HelenKay Dimon

I’m still on vacation (sorry, Jordan) but thought this, being the last day of the year, would be a good time to look back. That, and I have a serious sunburn and need to stay out of the sun today.

In terms of writing, it’s been a great year. I have an agent and I actually like him. I’ve sold seven novellas and a single title, all of which will be released in the form of one multiple-author anthology, two single-author anthologies and one single title. Not bad thinking I got The Call in May. Am I satisfied? Of course not. Unfortunately, the OCD doesn’t go away when The Call comes…

In addition to my good news, I also read. A lot. To be honest, a good portion of it was in the mediocre to good range. Some were great, but not as many as I had hoped would be. Many times I liked the voice or the plot, but not both. I also found some new-to-me authors (and some brand new authors) who made an impact. I’m doing this from memory so I know I will forget someone (my apologies for that) but thanks to some great reading, I will now pick up more books by: Pamela Clare, Gena Showalter, Julie Kenner, Carrie Vaughn, Jennifer Crusie (yeah, I finally read something by her and I now see what the fuss is all about) and a few others. I will continue to read many others who I have loved for quite a long time now. I will follow the careers of some online folks who are always interesting and whose books I need to invesitgate further because I haven’t been able to fit them in yet (Ellen, Shannon, Sylvia, Diana and others).

I read some interesting and informative blogs and learned a great deal – some of it was even about writing. I found a cp who is not only a great cp but now a valued friend. I started a review site (with said cp and with the addition of the very cool Kassia/Ms. Booksquare) and enjoyed every minute of it. I learned something from every single book we reviewed, even those I didn’t love. I now have a website and a website designer who is a joy to work with and answers every stupid question I have without pointing out my stupidity.

So, in sum: writing life is good, reading life is good, home life is great. Can’t complain. Hope you all feel the same.

Taking a brief break from my vacation lethargy to plug a book. For once, it’s for someone else’s book. Isn’t that a nice change?

While lounging on the beach (have I mentioned how much I love my in-laws and how much I love the fact they live in Hawaii??), I picked up The Royal Pain by MaryJanice Davidson. Okay, I admit I’m a fan of her Brava stuff. She’s funny and funny is hard to write, so I appreciate her style. I agree with Ellen. This one is good.

Some may call this fluff. So what. Don’t analyze it. You need fluff now and then. Just sink down, kick up your feet and enjoy. It’s fun and sweet and sexy. Go buy it.

Happy Holidays and be very grateful you don’t live next to this guy…or pay his electric bill.

While I’ve been enjoying the fun and sun in Hawaii (yes, I plan to rub that in every chance I get), Alex Keegan posted a comment to one of my July blog posts. I’m thinking this was an end-of-the-year google issue. Problem is, he posted to the old typepad blog, so it didn’t show up here. In the interest of fairness (and because I am too relaxed from my days of doing nothing to come up with a blog topic), I’ll reprint it here.

The issue on the old post was purple prose and Keegan’s view that we’d gone overboard with the spare-is-better view. He checked out the conversation and now offers this:

Hi, since I was quoted!

No, I don’t suggest a return to purple prose!

APPROPRIATE is the key word.

In general (but certainly not always) I suspect it’s better to use the strong verb or noun that doesn’t require the adverb or adjective; but then there are situations where emphasis, word-flow, and what I call “Napalm” require us to hold the reader’s hand above the heat. That may require longer ways to say things.

In one article I make the point that a “Cool, Dark, Guinness” is more interesting to the drinker than mere “Guinness” and I show how Andred Dubus, in the same story can be bald/terse and then switch to righ, modified writing. They key is the REASON for the modifiers.

Most beginners almost literally ADD modifiers as if these extra words somehow add depth or meaning or weight.

Intermediates “learn” to strip all those modifiers out.

Experienced writers don’t need to add or strip. If the modifiers are there it’s because it’s the best way, in the context, to express the point.

Alex

There you have it. Straight from Keegan without any interpretation from me.

Today we take off for two weeks in Hawaii. Before anyone begins cursing, this is all about visiting the relatives and doing some book research. No, really. My in-laws actually live there. And, my current book – that would be the one I’m supposed to be writing – takes place in Kauai. I certainly don’t want to offend anyone by getting my Kauai facts wrong. Thus the need for a two-day sojourn to the neighboring island. All in the name of investigating the area for the book, of course.

The bags are packed and loaded. I’m counting the days to my first sighting of a cast member from Lost. I have my stack of books ready for some by-the-beach relaxing. I’m taking a few novels from the “Best Of” lists. Okay, I’m taking one – Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories. Rest assured I also have a load of chick lit and romance paperbacks like MaryJanice Davidson’s The Royal Pain and one hardcover Dead Roots by Nancy J. Cohen. Also stuffed five true crime books in there because when I’m enjoying perfect weather in a perfect place I like to read about death and betrayal real-life style.

I also have my laptop – see previous comment about have a book based in Kauai that needs someone to write it. Then there are the revisions to one of the stories in Viva Las Bad Boys. In between all that, I’ll be checking in unless something the locals call Polynesian Paralysis sets in and typing becomes impossible. In that case, I’ll be too busy selling all my possessions and picking out my beach shack (emphasis on shack) to write in here.

