Category: News/Misc. Page 204 of 229

Opening Lines – Morning Star

On February 25, 2016

In Authors, Blog Series, Currently Reading, Fiction, News/Misc., Opening Lines, Pierce Brown, Quotations, Red Rising, Science Fiction

We all know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover (yet, publishing companies spend big bucks on cover design/art). But, the opening sentence(s)/paragraph(s) are fair game. So, when I stumble on a good opening (or remember one and pull it off the shelves), I’ll throw it up here. Dare you not to read the rest of the book.

Deep in darkness, far from warmth and sun and moons, I lie, quiet as the stone that surrounds me, imprisoning my hunched body in a dreadful womb. I cannot stand. Cannot stretch. I can only curl in a ball, a withered fossil of the man that was. Hands cuffed behind my back. Naked on cold rock.

All alone with the dark.

It seems months, years, millennia since my knees have unbent, since my spine has straightened from its crooked pose. The ache is madness. My joints fuse like rusted iron. How much time has passed since I saw my Golden friends bleeding out into the grass? Since I felt gentle Roque kiss my cheek as he broke my heart?

Time is no river.

Not here.

In this tomb, time is the stone. It is the darkness, permanent and unyielding, its only measure the twin pendulums of life — breath and the beating of my heart.

In. Buh . . . bump. Buh . . . bump.

Out. Buh . . . bump. Buh . . . bump.

In. Buh . . . bump. Buh . . . bump.

And forever it repeats.

from Morning Star by Pierce Brown

I’m Curious: What Was the First Book That . . .

By HCNewton

On February 24, 2016

In Books, News/Misc.

I hate these kind of days — I try to get something up at least 6 days a week. But some days a combination of my job, parenting, husbanding and need for sleep — IOW, the stuff that happens when I’m not reading or blogging — has to take precedence. Today’s such a day.

I did accomplish some things today for the blog, but it’s all behind the scenes stuff and/or things I can’t post quite yet.

Anyway. . .

This was asked a couple of weeks ago on some Facebook group I belong to and I thought the answers were interesting enough, I’d ask you:

If you can remember, what was the first book that destroyed you?

For me, it was either: Where the Red Fern Grows (which I read most of several times, and all of a couple of times); The High King by Lloyd Alexander between the deaths and goodbyes, I still can’t do it dry-eyed; or Bridge to Terabithia — I can’t tell you anything about the plot (there were 2 kids, 1 girl and 1 boy, right?), the characters or anything, and I read it 2-4 times — all I can remember is emotional devastation.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Share the emotional scars we all know you have. 🙂

Saturday Miscellany – 2/20/16

By HCNewton

On February 20, 2016

In Books, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

Bookstore Sales Had First Gain in Eight Years in 2015 — Yahoo!
5 Reasons to Start a Family Book Club (and 10 Recommendations to Get You Started) — Should’ve thought of this already.
Why Reading Comics Makes You Smarter — I used to love stuff like this when I was a young comic book geek — even if my father was never as impressed as he should’ve been. Still, thanks to Geek & Sundry for giving kids today more ammo.
How Honest Should You Be When You Review Self-published Books? — BookRiot-er A.J. O’Connell asks a question I’ve been pondering the last couple of weeks as I’m reading a lot more self/indie-published books this year. Some very helpful comments.
Announcing THE DAYS OF TAO by Wesley Chu — Subterranean Press is putting out a new Tao story, looking forward to that.
Kevin Hearns has some sage words for writers (that readers might enjoy)
15 Books with More Characters than You Can Keep Track Of — a great infographic
7 Signals That It’s Time To Give Up On A Book — huh. Bustle having decent advice instead of a goofy list. Had to happen, eh?

Switcheroo by Aaron J. Elkins — A trip to Britain’s Channel Islands with Dr. Oliver? Don’t mind if I do.
Calamity by Brandon Sanderson — the final book in the Reckoners series. This should be great.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to JAH and raulconde001 for following the blog this week. Thanks to Brenton Dickieson for the interaction.

DNF – The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley

By HCNewton

On February 16, 2016

In Currently Reading, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

The Relic Master

by Christopher Buckley

Hardcover, 372 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2015
Read: February 10 – 15

I would love to know what made Christopher Buckley think, “You know what the world needs? A satire about a Christian relic dealer in 1517…” I also wonder what would drive me to grab it (other than that’s what I do every time I see his name — since the 80’s). But I did, and I gave it the old college try.

