Change of Pace

I’ve written several posts about finding the inspiration for a story and I think it’s time to move on. I believe it’s time to discuss reading, one of my favorite pastimes. There’s no one quite like an avid reader. We live in our own little worlds. Notice, I said we. I love sitting down with a good book, a glass of iced tea and something chocolate. So read on from a reader’s point of view.

  

I talk about writing a lot on this blog, but realistically there’s another side to books. Surprise, surprise, they’re meant to be read. I can talk about writing until I’m blue in the face, but it doesn’t matter how much I talk if no one reads the books. Readers are the most important part of the book world.

Long, long ago, I was in a rut. I had a set of authors whose writing I enjoyed, and I’d read their books and then wait for the next one to come out. If no one was feeling particularly prolific, or if they were working on something that was time-consuming, I’d become frustrated. Believe it or not, I feel that way sometimes; patience is not one of my virtues. And then it struck me that I didn’t have to stick to my list. Who knew? There are a large number of new and fairly new authors out there, and there are authors who’ve been at it for a long time but haven’t received the break they need yet.

So I started branching out. Anyone who’s been reading my posts knows that my favorite types of books are 1) mysteries, and 2) mysteries with some humor. Consider that we’re talking about murder mysteries. In most cases the entire book can’t amuse you because of the subject matter, although some writers do a pretty good job, but I like one with at least a little humor in it. Why? There’s enough drama in real life without adding more. Easy for me to say. I read plenty of books with no humor, it’s just that I prefer something that can make me chuckle.

I’ve read several authors who are new, or new to me. My whole reading world opened up. I could list several authors here, but I won’t. I did that once and had someone write to me saying they were insulted that I hadn’t included their book and they thought I was playing favorites. I say “they” because I don’t want to name names. Of course, that was a long time ago. I glanced at the list I’d made of new authors and most of them aren’t new anymore.

What the heck? In the future I might share the names of some new authors and their work. Why not? Not all of them write with humor, but they still keep me interested and entertained.

My point is, broaden your horizons. Take a chance. Try some new (to you) authors. I always say that word-of-mouth is the best advertising, so if someone mentions reading a book they just loved, ask who the author is. If you read a book you just love, be sure to spread the word. And don’t always judge a book by its cover, because sometimes they don’t represent what’s inside. Is the title intriguing? Check out the description on the back of the book before you decide to buy or not to buy. Open the book and read the first few pages.

To add a little confusion into the mix, don’t forget your tried and true favorite authors. Just don’t sit impatiently and wait for their next book.

Now, here’s my dirty little secret. My reading time has been cut way back. I won’t go into why, but I miss my favorite pastime. One day soon I’m going to sit down with the iced tea and chocolate, and read all day long.

Until next time, I wish you a week of new (to you) authors and enjoyable reading. Do a search on the Internet for “new mystery writers.”

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Don’t forget that A Well-Kept Family Secret and Bubba’s Ghost (both Sandi Webster mysteries) are available in audio format.

And the newest addition to the family? People Lookin’ Half Dead – A Sandi Webster Mystery.

Back Cover Artistry

I'm not expecting you to read this. It's just an example of a back cover. : )

What is it about a book that grabs your attention, other than the story itself? I was talking to a mystery reader (who just happens to be my daughter), and she said when she’s browsing for books she’ll pick up one with a great cover or a catchy title and proceed to the back cover to see what the book’s about. If the back cover description doesn’t grab her then she puts the book back. That sounds like a pretty simple process of elimination – and it is.

Of course, don’t we all do that? Probably not, but that back cover is so important. As a reader, I want to see what the story is about. If the author gives too much detail it can sometimes give the story away. Not enough detail bores me. There’s got to be a happy medium.

The problem is, how do you take a full-length novel and reduce it to a paragraph or two (or three)? You pick out tidbits from the story that will pique the reader’s interest.

An example comes from the back cover of Old Murders Never Die – A Sandi Webster Mystery.

