Best Books of 2018

Once more it's time for me to review the books I read in the previous year and blog about the ones I liked the best. My criteria for this is quite simple. I log all the books I read on Goodreads, and those I give a 5-star rating make my 'best books' list.

In 2018 I set a goal of reading 70 books. I fell a bit short of that, managing to complete 68 books before the year ended. However, there was an unusually high number of books I gave a 5-star rating to last year. Seven have made the list. In the order in which I read them, they are:

Ready Player One: Ernest Kline
Everything is Lies: Helen Callaghan
Y is for Yesterday: Sue Grafton
Cross Her Heart: Sarah Pinborough
The Roanoke Girls: Amy Engle
If She Did It: Jessica Treadway
Tombland: CJ Sansom

This list includes one science fiction book, two crime novels (both sort of historical, but one decidedly so), and four psychological thrillers. Further details on each book can be found below.

Ready Player One
The only science fiction book on my list, this is a novel that was recommended to me and when I went to buy it on Kindle I discovered my husband had already bought the Kindle version - we have linked our accounts, so we can each access books bought by the other. Someone else had recommended it to him, completely independently. We both read the book, loved it, recommended it to our D&D group and then when the film came out a couple of months later we all went to see it together.

Set in a dystopian near-future, where everyone escapes their appalling reality by spending all of their time in an idyllic Virtual Reality universe, part of what makes 'Ready Player One' so enjoyable are all the references to 80s pop culture. Anyone who grew up watching films, playing video games and playing D&D in the 1980s will recognise all the references.

The film is quite different from the book, but equally enjoyable. If you saw and loved the film, do yourself a favour and read the book as well.

Everything is Lies
In my review of 'Everything is Lies' I described it as 'a near-perfect psychological thriller'. Helen Callaghan is a member of my writing group, and it's so lovely to be able to watch an author grow and develop in their craft, and eventually produce something of this calibre.

This the first of several psychological thrillers in my list. It's a genre that is in danger of being overexploited. To be able to do one this well, in such a crowded market, is exceptional.

Y is For Yesterday
I was given this book for Christmas in 2017, and I had no idea then that it would prove to be the last Sue Grafton book ever. She sadly passed away not long after, and her family announced they would not be finishing the series on her behalf.

I've been reading the Kinsey Millhone series for decades, and I've enjoyed every single one of them. Because I had this one in hardback, therefore making it difficult to carry around with me, I read it when I was confined at home recuperating from surgery in February 2018. The fact that it was Kinsey Milhone's last case added extra poignancy, but it was an outstanding story. I have a great deal of admiration for a writer who had 25 books in the same series published, and there was never any drop in quality. Ms Grafton left us too soon, and she is greatly missed.

Cross Her Heart
Sarah Pinborough made my list last year with 'Behind Her Eyes'. This year I read the next psychological thriller she brought out, and while the twist ending is perhaps not as legendary as BHE, this is still an excellently written novel that had me gripped to the end.

The Roanoke Girls
Everyone had been raving about this book, so I thought it was about time I got around to reading it. It's a psychological thriller about a family that produces extraordinarily beautiful young women, but there's a dark secret running through it.

It's not exactly a happy read, but it stayed with me for a long time after I read it, and it's rare for books to do that. You can read my review on Goodreads here.

If she Did It
Yet another psychological thriller, this is a story told from the point of view of Hanna, mother of two daughters. Three years on from a brutal attack that killed her husband and left her disfigured, Hanna is still trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Her youngest daughter's boyfriend was arrested and found guilty of the attack. Hanna can't remember exactly what happened the night of the attack, but is fixated with finding out. Because she finds herself entertaining the unthinkable suspicion that her daughter was somehow involved.

Again, this is a somewhat disturbing read, but it had me gripped. Find my full review here.

Tombland
The latest book in the Matthew Shardlake series is the most epic yet - spanning 850 pages and dealing with the peasants' revolt in Norwich in 1549.

I really hope that this isn't the last Shardlake book, but I understand that CJ Sansom has cancer. This illness has taken far too many fine writers from us in recent years.

This concludes my list of recommended reads for 2018 - those books that I thought stood out above all the rest I read throughout the year. This year, I've once again set the bar at reading 70 books. I have high hopes that I will make my target this year.

Best Books of 2017

This post is a bit late coming, given that we're already halfway through February.

Every year I set up a 'Goodreads' challenge to read so many books in a year. On average it takes me about a week to read one average-length novel. Most of this is down to my long commute - I spend the best part of 3 hours a day every working day on public transport, travelling to and from work, and I use most of that time to read. I am also quite a fast reader, especially if the book is exciting, and I find myself turning pages faster to find out what happens next.

In 2017 I set myself a goal of reading 68. Happily I exceeded that goal and a read a total of 70 books last year. Six of those books I gave a five-star rating to, and this my criteria for the 'best books of the year' list.

In no particular order, they are:

Pet Sematary: Stephen King
Heart-Shaped Box: Joe Hill
Behind Her Eyes: Sarah Pinborough
X: Sue Grafton
Bones Never Lie: Kathy Reichs
Soul Music: Terry Pratchett

No real surprises here - these are all authors whose books I enjoy, and three of my four all-time favourite authors - Stephen King, Sue Grafton and Kathy Reichs - are in this list. The only one who isn't is Sara Paretsky, and that was only because I did not read her 2017 release (though I bought it, at Bouchercon in Toronto) last year.

More details about these books and why I enjoyed them can be found below.

Pet Sematary:
 The first time I read this book was over 25 years ago. I had to re-read it last year for my horror book club, and I had forgotten just how good it is. This is an almost-perfect horror story that contains all of the characteristics of King that made him my inspiration.
Louis Creed, doctor and Ordinary Guy moves his family to rural Maine when he takes up a job as resident physician on a university campus. The road outside the house claims the lives of many pets, so many that a pet cemetery has been set up by local children. But there's something much darker lying beyond the cemetery, and Louis' descent into madness is creepy and downright disturbing.

Heart-Shaped Box:
I got to meet Joe Hill at Fantasycon in Scarborough a couple of years ago, and end up buying a few books of his which he signed. This was one of them. It involves a fading, self-absorbed rock star with a fascination for collecting macabre items who ends up buying from the internet a suit that allegedly has a ghost attached to it. The suit turns up in a heart-shaped box and the promised ghost does indeed come with the suit, but as always the story is far more complex and it soon takes a sinister turn.
Though not in the same league as his famous father, Stephen King, Joe Hill is still an accomplished horror writer in his own right, and this is a creepy and rather disturbing tale.

Behind Her Eyes:
 I know Sarah Pinborough personally through both the crime and horror convention circuits, and I am always impressed with both her versatility and her writing style. The author of 20-plus published novels, this is the one that seems to have moved her up into the big leagues, and well deserved that move is to.