The history is pretty good. But I wonder if I’m too critical, I’ve spent so much time recently listening to lectures, reading about, the religious atmosphere of the time — that might have hurt my appreciation for his take on the period (then again, most of his satire is contemporary and I lived through that without problems). In that light, I should say that I really appreciated his characterization of Johann Tetzel. But I just couldn’t care about the characters, the story — any of it. There was none of Buckley’s wit, or his voice — nothing that made me a fan of his other work. Honestly, I’m not sure how he could’ve kept those things with a historical fiction, but the book sure needed that. Yes, it’s entirely possible, that if I’d stuck with it a bit longer, I’d have sung a different song, but life’s too short and my TBR pile is too high.

So, for the first time since January 2011, I’m abandoning a book. I might come back to it at some point, I’d like to actually read it. But not now.

(not really a review, but I felt like I should say something)

Saturday Miscellany – 2/13/16

By HCNewton

On February 13, 2016

In Books, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

William Gibson: how I wrote Neuromancer
The Truth: A Three-Star Review Is Not a Bad Review — I think I missed this when it was first published last year, and I know I did when they re-posted it in January. But for some reason, I saw it twice on my social media feeds this week — which is both good and bad, I was in the middle of writing my own version of this at the time and I stopped because this got into my head and mine would’ve subconsciously ripped bits off (or sounded like I had, even if I’d written them before I read it). But hey, I got to write/read other things, so yay!
Terry Pratchett’s name lives on in ‘the clacks’ with hidden web code — As much as I wanted to be, was never a Pratchett guy, but this is cool.
Placing Literature Maps Out Real Places You’ve Read About in Books — Warning: you could lose many hours here
Crime Novelist ACE ATKINS Comes To Comic Books with NICK TRAVERS: LAST FAIR DEAL GONE DOWN — I read the first Travers book, and it was nice, but I wasn’t compelled to grab the next one, still, glad to see Atkins leaving his mark on the world — this looks like the kind of comic Travers belongs in.
10 Bookish Feelings We Need English Words For ASAP — Sharanya Sharma nails this one.

Morning Star by Pierce Brown — the trilogy comes to a conclusion — and something tells me there’s a lot of death, destruction, and twists along the way. I’m hearing very good things about this.
Dead Is Better by Jo Perry — A ghost solving his own murder with a ghost dog by his side — okay, my paraphrase doesn’t sound nearly as good the description on Fahrenheit Press’ site, click the link and it’ll convince you.
Atlanta Burns: The Hunt by Chuck Wendig — Atlanta Burns’ senior year looks like it’ll be tough and violent and twisted — basically, like the rest of her life.
As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley — A new Flavia de Luce novel means I’m even further behind.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Fictionophile and Aidan Reid for following the blog this week. Thanks to S. C. Flynn and Jayme the Scribbler for the interaction (and the reblog!).

A Few Quick Questions With…Joe Klingler

By HCNewton

On February 11, 2016

In A Few Quick Questions With..., Books, News/Misc., Writing

I posted about Joe Klingler‘s novel, Missing Mona last week (if you didn’t read it, take a moment now — or skip what I said and go get the book). Klingler was kind enough to participate in a Q&A with me. I asked some Missing Mona-specifc questions and then a couple of generic questions. I kept it short and sweet, because I’d rather he work on his next book than take too much time with me, y’know? It could’ve been a little shorter, but he insisted on providing thoughtful answers (I really appreciated the last one)

Where there challenges in writing someone going through a “technology reallocation phase” that you didn’t expect? I’ve often thought Sue Grafton’s books would be at least 1/3 shorter if Kinsey had a cell phone — there are so many things she has to do to make a call/get messages/get information/etc.

One of the challenges was how to keep Tommy connected to a grid that he wasn’t a part of, since all of the other characters had smartphones, and used them constantly. He was already an outsider from another town, but his lack of a phone also made him an outsider in the virtual world as well. He had to constantly figure out how he was going to solve problems without technical assistance—which wasn’t always even possible. However, his interaction with paper messages, meeting times, and just showing up places unannounced provided experiences that would have never happened if he had just sent a text.

