Who Searches for Obscenities? In a post two weeks ago, I described sanitizing a manuscript, turning “shit” into “crap” and “assholes” into “scumbags.” (See http://billadamsphd.net/2015/04/16/changing-happy-to-glad/). To my surprise the hit rate on my site jumped from 10 a day to nearly 200 … Continue reading
May 9th, 2015 meeting – Financial Crimes AND the Writer-Editor Relationship I’ll be there for the monthly Arizona Mystery Writers meeting, because it’s interesting, and because I’m the emcee. A representative from the TPD Financial Crimes Unit walks the … Continue reading
A Fine Pancake, It Is O’Brien, Flann. (1967) The Third Policeman. Champaigne, Ill.: Dalkey Archive (209pp) This strange tale is strongly reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. An unnamed narrator in 19th century Ireland tells his first-person story of stumbling into … Continue reading
What’s in a Word? When I was in the corporate world, I would release planning and budget documents to committees for review and every person would make revisions, just to show that they could, and the whole document would have … Continue reading
Art and Craft Corbett, David (2013). The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for Fiction Film, and TV. New York: Penguin. 383 pp. This widely praised book is definitely worth reading, especially the first 120 pages, and the last 65, … Continue reading
Postmodern Nihilism Antrim, Donald (1997). The Hundred Brothers. New York: Picador, 188 pp. Ninety-nine brothers convene at their dead father’s estate to find his ashes and bury him (one brother couldn’t make it). They meet in a vast library that … Continue reading
I’ll be signing and selling two of my books this weekend at the Tucson Festival of Books. I volunteered anyway to staff the booth of the Arizona Mystery Writers (www.arizonamysterywriters.com) for a couple of hours, and one benefit of membership … Continue reading
Proof that Sentimental Claptrap Sells Audrey Niffenegger (2003). The Time Traveler’s Wife. 534 pp. I bought this book on a whim, succumbing to marketing hype, and because I do enjoy time travel stories. But it was a huge disappointment. It’s basically … Continue reading
Dream or Reality? Murakami, Haruki (1994/1998). The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. New York: Vintage, 607 pp. This novel is writing for the sake of writing. There is a nominal plot, but it’s weak. A Japanese woman and her sister are abused … Continue reading
A Joke Disguised as a Rant Irving, John (1989). A Prayer for Owen Meany. 617 pp. Secondary character John Wheelwright narrates the story of growing up with his friend, main character Owen Meany, a small boy who only grew to … Continue reading