The Black Sun by James Twining

Tom Kirk an ex-CIA agent and art thief who, in this sequel to The Double Eagle, has gone into the legitimate antique business. When a series of bizarre robberies and murders that point to the Kristall Blade, a group of neo-Nazi extremists, the British Secret Service (MI6) tries to recruit him. But he isn't interested until he learns his old enemy, Harry Renwick, is involved.

I'm so-so about this book. On the one hand, it is an interesting topic: the search for a treasure that was hidden by a group of Nazis at the close of WWII. But the main characters really didn't hold my interest. Tom spent too much time agonizing over the past; his business partner wasn't that well-fleshed out; and Dominique, Tom's possible love interest (if he ever allows himself to get close to her) even less so. She's beautiful, poised, and intelligent, but there's nothing that makes her memorable.

There's one character who comes in toward the end: Viktor -- the Russian crime boss -- who makes the last third of the story come to life. She (yes, Viktor's a she) has an interesting background and made me care about her. Which made it harder when Twining used her for cliche fodder.

The book kept the action moving briskly, but not so briskly that I didn't wonder how they seemed to solve mysteries that people had been looking into for sixty years so quickly. Also, about halfway through Tom realizes that Renwick's following him, letting Tom solve the riddles for him. And yet, Tom doesn't take any more precautions once he knows this, just keeps trying to pinpoint the location of the treasure.

Not a bad book, but I don't recommend it.

A Christmas Secret by Anne Perry

Dominic Corde and his wife Clarice are elated when he becomes the temporary vicar of the small village of Cottisham while Reverend Wynter is away on vacation. Everything seems perfect at first. It's a beautiful rural area with warm and welcoming villagers. The couple even entertain hopes that the situation might become permanent. But then Clarice discovers that Reverend Wynter isn't on holiday; something more sinister has transpired.

This is the fourth in Anne Perry's Christmas-themed mysteries, which feature minor characters from her other series. My only problem was, with this one, remembering who Dominic Corde was (he's Charlotte Pitt's former brother-in-law, widowed when her eldest sister is murdered in The Cater Street Hangman -- the first Pitt mystery). He did turn up in another of the series, but it's been almost ten years and it took me awhile to get enough info from this book to remember him.

Not an overly complicated plot, since these Christmas mysteries are more novelettes, but not overly thin either. She manages to give readers several strong suspects and a plausible reason for the murder. Anne Perry has a way with characters. Even her minor ones are fully realized, interesting, and sympathetic people.

Perhaps this won't be as enjoyable to those who have not read the main series first. On the other hand, it serves as a good introduction to her style and, at 208 pages, is a quick and entertaining read.

Death Match by Lincoln Child

The computer dating system at Eden, Inc. guarantees the perfect match. They've never failed to find the ideal life mate for anyone they accept for their service. Although all the couples match high on compatibility, there are the rare "super couples" -- those who match 100%. When one of those couples commits double suicide, the company calls in Christopher Lash, an ex-FBI forensic psychologist, to determine what caused their aberrant behavior. But when a second super couple dies, Lash begins to suspect murder.

Interesting thriller with a strong main character. I found the explanation of the psychological tests interesting, the computer tech less so. Spoiled by a rather predictable ending, though not so implausible given the advances in computer intelligence. Worth reading.

Critique of Criminal Reason, by Michael Gregorio

An historical mystery set in 1804 Prussia. The main character, Magistrate Hanno Stiffeniis, is called from his small town to Konigsburg to investigate four seemingly random murders. The only connection is that the victims are all found kneeling with no visible injury. The public, already nervous about the possible invasion of Napoleon, is thrown into a panic, attributing demonic powers to the killer.

Hanno discovers he has been recommended by his mentor, the philosopher Immanuel Kant, who had encouraged him to study law as a way to atone for the guilt he feels over his brother's death. He must unmask a serial killer before anyone knew that such a criminal existed.

He is helped by Kant, who in this book uses his philosophical tenets to invent what would become forensic analysis of crime scenes and the psychology of the killer. Elderly and frail, he gives Hanno nudges in the right direction, though Hanno is inclined to trust the usual methods of brutality and torture at first.