'Behind Her Eyes' starts out as effectively a love triange between David, Adele and Louise. David is a doctor, Adele his apparently fragile wife, and single mother Louise his secretary. But she meets him in a bar and shares a kiss with him before she starts her new job and realise that he's her boss. Meanwhile Adele offers a hand of friendship to Louise and she finds herself getting closer to Adele, whilst feeling guilty about carrying on a relationship with David. Alternating between Adele and Louise's point of view, it soon becomes apparent that this is not a typical psychological thriller, and it has an ending that will blow you away.

X:
I was not to know, at the time I read this book, that it would be Sue Grafton's penultimate novel and she would tragically leave us before getting to the end of her 'alphabet' books. I have been with Grafton's couragious female PI since 'A is for Alibi'. Kinsey Millhone isn't married and doesn't seem to be able to commit to relationships, has no kids and no desire to have any, doesn't cook and doesn't play particularly well with others. I think she's wonderful. In 'X' Kinsey ends up crossing paths with a particularly vicious villain, and the encounter will have long-term repercussions for her.

I am aware that Grafton's writing style, and her character, has influenced my own crime series. Sue Grafton is the only one of my favourite crime writers I never got to meet, and I wish I could have
.
Bones Never Lie:
Kathy Reichs is another one of my favourite crime writer, and one I've had the privilege to meet. Forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan shuttles between Montreal and North Caroline, uncovering murders in her examination of bones, and with a long-standing on-again off-again relationship with Montreal cop Andrew Ryan. She also has a daughter, Katy, whose chronological age marks the passage of time in the series, though by now Katy is grown up and off doing her own thing.

This one was very typical of Kathy Reichs' style. But I freely admit I love the formula, and I found this one a proper page-turner.

Soul Music:
 I've been re-reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld series for a while, and I expect it to take me quite some time yet, since there are over 40 books in the series and this is #16. And eventually I will get to books I haven't read before, since I didn't get through them all the first time around.

My favourite books are the ones about the witches, but Death comes a close second and this one features the latter. In this chronicle of the fantasy world, the inhabitants discover Rock Music, and the spirit of teenage rebellion it inspires. Pratchett's books are always entertaining, and are always a good thing to read when I need my spirits lifting.

So there we have it for the best books of 2017. For 2018 I've decided to play it safe and set a goal to read 70 books. Nearly 7 weeks in I have read 7, which puts me a bit behind schedule. But I am sure I shall catch up!

And if anyone is on Goodreads and wants to link up there, this is my profile page.Best

Best Books of 2016

Sometimes people ask me how I deal with the commute to work. I spend a good three hours a day - often four - travelling by public transport, into London and back again along with hundreds of other commuters.
The singular thing that keeps me sane on my commute is that I use the time for reading. Losing myself in a book allows me to find some pleasure in this daily ordeal.

For the last few years, I've participated in the Goodreads challenge by setting a goal for myself on how many books to read in the year. For the first time in some years, I did not complete my challenge in 2016 - I set myself a goal to read 70 books and only read 68.

Generally this time of year I list the best of the previous year's reading, which is guided by which books I gave five-star ratings to. And in 216 there were four, as follows:

Defending Jacob - William Landay
Witches Abroad (Discworld #12) - Terry Pratchett
13 Minutes - Sarah Pinborough
Try Not To Breathe - Holly Seddon

There's one comic fantasy, one crime thriller and two psychological thrillers. Further details, as well as a link to the Goodreads page for each book, are listed below.

Defending Jacob
I had to read this one for my book group, and it left me utterly gripped. The story is told from the point of view of Andy Barber, district attorney, whose life is rocked when his fourteen-year-old son is accused of the brutal murder of a classmate.It throws up an interesting moral dilemma: what is a father to do when he suspects his own child might be a murderer?

Witches Abroad
I'm still working through my re-reading of the Discworld books, and I have to admit that the books featuring the witches - Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick - are my favourites. In this book the witches have to venture to much-suspect 'foreign parts' to stop the happy ending of a well known fairy tale. Because there's so much more to the story than the one that we've heard. I love the witches and their very different but forceful personalities.

13 Minutes
I tend to run into Sarah Pinborough at most of the conventions I attend these days, and know her well enough to say hello to. Not only is she a lovely person, but she's a phenomenal writer, and one of those people that occupies a spot on the writing career ladder that's much higher up than me, and I can only look up and hope that one day I can get to the same spot.

Sarah Pinborough writes in many different genres. This novel is pegged as YA, but I really hate that label because when I see it I assume it's referring to a kids' book. The main character of this novel happens to be a teenage girl, but the genre is most definitely psychological thriller. The main character is rescued from a freezing river and revived after being technically dead for 13 minutes, and this is where the title comes from. How she got there is the main plot of the story, and it soon becomes evident that all the main characters are hiding secrets. As well as being a gripping story, this also serves as a reminder as to just how bitchy teenage girls can be. I'm so glad I don't have to go through all that again.

Try Not To Breathe
Another psychological thriller, I had to review this for Shots and I found it utterly compelling. It involves the story of Amy, who was attacked and left in a coma when she was 15. Fifteen years have passed and she is still in the coma, but the story of how she got there is gradually revealed through three viewpoint characters, one of which - disturbingly - is Amy herself, who still has active brain function within her coma although she is tragically unaware of how much time has passed.

For this year, I have set myself a target of reading 68 books - the same number I managed to read last year. However, due to the fact that there are a lot of problems on London transport at the moment and I am spending four hours a day on trains, buses and underground trains I have been getting a lot of reading time in and I am already two books ahead of schedule.

If you're on Goodreads and want to compare books with me, or even check out some of mine, connect with my profile here.

Best Books of 2015

I usually start each year with a round-up of all the books I read in the previous year, and highlight the ones that I thought were the best. To clarify, my 'best books of the year' includes the ones I have read - not necessarily those that were published - in the relevant year.

Those who have been following the blog a while will know that I keep track of this via Goodreads, which allows me to log all the books I read and give each of them a star rating. The ability to do this appeals to my overdeveloped sense of law and order. Generally the way I pick out the best books of the year is to select all those I gave a five-star rating to. I can be quite critical when it comes to books. Not many get a five star rating.

In 2015 I read a total of 70 books (reaching my Goodreads target, hurrah!) and I rated six of them five stars. Only two of them, however, were books I had not read before.

I started the year re-reading Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series, and throughout the year not only completed all the previous books, but read the latest one, SKIN GAME - purchased as a signed copy at EasterCon in London this year - for the first time as well.

They all warranted four stars or higher. Four of them I gave five stars to. They are, in chronological order:

Dead Beat (#7)
Proven Guilty (#8)
Changes (#12)
Skin Game (#15)

So why did these ones rate higher than the others in the series? These are the ones that left me breathless. That had me gripped from beginning to end, turning pages faster and faster to find out what happens next, even on the second reading. But if we want to a bit more specific - and if you don't mind spoilers (if you do, stop reading this post now) - there are specific incidents in each of these books that warranted that extra star in my mind. For DEAD BEAT, it was the T-Rex. No question. PROVEN GUILTY adds an extra complication to the series with the introduction of Molly Carpenter as a rebellious and confused teenager, who just happens to have burgeoning magical ability. A whole load of magical ability, and enough angst and anger to have her teetering on the precipice to the Dark Side. Harry just has to try and stop that from happening.

