Category: Books

Anna Katherine Green and the birth of detective fiction

Hey, kids–

So, I was thinking about the history of sleuthing/detecting in fiction/literature and I decided to do some digging. I’d heard of Anna Katherine Green, and I’d heard about her character, Violet Strange, who’s credited as the first female sleuth in fiction.

But Green is also known as the mother of American mystery, and she’s credited as writing and publishing what’s known as the first American detective novel, The Leavenworth Case, in 1878 (image below). It’s available at Amazon, if you’re interested (reprinted, obviously). This book, featuring detective Ebenezer Gryce, was published nine years before the debut of Sherlock Holmes.


source: C. Martinelli’s blog

There’s more…

Continue reading →

by Categories: Books, Cool stuff to read, History, Things that might make you thinkTags: , , , 1 Comment

The Dog Stars: more post-apocalyptic reading for you and yours

Hi, peeps!

So I was reading the latest issue (September 2012) of Outside Magazine (cuz it’s one of my faves) and I came across a little piece in “Dispatches” about how contributing writer Peter Heller has just published his first novel. (It’s in THIS issue)

I’m a fan of Heller’s nonfiction work, so I was intrigued, especially when I heard that The Dog Stars is a post-apocalyptic novel.


SOURCE: peterheller.net (re-sized here)

And then, lo and behold, he’s been all over NPR the past couple of days. So if you’re not sure you want to purchase this book, or if you’re interested in more about it and in Heller, check these out:

” ‘Dog Stars’ Dwells on the Upside of Apocalypse”
QUOTE:
We’re in the middle of a golden age (if that’s the right term for it) of doomsday narratives. …the world is regularly being smashed by asteroids, ravaged by viruses and overrun by zombies. Pop culture’s embrace of end times has become, if not casual, then matter-of-fact. The apocalypse is a given; get over it already.

Getting over it already is the challenge facing Hig, the narrator of The Dog Stars, Peter Heller’s crackerjack new novel set a decade or so after an epidemic wiped out 99 percent of the U.S. population. With its soulful hero, macabre villains, tender (if thin) love story and action scenes staggered at perfectly spaced intervals, the story unfolds with the vigor of the film it will undoubtedly become. But it also succeeds as a dark, poetic and funny novel in its own right.
SOURCE: Jennifer Reese, “Upside of Apocalypse,” NPR (link above)

Heller was also interviewed at Fresh Air, which aired yesterday in my time zone. There, he talks about growing up in New York with his yearning for the outdoors and exploration, his work in nonfiction and journalism, and then his novel. You can catch that RIGHT HERE, baby. Hit the link for audio and also written highlights of the chat.

I’ll be picking this up soon.

Happy reading, happy writing!

by Categories: Apocalypse, Books, Cool stuff to readTags: ,

“Crime in the City” plus other stuff

Hey, kids! Hope things are groovy with you and yours this Friday.

So, for reals. NPR has this series it’s been doing called “Crime in the City.” It’s interviews with crime writers talking about their fictional detective and the cities in which they set their novels. Freaking AWESOME. Today was an encore presentation of an interview with author Colin Cotterill, who writes mysteries based in 1970s Laos.

Listen to it HERE.

Other authors in the series include Karin Slaughter, Mike Lawson, Benjamin Black, and Jo Nesbo. Cities like Oslo, Moscow, Athens, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dublin, and Seattle. And other places like Brattleboro, Vermont. I mean, for reals. I totally love this series. I’ve been introduced to some awesome authors and fictional detectives. And I secretly wish NPR would send me out to interview them. (Hello? NPR? Are you listening?) So go check out Crime in the City. I think you’ll dig it.

Another fun tidbit, via Publishers Weekly: 6 famous authors who kept their day jobs.

And Fridays for the next few weeks over at Women and Words I’ll be interviewing some authors! Today is lesfic romance author Janet Albert. Check it out.

Happy reading, happy writing, happy Friday!

by Categories: Books, Cool stuff to read, InterviewsTags: , ,

Chuck Wendig’s Blackbirds

Happy Friday, peeps!

I’ve provided links to author Chuck Wendig’s writing tips in the past, because I love his irreverent, often profane take on this nutty writing life.

He just released his novel Blackbirds, and it’s getting a ton of well-deserved praise and buzz. Check out the sexy-time cover:

source: Angry Robot Books

Here’s what it’s about, from Angry Robot:

Miriam Black knows when you will die. She’s foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, and suicides.

But when Miriam hitches a ride with Louis Darling and shakes his hand, she sees that in thirty days Louis will be murdered while he calls her name. Louis will die because he met her, and she will be the next victim.

No matter what she does she can’t save Louis. But if she wants to stay alive, she’ll have to try.