Gregorio does a good job of invoking the atmosphere of early 19th century Prussia, from the damp cold to the casual cruelty -- from the filthy table and blood encrusted knives of a bewitching abortionist to the filthy beds and blood encrusted apron of the barrack surgeon. Hanno wavers from believing the killings to be the work of pro-Bonapartists trying to foment chaos and fear to wondering if it might be witchcraft. He gradually begins to see the merit in Kant's methods.

The book is worth reading, for the atmosphere first, and for the mystery which kept me guessing until close to the end of the book. There are a few surprising revelations which I won't hint about here.

Happy Hooker Crap-o'meter

Miss Snark, the literary agent's blog, is hosting the results of one of her infrequent crap-o'meters. This one invited aspiring authors to send in a 250 word (or less) hook for their unpublished novel. The idea is to give her the query that you would send to an agent -- a brief statement of what your book is about. As she writes in one of her critiques, you have about 8 seconds to get the agent's interest, then your letter gets thrown on the crap pile. Very informative for any prospective author. Fun reading for those of you who aren't. After you read enough of these -- and the responses they engender -- you may just find yourself writing for clarity, even in your notes to the paper boy or baby sitter. Oh, and my reading material? I'm starting it tomorrow. With very low expectations. The scariest monsters keep lurking in dark places. Not trotted out as children with all their psychoses plopped on the page.

NaNo haters

Not much new. I seem to have little time for keeping up with my blog. That should change after Christmas. Right now I'm working on my NaNo novel: The Andrews Bride -- trying to get it finished by Jan. 1st. I want to have time to edit it a little. Lulu, a print on demand service, offers a free copy of every NaNo winner's book, but you have to submit it by Jan. 16th. It's always a thrill to see your book actually looking like a book. And Lulu makes a profit since most people probably buy one or two for family and friends.

Of course, some authors can be pretty snobbish about it. I've seen blogs where NaNo is called a waste of time. That it deludes people into believing they're authors. That it encourages people to write crap.

I realize that writing doesn't make you an "author." Or good. But I do think that writing x amounts of words a day to get to a monthly word count encourages discipline. And while it's not possible to learn rules of spelling or grammar just by writing, the sheer amount of writing may lead to better fluency and flow. Maybe even an interest in improving one's grammar.

One of the objections seems to be that most of the NaNo participants will never become published. I can't understand why anyone would care about that. I've been on the forums enough to know that a lot of them have no interest in writing for a living. They're doing it as a one time or yearly thing, just for fun. Or they do write year round, but it's a hobby.

When is the last time you read a blog from a pro golfer bitching about all the people who play golf who have no chance of ever going pro? Or a chef making fun of people who take a culinary course at their local community college? Don't authors understand that writing can be a hobby?

And if someone does have a story that they dream of having published one day? And if they want to begin in November using NaNo to push themselves? Telling yourself that you're going to be writing crap isn't giving yourself permission to be bad. It's just a way of getting started and not being too disappointed when that first draft turns out not to be a finished, polished manuscript.

I think most of us picture our favorite authors sitting down and turning out a perfect book in one draft. Deciding "if what I write doesn't come out perfectly in the first draft I might as well quit" may be one of the biggest delusions that causes people to quit prematurely. If NaNo does nothing else, it frees you from worrying about perfection. Get the words down first. If you have the talent and the discipline and are willing to work hard, you may just turn it into a decent manuscript some day.

If I thought that authors were, as a rule, jealous or fearful of competition, I could understand NaNo put downs. But from what I've seen through blogs and web sites and my limited contact with writers, the majority are very supportive and encouraging with each other and with aspiring authors.

Authors recognize that their profession doesn't have the same sort of cut throat competition of many other careers. Each author is competing more against himself than anyone else. They're competing for readers, but one author's success doesn't signal failure for the others. It's not as if The DaVinci Code killed off that type of book. On the contrary, its success has lead to a run on religious conspiracy action adventure thrillers. Similarly, the success of the Left Behind series showed publishers that there was a market for Christian fiction and opened up greater opportunities for writers who wished to work in that genre.

If I have to guess, I'd say their objections may be because NaNo doesn't fall within their parameters of the Right Way to become an author. An aspiring author should determine if he has the talent for it, and if so, keep writing and rewriting until he learns his craft. Most writers also advise enrolling in a reputable class and joining a writing group for critique and feedback.