CHANGES is possibly the darkest book of the series. Jim Butcher says he likes to make Harry suffer, and he pulls no punches in this one. Harry loses everything. Literally. Starting with his office, which is blown to smithereens early in the novel. As the story progresses he pretty much loses everything else as well, including - at the end (SPOILER ALERT) his life.

But this is not the end of Harry, and the series carries on. SKIN GAME I was anticipating for a long time. I actually got to meet Jim Butcher himself at EasterCon, after standing in the signing queue for what felt like an age (and then babbled idiotically like a fangirl when I finally got to the front of the line). I had high expectations for this book. It did not disappoint. The series has taken a decidedly dark turn now, as has Harry. He is still as charismatic as he ever was, and still on the side of good, but due to various reasons is not quite as nice a guy as he was at the beginning of the series. But this means you never really know what to expect when you pick up a new Harry Dresden book. And that's not a bad thing.

My only regret is that now I've re-read the series and the new book, I've got to wait a while for number 16 in the series to come out.

So, that's four of my six 'best books of the year'. One of the others is also from a series I've been re-reading.

I started re-reading Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' books a little while ago. I take comfort in the fact that there are rather a lot of books in this series - over 50 is the official count, I think - and I've only got to #7 in my re-read so there are still lots more to go. Number six, however, has made this list because I think it is the best one in the series.

Hence the next book on my list of 'Best books of 2015' is -
Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett.

I know there are factions of Pratchett fans, divided by the sub-categories of the various characters whose stories make up the Discworlds. The Watch have their loyal fans, as to the wizards. I have to say I have always favoured the witches - the crotchety Granny Weatherwax (the Crone); the earthy Nanny Ogg (the mother); and the spinsterish Magrat (the Maiden, though this latter category is represented by various characters throughout the series after Magrat gets herself married and can no longer be classified as a Maiden). And this book sums up why I love the witches. It parodies Macbeth; it features Shakespeare as a playwriting dwarf, regicide, dastardly royal politics and even magical time travel. What's not to love?

Finally, last but not least, the sixth book on my list is one I read for the first time this year:
NOS4R2 - Joe Hill

Son of Stephen King, Joe Hill proves himself here to be a horror writer in his own right. Featuring a supernatural and spooky car, rather like his famous father's novel CHRISTINE, NOS4R2 may appear to cover familiar territory but it soon becomes evident that this novel is not just a retelling of CHRISTINE. It's creepy and disturbing, and original enough to be a classic all by itself.

I have set myself a goal of reading another 70 books this year. I'm already working on the first two.

Books, Books and E-books

Ever since I first learned how to read, I have spent much of my time with my nose in a book. I was starting to read by myself by age seven, I think. That's a good 37 years ago. I have devoured a great many books in that time.

In recent years there has been much debate about the format of books - hardback; paperback; e-book. In my own personal library, there are more paperbacks than anything else. But this is largely because I have been a commuter for the last 25 years, and most of my reading has been done on the train to and from work. Paperbacks are much more transportable than hardbacks. In the last four years or so I've had an e-reader and have been collecting e-books, and it won't be long before they overtake the number of paperbacks, even given their relatively recent appearance on the market.

I also possess a number of hardbacks in my library. Most of them have come my way as gifts, from someone who wants to buy me the absolute latest novel by one of my favourite authors, and who feels that a hardback is a more substantial gift than a paperback. I also have hardbacks that are personalised and signed by the author, because I went to their signing session and bought the book.

Ultimately the format is not as important as the words in the page. Books can transport you into another world. They are an escape from everyday life. They are the key to you becoming someone else, even if just for a few hours.  A dashing and brave hero. A magician with superior intellect. A hard-bitten cynical cop. The daring captain of a spaceship. Whatever you want to be, the words of a novel can take you there.

And yet the format of a book still matters, even though it shouldn't. Many people insist they don't like the idea of e-books because they prefer the feel of a 'proper' book. As if e-books are somehow not 'proper' books. I must admit I was a tad suspicious about them myself, until I got my first e-reader and realised how wonderful they were. No longer do I have to weigh down my suitcase with half a dozen books when I go on holiday for two weeks - all I need is my Kindle, and I have all the books I want. If I finish reading a book on the way into work, I don't have to lug another around another for the journey home, I just open up another book on the Kindle. My handbag is much lighter with the Kindle in, instead of a paper book. I am someone who has a book with her at all times, no matter where she is going. And a Kindle is so much easier to transport. It will practically fit into a pocket.

My e-reader has also allowed me to buy more books.  I browse the 99p books in the Kindle e-book store almost daily.  Quite often if I am intrigued by a book's cover and blurb I will decide to take a chance on it because it's not a lot of money to part with, and it might lead me to discover a wonderful new author.  One click is all it takes to buy that book and transfer it to my Kindle.  It's ready to begin reading mere seconds later.  And best of all, I don't have to find shelf space for all these new books because they don't take up physical space.

Yet in spite of this, I haven't stopped buying paper books. I will go to signing sessions and buy hardbacks. I will browse second hand book shops and buy books that take my fancy. I still browse book shops, heaven forbid, and take a punt on a new author's paperback simply because the cover and blurb on the back attract me. And I don't think this will ever change.

As a lover of books in all formats, it worries me there's still some resistance to e-books - occasionally even from publishers, though this is getting better. Only this morning I was reading an article in the news stating that e-book sales are predicted to overtake paper book sales in the UK by 2018.  And a spokesperson for a particular publisher was quoted about how e-books have revitalised the book market, with the technology to make e-books available on tablets and so forth making reading accessible to people who never used to be book buyers.

I'm not someone who gives books to charity shops when she's re-read them.  Maybe this is a selfish attitude, but I like to have books available to re-read at a future date.  Going back to a favourite book is like visiting an old friend you haven't seen in a while.  Hardbacks do make this a bit problematic, though, when most of my reading is done on the move.  I'm in the process of re-reading Sara Paretsky's VI Warshawski books, and the next book on the list is BODY WORK. My copy of this is a hardback, signed to me personally by Sara because I met the great lady herself at the UK launch for this book. And as she is one of my favourite authors of all time, I will treasure it. Having paid £15 for this signed copy, I don't particularly want to have it bashed about in my bag on the train, or dropped in the bath, or whatever. Ideally I'd like to keep the hardback on the shelf and have a electronic version to re-read, but this would mean having to pay for a second copy of a book I already legitimately own.

I'm sure I'm not the only reader out there who likes to have shelves surrounded by books, whilst enjoying the convenience that an e-reader brings to the reading experience.  I'd like to see publishers bundling a free e-book version of a novel with every hardback edition sold.  That would certainly encourage me to buy more hardbacks to fill up my bookshelves at home, and I'd still get to enjoy the convenience of my e-reader on my daily commute.