The other challenge he immediately faced was how to fill all the alone time created by not being constantly connected to the stream of text and images most people interact with all day long. This gave him time ponder and appreciate his new experiences, plan his next step, and even practice his guitar.

Seeing the references to Martin Caidin on your website warmed my heart — I was afraid I was the only one who remembered him. Describe some the influences on Missing Mona beyond the initial inspiration from Crais (whether or not you think they’re on display in Missing Mona).

Caidin’s The God Machine started me thinking long ago about the perils of power concentrated in one place (or person, or corporation), which we see in the character of LaRuche. Hammett and Chandler helped me understand how to describe experience as it happens, without much attention to the past or future. John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee is a masterwork on how to construct a long series, and build story around a single character with enough depth to carry many novels. Lee Child has his character Jack Reacher arrive in a new town on a new adventure in each book, much the way cowboys did in old westerns. His approach inspired me to have Tommy start out on a road trip with only a vague destination.

I also drew on some of my own experience riding an R75/6 BMW motorcycle along the east coast and down the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Smoky Mountains, seeking only to experience different people and places (yes, I rode to Chicago on a number of occasions.)

If you’ve decided, when we next meet Tommy is he going to be on Route 66 (or en route to it), or will he have returned to Chicago? Are we going to see Marvin, Lizzie, Penny and the rest again?

Tommy will likely begin his next mystery in Chicago, right where he left off. He has made new friends, and found a place to play guitar. Will he stay? How does a traveler ever know when it is time to stop, or if it’s best to keep moving? He finally has himself in motion after years at Walmart, and will struggle with the idea of stopping. That said, his new friends might show up at any time in the future, wherever he may be.

(Phew! That’s what I wanted to hear)

Is there a genre that you particularly enjoy reading, but could never write? Or are you primarily a mystery/suspense/thriller reader?

I read widely, though I prefer writing mysteries and thrillers because they integrate the way people, events, social customs, personal decisions, and technology are all interconnected. I’m a big fan of science fiction, and would like to try it at some point. A horror novel would be very difficult for me to write; I’m not sure I could sleep at night while writing one, though I like reading them on occasion.

I’ve often heard that writers, or artists in general, will forget hundreds of positive reviews but always remember the negative — what’s the worst thing that someone’s said about one of your books, and has it altered your approach to future books?

I definitely remember the positive ones, so please keep them coming. In an interview Stephen King said that if one person says something about your book, you can usually safely ignore it, but if ten people have the same criticism, then perhaps you should look at your work and see how you might improve in that area. So, when I read reviews, I look for the same topic to come up (often in different guises). I like to tell a story from many different perspectives (which some people don’t care for), and I have to be careful with how, and how often, I change point of view. One of the reasons Missing Mona was told in the first person is because I wanted to experiment with using a single point of view.

The worst thing is hard to measure, but being misunderstood is way up there on my list. One person hated the name Qigiq because she couldn’t figure out how to pronounce it, another considered RATS not good enough for an airplane ride, and one thought there were too many floozies in Mash Up. Every reader comes to a book with their own background and set of expectations. About the only thing a writer can do is describe the book clearly in their marketing materials, get as many reviews as possible, and trust that the book will find its readers while he or she sets off to write the next book as well as they possibly can.

Another challenge is that some readers try to infer things about an author from their fiction. Stephen King also wrote to never try to figure out his beliefs from his books. Characters in fiction have their own biases and beliefs and are created to fill the needs of the story. What they think has nothing to do with what the author thinks.

Saturday Miscellany – 2/6/16

By HCNewton

On February 6, 2016

In Books, News/Misc.

Because of a friend’s question, I did some checking — in addition to those who follow via RSS feed and Twitter, there are 282 of you subscribed to this thing in one form or another — that’s just mind-boggling. Obviously, all of you don’t read everything, but you’ve at least taken a moment at some point to read something here, and liked it enough to get more delivered to you. Thanks, thank you very much. Now — make some noise! What do you like, what am I doing right? I suppose, if you must, tell me what I’m doing wrong! What could I do more of — comments are open. There’s email, FB, Twitter options over to your right. But seriously, thanks for the views, the reads, for following, etc.