People type in some very strange phrases on yahoo and goggle and other search engines and then somehow end up at my blog. Many make me chuckle. Some make me worry about what people are doing in the privacy of their own homes. A few convince me that people spend far too much time goggling their own names.

Then I checked my stats today. Two people – not just one – typed in a nonsense string search for “another phrase for lose steam” and got my name. Uh-huh. This has me a bit concerned. I fear it’s a comment on my writing or my life or something equally disturbing.

Really, what have these two people heard…

This is the time of year for lists. The Best of this. The Best of that. Not to be left out of this great list debate, People magazine devoted an entire double issue to the lists of 2005. People created a list for everything. There’s even a little map of all the countries Angelina, Brad and the kids have visited this year and when. Exactly the kind of information I must have before I can turn the calendar to 2006.

Included in this information dump was a list called Top Ten Books of 2005. There was also a Top Ten Bestsellers as reported by Barnes and Noble through December 3rd. Funny enough, there isn’t a single book that appears on both lists. Apparently, books were either good or popular this year. So, unless a book comes on strong in these last few days of December, the Top Ten Bestsellers of 2005 were:

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
2. You: The Owner’s Manual by Michael E. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.
3. 1776 by David McCullough
4. Eldest by Christopher Paolini
5. The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
6. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
7. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
8. The Broker by John Grisham
9. Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan
10.4th of July by James Patterson

I own exactly one of these books.

I’m susceptible to a sharp cover, a clever title and snappy copy. If you’ve read this blog before you already know that. Call me shallow and easy to please.

This time my obsession has centered on Jennifer Sturman. What caught my eye was the cover for her newest The Jinx. That led me back to her website and to her previous release The Pact. It helps that these books include some mystery and humor. Never an easy combination. A lot of people try it. Only a few do it well.

Here are covers – a little different and pretty eye-catching, aren’t they?

Stephen King is a list man. He’s dedicated his last few Entertainment Weekly columns to his Best Of… lists. This week his column is titled My 2005 Picks: Books. He starts off by talking about a friend who just received her first publishing contract. She’s excited because she said she “was finally allowed into the playground where the big boys play.” But she was worried because her book comes out in 2007. Her fear is that books will be irrelevant by 2007. Not so, says King (and I happen to agree).

He then lists the best books he read this year. As usual with lists like these, in general I either own a book listed or I’ve never heard of the damn thing. Here we go:

10. The Godfather Returns by Mark Winegardner. Heard of it. Don’t own it. Don’t want to buy it. Mario Puzzo’s original doesn’t need an assistance in my view.
9. The Mad Cook of Pymatuning by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt. “Warm ’50s nostalgia gives way to cold chills in this tale of summer camp gone bad.” Never heard of this and since I have my own memories of summer camp, I’m going to skip this.
8. Drama City by George Pelecanos. Drug dealers and Washington, D.C. – of course I own this one.
7. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. Love him. Love his books. Bought it. Read it. Got it for two other people for Christmas.
6. The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard. I’m a Leonard fan but missed this one somehow. King describes it as a “Bonnie-and-Clyde-era thrill ride featuring a U.S. Marshal, a bank-robbing maniac who once tried to drown his sister in a pool, and a good-hearted woman with a shady past.” How could I not love that?
5. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. Even if I didn’t own it I would lie and say I did for fear of being beaten to death by her rabid fans (you know who you are…)
4. No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. Own it. Read it. There’s a reason there was so much buzz about this one. It’s a lesson in clean and vivid writing.
3. Saturday by Ian McEwan. “This novel spans one day in the life of neurosurgeon Henry Perowne, beginning with a plane on fire and ending with a terrifying dinner party at which he and his family are held hostage by home invaders.” Hadn’t heard of this one. King’s description doesn’t make me want to rush out and buy it either.
2. This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes. This one doesn’t come out until April 2006. King loved it. I wish I could tell you what it’s about, but King’s description is, well, confusing. Something about a “lost man’s reconnection with the world…” Whatever. At least the title is catchy.
1. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. I have this on my TBR pile. King says: “I defy any reader not to feel a combination of delight and amazement.” Guess I need to move this to the top of the pile.

There you have. The books King says you should have read this year.

I saw this sale notice in Publishers Lunch:

FICTION: GENERAL/OTHER
28-year old Emily Davies’ HOW TO WEAR BLACK: Adventures on Fashion’s Front-line, a memoir of her four years as fashion writer for London’s Times, immersed in a surreal, luxurious and terrifying world of lavish gifts, fashionably skeletal obsessives and couture warfare, to Sarah McGrath at Scribner, in a major deal, at auction, by Zoe Pagnamenta at PFD New York on behalf of Simon Trewin at PFD UK (NA).

No offense to Emily Davies. Really, none. I’m thrilled for her in scoring a major deal. I’m happy whenever anyone gets a great deal. Kudos. But – yeah, there’s a but – it feels as if this has been done…and done… and done. I know the angle here is different because it’s a memoir. Maybe others still get a thrill out of this. Not me. The glam lit stuff has always been my least favorite. There’s only so much ground to cover here.