A few years ago there seemed to be much suspicion in the publishing world, and a widely held view that e-books would see the end of paper books.  I maintained then, and still maintain now, that there is room in the world for e-books and paper books to exist together, and there does seem to be more people acknowledging this now.  But there's still a way to go before e-books and paperbacks are truly equal.

Sara Paretsky, Shara Summers and Feminism

I read a great many books - on average, just over one a week.  I have read so many books that I find it impossible to pick out just one favourite.

I do, however, have several favourite authors.  Authors whose books I constantly go back to, and it feels like visiting an old friend.  Books which affect me in such a way I have to choose carefully what I read following them, because everything else will just seem inferior.

One such author is Sara Paretsky.  I discovered her V I Warshawski series in the early 1990s, back when I was first aware of enthusiastically embracing feminism.  It was a revelation.  Here for the first time I encountered a heroine who represented everything I wanted to be.  A fiercely independent woman who was brave, resourceful, unafraid to speak her mind and without need of a man to define her existence.  Single and childless, V I is sarcastic, blunt and able to hold her own in a fight.  I thought then, and still think now, that she is a fantastic role model for young women.

And even in the 21st century, there are few heroines like her.  Sue Grafton has a similar independent minded, single and childless heroine in Kinsey Milhone.   Kathy Reichs, another writer I admire, has a strong woman in Temperance Brennan, but unlike V I Tempe is a mother, and does occasionally need rescuing by men.

Not everyone shares my adoration of V I, as reviews on Goodreads and Amazon testify.  Some readers - among them women, I was surprised to note - find her too unlikeable.  They don't like her sarcasm and confrontational manner.

I do not deny that my amateur sleuth Shara Summers was inspired by V I Warshawski.  When I set out to write a crime series, I wanted a heroine like V I - someone courageous and independent minded, who was not afraid to speak her mind.  But I wasn't brave enough to write a police procedural, so I went for an amateur sleuth.  And in many ways Shara is very different from V I.  She's not as brave.  She's not the champion of the underdog the way that V I is.  And she does occasionally get rescued by men.  And because I'm just not as good a writer as Sara Paretsky, sometimes I don't pull off what I'm trying to do.  Maybe Shara just comes across sometimes as being bitchy instead of courageous.

It's also clear that Shara is not everyone's cup of tea.  DEATH SCENE racked up 31 rejections before it was published by Lyrical Press.  One of the most common reasons for the book being rejected was the character not being likeable enough to take through a series.

The revelation that not everyone loves V I Warshawski - because I've been enthusiastically recommending these books to everyone for the last 20 years - was a bit of a surprise, and I've recently been ruminating on that.  V I is sarcastic, snarky, and blunt.  She can be downright rude - especially to arrogant and patronising men.  In the early books, which seem to be set in the early 1980s, V I is unusual in being a woman P I, and she encounters a hostile reaction to this by many people.  Especially men.

Women are not supposed to embody these qualities.  Even in these times, they are generally expected to be soft, caring and nurturing, and I think this is the main reason that women who don't possess these qualities are regarded with suspicion.  They are considered to be not 'normal' women.

I like the fact that V I is snarky, blunt and rude.  But there are some people out there who might say I embody similar qualities.  And the same people who wouldn't like V I for these qualities probably don't like me much, either.

I must confess that now I'm the wrong side of 40 I've got to a point in life where I don't really care if people don't like me for being me.  As a woman gamer, role-player, and horror writer, I've encountered a number of men over the years who don't know what to make of me.  The fact that I'm deliberately childless also causes resentment in certain people - it's surprising (and depressing) how many people, even in this day and age, who assume that all women want children and any who don't are instantly labelled as being abnormal and not to be trusted.

None of these things matter that much to me these days, but I'm pretty sure that the people that fall into the aforementioned categories are not my target readership.

For the length of time that human beings have existed on this planet, we've proved to be depressingly stagnant in moving on with our thinking.  I will go on recommending Sara Paretsky's books to everyone I have a conversation about crime books with - particularly women.  I would like every young women to read at least one V I Warshawski book.  For every one who comes away thinking, "this is the sort of woman I want to be," then a battle will be won.

There's a long way to go before we win the war, though.

Chapters

I am a big fan of chapter breaks. Every story I've ever written, bar those less than 10,000 words, has had chapter breaks.

When I am reading a book, I like chapters. I particularly like short chapters. I hate stopping my reading session in the middle of a chapter, because when I come back to the book I have to hunt around the page to work out where I got to last. A chapter break makes it so much easier to find your place. Most of my reading is done on the train, going to and from work. Short chapters make it much easier to work out where to stop. When my train is ten minutes away from its final London destination, I will check and see how long the next chapter is. If it's short, I can get one more in before it's time to stop reading and get off the train.

Short chapters are also good when I'm reading in bed. It's getting late, and I'm tired, but if I'm enjoying the book and the next chapter is only five pages long, I'll probably read that one before stopping. And maybe the one after that. If I'm looking at 20 more pages until the next chapter break, I'll probably stop there and turn out the light, no matter how much I'm enjoying the book.

No chapter breaks in a book really bugs me. For all the aforementioned reasons, this is one of my pet peeves. Much as I enjoy Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series, none of the books contain chapter breaks and it drives me crazy. Lindsey Davis, on the other hand, knows how to write a chapter. Her books about Roman informer Marcus Didius Falco have short, snappy chapters. In fact, she has been known to finish a chapter after one paragraph.

It was pointed out to me recently that my novels always have short chapters. I don't think this was intended as a compliment, but I saw it that way. Yes, I love short chapters, for all the reasons above, and there are even more reasons to love short chapters when I'm writing them. As I hate putting down a book in the middle of a chapter, I also hate finishing a writing session in the middle of a chapter. Sometimes it's unavoidable - like if I've started a chapter but I don't know what happens next, so I have to stop and come back to it later. But on the whole, if I come to my WIP with my chapter plan, I know what's supposed to happen in the chapter when I sit down to write it. My chapters are, on average, 1500 words long - often less. If I'm on a roll, it is possible for me to get that many words written in my hour-long early morning writing session in Starbucks.

Some writers like their 20,000+ word chapters. Some claim to hate chapters completely, preferring to let the narrative flow in unending waves. But I am much more likely to finish reading your book if it has frequent chapter breaks. If I get to page 50 and there's been no chapter break, there's a good chance I might abandon it right there. So of course I write short chapters - my writing reflects my reading preferences.

So what about you? Whether you're a writer, or a reader, what's your take on chapters?

Speed Reading

I've been reading books since I first learned how to read. In fact, I've been devouring books since then. It's always been about finishing one and going straight on to the next one. I don't remember a time when there wasn't another book to read once the current one was finished.

Some people have told me I'm a fast reader. I never really thought about it in this way. I do get through a lot of books - average count is about one a week. But I spend over two hours a day on public transport, going to and from work, and most of that time is reading time.

I do prefer books that are plot driven, and the vast majority of the books I read fall in the genres of crime and horror. The nature of these genres generally demands a suspenseful plot, and when I am reading I am focused on getting to the end of the page so I can turn over and find out what happens next. So maybe I do read fast. I never thought about the fact that I might read faster than other people, until recently.

