by Ellory.

Some thoughts on Her Fearful Symmetry

On the whole I liked HFS but the actions of one character led me from liking and feeling a kind of admiration for them to hating them for a jaw-droppingly callous act of betrayal. Apart from that the writing, the characters even the 'here it is take it or leave it' science worked. I'm sure that Highgate Cemetery will have an influx of American visitors wanting to take the "Robert Fanshawe Tour' next Summer.

Quickie

I'm waiting for the fireplace people to come and fix our gas leak (!!) so this will be short and sweet. The Niffenegger has taken a turn hope to finish it today and blurb it. I watched the excellent Every Little Step last night it's a documentary of the auditions for the revival of 'A Chorus Line' and one quote struck me as applying to writing as well as dancing. One of the producers said that every time you audition you are giving an opening night polished performance, laying everything on the line. Although IMHO dancers have thicker skins because they are rejected in person!