Guest Blog at Murder X 4 Is Up . . .
Folks, when writer Aaron Paul Lazar asked me if I was willing to write a guest blog for his shared blog site Murder x 4, I leaped, yelled, and said yes . . . though of course only the last part was verbalized as I didn’t want to scare the dogs.
Aaron asked me if I had anything Christmas-themed that might be interesting, and as my relationship with my late husband Michael started around Christmas of 2001 — and as I have two of his stories up at Amazon right now that are desperately in need of new readers, “A Dark and Stormy Night” and “Joey Maverick: On Westmount Station” — I decided to talk about that. And because Murder X 4 is a writer’s blog site where they often talk about the process of writing, I asked if it was OK to talk about everything I’ve done to keep Michael’s words and work alive.
Fortunately for me, Aaron said yes.
Those of you who’ve known me a while, or who’ve faithfully read my blog posts since I was coerced — er, convinced to start blogging will most likely know why I’ve done my best to keep Michael’s work alive. Even though it’s now at least partly mine, and at least some of the choices I’ve made might not be the choices he would’ve made, I had to try.
Michael meant everything to me, and in many ways, he still does. So I just couldn’t bear the thought of his work not getting any chance to find a readership . . . bad enough he was dead, but did his work have to die out, too?
Not everyone is going to like what I’ve done. I know that.
I also know that some people have told me along the way that Michael is dead, I’m not, and that it doesn’t really matter if his work stays alive. Michael, had he lived, would’ve undoubtedly written more things, and he might not even have wanted these particular works to stand.
But I knew Michael very well, and the people who’ve told me this other stuff did not. Michael did not give up, not on himself, not on other people. He was trying to figure out how to get action into his novel about Joey Maverick (MAVERICK, LIEUTENANT) at the time of his passing; he and I were both wracking our brains to figure out what he could add that wouldn’t blow his premise completely out of the water. (That premise being “quiet heroism,” which I discussed in today’s guest blog.)
Michael definitely would’ve kept trying to figure it out, and I can’t believe he’d have let these adventures rot.
But he almost certainly would’ve found other ways toward the same ends . . . and I truly wish he were alive so he would’ve found them, rather than me doing my poor best toward getting whatever I possibly can done.
Still, as a good friend of mine told me a few nights ago, the important thing is to write something Michael would’ve liked and enjoyed reading. Michael would like what I’ve done, by that logic, and even if he quibbled with me as to how I got things done, he’d still like it that I did it.
That’s why I’ve kept trying, both on his behalf and my own.
Anyway, please do go read my guest blog, and see what you think of my efforts. Then come back here, if you would, and tell you if it makes any sense . . . I just know it’s what I have to do, or else I’ve failed.
And I refuse to fail.
Corey Hart Leaves Milwaukee for Seattle . . .
It’s official, Milwaukee Brewers fans — Corey Hart has signed a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the Seattle Mariners.
While I’m extremely disappointed, I understand why this happened. Earlier this baseball offseason, the Mariners signed former New York Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano to a huge deal worth $240 million. As the Mariners for the past several years have been pitching-rich but offense-poor (Felix Hernandez won a well-deserved Cy Young in 2010 with a 13-12 record and a 2.27 ERA with 232 strikeouts, and the Mariners’ offense hasn’t improved since then), they needed to upgrade their offense desperately if they had a hope of maximizing Cano’s abilities as a hitter.
So . . . enter Corey Hart. As Doug Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt, Corey Hart can be a DH for Seattle, as they’re an American League club. This means it’ll be easier for Hart to meet whatever benchmarks his incentive-laden contract includes (as the specifics of Hart’s contract are not yet known, partly because Hart must still pass a physical before the contract is approved) than it would be if he were still playing for the Brewers in the National League, as the NL does not have a DH.
In addition, the Mariners traded for OF Logan Morrison, sending P Carter Capps to Miami in exchange. So it’s obvious that Seattle has majorly upgraded its offense — first they got Cano, next they got Hart, and now they’ve acquired Morrison.