Every day I take the train into London Victoria, and then I have two stops on the underground to work. I am on the underground for precisely four minutes. I've been doing this journey a long time - trust me, I know how long it takes. Four minutes is generally not long enough to get back into my book, in my view - by the time I've jostled with the crowd to gain access to my bag, get out the book or the e-reader and find the right page, it's time to get off the train. And I'm generally standing on the underground anyway, which makes it even more awkward. So more often than not, as I'm hanging onto a pole being jostled around on the subway train, I'm standing next to someone who is sitting down, reading a book of some sort. Being a nosy sort of person, and as there's not much else to look at on the underground, I'm reading over their shoulder. I've started to notice that in those four minutes I am reading their book over their shoulder, the person doesn't turn the page. I get off at my stop and they are still on the same page they were when I got on four minutes ago. I've read that page four times over in that time.

So I'm starting to think maybe I do read faster than most people. I don't pick up every detail of plot; I'm wanting to know what happens on the next page, instead of focusing on every detail on this page. I probably don't savour a book; I devour it.

This has always been the way I read, and I never thought there was anything wrong with it. There are a lot of books in the world to read and we've only got so many years to read them, so I don't want to spend too much time on each one. Most of the books I read I don't remember much about a year or so later. The books that make a particular impact do stay with me - and they are the ones that are featuring in my 'My Life in Books' series. Books that I can still remember, because they made an impact.

I read so many books that sometimes I'll pick one up and be halfway through it before I remember I read it before - some details seem familiar. But because I don't remember every detail, I can re-read books and enjoy them again, because I don't remember much about the first time around. This is another reason why I like Goodreads. I can log all the books I read and the log will job my memory about what I've read and what I thought of it. And of course it also lets me keep a list of everything I've read, which appeals to my anal nature.

Anyway, got to run. There are still more books out there to read...

Best Books of 2012

At this time of year, I like to look back at all the books I've devoured over the last 12 months and decide which ones I rate highest. As I've mentioned before, I read a lot of books. For 2012 I set myself a goal of 60 books, and I managed to achieve it. Most of my reading time is during my commute. I spend over 2 hours a day travelling to and from work on public transport, and this is mostly why I get through so many books.

My favourite crime writer Sara Paretsky recently put out a call on her blog asking for people's favourite reads of 2012, to increase her own TBR pile. I was very flattered that she included my response in her post.

 I've mentioned before my love of Goodreads. Not only does it allow me to keep track of exactly what I've read and when, and list things I want to read, but I also use their guidelines for my star ratings (with one star meaning 'didn't like it' and five stars meaning 'it was amazing'). I don't throw five stars around lightly. Most books I will enjoy, but they have to be pretty special to warrant a five star rating.

However, it so happens that in 2012 I gave no less than six books five stars, which makes choosing my best picks a bit easier Many of them I've also reviewed on Goodreads, and in each case there's a link back to the review, to save me repeating myself here. They are in no particular order, apart from the order I read them in.

BODY WORK - Sara Paretsky: I don't mean to become a dribbling fan girl whenever the esteemed Ms Paretsky's name is mentioned, but I can't help it. This is the fourteenth book in her series about the tough woman detective VI Warshawski, and I have loved every single one of them. VI is older in this one, but still charging in without thought, in her desire to save the world from the bad guys. Ms Paretsky never disappoints, and neither does VI.

 THE ASSASSIN'S PRAYER - Ariana Franklin: This fourth book in the series about 12th century doctor Adelia Aguilar, will sadly be the last because Ariana Franklin died in 2011. Adelia is a wonderful character. Not only is she a doctor specialising in forensics, at a time when the medical profession was viewed with suspicion, but she is a woman doctor to boot. A fact she tries to keep hidden, because in primitive England she would be burned as a witch. Instead, Adelia travels in the company of a Moor, who pretends to speak no English, so they can pretend that he is the doctor and she is his nurse and translator.

FLASH & BONES - Kathy Reichs: Another writer who, in my view, never fails to deliver. This fourteenth offering in the adventures of forensic pathologic Temperance Brennan is the best in some time, I think. Set in the exciting world of motor racing, it was tense and thrilling and had me turning the pages.

ODD APOCALYPSE - Dean Koontz: This is the fifth book in the series about a strangely named young man who can see ghosts, and I was introduced to it when I had to review this book for Shotsmag. I enjoyed it so much I immediately bought the first book in the series as soon as I finished this one.

ODD THOMAS - Dean Koontz: Hence why this, the first book in the series, I read after the fifth book in the series. Start with this one and get introduced to Odd properly.

11/22/63 - Stephen King: This time-travelling thriller from the Master of Horror seems to be the Marmite of the literary world - you either love it or hate it. I loved it.

And what of my reading target for 2013? I could have been ambitious and upped the stakes. But since my job hasn't changed I don't anticipate any more or fewer hours of reading time, so I've set myself the same goal again. I average a book a week. I aim to read 60 books in 2013, which is more than a book a week, but it does depend on the length of the book, and how much time I spend sitting on the beach (for every day I spend doing nothing but lazing around on holiday reading, I can get through one book). So, we shall see if I can reach the same target again.

What are your reading goals for this year?

A Room of One's Own

Since we moved house, I have done no writing. Somehow I seemed unable to to get back into a normal routine until all the boxes were unpacked and everything had a place. And there were a lot of boxes to unpack. The disruption of this, coupled with no internet access, is also why I've not been blogging.

Hubby and I have been together 22 years and we've moved four times during our life together. Each time has been into a bigger place than the last, and each time there was more stuff to move. We're both terrible hoarders. I've been unearthing some fascinating artifacts whilst unpacking this time around. Every story I wrote in high school, for instance. All my school notebooks. Every letter that everyone ever wrote to me from the point I moved from Canada back to England in 1988.

So now there are two of us in a four-bedroom family house. You'd think that would be enough space for two people, but we're still working on finding a place for things. Much of the space in our house is taken up by books. We are both bibliophiles, and although we've now both converted to e-readers, that doesn't mean we want to get rid of all the physical books we have acquired over the years. In the last house, the books were spread throughout every room. When we moved, we got a better idea of just how many books we've got. Taken in total, there must be close to a thousand in all.

The two of us have always dreamed of a private library, and with the layout of the new house we began to think that we might finally realise that dream. The house has an extension at the back - a lovely sunny room the previous owners called 'the sun room' that we thought would make a perfect library. However, when we actually got in the place and started unpacking all the boxes, we began to realise that we actually had too many books to fit them all in one room.

For once, though, we moved into a house that already had bookshelves built in - the first time we've bought a house bought by fellow bibliophiles, it seems, as usually the first thing we have to do is put up shelves in order to put the books away. The dining room in this lovely old house was built with a fireplace, and although the actual fire has been removed, the alcove on either side of the chimney breast has been filled floor to ceiling with sturdy shelves. Just right for putting books on.