Since participating in NaNo doesn't preclude doing any of that, I still don't see the problem some writers have with it.

Cheated

Tonight, for the first time, I cheated on NaNo. I didn't last year. Last year I wrote no matter what. Even when my cat was hospitalized and they told me he was very weak from loss of blood and would probably die. I wrote my quota the three nights he was in, and I wrote my quota when I'd brought him home and had to give him pills several times a day and try to get him to eat.

I even made my quota the day I picked him up and got a look at the bill.

But I received some bad news tonight, at about my 1400th word, and I was too upset for awhile to think about my story. If I hadn't put off writing until evening, and writing at a slow pace in between doing other things, I would already have made my total when I found out.

Part of the trouble was that I didn't find anything out. I found out there was something bad, but that I couldn't be told what it was because it had been told in confidence to the person who told me. Who didn't tell me. He just told me that there was something to tell and it wasn't good.

Jesus. You cannot tell me something like that and expect me to take it well.

So I cried a little, imagining horrible things. Then I saw the clock ticking away and looked at the half-filled page and had no desire to write anything about my story.

So I hit "enter" a few times and started venting about what had just happened. It was in my story's document, and it is writing. It's certainly colorful and expressive. Technically, maybe it isn't cheating and if it is, I'm only cheating myself.

But I don't want to cheat myself. I'm going back to the story, even if it is late, and try to write a little more that will count towards yesterday's total.

Halfway Mark

Halfway point and all is well. Almost 25,000 words (I’m 100 short). Close enough to halfway to say I’m halfway. Of course, I’m padding a bit, but my pre-NaNo efforts to work out the plot and structure seem to be paying off. I’m trying to show instead of tell and set up situations that move from simple to complex and reach a crisis and resolution. Since it’s a romance, not a thriller, I don’t know if there’s going to be a huge crisis at the end, or rather that the crisis will seem big enough. There’s tragedy, but I don’t know if that’s a crisis.

My mood goes up and down. Sometimes it’s a struggle and I don’t make my daily quota. I had a good night tonight. I went into it a few hundred shy of 22,000 and didn’t figure I’d make it halfway. But I thought up this good scene, kind of humorous, not rolling in the aisles funny. But it does help reveal the characters and shows them moving closer together, in spite of the difficulties I’ve given the poor guy.

I’ve been dealing with a funny sort of guilt and sorrow. I knew going into the story that a major character was going to die near the end of the book, and I feel like a murderer, especially as I’m getting to know him better and better. I feel like an executioner, to be more precise.

To get back to the scene I wrote tonight, it illustrates the best part of NaNo. When you can really get into the flow it’s like running downhill with a stiff wind at your back and daily word quotas are a breeze. I didn’t even have an inkling earlier that it was going to spring inside my head, fully formed, like I was watching a movie.

Some days you have to force it. The best way to describe it is that it’s like running away from a mob. You have to keep moving, . You can’t stop to tie your shoe and if you drop something it’s gone. But when you’re running like that, you find reserves of creativity you didn’t know you possessed. It’s like automatic writing, and probably parts are coming from your own life experiences, mixed with the plot you’d already devised for that chapter or scene.

Nearly Nano

That's National Novel Writing Month (November 1st to 30th) to the uninitiated. Starting at midnight, I’m writing 1700 words a day for thirty days and will finish the month with slightly over 50,000 words.

Last year I made my goal. The least I wrote per day was about 1300 words, the most was 3500 (to make that final push and go over the target a few days early). As long as you average out to 1667 at least. You can’t have too many 1300 word days and expect to win.

Last year I won. I know it’s doable. If you go into this with the right mindset, you need to write quickly and freely, not worrying about how well you’re writing or if everything is grammatically perfect. You can’t go back and agonize that your plotting or characterizations aren’t perfect. You can’t edit. Not until December first. You don’t have to finish your novel.

The best achievement with NaNo is showing you proof that you can write a good amount of words in one month. Maybe you couldn’t keep it up every month, but if you want to be a writer – to write at least one novel – you wouldn’t need to. Even if you took three or four months to write 100,000 words and another month or two to edit and a few more months for it to make the rounds of your more literate friends for grammar polishing and plot first aid, that’s still a finished book a less than a year. One that’s in pretty good shape, hopefully, by the end of the process. Maybe even a book that’s close to publishable.