“Sandi Webster, private investigator, and her partner, Pete, become stranded in an old ghost town inhabited by a mysterious cowboy and haunted by some Old West Murders. What better way to spend a well-earned vacation than running down old clues and searching vintage houses that haven’t been entered in over a hundred and twenty years? Bubba, Sandi’s half wolf/half Golden retriever, keeps the action moving in his own quirky way, along with a big black horse and the mysterious cowboy.”

I’m no expert, but I managed to include the main characters, the location of the story, a dog and the fact that there were murders committed in this old town. Oh, and it seems to be clear that the town was abandoned and no one has visited it for many years. Stranded in a ghost town with a mysterious cowboy? A little more to whet the reader’s appetite.

Tidbits.

Just like your story, the first sentence will hopefully grab the reader. How about: “What could purple cows and elderly spies possibly have to do with each other?” There’s more to the back cover description than that one sentence, but didn’t it kind of grab you? (I hope.) I mean, purple cows and spies? (From How Now Purple Cow – A Bogey Man Mystery)

Patricia Gligor grabbed my attention with the first two sentences on the back of Mixed Messages – A Malone Mystery. “It is estimated there are at least twenty to thirty active serial killers in the United States at any given time. There’s one on the loose on the west side of Cincinnati…” Many readers are fascinated with serial killers. This would definitely grab their attention.

Two more back cover examples: “A hot air balloon, lost children in the woods, and a collie litter with a supposed curse on it draw Jennet Ferguson into a deadly confrontation.” (Another Part of the Forest by Dorothy Bodoin)

“While illegally digging for Anasazi pots in an ancient cliff dwelling, Hubie Schuze unexpectedly grasps a human hand. He was hoping for an artifact, not a handshake…” (The Pot Thief Who Studied Billy the Kid by J. Michael Orenduff) Humor works, too.

These are all part of back cover blurbs that would make me take a good look at the book. Pick out the most enticing parts of the story, but be careful not to give the story away. You want the readers to be curious. You want them to long for more, to search for answers to the comments on the back of the book, to think, “Yes! I must read this, and I must do it now.” Okay, that’s what we all hope for, and we try to stir up all kinds of feelings in just a paragraph or two.

I looked at the back of a lot of books sitting in my bookcases, and some writers have brought this to an art form. I have to admit, though, that some of the books got my attention just from amazing art on the covers. We’ll talk about that another time.

What are some of your favorite one-liners on the back of books?

Until next time, browse to your heart’s content until you find a book that grabs your hand and won’t let go.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Try the back cover of Entrance to Nowhere - A Sandi Webster Mystery.

Reading, Writing, but No 'rithmatic

I can’t decide which I enjoy more, reading or writing. It’s pretty much a tossup. So this week I come to you as a reader.

Over the past week I’ve read books whose authors I wasn’t familiar with, and I’m glad I did.

Someone recommended Victoria Thompson, and I tried her first book. I found that she’s a wonderful writer and I’ve already ordered her second book. She does a great job of portraying an earlier era, and setting scenes to remember.

Anyone who knows me knows that at this stage in my life my preference is something with a little humor. There’s enough real drama in everyday life already.  Some of my favorite authors write nothing but drama, and that’s okay. I’m already hooked on their writing.

While there was no humor in Thompson’s book, the drama grabbed me. So sue me. I read something with drama instead of humor.

Then I read a guest blog by Cindy Sample, and had to try her series. I think my daughter will try one of her books, too, because Sample kept me laughing. I’ll be ordering her second book, too.

Carolyn J. Rose has tickled my funny bone, too. Her Substitute Teacher books are quite entertaining. (Love the dog in the stories. His name is Cheese Puff, and the name fits.)

The characters in all of these books are memorable and leave me wanting more.

How some authors can be constantly humorous surprises me. There was an author, who shall remain nameless, whose humor really brightened my day. Unfortunately, he or she became quite repetitious after several books and began changing his or her style. He or she had her characters doing things, or they had things done to them, that just burst my bubble. (I handled not revealing the author’s name pretty well, I thought.)