One would think that the Mariners’ offensive woes will now be a thing of the past, providing Hart and Morrison (who both have extensive injury histories) can stay on the field.
Anyway, Brewers fans, while you nurse your disappointment, you may want to check out this post from Book View Cafe author Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff — Ms. Bohnhoff is a baseball fan, just like me, and also like me, she’s written several baseball-themed SF stories. (Though unlike me, she’s actually gotten her stories into print. Well, the century is young and I have faith . . .)
Here’s a quick taste (keeping in mind that Ms. Bohnhoff is talking about author W.P. Kinsella and his novel SHOELESS JOE in addition to her love of the game):
One day, after years of believing that baseball was a boring game played by overweight men in their jammies, the corn fields and the thrill of the grass and the brilliant sounds of the diamond gave me that sensation, just as Ray Kinsella describes it to Salinger.
As my husband tells it, we were driving home from a nursery, having purchased a trunk load of plants for our garden. I was pregnant with our second child. Jeff turned on the car radio to a Giants game and braced himself for a wisecrack from me. Instead, I said (and this is the Gospel truth), “You know, I just realized that I love baseball!”
And I did. And do. Because the word is baseball.
Yes. Yes it is.
And it’s good to be reminded of that, even when your favorite player has just signed with a team that’s so far away, geographically, that you have next to no chance to see him play unless his new team does so well that they end up getting picked up several times for ESPN’s or MLB Network’s game of the week.
Reviewed Vera Nazarian’s “Cobweb Bride” at SBR
Folks, I’m still — still! — dealing with The Sinus Infection from Hell (TM), which is why I wasn’t able to write an immediate blog about my recent book review for Vera Nazarian’s COBWEB BRIDE over at Shiny Book Review (SBR). COBWEB BRIDE is an excellent book about what happens when Death decides not to take anyone’s life until he gets his “Cobweb Bride” — all aspects of this premise are explored, including the darker ones. I gave COBWEB BRIDE an A and believe it’s perfect for lovers of dark fantasy with a bit of romance. But anyone who loves interesting, original books containing aspects of horror, romance, fairy tales, dark fantasy and historical fantasy should enjoy it.
Now, there are a few things to keep in mind before you pick up COBWEB BRIDE. As I said in my review, there are some really horrific things that Ms. Nazarian writes about — to my mind, the squealing of a pig after it’s been butchered but cannot due was among the most plaintive and heart-rending — and they will disturb you unless you have a heart of stone. (Then again, they’re supposed to disturb you. Trust me on this. )
The main reason to read COBWEB BRIDE, though, is because the most admirable characters — Percy, the Infanta Claere, and even Vlau — are admirable not only because of what they do (in Vlau’s case, in some ways it’s in spite of what he does), but because they keep on doing it no matter how difficult things are all around them.
Writing about that sort of persistence and making it work makes COBWEB BRIDE well worth the price of admission.
So please. Go read my review. Then go take a gander at the book . . . it’s available in e-book and trade paperback . . . and see if you don’t agree with me.
Short Story Sale Announcement…
Finally, it can be publicly announced . . . the short story I sold in October was bought by the STARS OF DARKOVER anthology, edited by Deborah J. Ross and Elisabeth Waters. This is set in the long-running Darkover universe created by late author and SFWA Grandmaster Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Looking at the table of contents, it’s fairly obvious that I’m the only author who doesn’t have a number of professional short story sales to my credit and who doesn’t have at least one book out as of yet save one. The other person who doesn’t seem to have a number of stories out is Gabrielle Harbowy, an editor with a number of well-received anthologies to her credit.
Now, as to what my story “At the Crossroads” is about? I figured that judges have never really been talked about in the various Darkover anthologies, yet MZB herself had mentioned an extremely important and influential Renunciate judge, Fiona n’ha Gorsali, at the very end of THE SHATTERED CHAIN. My story is about how Fiona got to her high position on the Courts of Arbitration (that MZB described her as having), as Fiona was the first woman ever named to that court.