Here’s part of the buzz, all from Angry Robot:
“Trailer-park tension, horrified hilarity, and sheer terror mixed with deft characterization and razor plotting. I literally could not put it down.”
– Lilith Saintcrow, author of Night Shift and Working for the Devil

“A gleefully dark, twisted road trip for everyone who thought Fight Club was too warm and fuzzy. If you enjoy this book, you’re probably deeply wrong in the head. I loved it, and will be seeking professional help as soon as Chuck lets me out of his basement.”
– James Moran, Severance, Doctor Who and Torchwood screenwriter

“Gritty and raw, Blackbirds sports a unique heroine in the form of Miriam. Both sympathetic and pitiable, she dances through Chuck’s brilliant turns of phrase and crisp writing to an illuminating ending which begs the question: Are we truly masters of our own fate?”
– Allison Pang, author of A Brush of Darkness

That might not be the kind of book up your alley, but what I also dig about Chuck is how open he is with and about his process. Here’s part of the story BEHIND Blackbirds, done in his “25 Things…” format. It’s worth the trip over. CLICK THIS LINK HERE OR BE FOREVER DOOMED TO THE WALK-IN FREEZER OF MORDOR!

Happy Friday, y’all, and may we all find that “god I love this novel this is the one that will take me to the fire goddess Pelé and buy our way out of her wrath with a cocky grin and a song and make sure I have plenty of party favors” novel within us.

by Categories: Books, Cool tunes, Inspiration, WritingTags: , 1 Comment

The Hunger Games and other dystopian ruminations

Hey, kids–

Some of you may be sitting in line right now to get into the next showing of the movie The Hunger Games. Some of you may have read the trilogy already, by Suzanne Collins.

Some of you may have been under a rock for the past…well, a while. Collins’ book The Hunger Games was first released in 2008, and started making a lot of buzz in YA circles, though it’s found a much larger audience with whom its themes resonate.
Want to know more about why that might be and what that’s about? Read on!

Continue reading →

by Categories: Books, Cool stuff to read, Dystopia, Movies, Things that might make you thinkTags: , , , 7 Comments

Characters and historical context

Hey, kids!

I heard a story on NPR on Saturday (yeah, I’m a geek. I listen to NPR on the weekends!) about the approaching “cashless society.” This dude tried an experiment, where he didn’t use cash for two months. He has a smart phone with the apps that allow you to purchase things with the codes, and he liked the ease of not carrying cash around, but some things, he noted, needed cash. For example, tipping. He ended up having to stiff people, and that really bothered him. And he also noted that some people still prefer the anonymity of cash when making purchases, and he acknowledged that with cash, there are no hidden fees. It is what it is.

The story got me thinking. I still carry cash for tips and small purchases, and “just in case.” I never travel without cash, and I never leave the house without at least a few bucks and some change. Call me weird. It’s how I grew up, and it’s a habit I’ve refused to break.

So what does this have to do with writing characters? Well, click on and find out!

Continue reading →

by Categories: Books, History, Writing, Writing tipsTags: , , , , , , 5 Comments

When an apocalypse hits…

where will you be?

Hi, folks–

Here we are on zombie and/or apocalypse Saturdays. First, tomorrow is the next episode of AMC’s Walking Dead, which has been on mid-season hiatus until now. So if you’ve been following that, there you go. I’m already getting my therapy lined up…

Second, Tuesdays, the National Geographic channel is airing a program called “Doomsday Preppers.” It’s exactly what it says it is. Each hour features about 20 minute segments with a different person or people preparing for an apocalypse. The form that apocalypse takes (e.g. financial, grid collapse, natural disaster) depends on the people. So you get, say, 3 people an hour who are serious apocalypse preppers. Then the NatGeo crew provides some feedback to each prepper, and offers suggestions (if necessary) to improve their prep. Then the commentator tells you, the audience, what the actual chances are that an apocalypse like the one the people are prepping for will actually happen.

The website (link above) offers a breakdown of the episodes, tips from preppers, and bios of the various preppers. Kind of interesting, if that’s your thing. I rather enjoyed it.

And third, author Julianna Baggott has released Pure, the first in her post-apocalyptic series. It’s getting rave reviews and she has an excerpt posted on her website. Seriously. Check this out. Click HERE for those opening pages.

Wow. Lyrical, tactile, narrative gold. Do yourselves a favor and pick this one up. It’s been optioned for film rights. Personally, I think the book’s vision will be ever Pure-er than any movie could make it, but I’m sure the visual impact of the movie will be pretty darn amazing. 😀

There you go. Some doomsday stuff for you to consider and enjoy, if you’re weird like me.

Happy reading, happy writing, happy watching!

by Categories: Apocalypse, Books, Cool stuff to read, Disaster preparedness, TV showsTags: , , ,

The power of humor

Hi, folks.

I bring this up because I love humor. Especially the genuinely funny kind, that pokes fun not only at the world, but also at oneself. If you have the ability to laugh at yourself, you have the ability to change the world.