Of course, we had far more books than these shelves would fit, and so we have bought more book cases and have managed to create our library - see attached image.

 I have to admit I am very fond of this room. It's a wonderful room to sit and read in, and it's one of my favourite spaces in the new house. The plan is to keep this room free of TVs, computer and stereo equipment, and keep it as a quiet space - a proper 'room of one's own', where we can retreat for solitude and quiet reflection.

 With this room being at the back of the house, as part of a single storey stone extension, we are already getting an inkling that it will be a tad chilly in winter - the season we are, of course, moving into. However, this is such a wonderful space that I don't think the cold will put even me off from spending time in here. I might just have to get into the habit of wearing thicker sweaters around the house. And of course, when one sits and reads, a nice hot cup of tea doesn't go amiss either.

The Future of Publishing

Bricks-and-mortar book shops have been having a bad time of late. Borders was the latest big chain to file for bankruptcy. In the UK, the only book store chain still in existence in Waterstones, and there are very few independent book shops left.

Meanwhile the popularity of e-books continues to rise. Some Internet murmurings suggest that the rise of e-books is directly responsible for the downfall of bricks-and-mortar book shops.

It could be argued, however, that the demise of the book shop is not down to e-books but online retailers like Amazon, as people switch to doing their shopping online, in the comfort of their own homes.

E-books are not going away any time soon, and the publishing industry, like it or not, has to adapt accordingly. Readers do not expect to pay the same price for an e-book as they do for a hardback. Some readers may prefer to buy the e-book instead of the paper book, but some readers might buy both - they might go to the signing session and buy a pristine hardback copy to keep on their shelf, and buy the e-book as well to read on their daily commute. A few savvy publishers have started to issue the e-book version free to anyone that buys the hardback - this seems like an excellent idea, and will encourage more readers to fork out for the hardback. I myself am reluctant to buy hardbacks, as I do most of my reading on my commute to work. If the e-book was thrown in for free, I might be more inclined to buy the two-for-one, so that I could keep the hardback pristine and shiny on my book shelf whilst reading the e-book on my way to work.

There appears to be some fear that e-books will kill off paper books. There is also a fear of piracy. My view all along has been that there is room in the industry for both, and that the best way to combat piracy is to make books freely available, in all formats and in all regions. Get rid of the DRM system, and make e-books available in a universal format that can be read on all e-readers.

A lot of people claim they are suspicious of e-books because they like the smell and feel of old paper books. Yet I've spoken to many such people, who, upon finding themselves in possession of an e-reader, soon come to adore it. I myself am in this category. Liking e-books doesn't mean one has to stop buying paper books. I just find myself buying even more books these days. I still buy paper books, but I buy far more e-books because I don't have to worry about storage space for e-books.

Another interesting factor, though, is that people who were never readers of paper books but are into gadgets, gain possession of an e-reader and soon find themselves vociferous readers. If e-readers are encouraging more people to read, that's another big point in their favour.

E-books might be the future of publishing, but paper books have their place too. Ultimately the aim of the publishing industry is to get more people to read. Format and retail habits should be secondary - as long as people are buying books to read, does it really matter what format they are in?

Bad Books - Good for Authors?

This post is about a certain type of book. I'm not naming any names, but I've come across a few in this category, and I'm sure you have too.

It's a type of book published by a major publishing house. It starts to sell. Suddenly it's selling very well. Then it's selling extremely well. Word spreads, and sales go supernova. The reviews are mixed. There are as many people who hate this book as love it. Eventually you decide you better see what all the fuss is about, and you read the book. You consider it a book with flaws. You start to wonder why so many people are raving about this book. "I know plenty of unpublished writers who can do much better than this," you think. You probably think even you can do better than this. The only difference is, this author is in print and is making loads of money, and you are not.

There are two sides to this argument. First up is the view that publishing rubbish books is bad for new authors. Publishers only have a finite number of slots in which to publish new books every year. Every time they publish a book on the name - perhaps written by a well known celebrity who's decided to try their hand at writing novels - they're wasting a slot that could be used for an unknown but talented new author. But that book will make money, and a publishing company is a business aiming to make a profit. The criteria for book sales does not necessarily take into account how well written it is. You, the unknown author, may have a masterpiece on your PC. But if the publisher doesn't think this masterpiece has mass market appeal, they are not going to take it.

Then we come to the alternative argument. If a publisher takes on a less-than-great book that proves to be a runaway best seller, they are suddenly raking in loads of money. With this sure-fire money maker flying off the shelves, said publisher might be more inclined to take a risk with some unknown author. After all, gambling on said unknown author might pay off, and their book might sell well. Even if it doesn't, they've still got the runaway best seller raking it in, so they can afford to take the chance.

There is also the point that liking a book that is very subjective. Although you and all the authors you know collectively grumble about this famous best-selling book and meticulously list its flaws, the fact that it's selling so well proves that there's more than a few people out there who would probably disagree with you.

So is the publication of these less-than-great but best selling books good or bad for the emerging author? What's your take?

Homage to Women of Horror - Part 1

This month is Women In Horror month. As a woman of horror I want to support this worthy cause. I'm going to start by pointing you towards this website, dedicated to Women In Horror Month.

"Women don't write horror". This is a battle I feel I've been fighting my whole life. It's as frustrating and erroneous an assumption as the notion that all SF fans are 16-year-old boys who like pictures of women in chain mail bikinis, with unfeasibly large breasts, because they can't get anywhere near a real-life woman.

The media does nothing to disabuse the general public of this notion. Cult SF and horror magazines sport covers featuring pictures of mostly-naked women with the aforementioned unfeasibly large breasts. Books aimed at women sport pink covers with curly lettering and pictures of lipstick, shoes and shopping bags. Gifts aimed at women (and we are bombarded by such ads at Christmas) suggest that your mum or aunty or sister or girlfriend wants a make-up kit or bottle of perfume. Never have I seen an advert that says she wants the new Resident Evil game on the PS3 (which is what I want next birthday).

I would like to point out that women horror writers are hardly a modern phenomenon. One of the first horror novels to be published was not only written by a woman, it was written by a teenager. Mary Shelley was 17 when she penned FRANKENSTEIN.

In support of Women In Horror month, next week I will be paying homage to some contemporary women of horror. If you are one such woman and you want a mention and a link to your blog this month, please let me know.

Let's hear it for Horror Women!

Best Books of 2011

I have talked before about how much I like Goodreads. Not only is it a good platform for writers to promote their books, it's also a good way of keeping track of all the books you read. This time last year, I set myself a challenge to read 50 books in 2011. The challenge only works, of course, if you are diligent about logging every book you read on Goodreads. This is not something I have a problem with - I am quite shameless about broadcasting my reading tastes to the world. Some folks, I suspect, will only log on Goodreads the books they want the world to know they're reading, but that's an entirely different story.

In any case, I have no shame and I am somewhat anally retentive about keeping track of my reading habits, so I find Goodreads rather handy. I read 55 books in 2011, so I exceeded my reading goal.

