Thoughts and Books

Five days into the new year and I've done to too little writing. I got off to a rocky start this month. For weeks, severe back and leg pain have kept me tethered to a chair which only makes it worse. Getting out of bed was difficult. The recent shift in weather from rainy to less rainy improved this. I‘ve been better for two days now although my hips keep catching, forcing me to pause before going forward.

I sound like an old jalopy. The fenders rattle, the paint is flaking, and I’m held together with duct tape and bailing wire.

For a few days I’ve been considering my WIP: All That’s Holy. I want to find the problems with the story line and get the plot back on track. I lost my way on it and each time I try to get back on target I become frustrated with it. What I want to do this week is to write a summary of the story. I don’t know if I can do it but I’ll try, barring some kind of chaos, that is. One must always plan for chaos.

This will be a short post but I want to mention a book I’m reading. I checked it out of the library when I saw it online somewhere. Steering the Craft - A 21st Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of the Story by Ursula Le Guin.

I’ve not read Le Guin before this but 13% in and I like what I’m reading. She continues to carry the nautical theme throughout the text. This is like a mini writing workshop and she has exercises at the end of each chapter. According to the introduction, she based the book on a workshop she held and the students who attended, even using her notes from the event.

Another novel I‘m reading is The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn. Ms. Raybourn has two other series I’ve been reading and they’re outstanding. The first one, the Lady Julia Grey Series is great and clean. No sex scenes. Why is that notable? The amount of erotica floating around these days almost makes it necessary to wear waders to the bookstore. If you’re into that, OK. I'm not. I need not enrich my sex life and if I did, it wouldn’t be from someone else’s imagination.

The second set is The Veronica Speedwell, and this one is more…  risque. No sex but the main character admits to regular affairs and is open-minded about such things. Again, the mystery carries the story and there are no lurid scenes with a blow by blow account. There’s not even any swearing.

Raybourn’s works are great. The Dead Travel Fast differs from the others because it is about vampires. Is there a vampire? I don’t know. I'm not halfway through it yet.  All the novels take place during the Victorian period and Raybourn carries the settings off well.

If you’re looking for a good mystery, with an interesting setting, and amusing characters you can’t miss with any of these.

I’m ready to call it a night. I’ve swept floors, made beds, cleaned the kitchen, and washed two loads of laundry. We’re so happy that was all there was to wash. My back hurts from sweeping. I also helped Sarah with homework and that is a chore. I'm thankful that the house is spotless tonight.

I'll wish you all a good night and hope you have a great writing week.