This year I’m nervous. I’m afraid of freezing. Afraid of the dreaded sophomore slump. Afraid that I’ll care too much about how this work turns out and not be able to tell myself each day, as I sit down to write, “well I’m going to work on my crappy novel now.”

It worked last year. If I set out deciding that what I wrote would be garbage, it helped keep me going.

Last year I my aim was to prove to myself that I could write the amount. My 50,000 words needed quite a bit of editing and rewriting to fix plot holes, but for the most part it flowed much better than I thought I would.

This year I’m trying to exceed last year’s goal. I’ve worked harder beforehand on plotting and structure. I’ve tried to think of plot points that would drive the story onward instead of just meandering about (a flaw in last year’s work). I’m not expecting the writing to be any better or worse than last year, but I do hope, at the end of this, the story will hang together more tightly.

Hmmm… that’s 509 words (for the whole blog; I didn’t do a word count until I finished this). About three times more than that, and I’ll have a day’s word count. It’s not a matter of luck; it’s determination. Here’s hoping I have some of both though.

An open letter to the people (and government) of Kazakhstan

Dear folks:

Don't worry about that Borat movie. Most of the civilized world understands vicious satire. And, like Oscar Wilde once stated: "It is better to be talked about than not to be talked about." Someone else said, "There's no such thing as bad publicity," though, since I can't remember who, he obviously didn't get enough of it. If any of you are familiar with the name Paris Hilton, you know the truth of the above statements.

Nobody in the United States believes anything seen on screen, including the news. We take everything with a grain of salt. We are the nation of stand-up comedians, spin doctors, and lawyers. We have no standards. None of the Americans the Borat guy fooled in the filming of the movie seem to care unless they go to see it and find their screen time got cut. Then you'll hear screaming.

Look at McDonalds. Are they upset about Fast Food Nation? Not a corporate lawyer in sight. Since the fast food joint in the movie is called 'Mickeys' you can't get much more obvious. But McDonalds understands that they are untouchable. As long as they make tasty fried mass produced food-like products at a reasonable price, the world will be pouring money into their coffers.

If one enterprising Kazakhstani follows the same path, there could be a Koumis and horse sausage kiosk on every street corner on Earth by 2025. Though take my advice and study McDonalds' methods: up the sugar content of the former and deep fry the latter. McNuggets were an acquired taste in China and Qatar.

Don't worry about any of us here thinking worse of Kazakhstan. Until this brouhaha over the Borat movie, 98% of us didn't know there was a Kazakhstan. That two percent did is thanks for the most part to an American movie: Air Force One. And that was largely because Gary Oldman played the lead terrorist. Who wasn't a wimp or a clown. He was kickin.

Since the controversy broke, the number of people here who know about Kazakhstan is at least five percent and rising. Which is spectacular since the guy who plays Borat is no Gary Oldman.

Don't take the ignorance of Americans as a slur against Kazakhstan. We're famous for our lack of geographic knowledge and our disinterest in any cultures other than our own. According to a CNN article last May, two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 can't find Iraq or Iran on a map. Heck, 33% of them can't even find Louisiana. The shameful part is that of the 33%, 5% live in Louisiana. Okay, I made the last one up. I hope.

Movie stars are even worse, not just the American ones (the Borat guy is English, by the way). Eighty-seven percent of them can't find their butts with a map and a guide.*

So, in conclusion, the Borat movie can only be beneficial for Kazakhstan. None of the bad stuff will be remembered (or believed) for an instant. If you're still worried, hire an official spokesperson. Preferably a movie star. Gary Oldman might be free. Pose him next to an oil well with a big glass of Koumis. Did I mention we also love countries with big oil wells who don't hate us? That Borat guy is English, by the way. Colonial oppression, looking down on the natives, what, what. Not one of us.



*Just a little joke on my part, which movie stars would be the first to laugh at. All movie stars know where their a$$ is. They spend most of their time with their heads up there, removing them only when a photo op presents itself. When a photographer or movie camera appears at a Hollywood party, it sounds like dozens of champagne bottles uncorking at once. Very festive.