Because THE SHATTERED CHAIN is set after the Terrans have recontacted their former colony after many millenia apart, that gave me a time frame to deal with that seemed fertile with possibilities. I picked one . . . no, I’m not about to say what just now (maybe later) . . . and rolled with it.
And fortunately for me, Ms. Ross liked my idea enough to work with me and help me get it done.
So now you know . . . and I’m very excited about it. (Between this and getting Michael’s stories back out and of course getting my novel ELFY ready to go as well, it’s been a very busy end of the year!)
Michael’s Two “Joey Maverick” Stories Available at Amazon
Folks, it’s official — both of my late husband Michael’s two “Joey Maverick” stories — “A Dark and Stormy Night” and “On Westmount Station” — are available at Amazon as of 9:07 CST Sunday December 1, 2013. These stories both previously appeared at e-Quill Publishing (one in 2010, the other in 2011), and in addition “A Dark and Stormy Night” appeared at the Written Word Online Magazine in May of 2005 (but was not archived).
This means “A Dark and Stormy Night” has been published three times, and “On Westmount Station” has now been published twice. (I know, I know; it’s boring and mundane to count it up this way. But these are the only stories I’ve worked on thus far that have actually been republished, and I like to think that my husband would be happy with my efforts on his behalf.)
If you’re wondering what I actually did with these stories (as in: Did I edit them? Did I write anything into them?), here’s a brief rundown:
For “A Dark and Stormy Night,” I added about 1400 words, mostly dealing with internal monologue (what Joey’s thinking about as he acts) or beefing up a few (romantic) scenes to make it a little clearer as to Joey’s motivations. I also edited the final version, proofread it, did my best to format it, actually sent it out to two different people to format it for me, and after all of that ended up posting the file I’d started with anyway . . . just a little work, all told.
For “On Westmount Station,” I did a lot more writing, as I added at least 5000 words to the story, doubling its original size. This included writing subplots, adding additional interior monologue for several characters (as “On Westmount Station,” unlike the first Joey Maverick adventure, has multiple POV so multiple characters are sharing the storytelling load), came up with several all-new characters and gave a completely different spin on what Joey is doing while he waits to ship out at Westmount Station than what Michael had to begin with. I also edited it, again tried to format it, again sent it out to two different people and again ended up using the file I started with as I just liked it better. (I still intend to do something nice for the people who tried hard to help me. Just haven’t figured it out yet, that’s all.)
Now, for those of you who read any of Michael’s work years ago — this means the Baen’s Bar crowd, as Michael showcased his novel MAVERICK, LIEUTENANT there many moons ago — you’re obviously going to know what I did. But you might not know why.
The main reason I added subplots and action and characters to “On Westmount Station” is because of something Jim Baen said to Michael on Baen’s Bar. What Baen said was very succinct: “Where is your plot, sir?”
And, of course, Michael took grave exception to this. (Had Jim Baen said instead, “Where is your action, sir?” Michael would’ve understood. Sometimes communication hinges on these tiny things.) Because Michael’s novel had plenty of plot — but after the opening novella (“A Dark and Stormy Night”), there wasn’t a whole lot of verifiable action to be had.
Even though Michael was quite distressed by Baen’s comments — I remember this clearly — he took them to heart once he understood (via another friend of ours, a professional writer and editor) that what Baen actually meant was action. And that while our friend felt Michael could still sell his novel as it stood, perhaps it might be a good idea to look for places action could be added.
As Michael had a very strong belief that many military men and women often had careers consisting of “quiet heroism” — that is, they did important things, but most of the time the public either didn’t know or care what they’d done — this action had to take place in such a way that it wouldn’t call attention to Joey Maverick. Because Michael’s further conceit was that Joey Maverick’s one known piece of heroism was going to be during “A Dark and Stormy Night” (where Joey takes command of the low-tech sailing ship he’s been crewing on during an emergency, and rescues a whole lot of people and not-so-incidentally meets the love of his life in the process), that made it tough to figure out where to add some action in.
Michael and I were still brainstorming and trying to figure this out at the time he passed away, very suddenly, in September of 2004.