Because you can also rate books on Goodreads, it's fairly easy to pick out which ones you thought were the best. So I am presenting, in this post, my Top 5 Books of 2011. I will add a qualifier here, and say that these are from the perspective of books I read, not books that were published, in 2011. Some of them I have reviewed on Goodreads. Rather than repeat myself here, if this applies I have included the link in the title.

SISTER - Rosamund Lupton. A beautifully-written book about the grief of an older sister, trying to find the killer of her younger sister. Not exactly a cheerful read, but well worth a look if you're interested in the dynamics of family relationships.

NOW YOU SEE ME - SJ Bolton. This is a book I had to review for SHOTS, and it had me hooked. A gripping and genuinely spooky crime thriller that offers an interesting slant on the Jack the Ripper legend.

HEARTSTONE - C J Sansom. The quality of the writing in this series of historical crime novels blows everyone else out the water. Sansom's protagonist, hunchback lawyer Matthew Shardlake, investigates murders against the backdrop of Henry VIII's court. In this book Henry's wife is Catherine Parr, which possibly means, sadly, there won't be too many more in the series, unless Sansom plans to carry Shardlake through the aftermath of Henry's reign.

CHANGES - Jim Butcher. Harry Dresden, the only wizard in Chicago, inhabits a contemporary alternative world in which magic, vampires and faeries exist, with most humans being oblivious to this fact. Harry, a chivalrous and flawed character, can never resist coming to the rescue of a damsel in distress, and it is the voice of his character - brave; wise-cracking; resourceful - that make this such a fabulous series. Poor Harry has a hard time in this novel, and this is only one to read when you've already got the sequel in your TBR pile, because it ends on a cliff hanger.

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE - Shirley Jackson. I've wanted to read this since I saw the film adaptation (the original 1963 version - not the 1990s remake). It's classic gothic horror at its finest. Four people gather in a haunted house, as part of an experiment to study psychic phenonema. They all bring their own psychological baggage with them, and the way they interact with each other is as much part of the atmosphere as the ghostly goings on.

So there we have my Top 5 reads of 2011, and happily it represents a cross-section of the genres I read in.

With a degree of overconfidence, I have set myself a new target for 2012 - to read 60 books. It remains to be seen if I will succeed, but my TBR pile is big enough to give me plenty to be getting on with in the foreseeable future.

"Why Should I Read You?"

Happy dance time! Not only did I write a short story (16k) this month, I also finished the fourth rewrite of my urban fantasy, aka "The Zaphkiel Project." October is the BIAM_Challenge and I completed two of my three goals tonight. The next one is to plot my NaNoWriMo project before November 1.

Not a stellar accomplishment. It hasn't led to any contracts or accolades. But it means I have something to submit.

However, I digress. I've been watching Case Histories on Masterpiece Mystery. (It's also gotten to the point I'm dreaming mystery plots now. Scary thought.) This past episode dealt with private detective Jackson Brodie becoming involved with a novelist, Martin, who wants protection after a particularly nasty road rage incident.

At one point, Martin is talking to Brodie's secretary, Deborah. And she rather disdainfully dismisses his books as pulp fiction (I'm paraphrasing here), adding, "Why should I read you when I can read Mark Twain?"

It's enough for Martin to give up writing. And it's a prejudice genre writers still face. Whether we write mystery, horror, fantasy, romance, or science fiction, we are considered by the literary community to be the bastard stepchildren. Not that the genre community is immune from those same prejudices.

I decided to read Kate Atkinson's books, the ones Case Histories is adapted from. Interestingly enough, Case Histories is filed under fiction in one library while Started Early, Took My Dog is cataloged under mystery in another. And yet both are mysteries involving Brodie. 

Don't get me wrong. I love literature. Hesse, Camus, Kafka, Dostoevsky, Fitzgerald, etc. are among my favorite writers. The Stranger and Demian have had a significant influence on my writing. Steppenwolf is on my TBR pile.

But I also love reading genre writers, among them Josh Lanyon, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Mary Stanton, Thomas E. Sniegoski, etc.

We should be past this We/They divide, especially with the publishing industry being in such a flux. Writers need to support each other, not tear each other down. It's almost like the traditional vs. indie publishing argument, both of which have their benefits and disadvantages. (And I'm not getting into them here.) 

That said, read what you want to read. If you're a writer, write the stories you want to write. Because somewhere out there is an audience waiting for you.

Why I Don't Read Fantasy

When I was a little girl, boys were an alien species, to be avoided at all costs. I didn't understand them, I didn't want to talk to them, and I certainly didn't want to read about them. Hence, I tended to gravitate towards books that had female protagonists. If there were boys in the book as well, I would put up with it, but there had to be a girl in there I could identify and empathise with.

When I hit puberty, boys became marginally more interesting, but when I was in high school, all the boys seemed horrendously immature and shallow. Needless to say I didn't date much. No surprise that I completely identified with the girl in LABYRINTH (who was also called Sarah), who didn't go out on dates, spent all her time immersed in a fantasy world and who was burdened with babysitting a baby half-sibling she found a trial.

Anyway, I digress. The point here is that I only wanted to read stories about girls. When I was young I wanted stories about girls who were isolated; different; alone. When I grew out of the angsty teenage phase I wanted to read books about independent-minded, intelligent, courageous women who could hold their own in the world of men.

When I developed my obsession with STAR WARS, in my early teens, I had a brief flirtation with reading science fiction. Most of it didn't really grab me - there was a distinct lack of decent female characters. And this, when we come down to it, is the reason why I've never read fantasy. There are a lot of fantasy films I've seen and enjoyed (the aforementioned LABYRINTH being one - THE PRINCESS BRIDE is another one of my favourites). But I've never got into reading the genre. When I went through my sf phase I picked up a shabby copy of THE SWORD OF SHANNARA at a second hand book shop. I thought it was so dreadful, I never finished it - even at age 14, when my reading tastes were a lot less sophisticated. In retrospect, this is probably another reason why I never felt the urge to pick up another fantasy book.

Admittedly, the genre has come a long way since the 1980s. The stories are not full of insipid, two-dimensional women these days. There are a lot of female fantasy writers who I am reliably informed write books about strong-willed, intelligent women who know their own mind and are looking for more than just a handsome man to marry. But I have never read any of these books. My own prejudices are hard to shake. Plenty of people have said to me, about a particular fantasy author, "you'll like her books, they have a strong female protagonist." But as well as strong women, I like books filled with mystery and suspense, and most importantly, at least one gruesome death. Browsing in the book shops I always gravitate back to the crime and horror sections, even if my intention is to go to the fantasy section. I still go back to those books with the moody black covers and blood spatters. I'm comfortable with routine. That's why I always go back to the violence in the end.

Horror Recs

The other day one of my Twitter followers mentioned The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. I haven't read it but saw the movie adaptation years ago. Think along the lines of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. A Gothic ghost story.