There’s one itty bitty thing that really annoys me when I’m reading, and it has nothing to do with the authors named above. I’m annoyed with myself. Before I started writing, I seemed to miss typos and errors, for the most part. Since I began writing, I catch things that should be corrected. It takes a little of the fun out of reading.

I’ve also learned that it’s not always the author’s fault. You can submit a manuscript and somehow things change a bit in the transmission. Yes, I’ve found typos that seem to pop up on their own. Go figure. I even went back to check the original manuscript in one case and son-of-a-gun, the original didn’t have the error.

So give authors a break when you read their material. Please. No, this has nothing to do with me, but with books in general. I hate being so gnit gpicky, or is it knit kpicky, or is it nit picky(?) when reading.  Okay, I’m chuckling to myself. It’s nitpicky or nit-picky. Take your pick.

Being nit picky doesn’t stop me from reviewing books; however, I won’t review every book I read for two reasons. The first is that if I don’t like a book, I won’t review it. I have a large To Be Read stack, so if I haven’t done a review, it doesn’t mean I didn’t like the book. It means I probably haven’t gotten to it. And, if I see that an author has plenty of reviews already (in the hundreds) I probably won’t review the book. It’s already been done many times. Well, maybe I’ll add it to my reviews on Goodreads.

So that’s it for this week. I’m a reader first. Hmm. Maybe I’m a writer first. Maybe there’s a tie. Maybe I’m too picky. Maybe I should try changing my reading habits.

I’m sighing loudly now, and ready to get back to reading.

Are you picky as a reader? As a writer?

Until next week, read a good book, review it, and enjoy your next book, too.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Just a suggestion, but you might want to take a look at the book trailer for Old Murders Never Die at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTBOpzq-wDM . The music is haunting and so is the story. While it’s not a new book, it’s still worth a look.

Thank you, Ms. Lee

I’m sure there are a lot of posts up about the loss of Harper Lee right now, and I decided to add my own. To Kill a Mockingbird is my all-time favorite book. I even named a dog Scout and a business The Mockingbird. That says a lot in itself.

I first read the book when I was young, and it was new. I’ve read that To Kill a Mockingbird is a controversial story. It wasn’t to me. To me, at the time, it was the story of a little girl and her brother, and the adventures they had as children. It was the demonstration of a wise and wonderful father who just happened to be a lawyer. I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t want the story to end.

I finished the book and put it on the shelf, knowing I’d read it again one day. Five or six readings later, it’s still my favorite book. Each time I read it I take away something different.

To me, the characters were real. Ms. Harper’s writing made me feel as though I was right there with them, watching what happened first hand. There were characters I adored, and there were those whom I detested. There were people in the story whom I pitied, and others who simply made me feel good.

Let’s not forget Boo Radley. The mystery surrounding him in the children’s eyes fascinated me. Dill was an inspired character with all the flaws of his age and lifestyle. Tom Robinson was a good man whose circumstances would change the lives of many.

The storyline? I learned a lot from it. Having been born and raised on the West Coast, the story covered things I didn’t know about at the time of the first reading. It was an eye-opener, but somehow not shocking.

Most of us have probably read a book that has this appeal – a book we won’t soon forget. There are a few others for me, but To Kill a Mockingbird is still Number One on my Hit Parade.

Harper Lee’s writing inspired me in many ways, but the fact that her characters came across as so down-to-earth and real was the biggest inspiration.

I waited for years for her to write another book that would entertain me the way the first one did, as did many other people. It didn’t happen until Go Set a Watchman came out recently. I just started reading it last night. So far it’s not grabbing me the way the first book did, but I’m only into it a few chapters.

I will say that from discussions with my family and older people I knew in my youth, I believe the story represented the era fairly realistically. While we can’t change the way things were, we can learn from them.

Good-bye, Harper Lee, and thank you!

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com