So here I was, a newly-made widow, desperately and deeply grieving the loss of my husband, and I had what I knew to be an excellent novella. I added 1400 words to it mostly to make it a legal collaboration so I could more easily sell it — but “A Dark and Stormy Night” probably would’ve been just fine as it was. (I’ll be honest. I like the version I’ve worked on better, but the original is quite good.)
But figuring out what to do with Chapter 1 of Michael’s novel was much harder (yes, this is my roundabout way of saying this is where I got much of the backbone of “On Westmount Station”). All Michael had Joey doing was picking up his ship assignment and forming up his temporary troops, admittedly with great flair and elan. But it would be hard to make a stand-alone story out of that, which is why I thought long and hard about what to do next.
Over the course of a year, I added material, came up with new characters, and figured out just what could threaten a space station (at least in part) but be kept quiet enough that no one would hear about it but a few of the higher-ups in Joey Maverick’s command . . . and, of course, the men and women who helped Joey stop whatever the problem was in its tracks. Once I had all that, I wrote the scenes, integrated them into what Michael had, sent it to my first readers (my long-time writer’s group, Barfly Slush) and then tried to sell it.
But I couldn’t find any buyers.
I even tried the Writers of the Future contest with “On Westmount Station,” as I felt it was the best work I’d ever done. (I made sure, of course, that it was OK to submit it despite it being a collaborative work with my deceased husband.) But it sank like a stone there, just as everything else I’ve ever sent to Writers of the Future has always done.
Soon after “On Westmount Station” was rejected, I offered it to Lawrence at e-Quill Publishing and it was accepted. And there it stayed until I dissolved my relationship with e-Quill in 2012.
Now, as to why I brought them back out? It’s simple. They’re really good stories. Michael worked hard on “A Dark and Stormy Night,” and it consists of some of his finest work. And I’m extremely proud of what I did with “On Westmount Station,” as I feel it’s exactly what Michael would’ve done . . . if he’d have only had time to do just that.
Some people have told me over the last few years that I shouldn’t waste my time on keeping Michael’s stories alive. He’s dead, I’m not, and if Michael were still alive he probably wouldn’t be still trying to get these stories published — whether it be independently (as I have now) or through a publisher.
I disagree — and disagree very strongly — with that assessment, mostly because I know how persistent Michael was. I also know that Michael, like myself, would never give up on his stories. And finally, I know that Michael wrote very well and deserved to get a chance for his stories to find their audience.
All of that is why I kept trying to get the stories back out and available for sale.
And now, they are.
Please, do go take a gander at ’em. Let me know if you enjoy them. And spread the word . . . ’cause if you can do all that, I plan to bring out more of Michael’s other stories in the years to come. (Promise.)
Just Reviewed Mario Livio’s “Brilliant Blunders” at SBR
Folks, I’m a bit behindhand on letting you all know what I’ve been doing over at SBR lately. This is partly because I’ve been dealing with the sinus infection from Hell (TM), and partly because I’ve been trying to get everything caught up by the end of the year. (Yes, I’m still playing catch-up from that bronchitis I suffered in the spring.)
Anyway, today’s review over at SBR is for Mario Livio’s excellent BRILLIANT BLUNDERS, a scientific history that deals with the five biggest mistakes of five eminent scientists — Charles Darwin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin to thee and me), Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein — and discusses these mistakes in the context of both the history of science and the particular scientist’s career. Livio’s writing is clear and concise, and is accessible to the layman without being shallow or stupid, a neat trick.
I also interviewed novelist and rocket scientist Stephanie Osborn for SBR a few weeks ago. This was a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred interview where Ms. Osborn discussed literacy and panic attacks right along with her own work, and talked a great deal about how she comes up with her plots for good measure. Do go take a gander at that, then read her books as soon as you can, too.**
Aside from that, my plans for this Black Friday are to stay far, afar away from any store (except maybe for the grocery store, as that should be safe) as I’m not interested in fighting with anyone over a toaster. Or a TV. Or even something I would really like to have, like a book card . . . no, life is just too short for such silliness.