Anyway…the Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

What Makes Great Detective Fiction, According to T. S. Eliot — Because who hasn’t wondered what Eliot thought about Detective Fiction? Believe it or not, he has some really good thoughts about the genre as Paul Grimstad shows.
92 Percent of Students Prefer Paper Books Over E-Books: Survey — 92% seems high, but I’ll buy it.
No You or Me: On Love, Death, and the Kindle — Jacob Lambert explores why some — at least he (but many will sympathize) — prefers paper.
How to Tackle Your TBR Pile — some good advice from Bookish — not good enough to conquer my mountain, but it could start.
Off the Grid … a new series — “reviews or recommendations of works that are getting very little online attention,” keeping an eye on this, should find some good stuff.
Cover Reveal – There Will Always Be a Max — Michael Underwood announces a new Genrenauts short story, shows us the cover and gives me some movie homework in the process.
Cover Reveal for Fran Wilde’s Cloudbound and Updraft — Not that there was anything wrong with the cover for Updraft in hardcover, but the TPB cover Gorgeous. Ditto for the sequel’s hardcover.
The Bullet Catcher’s Author: An Interview with Rod Duncan — an interview with Rod Duncan on the eve of the release of the new Gas-Lit Empire book (see below). #11 is my favorite answer.
Bringing Back Nero and Archie — as much as I enjoyed that last interview, this one ruined my digestion. Publisher’s Weekly talked to Robert Goldsborough, the man I can’t help but dislike, yet I keep reading.
13 Of The Most Glorious Made-Up Words From Literature
The Book Marketing Landscape Infographic — A nice visual depicting the village it takes to make a best-seller.
Bustle brings us: 14 Secret Habits Every Book-Lover Is Guilty Of Having

Keep Calm by Mark Binder — a thriller recommended by Jonathan Tropper and Lee Child? How can I not? (yeah, Tropper recommending a thriller seems strange, but if you’ve watched Banshee you realize he knows whereof he speaks)
The Custodian of Marvels by Rod Duncan — the conclusion of the Gas-Lit Empire series — can’t wait to see how he pulls this off.
Blood in her Veins by Faith Hunter — shorter works about Jane Yellowrock and friends, from various points in the series. Read the Big Idea she wrote about this book and the dual voices in her protagonist.
Graft by Matt Hill — this looks like a crime novel I’ve read before (or something very like it), but this one is set in 2025 and involves crimes we can’t even imagine yet. Creepy cover, too.
The Alchemy of Chaos by Marshall Ryan Maresca — super-heroes in a traditional fantasy setting? I’m in — and apparently I have to read the first one from last year, too. He did a Big Idea this week, too.
A Criminal Magic by Lee Kelly — In 1926 and the 18th Amendment bans sorcery? Okay, sure — and just like you’d expect, it creates an underground of magic. Goofy enough to work.
Harmony Black by Craig Schaefer — a FBI agent and witch working off-the-books occult case. Perfect.
The Deavys by Alan Dean Foster — a strange YA fantasy with a premise too long for me to try to summarize, but looks like fun.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Haidji and Marve Gandah for following the blog this week. Thanks to S. C. Flynn for the interaction.

(via Read it Forward)

January 2016 Report

By HCNewton

On February 1, 2016

In Books, Calendar Items, Currently Reading, News/Misc.

(I need to think of a catchier name for these posts…)

So, here’s what happened here in January.

Books Read:






	6

Still Reading:

Reviews Posted:

The Witch with No Name by Kim Harrison
The Absconded Ambassador by Michael R. Underwood
Indexing: Reflections by Seanan McGuire
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez
Sex and Violence in the Bible: A Survey of Explicit Content in the Holy Book by Joseph W. Smith III
The Next to Last Word: Service, Hope, and Revival in the Postexilic Prophets by Michael P. V. Barrett
The Odd Fellows Society by C.G. Barrett
Hidden by Karen E. Olson
In Defense of the Moth or A Meaningless Dance in Blinding Heat and Light by Johnny Newport
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Sabbath by Arthur Nsenga & Shaunakay Francis
Traps and Trapezes by Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows
Songs of a Suffering King: The Grand Christ Hymn of Psalms 1–8 by J. V. Fesko
Winter by Marissa Meyer
Three Slicesby Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson, Chuck Wendig
Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World’s Most Brilliant Dog by David Rosenfelt
The Storms of Deliverance by Larry Higdon

How was your month?

