I have been a shit reader
this year. Seriously. For reasons unknown, I just haven’t felt much like
reading and when I have, most of the books I picked up did not hold my
interest. I have been such a crappy reader, in fact, that I haven’t even read a
single book this whole month, which means you get a review of a book I read
last month: Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade by Susan Flett Swiderski.
Generally speaking, I
don’t read women’s fiction or stories that take place in the real ordinary
world we live in. I tend to like more adventure, intrigue, magic maybe, or a ghost
or two in my stories. However, if you like women’s fiction and real-life
stories, then this might be the perfect book for you.
This story is based
entirely in the real world, Pearl’s world, which is pretty normal and average
at first glance. She has an odd relationship with her mother that took me
forever to figure out, thinks her dad can do no wrong, and I could totally
relate to her blindness when it came to her ‘golden boy’ son. We all want to
think the best of our kids, help them out when we can. It took a lot for Pearl
to see how he was using her, manipulating her, and I have to admit I wanted a little more
come-uppance for him. I loved all Pearl’s quirky friends—especially Candy—and Pearl's family, and how she assumed
a certain something was going on because she couldn’t imagine anything else. I especially loved
how Pearl changed, not drastically, but just enough so she could be a better
person for herself AND her family.
My only complaint (and I hate to use that word because it’s entirely subjective) is that there was a lot of description. Susan has a great way of describing things, like this: “Leggy petunias still loitered in her garden, slouched beside the chrysanthemums like a gang of long-limbed teenagers with no place to go.” Can’t you just picture that? The problem was that the description slowed down the pacing and it just felt like too much at times. For me.
Aside from that, this book was well-formatted and error free as far as I could tell, and if you like slice-of-life stories, you would probably love this.
My only complaint (and I hate to use that word because it’s entirely subjective) is that there was a lot of description. Susan has a great way of describing things, like this: “Leggy petunias still loitered in her garden, slouched beside the chrysanthemums like a gang of long-limbed teenagers with no place to go.” Can’t you just picture that? The problem was that the description slowed down the pacing and it just felt like too much at times. For me.
Aside from that, this book was well-formatted and error free as far as I could tell, and if you like slice-of-life stories, you would probably love this.
In other news: I have
been completely wrapped up in my new WIP and writing like a fiend on a mission.
I don’t think I’ve felt this excited about writing in a while, and since November
I’ve logged nearly 50K words (and I’m not counting the ones I wrote and then
cut!), including 11K in notes alone.
I did quite a bit of
outlining to start off with, and it took me a LONG
time to get the first chapter down. But once I did, the rest has been…dare I
say, fairly easy?
What I’ve learned thus
far: Although I wrote a
chapter by chapter outline for about half the book, I’ve deviated greatly from
it. Which reminds me of playing Skyrim and wandering in the wilderness and
suddenly seeing some hidden fortress. “What’s that over there?” I think, immediately
heading towards it even though I was on a mission/quest. Sometimes these
detours prove fruitful. Okay, most of the time in Skyrim, but in the writing
world, detours don’t always pan out. Lucky for me, so far most of mine have,
which is why I’m having so much fun with this. There are treasure everywhere!
Tarot Cards: I’ve always
thought they were interesting; I have a small book about them and my own deck,
but I’ve never really played with them. Then I did a little research and
discovered the Visconti-Scorfza Tarot Cards, now held in the Beineke Rare Book& Manuscript Library. Having seen them, I can see why I didn't care much for my deck. I want this deck. Please.
Here’s a photo of the Ten
of Swords, which played a part in a chapter I recently wrote:
Isn’t it effing gorgeous? And
all the cards are equally stunning.
Writing is fun again,
even addictive. I can’t wait to get at it in the morning and tend to think
about my characters and where they are and what they’ll do next while I'm working, driving, or grocery shopping. And
I’ll tell you a secret that’s both nice and (for me) a little worrisome: It’s
been almost too easy at times, too fun. My muse is definitely with me and I think she likes what I'm doing. Let's hope she sticks around a while because if this trend continues, I
might just have a new novel in a couple of months :)
Finally:
 |
| This is my boss' tree. Also stunning. |
Happy Christmas all!
