COMMENTS:
i sent out a request to some of my readers for information technology (or internet technology) help and received many comments showing i'm not alone in my ignorance!! the responses range from:
'gosh,audrey, i haven't a clue.' c.t. canton; 'sorry, I'm no help. ElectronIcally challenged' c.h., akron; and 'Dear Audrey, You have the wrong person to ask about computer stuff.' ejb, cleveland to
some export suggestions i can't follow kindly offered by c.a. to another kind offer to make a mensa request from g.b. to g.r's of cleveland notice that what he got when he hit my suggested button is 'Page not Found We're sorry. The page you've requested no longer exists.'
ah, well
BOOKS:
i've read one and a half cozies since last we met. they are diane mott davidson's crunch time and 121 pages of denise swanson's murder of a creped suzette.
crunch time continues the career of colorado caterer goldlie schulz and old friends of the series, which include her husband tom and teen aged son arch, both of whom indulge goldie more than she should be indulged.
under the title on the cover are the defining words, 'a novel of suspense.' it's not. this reader was so busy trying to remember who was who in the cast of seemingly thousands that i didn't have time to worry about who done what to whom. anyway, ms. davidson spends about five pages at the end of the book explaining it all to us. i contend that readers should not need long explanations of the plot. the writer should bring the reader along with her, understanding the plot as it unfolds.
to ms. mott's credit, the scene is set in aspen and aspen meadows which i adore, so there is plenty to like in her initial descriptions. she also has a couple of terrific slap-stick situations at the beginning of the book. after that i lost interest though i plowed on through.
the novel is published by william morrow. it is 446 pages plus about fifteen pages of recipes.
i don't know if murder of a creped suzette e is better by comparison or if indeed it is above the average of denise swanson's scumble river series. but, so far, it is pretty enjoyable, although it has the same plot that others have had i.e. developers want to develop and thereby ruin picturesque scumble river.
led by famous country singer and imitation cowboy rex taylor the developers plan to make our heroine skye denison's favorite town into another branson. in the main plot line, suzette neal, front woman for rex wants skye to investigate a cold case, twenty-seven years old. as soon as we meet suzette, we, of course, know that she's will be creped. so the title has told us. so far characters and dialogue are fine. will let you know more about the two murders and the real estate development at next writing.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
join us saturday, april 14 for the 2nd annual Ohio Author Book Fair. at hudson public library on library st. in hudson oh.
and for those looking for an impressive poetry reading, sunday 1 april jori graham will be at the cleveland museum of art.
WRITING HINTS:
in a recent wall street journal article, ellis avery, novelist, tells writers and would-be writers to give their characters 'wants.' he points out that gatsby wants daisy, but so does her husband tom. that, he says, is, 'bad for them, good for the story.
following this rule, all murder mysteries should be good, right? the detective wants to find the murderer; the murderer wants not to be discovered. also the murderer killed the victim presumably because she wanted something from him (jewels, a lover, reputation, secret, etc.). in my newest novel, mary beth wants to solve the murder of her good friend austin; she wants to be a good professor and teacher of edgar alan poe; and she want to make a decision between the two attractive men who have been sniffing around lately. let me know how well you think she succeeds.
Comments