Validation. Worth Your 16 Minutes. Really.

Word Choice Dilemma - This Should Make U Laugh. Avoid tinny.

Reading Robert B. Parker Now ...

I don't know why I've never read any Robert B. Parker before now.

Stupid.

And, truth be told, I owe it all to Tom Selleck, because those Jesse Stone movies he's been producing and starring in -- they're specials on CBS -- made me wonder about the novels. Then, I was in line at the store and someone had stuffed one of the Jesse Stone paperbacks (Stranger in Paradise) in between the beef jerky and the King Size Snickers bars and of course, I took it as a sign.

And, sure enough it was. I love and adore Robert B. Parker.

Fast read, clean read. A true master here -- especially enjoying his dialogue. Wow. So well done, and he appears to be a member of the "use 'said' or don't use anything at all school."

Dialogue. Wow.

You know -- he said, she said. Not he cried, she exclaimed, he snarled. Dean Koontz, another one with this as a writing rule ....

I'm going through the Sunny Randall series now. From the debut forward, in publication order. And, I'm also doing this with the Jesse Stone series.

Spencer? I'm waiting on him -- that's a big buncha books, plus I dunno. I feel less connected somehow to Spencer, although I do remember the TV series from years ago, and I do remember liking the characters there. Hawk. Cool.

And, fine. I have to be honest. One of the reasons that I'm really enjoying Parker's work has nothing to do with plots or settings or character development or series construction or mysteries or thrillers or anything like that.

I love Rosie the bull terrier.

I just really like Rosie, the miniature bull terrier that splits her time between Sunny Randall and her ex-husband. Rosie is just endearing and fabulous, and well ... dog lovers are a special kind of folk, and it's nice to know that Robert B. Parker is one of us. (And, sure, I'm waiting for Jesse Stone to get his dog ... he better get one, the TV Jesse has that great golden in every story that I've seen.)

Wish Rosie had a blog, though. I mean, Martha Stewart's pugs (Francesca and Sharky) just got one, and heck. Dean Koontz's dog Trixie Koontz, has a blog AND is still writing books from the other side of Rainbow Bridge.

YouTube Interview - Lisa Scottoline

Blagojevich Gets Million Dollar Book Deal - Will YOU buy that book?

In today's news former Illinois governor Blagojevich failed to get federal prosecutors thrown off his corruption case -- the prosecutor has described Balgojevich's activities as a "white collar crime spree" that would make Abe Lincoln "roll over in his grave."

And yet, he's just made over a million bucks (all we know is "six figures") with his agreement to write a purported expose of the dark side of politics (there's another side?) for Phoenix Books. The tome is scheduled to hit the shelves in October.

I just gotta wonder two things:

1. what juice can he possibly put in this story, when you know his lawyers aren't going to let him write anything that pertains to the pending charges?

2. who cares? I'm not planning on even borrowing this one from the library, much less spend cash on the darn thing. Six-figures? Right. Sure. Stinks like a three-day old fish.

PBW Made Me Laugh - Maybe You Will Too

Great post today by Lynn Viehl over at Paperback Writer. Maybe her best post ever. Go read it, you'll laugh.

And, for backstory before you do ... read this post, which explains the whole shiny pink cover horror.

Esquire's 7 Greatest Stories - Full Text and Free

Over at Esquire magazine's website, you can read the seven works which the editors of Esquire have collected as the "7 Greatest Stories in the History of Esquire Magazine," with Gay Talese's essay on Frank Sinatra ("Frank Sinatra Has a Cold") considered to be the best of the best.