(Besides, I can always go get the book card tomorrow, and the lines will be far shorter, too!)
Stay safe, everyone.
———
**BTW, I’d meant to get up something about the interview a few weeks ago, but this sinus infection from Hell (TM) is just not allowing me to do much, as I haven’t had the energy to do it with. I figured actually finishing the interview, then posting it was much more important than me coming over here to my own blog and discussing it — but as I always had intended to discuss it, today seems to be the day.
So if you haven’t already read the interview with Ms. Osborn, please go ahead and do so at your earliest convenience. You may learn something . . . or better yet, you may both learn something and find a new favorite author. (Stranger things have happened.)
Major League Baseball End-of-the-Year Wrap-up
Folks, my health has delayed this blog significantly, but as I promised an end-of-the-year wrap-up talking about the World Series, the Milwaukee Brewers’ Carlos Gomez and his Gold Glove, and any significant trades, I figured I’d better get down to business and write one. Because of the rather lengthy wait, I’ve even thrown in a Corey Hart update in the bargain . . . so let’s get started.
First, the World Series did not go the way I expected it to whatsoever. I’d expected that the St. Louis Cardinals, which had been the best team in baseball over the latter two-thirds of the season, to waltz away with the Series. But instead, the Boston Red Sox played much better than the Cardinals, even though neither team was anything close to error-free.
In fact, Boston’s pitching was better; its hitting was better; even its defense was better, which was extremely surprising as the Cardinals had been among the best defensive teams in the majors all year long.
And, of course, David Ortiz had a monster World Series, hitting .688 (no misprint) to carry the Red Sox to victory in six games.
After that shocker of a Series, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Carloz Gomez of the Brewers won a well-deserved Gold Glove for his play in center field during 2013. Gomez was most definitely the best defensive center fielder in baseball, but it wasn’t a lead-pipe cinch that he’d win the Gold Glove as Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates is also a very good center fielder and had a much better offensive year than Gomez. Fortunately, McCutchen won the Most Valuable Player Award, a well-deserved honor, but did not win the Gold Glove due to an increased focus on defensive metrics.
Since the Gold Gloves and MVP Awards were announced, there have been two trades that caught my attention. The first of these was the trade of Detroit Tigers first baseman (and former Brewer) Prince Fielder to Texas for the Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler. At first, I was extremely surprised at this trade because of Fielder’s offensive value to Detroit, but after reflection I thought I understood it. Detroit needed better defense, which Kinsler will provide at second, and by trading Fielder it’s possible for the Tigers to move Miguel Cabrera back to first base.
But I really think Fielder would still be a Tiger today if not for his really awful postseason. Fielder looked bad defensively throughout the postseason, but worse than that, he looked as if his bat speed was not there — extremely distressing when your primary value as a player is due to your offense. Even so, he might’ve rode out all of that if not for his infamous “belly-flop slide” into third in game six of the American League Championship Series that may have cost his team the ALCS, then some ill-advised comments afterward (which I’ll get to in a bit).
Since Fielder’s been traded, it’s now common knowledge that Fielder is in the process of getting a divorce. I don’t normally comment on player divorces, but I’m going to make an exception in Fielder’s case because he and his wife were so prominent in Milwaukee.
I don’t know when Fielder was served with divorce papers, but it’s quite possible that Fielder’s “indifferent season” (where he “only” hit .275 with 25 home runs and 106 RBIs and again backed up AL MVP Miguel Cabrera nicely) was made far less meaningful to him once he found out his wife wanted out. This seems like a very trite statement — and perhaps it is — but Fielder is very well known in Milwaukee as a family man, and he took great pride in his wife and two young sons while he was here. So it’s very possible that getting a divorce, for him, is much more difficult than it might be with someone else . . . not that divorce is ever easy.
