Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich - I Read It, and Boy I'm Disappointed

Janet Evanovich is one of my favorite authors, has been for years.  I read about Stephanie Plum with delight, listen to the audiobooks and chuckle, and always await the publication of the next in the Plum series with great anticipation.

Well, maybe that excitement has wained somewhat since nothing seems to evolve with Stephanie and the gang.  Stephanie never chooses between Joe and Ranger.  Lula can be counted on for tight spandex and a new diet or two every book, and there's always the car that's gonna explode.  Then, the Plum Spooky series started appearing in between the number books, and I had hope.

I thought that maybe Janet E. was getting tired of writing the same old storyline, and maybe this paranormal humor test run would do her well.  Kinda like a rock and roll star who gets sick and tired of singing the same old hit song time and again, despite how much the fans demand to hear it.  Surely Rod Stewart has had enough of Maggie Mae?

Diesel would solve everything.  His new series -- debuting as Wicked Appetite this Fall -- would show how Janet Evonovich had jumped into a new pool of characters, new exciting plotlines, fresh jokes.  Oh, I was so ready for this and I thought ... assumed ... she was too.

I was wrong.

Wicked Appetite was a major disappointment for me. It's a poor imitation of the 123 series, and even then not the best of those books (which were the first few, by the way).   Lizzie is too much like Stephanie Plum, the bakery and surrounding neighborhood too much akin to the Trenton neighborhood, and the only thing that I was truly happily surprised to see:  Cluck in a Bucket never appeared. Thank Goodness. 

Same old fart jokes, Carl the Monkey shooting the bird, and the significant amount of white space on the pages had me checking to see if I had a Large Print book by mistake.  (I didn't.)  I didn't estimate a word count, but it's obviously pushing the edge of the envelope here to get the required number of pages of sellable product here. 

Janet, Janet, Janet.  You've got such talent and you've got people out here who love you.  Stop this.  You're disrespecting yourself to the point of being self-destructive here, in an obvious sellout to the Publishing Dollar.  Which, cruelly, will be disappearing soon enough -- I'm not buying anymore of your formula books and I'm reading all over the web where lots of other disappointed readers won't be either.

Maybe falling sales will send the message that all the Amazon one star comments haven't.

Writing Dialogue - More Authors to Study Who Are Masters of Dialogue: Sue Grafton

Couple of years ago (wow, I've been blogging here for awhile now!), I wrote about my search for authors who have mastered the art of writing great conversation.  Dialogue. 

I admit it -- setting, plot, characters: they're all with their hurdles.  Dialogue downright intimidates me. 

So, imagine my surprise when I'm reading Sue Grafton's latest, U is for Undertow, and realize just how much of the story is (you guessed it) dialogue.  Great stuff, too.  I surf around on Grafton as a writer, seeking to learn more about her writing - besides the ABC series, I've read all of them just like you. 

Voila.  Grafton worked in Hollywood, writing screenplays before she decided to write mysteries as a way to escape the Hollywood system.  Good for her, great for us.

So, in addition to those authors that I listed in September 2008 as authors who have mastered the art of writing dialogue, I must add Sue Grafton.  Wow, she's great at it. 

(And Sue Grafton's got a really cool web site to explore, too, if you're interested.)

UPDATE:  I've finished U is for Undertow, and I think it's the best yet in Grafton's series.  If you're interested in my take on why U is worth the read (very), check out my review at Amazon. 

Journaling by Hand: I Like Writing Pen on Paper - Though I Do It Less and Less

When I was growing up, I had a callus on my left ring finger that lasted all the way through law school:  it was ugly, but somewhat of a badge of honor. I was left-handed, and held my pen a funny way because I'd taught myself to read and write long before I started school.  (There's an old news story on this in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, but that's a different post for a different day.)

That callus meant I wrote - and wrote a lot.  I was proud of that ugly old thing.

Today, it's gone.  I type all the time now.  Sometimes, I dictate into a Dragon microphone (voice to text software is handy now and then).  I handwrite grocery lists, task lists, little notes to friends, an occasional letter.  Sign a card, leave a stickie on the door.  Not much handwriting going on over here.

