not a whodunit: madeleine wickham & more writing hints

 

COMMENTS:

all of today's comments are directly related to my call for internet assistance:

 

1. subscribe for a big 15$ a month to rescueIt.com, j.r, fl.

2. I KNOW 2 REALLY SMART COMPUTER GURUS, d.r. canton

3. I'm still using XP but I appreciate your emails, r.s. zoar

4. Typepad has me a little baffled, and I don't think I am able to help, c.a. professional, unknown location
5. it's a matter of control that you (audrey) do not have, j.k. professional, unknown location

and many similar remarks.

 

BOOKS:

if i were the  noticing and thinking type, i would have noticed that the cover was a soft pink and i would have thought 'oh, that signals a romance.' certainly i would have figured something out by  the time i got to the first word of page 1 and read the name of the chief protagonist, fleur, fleur daxeny, at that.  but not your friendly neighborhood book reviewer, audrey. i was almost half way through madeleine wickham's "the gatecrasher" before i realized that there would be no murder, that the biggest crime to unfold would be of someone marrying for money.

 

it's a good thing i didn't catch on at the beginning or i might not have read the book. it's a perfect airplane or sitting-around-the-pool novel. fleur is a pro at crashing funerals to meet the wealthy, bereaved widower. we've all seen this in action. it's a a good ploy for a recent divorcee or widow, and a very good plot line.

wickham is strong on light satire on fleur herself, on the new conquest richard's country house, and especially on his country club friends. she's pretty harsh on his former seemingly idyllic wife, too.

 

the book is a fun, quick read. it is published by saint martin's paperbacks and is 315 pages.

 

WRITING HINTS:

"Feather-footed through the plashy fen passes the questing vole." anyone reading this blog will recognize the awfulness of that sentence from evelyn waugh's "scoop" a wonderful satire on writing and newspapers that i highly recommend). read your own work with the same caustic/jaundiced eye. read it sentence by sentence. you'll be surprised at what you find. i assure you that it won't all be negative, but you will find some sentences that need weeding out or at least pruning.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

 

the north canton playhouse is seeking scripts for its sixth annual new short play festival. deadline is 21 april.

 

the hudson library's annual book fair is tomorrow 14 april from 1-4. please come see me. i'll be surrounded by copies of "eloquent tattoo." even if you don't buy a book, i'll appreciate a friendly smile.

audreylavin.com                        http://bit.ly/OhAudrey