In addition, Fielder wanted economic stability for his family. This was the main reason he turned down the Brewers’ offers of roughly $20 Million a season for five or six years (there were several offers, but that is the last one I remember) to go to Detroit in the first place. (Not that Fielder didn’t have any other offers; I’m sure he did. But he liked Milwaukee, found it a stable and safe place for his family, and enjoyed the family friendly Brewers clubhouse, and was known as someone who was interested in more than just the greenbacks.)
Finally, my guess is that Fielder’s psyche is a bit more fragile than it appeared. He’s a big, strong, tough man, sure — and he plays a great game of baseball. But his own father, Cecil, was not a model father — this is well-known — or a model husband. Prince took great pride in being both, and to find out that his wife didn’t want to be married to him anymore must have been devastating.
I said all this because without that context, Fielder’s comments after the ALCS was over (he said, roughly, that he wasn’t going to lose any sleep over his performance because he still had two young sons to take care of) make no sense. And fans excoriated him over it, because it sounded like Fielder just did not care what happened.
As Jeff Deacon of Detroit Sports Nation (part of the Yardbarker sports blog network) put it:
After going 9 for 40 with 0 HR, and 0 RBI in 12 playoff games this postseason, it’s understandable that Prince would be upset. But many believe his comments are crossing a line. We all know he’s going through a now very public divorce, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for yet another awful postseason.
It wasn’t so much what he said to the media post-game, but how he said them. To me, it was evident his head was elsewhere this season. Almost as if he didn’t care.
I’m not saying Prince should ignore his family issues and focus solely on baseball, but when you’re making $25 million a year, you have to be able to cope with them. And if you can’t, take yourself off the field because you’re hurting your name and your teammates. Many people go through tough times in their life, especially over the past few years in Detroit. Yet, we still go to work and get our jobs done. Why should Prince Fielder be any different?
There’s a lot of truth in what Deacon said, and I completely understand and agree with the frustration in Detroit over Fielder’s comments. But Fielder made many similar types of comments in Milwaukee long before his divorce, and we didn’t get upset with him over it.
Maybe this is because Brewers fans understood Fielder a little better, or maybe it’s just that Fielder was not going through his divorce when he was with Milwaukee.
At any rate, my view of what Fielder said is simple — as bad as it sounded, Fielder pointed out that the season was over. He didn’t want it to be over, for sure, and he assuredly wanted to play better in the ALCS. (No one, most of all a prideful professional baseball player, wants to look bad in the national spotlight.) But he has to look at the big picture, which is how he takes care of his two sons from here on out and how he rebuilds his personal life after his divorce is finalized (probably sometime late next year if Mrs. Fielder filed in Michigan and my understanding of Michigan divorce law is correct — which, admittedly, it may not be).
So had Prince Fielder still been in Milwaukee and said something like this, it’s unlikely there would’ve been as much of a furor. Instead, fans would’ve been likely to forgive him, because Brewers fans always saw Prince as one of their own and would be likely to empathize with him over his impending divorce.
Anyway, let’s get to the second trade that sparked my interest, which was of Brewers relief pitcher Burke Badenhop to Boston for low minor league pitcher Luis Ortega. Ortega is only twenty years of age, pitched in the rookie league last year, and is in no way, shape or form an equal talent to Badenhop.
Look. Badenhop did a fine job for the Brewers this year, appearing in 63 games, pitching 62 1/3 innings with a 2-3 record and a 3.47 ERA, but he was due to make more next year in arbitration than this year’s $1.55 million. The Brewers have to know that Ortega may or may not develop into a major league pitcher of any sort, as Ortega is just too young and raw to make any judgments, but they may have seen something in him that caused them to make this trade (giving them the benefit of the doubt).
My view, though, is very simple: the Milwaukee Brewers are again in “salary-dump mode” if they’re willing to jettison a proven major league reliever like Badenhop for someone like Ortega. I’m so tired of the Brewers doing things like this, especially considering Badenhop’s more than adequate year as a middle reliever — he’d only been with the team a year, did a great job keeping the Brewers in games during an exceptionally difficult season and seemed to truly enjoy playing baseball in Milwaukee despite all the ups and downs of the 2013 Brewers season. Which is why I’m sad to see Badenhop go.
