Six Rivers County

The great thing about writing as well as life is that you can start all over again. Besieged by various life events, illness and depression, the last year has been challenging. Certainly, not life-changing as it has for some of my family and friends, but hard for me to get through. So, here goes. Me starting over. My first as-yet-unborn mystery novel actually grew. I have just finished the last chapter in the second draft. Sam and Mary have discovered a new dimension in their relationship and the over-arching plot of the series is laid down. And I’ve learned a few things on the way to this point. First, having a critique group every week keeps me working. I have a deadline. I need deadlines. That way, I keep writing, even if I don’t always like what I’ve written. I just keep writing. Second, scenes and chapters I’ve written usually go over better with others than they do with me. Of course, I have not shown them to my husband. He’s too close...

I have devoted this blog to my process of writing, and that often includes looking at successful writers for inspiration, even though they may not write books like the mine. Historical mysteries are among my favorite sub-genres. The historical mystery satisfies two jones at once: a puzzle to solve and a lesson in history. One of the best historical mystery series I have read are by Jeri Westerson. She calls them “Medieval Noir,” and they have all the qualifying elements of noir. Crispin Guest is her protagonist. Having been stripped of his knighthood by Richard II, he must make his living in a less than hospitable 14 th century London. Using his intelligence and skills, he has become known as The Tracker, because they didn't have detectives back then. Not unlike Sam Spade, Guest has his flaws and his lost loves. Still, though betrayed by his aristocratic cohorts and the legal system, Guest never loses his sense of honor. In Blood Lance, due out in a couple of mo...

Someone sent me a YouTube video of Britain's Got Talent. Yes, Britain has talent. Two young people—16 & 17—sang their hearts out to win the approval of the fans and judges. The young lady was lovely and had a great voice. The young man, well, he had some drawbacks. Not his voice, which was extraordinary, but his size. He was treated with disrespect when they first appeared on stage, but maybe that's the way all contestants are treated. I don't know. I don't watch it. The person who sent it to me wanted to know what lessons I took from it. I wrote back that it was a complex issue. Once the two young people began to sing, everyone cheered and stood up. Everyone loves the underdog, right? I have just one question: Why was he an underdog in the first place? Why is it that everyone was so surprised that a fat person could sing? Do we, as a culture, not only judge by the “cover” of everyone, and think them automatically stupid and worthless? Worthless? Maybe that'...

I keep embarrassing myself. I looked at my blog today and realized I had not written anything in a month. Rather than wallow, I decide to write. I looked at another blog today, by critique-mate Jenny Fulford. Her blog http://www.livingonink.com/  has creative flow and a freshness of youthful enthusiasm. I appreciate that. Thanks for your words, Jenny. Now, to come to terms with being a writer. Writing is important on a number of levels. One, is to reach out to others with my thoughts. Another is to entertain. Ultimately, writing is important because I feel compelled by something beyond me. Something that grew out of the 61 + years I've lived. I like to blame it on my grandfather who was a newspaper reporter for most of his adult life. When he read to his grandchildren, he read things like Kipling and Poe, great masters of rhythm and whose works had myriad levels of meaning. Now, Kipling is politically incorrect and Poe is just some old drug addict. I don't care. No matt...