I say this because there’s a hilarious movement afoot over at Twitter. A rather mean-spirited personage over there was tweeting horrible and generally false things about a group of people. Which happens all the time, as you know. People say and do crazy crap on the interwebs on a daily basis, and get away with it all the time. But for whatever reasons, this time, somebody decided that the best way to deal with the mean-spiritedness was humor. Whoever that was got a whole bunch of other people to do the same. And they told a few people, and they told more people, and then before you know it, the mean-spirited hashtag became an absolutely hilarious celebration of the power of humor to derail nastiness.

Want to know more about it? Check here, here, and here.

So I thought I’d send you to some authors who have a similar kind of ribald, delicious, wonderful way of looking at the world. Because humor is generally subjective, and it can be a powerful tool in the right hands.

In no particular order, read Florida-based Carl Hiaasen. Start with his 1984 Tourist Season and go from there. His characters and dialogue will have you in stitches, and his sly grilling of the world in which we live only adds a delightful twist of the humor knife. Along those lines, Janet Evanovich‘s Stephanie Plum series always has me laughing out loud at the antics of Jersey girl-turned-bounty-hunter Plum.

And for those of you who enjoy LGBT books, with strong and colorful LGBT characters, please do yourselves a favor and read Joan Opyr’s books. Idaho Code and From Hell to Breakfast are jaunts along the lines of the 1930s Thin Man series, with Nick and Nora Charles. Slapstick comedy, witty banter, mysteries, and very human musings from Opyr’s characters make this pair of books a must-read. And for another Opyr book, which contains elements of her amazing humor but in a completely different vein, catch her Shaken and Stirred.

And please do yourselves a favor and read Mari SanGiovanni. Greetings from Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer. I’ll sum it up thus: Large Italian family. Trip to Jamaica. Hijinks ensue. Need I say more? And the sequel’s out. Camptown Ladies, which I’ll sum up thus: Large Italian family. Sister buys a campground, hires sister as cook. Brother’s girlfriend is contractor who works on the camp. Hijinks completely ensue.

Laugh often. We could all use a bit more of that, yes?

Happy reading, happy writing, happy!

by Categories: Books, Cool stuff to read, Funny stuffTags: , , , 1 Comment

Psst…wanna buy a bookstore?

Hi, kids–

I’m slow to the table, but I heard through the grapevine that True Colors Bookstore in Minneapolis is looking for…well, a new owner, benefactor, somebody. Here’s the link to the bookstore.

And here’s the quote from that page about the situation:

Bookstore seeks new owner or angel investor or benefactor.

True Colors Bookstore in South Minneapolis is the original Amazon Feminist Bookstore, founded over 40 years ago. In the last three years we have built up a reputation for children’s books and spirituality selections as well as a broad stock of LGBT titles and great greeting cards. Business includes about $80,000 in inventory as well as all fixtures and office equipment. New POS / inventory system installed in March 2010, running on new computer. Turnkey operation. Current owner willing to stay on for training purposes. Current lease expires end of February 2012 so new owner would have option of relocating. Serious inquiries only, please, to ruta AT truecolorsbookstore DOT com [email spelled out to minimize spambotting]

It’s a turnkey operation, and the current owner is willing to stay on and train/help with getting things off the ground. She just installed a new inventory system, after all.

Before you blow this off, go to my post at Women and Words to see why indie (whether LGBT or not) bookstores are important.

So there you go. Could be just the opportunity you’ve been looking for to jump-start your new year.

Happy reading, and please support indie bookstores when you can.

by Categories: BooksTags:

Post-apocalypse story collection

Hi, kids–yeah, I bailed on y’all this weekend. Had a bunch of stuff to catch up on, including getting “Some Kind of River” tweaked up so I can get that Kindle’d up.

Got a great tip from author Nicola Griffith (and if you haven’t read her work, WHY NOT? WHAT ROCK HAVE YOU BEEN UNDER?).

I’m thinking you need to get yourself a copy of this story collection if you’re like me, and have a weird apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic streak in you. Check out Laura Miller’s review of Maureen McHugh’s After the Apocalypse.


source: LAMag (I’ve resized it here)

Miller says:

McHugh’s stories, however, are more interested in what the fall of civilization might actually feel like. The cataclysms in “After the Apocalypse” range from flu epidemics to dirty bombs to the exhaustion of fossil fuel reserves to water shortages to good old-fashioned economic depression.
[…]
This acute psychological realism applied to the apparatus of wish-fulfilling adventure stories makes for a heady combination. The stories in “After the Apocalypse” will catch many readers off-guard; they’re suspenseful, but they never quite go where you expect them to. The end of the world as we know it will never be the same again.
source: Salon.com, Laura Miller review

Doesn’t that just warm your little post-apocalyptic hearts this close to the holiday season? I thought so.

Happy reading!

by Categories: Apocalypse, Book reviews, Books, Things that might make you thinkTags: , , ,