One final thought — it looks like the Brewers are going to make a serious run at Corey Hart once Hart is medically cleared for baseball activities on December 3, 2013. This is very good to hear.
But I’m worried, again, that the Brewers will make Hart a low-ball offer due to Hart’s stated wish to stay in Milwaukee, especially after the Brewers jettisoned Badenhop for next to nothing. The fans need our favorites after the dreadful 2013 season, and Hart’s one of the most fan-friendly players around . . . here’s hoping the Brewers will offer Hart enough money to stay in Milwaukee, where he’s comfortable and wants to continue playing.
Bad Weather, Bad Health
Folks, I haven’t had much to report in the past week-plus that’s any good, which is the main reason I haven’t blogged. My health is still terrible, I’m still trying to get better, and almost all of my energy is going toward my paying work (that, of course, being editing).
During this time, I’ve had to withdraw from participation in the December UW-Parkside Community Band concert due to my health continuing to act up, and I’ve hardly left the house except for doctor appointments and a few shopping trips (as despite it all, I still need food).
Today, though, there was a new threat: inclement weather.
We had at least five tornado warnings in Racine County this morning, it seemed like, and while all these didn’t pan out, they’re scary while they’re happening. We’ve also had high winds, flash flooding, and many other problems we rarely see in November in Wisconsin, which has made Sunday enormously challenging all the way around.
Granted, we’ve been spared the devastation Illinois has suffered in a few places. We’ve mostly been spared anything except for some cows dying, a few roofs blowing off, and of course traffic issues due to streets flooding out in various low-lying areas all over Wisconsin.
For my friends who live in Southeastern Wisconsin, I hope you all will be cautious and safe during this time.
Me, I plan to stay home. (What a surprise, eh?) And if the winds stop blowing so hard, I’ll try to do some work later on, once I’ve caught up on a wee bit more rest. (As it’s far from restful to hear siren after siren, though I’m very glad the sirens worked and were able to warn everyone, no lie.)
And it probably goes without saying, but here goes: May the week ahead be far, far better than this for us all.
Just Reviewed “The Ways of Winter” at SBR
Folks, tonight I wrote a review over at Shiny Book Review (SBR for short, as always) for Karen Myers’ THE WAYS OF WINTER, book two in her Hounds of Annwn series. And because of the very nature of this review — where I called the book both “interesting” and “problematic,” something I don’t think I’ve ever done before — I needed to come right over here and give you all an after-action report even though I’m way under the weather (still) and obviously haven’t blogged all week until now.
I want to reiterate that I find Karen Myers’ work quite interesting. She has a nice way of plotting that for the most part works for me. I like her characterization. I thought the inventiveness of getting a rock-wight into the plot — much less the rock-wight’s child in the bargain — was stellar. And I truly believe she has a ton of potential.
However, when I see a book that’s not up to standard editorially — one that’s very far away from professional standard, to be blunt, in quite a number of respects — I have to say that.
It doesn’t give me any pleasure whatsoever to do so, mind you. I know that Karen Myers is a relatively new writer with a handful of books out (book four in her Hounds of Annwn series is due in a few months, I believe) and a number of short stories. She’s self-published, has a nice Web site, is doing many great things as an independent author and knows how to market herself impressively — all good.
It’s much easier for me to criticize someone like Debbie Macomber (with a hundred books out, or nearly) or Mercedes Lackey (with over forty books out) or even someone like Celine Kiernan, who like Myers was a new author with a few books out but was published by Orbit — so all of Ms. Kiernan’s unevenness in her plotline should’ve been fixed by one of Orbit’s professional editors long before it ever made it to the market.
Granted, I don’t particularly enjoy doing that, either, but at least I don’t feel terrible afterward as I did in the case of Ash Krafton recently and now Karen Myers as well.
As a reviewer, I have to say when I don’t like something, or my book reviews don’t mean a whole lot. (If every book got an A-plus from me, why would you want to read my reviews? You’d know that no matter what I said, it’s all the same sort of nonsense, right?) I also have to say something because it’s the only way a writer might change something down the line.