Saturday Miscellany – 1/30/16

By HCNewton

On January 30, 2016

In Books, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

Rediscovering the magic of reading books — this may not reflect your life, but if you’re here, odds are you can relate.
Book-of-the-Month Club Reboots — huh. Who knew? Some of my fave reads came from forgetting to send in my “Do Not Send” postcard 20 years ago (and some that weren’t so great).
Don’t feel guilty about buying used books — I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not sure if I can help but feel guilty.
How Do You Like Your Science Fiction? Ten Authors Weigh In On ‘Hard’ vs. ‘Soft’ SF — Title says it all.
Speaking of SF, Charlie Jane Anders tells us What It Means To Be a Science Fiction Writer in the Early 21st Century.
5 Questions in 5 Minutes with Kevin Hearne! — in honor of the release of Staked
Even better — Hearne tweeted some great news and a better pic!
RISE THE DARK, Coming August 16, 2016 — Michael Koryta announces the release of the second Markus Novak novel.
A Crash Course in Bookish Acronyms — A handy resource from BookRiot
10 Weird Literary Phobias and Manias for Book-Lovers — I’m sure one or two words here apply to my readers (and hope there are some that don’t!)
14 Secret Habits Every Book-Lover Is Guilty Of Having — another fun Bustle list

Staked by Kevin Hearne — by the time this posts, I should be finished with this. So, so, so good!
Broken Hero by Jonathan Wood — I’m so excited to see this series return — the first two books were great, can’t wait to get back to this world.
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders — This one looks great — Check out The Big Idea.
Where it Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman — The first Gus Murphy book, which I really enjoyed.
The Murder Quadrille by Fidelis Morgan — A very strange looking crime novel, I’m seeing the words Hitchcock and slapstick a lot. Because why not?

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Edmond Sanganyado and natalieslovelyblog for following the blog this week. I forgot to welcome As the page turns.. to our little group last week – so a belated thanks and welcome there.

A Few Quick Questions With…Larry Higdon

By HCNewton

On January 28, 2016

In A Few Quick Questions With..., Books, News/Misc., Writing

I’ll be posting about Larry Higdon’s first novel, The Storms of Deliverance, tomorrow (Spoiler: It’ll be positive), but before that, I wanted to post this Q&A that he was kind enough to participate in with me. Kept it short and sweet, because I’d rather he work on his next book than take too much time with me, y’know?

Why don’t you start by giving me the elevator pitch for this book.
(Warning: His answer reveals a little more than I’d want to know about the book before reading it)

A former baseball player, who has wasted his life through alcoholism and violence, seeks to win back his ex-wife and daughter. On this quest he suffers a traumatic experience, a bout of amnesia, and encounters with supernatural phenomena. He emerges from these experiences a better man with at least a chance of realizing his dream of reuniting his family.

What prompted this particular story? What was the genesis of the book?

Most of my life I had three or four scenes in my head that didn’t seem to connect with each other. Then all of a sudden they did, and I decided to try to put them together in a novel.

Just a great answer

In the writing of Storms, what was the biggest surprise about the writing itself? Either, “I can’t believe X is so easy!” or “If I had known Y was going to be so hard, I’d have skipped this and watched more TV”.

This novel wrote itself. I felt as though I were taking dictation. Of course, when the editors got involved, the work became more like work.

Describe some your influences (whether or not you think they’re on display in Storms).

I had given up writing–sick and tired of rejection slips. One Christmas my niece, who is also a writer, gave me a copy of Stephen King’s On Writing. That plus King’s novels have influenced me. Some wags might say that I kill off children because King often does so, but that’s not true. That was one of those scenes in my head.

So, it’s been a few years since the publication of Storms — is there more on the way?

The sequel should be published this year. It’s called The School from Hell. Johnson’s ex Katy narrates it. She’s assigned as a counselor to a high poverty elementary school. Johnson, Zoe, McBroom, and Ellen all make appearances.

This is about as far from the answer I’d have guessed at/hoped for as you could imagine. And I’m really looking forward to this sequel.