Of course, when I saw my local library had a copy of Susan Hill's book, I had to add it to my TBR list. I love reading horror novels. And this got me thinking. Why not talk about some of my favorite books and stories I've read since childhood? In fact, it was probably those stories that inspired me to become a writer.

Tales of Terror (Ida Chittum) This illustrated collection of Ozark-based ghost stories still resonates with me well into adulthood. One particular story, "The Haunted Well" stands out, a tragic story of an enraged father who murders his family, leaving behind a daughter who witnesses the massacre. Filled with pathos, dark humor, and unique characters (including a woman who can read the future with a feather pillow), this is a book I'd read again. (From what I understand, one of the stories, "The House the Dovers Didn't Move Into," is based on a true account.)

The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson) If you're a horror fan and haven't read this novel yet, why not? Quit reading this post and grab a copy now. I'll wait. Got it? Good. Because Shirley Jackson's novel is probably one of the best horror stories ever published. Jackson successfully creates a malevolent character in Hill House, a hulking manor guarding dark secrets. Sometimes the most effective horror is what you don't see. The ending is probably one of the most disturbing I've read. (Also check out We Have Always Lived in the Castle.)

The Shining (Stephen King) Another haunted house story, this time with a hotel has the malevolent character. (I don't know if King was influenced by Jackson but the homage seems to be there.) I remember the part about the concrete tunnel on the playground being especially disturbing because the reader doesn't know if something is lurking there or if it's Danny's imagination. Add the isolation in the mountains and a father slowly going mad and this ranks as one of my favorites by King. Want to scare your readers? Put the characters in jeopardy with supposedly no way out of their situation. But make them sympathetic. Jack Torrance may not be a candidate for father of the year, but he loves his wife and son and struggles to do the best he can. This is what makes his descent into madness such a powerful struggle between good and evil. 

"Eyewitness" (Robert Arthur) Okay, it's not horror but this tale is pretty damn clever. A detective knows an actor murdered his wife. The only problem is proving it, which he does with the help of a magician. Whether the technique they use to catch the killer really works is debatable but I'm willing to suspend disbelief.

Is this list complete and comprehensive? Of course not. But these are the stories out of many that have remained with me over the years. I'm sure I've forgotten one or two which will rear their heads after this post is published. If that happens, I'll just chalk it up to Murphy's Law.

Don't Forget to Turn Out the Lights and Lock the Door Behind You

The Bookstore officially closed its doors this past weekend, ending a nearly four-decade existence. While one could blame the plethora of e-readers and the economy, apparently another contributing factor was the transition of the Armor Library from Fort Knox to Fort Benning.

Those who know me will tell you I'm not a sentimental person (cats excluded). But as I walked those aisles for the last time, perusing the shelves and noting titles for future reference, a pall hung over the store. I had to smile when I saw a display of Yasmine Galenorn's books which were gone a few minutes later. "Happy reading," Only two days earlier my husband had bought me Teeth (ed. Ellen Datlow), Camera Obscura (Lavie Tidhar), A Madness of Angels and the Midnight Mayor (Kate Griffin), and an angel statue. Now I had returned to pick up a copy of one of Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series. I'd hoped to buy The Iron King but Jerry told me that was sold out, so I bought The Iron Daughter. (On a side note, I will kick myself for missing Julie's signing there back in April.) Along with Julie's YA fantasy, I bought Where Angels Fear to Tread by (Thomas Sniegoski) and Demons are a Girl's Best Friend (Linda Wisdom).

Do I wish I could have afforded more books? Hell, yeah. Although I'm pretty sure my husband would have something to say about all the books piled against the walls. He claims I have too many books and I rejoin that I'm a writer and one can never have too many books. (Disclaimer: The DH isn't a bibliophobe. He likes to read non-fiction. And no, I don't know if "bibliophobe" is a word or not, but if it isn't, it is now.) :-)

But there it is. Farewell, Jerry, and thanks for all those years of supporting local writers. I don't know whether or not Jerry will open a used bookstore, but my fingers are crossed. While I regret I only knew about The Bookstore a year or so, I'm glad I got the chance to not only buy books from an independent bookseller but to attend two signings by JR Ward.

I'm taking some great memories with me.

Road Trip Adventures: Kentucky Writers Conference

Each spring, authors and bibliophiles descend on Bowling Green , Kentucky for the Southern Kentucky Book Fest. The two day event hosts regional writers like Silas House, David Domine, and Lynwood Montell and best-selling authors, including  Nicholas Sparks, Jean Auel, and Teresa Medeiros.

This year, the Book Fest took place on Friday April 15 and Saturday April 16. Friday was the Kentucky Writers Conference, an all-day event with four sessions of three workshops each. Panels included “Everything You Need to Know About Agents,” “Writing in Another Voice,” and  “Writing for Children and Teens”.

After picking up Amy, a fellow writer and friend, we headed down I-65 South. The drive was uneventful, if one ignored the construction which, at one point, necessitated navigating one lane. There’s a joke that Kentucky has two seasons: winter and construction. (Feel free to substitute your state.)

Ninety minutes later, we arrived at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center, home of the book festival for the past two years. Unfortunately the delays caused me to arrive too late to attend the first session.

Inside the lobby, Amy and I commandeered a couch. She settled in to do some work on her laptop. I’d brought my computer but decided to return it to the car. (Less to carry.) Now it hadn’t been raining too badly when we arrived. But my luck never holds out. I got caught in a deluge with pouring rain and blustery winds. Yay for unpredictable April showers. Not.

Back in the conference center, and managing not to look too much like the proverbial drowned rat, I headed for my first workshop: Chuck Sambuchino’s “Everything You Need to Know about Agents”. Because the conference committee assumed this would be a popular panel, they scheduled it twice. I silently thanked them for their foresight.

Chuck’s presentation was insightful yet overshadowed with mystery. Who had purloined the first page of his notes? (I blame the garden gnomes.) During a question and answer session, he gave excellent advice on finding a literary agent. I’m only sorry I missed his presentation on Saturday.  

The second workshop (third session) was “How to Write a Winning Query Letter” by Cavanaugh Lee, attorney-cum-author. Her enthusiasm and effervescent personality  invigorated the room. Good thing, too. Query letter rejections are a necessary evil in the writer’s world so a positive attitude is more likely to get you farther than a negative one.

In the session “What Everyone Can Learn from Mysteries”, presenter Leah Stewart explored the application of mystery writing to genre and literary writing. Different types of mysteries were examined, from the police procedural and hard-boiled crime novels of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler to the present-day detective. Citing examples by Margaret Atwood, Leah encouraged writers to look at how much mystery is needed and whether or not it balances with the payoff.

The conference finished, Amy and I headed to Barnes and Noble to write in the café before heading back to Louisville. There’s a reason I plot my stories. Sitting there, I had no idea what to write about, except it involved Bela Lugosi, vampires, and Tod Browning. Still, I managed to squeeze out a paltry 250 words. (Don’t ask.)

By the way, if you didn’t know, Tod Browning was a Louisville native and the director of the iconic Dracula. But that’s another blog post.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Book Fest: http://www.sokybookfest.org