So, I've decided to change.  I like writing by hand.  I like the pen, the paper, the time it takes to do it.  A friend who analyzes handwriting for forgeries recalled to me her long-ago study of handwriting analysis.  Personality appearing through handwriting. 

She told me that there are those who believe that people can change their attitudes and behaviors simply by changing how they write.  Amazing to think that a child could increase self-esteem by writing their signature bigger or that a depressed teen could brighten up by simply changing the slant of their words. 

Who knows if it's true or not - even my friend wasn't a true believer - but I suspect that our personalities do show themselves somewhat in how we write with pens, it's such a personal thing.  It has its own creative character, handwriting.

Tess Gerritsen and Elmore Leonard are two authors I know who handwrite their work.  Type it later, but first draft is brain to hand to pen to paper.  I like that.  Or I like the idea of that. 

Mr. Leonard actually writes on special paper pads made just for him.  That's so wonderful.  Unlined, yellow pads each with 63 sheets - you can see an image of them here, on his desk, and read his story of why he likes them in this NPR Interview. 

Dr. Gerritsen may not have special pads, but she has a separate desk for handwriting and another for her computer.  The handwriting desk is an old oak partner's desk -- you know the kind, with all that fabulous surface area inviting you to stack stuff to the rafters (look at the image for Gerritsen's map of Boston there, atop her books and things).   

Here's the thing. I am going to incorporate handwriting back into my daily life.  I'm going to journal by hand, maybe write a poem or two by hand, and who knows: start writing a story by hand.  Is there power in it?  Dunno - will I write more? will I become more prolific?  will my personality change? will I lose weight?  I'll let you know.

To make things even more fun, I've sent off for some disposable extra fine point Varsity Fountain pens (see the image above, they're less than three bucks apiece at Office Depot).  Very cool, can't wait till they arrive.

Update:  Got my Varsity Fountain pens, and I love them - if you're interested, read my review over at Amazon for the details on why they're great (IMHO). 

Scrivener for Windows is Coming! Scrivener Writing Software in Beta Available in Fall 2010

For several years now, Mac users had the ability to use Scrivener and Windows users were left to fret and be jealous, and organize their stuff as best they could. Until now!!!

Literature & Latte has officially announced on its web site that the Windows version of Scrivener will be available in November 2010 in its beta version (in time for NaNoWriMo) and the full-fledged, official version will be available in Winter 2011.


What is Scrivener?

It's an award-winning program for writers - providing online tools to help writers write. It's not an alternative to Word (which editors prefer - editing with their authors via Track Changes), but a way to organize and structure your work in process. For many, it is a beloved part of their routine (check out the New York Times review here).

How? Scrivener is a software package that (1) breaks down big documents into bits, so they are easier to manage, while also (2) giving you an outlining tool and (3) a corkboard, both for purposes of outlining your work -- and (4) enabling you to tag it with your research (images, PDFs) for crossreferencing. Once you've got the book written, or the thesis complete, Scrivener lets you pull it all together into a single file or document, which you can export into Word.

According to the Scrivener website, look for the beta to be available around October 25, 2010. The site promises free copies for those willing to work in beta, helping flush out the last few bugs in the system. Once it's finalized, Scrivener for Windows will cost $40 and it will work on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Also, if you have the guts and energy to have a validated 50,000 word count at NaNoWriMo this year, Scirvener will offered to you at half-price: Literature & Latte is promising a 50% discount coupon for its new Windows version as a NaNoWriMo incentive. Cool, right?

Check It Out For Yourself

The web site has a video (5 minutes of your time) that goes over the basics. For an example of how an award-winning, multipublished author uses Scrvener, check out Robin Lee Hatcher's description of her process here.

How I'm Going to Use Scriviner

I'm ghostwriting a book (again - I've got to stop doing this, and get my name out there!) that requires lots of intensive research, much of it dealing with the law -- statutes and cases from both federal and state sources. This, in addtion to news stories, various opinion pieces, etc. In other words, a nonfiction work that needs lots of supporting documentation.

I'm hoping that Scrivener is going to enable me to write the draft with the crossreferencing that's necessary for both footnoting as well as the index much more smoothly than Microsoft Word was going to provide. We'll see soon enough, right?