No, it’s not likely. But it’s at least possible.
As a professional editor, I can’t refuse to say when I think a book has not been well-edited. I’ve had to do this before with a self-published author (Cedar Sanderson and her fun YA urban fantasy, VULCAN’S KITTENS), and I’ll probably have to do it again for all I know.
But it’s harder for me, as a writer myself, to write a review that’s as mixed as the one I wrote tonight. I tried hard to point out all of Ms. Myers’ strengths — of which there are many — while also pointing out as many of the weaknesses I saw without giving too much away by way of unintentional spoilers.
Since you’re here, reading my own blog and this “after-action report,” I’m going to be a little more explicit about my problem with the way Ms. Myers ends THE WAYS OF WINTER. (If you do not want your reading spoiled, look away now. This is your one and only warning.)
My main problem was that Ms. Myers set up a thoroughly hissable villain, Madog, to get his comeuppance. She showed over and over again just how nasty this Fae was, why his loss would only improve matters, and what a terrible excuse for a sentient being he was . . . but then, rather than showing Madog getting what he deserves, Madog’s death occurs off-screen!
So you’ve set yourself up a nasty villain, who every reader is going to want to see die horribly. But then, you don’t really show him dying and only allude to it?
I realize Ms. Myers’ main character, George, was in no shape to narrate this. But she had another character, Seething Magma, who’d had several POV scenes of her own. Why not use Seething Magma’s POV to show this death so the reader will be able to fully enjoy Madog’s passing?
Then, this happens a little bit too early on to suit me also. George is grievously wounded by Madog, and his rehabilitation is important to see, I agree. But there’s really nothing else there other than some quiet wrapping-up stuff — good character moments for George and his new foster-son and his new wife, Angharad, to be sure, and I welcomed them.
But there’s nothing truly essential there. We don’t find out anything else about where Creiddylad is (one of the villains from book one, the sister of George’s great-grandfather Gwyn ap Nudd). We don’t see Seething Magma and her child reunite, really, either — again, it’s alluded to, but not really shown, that reunion, though we do at least see them together and presumably happy.
So the real emotional heart of the ending is Madog getting his comeuppance, which we don’t see. Then we get George’s rehab, which is fine, but there’s nothing to contrast it against — it’s all, “Well, we’re nearly at Xmas, and George is the best Xmas present his wife Angharad could ever receive,” but nearly all of that is in subtext, too.
If I didn’t like Ms. Myers’ writing so much, I probably would’ve thrown the very nice soft-cover review copy she so graciously sent me months ago across the room.
Unlike Ash Krafton’s BLOOD RUSH, which was well-edited and competently executed (I didn’t like the romance, which I said), and Cedar Sanderson’s VULCAN’S KITTENS, which needed some editing work but the main plot points were very well executed and the emotional payoff scenes were all there, THE WAYS OF WINTER had a number of things I just can’t get behind.
And that’s a shame, because I do like Ms. Myers’ writing and want her career to succeed.
So that’s it — that’s why I gave Karen Myers’ THE WAYS OF WINTER a thoroughly mixed review with a “C” grade to boot. I hope you can understand why . . . but even if you can’t, it’s late, I still have the nasty sinus infection to deal with, and somehow I have to try to get some rest.
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As far as upcoming blogs go, I still hope to write that baseball wrap-up blog I’d discussed (no longer timely, but perhaps interesting anyway?) and maybe write a blog about the Milwaukee Bucks in the bargain.
One final update: If I can ever get my late husband Michael’s two stories to format properly, I hope to have them up at Amazon within the next several weeks. This has been delayed partially due to being under the weather, partly because I’m very, very bad at formatting, and partly because what little energy I’ve had has gone toward the final, last-round edit of my book, ELFY, along with the edits I’m doing for a number of others.
I haven’t forgotten, and will not. I know Michael still has fans. I want them to enjoy his work. And I want Michael’s work to find new fans — so these stories will come back out, once I finally have clean files to upload.
Promise.
Barb Caffrey's Blog 