News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #75…
Item: A kinder, gentler Hachette? BS. Last Monday, Nov. 10, the NY Times published a front-page article about how homey Hachette is now with its CEO in a cubicle just like the other worker bees. First, it wasn’t Hachette, but a subsidiary, although the Times insisted on using Hachette; and second, why is the Times doing this? If you take the totality of Times articles about the Amazon v. Hachette war-of-words (more words from Hachette and its sycophants than from Amazon), it’s clear that the Times is biased and has a Paul Bunyan-size axe to grind. This article is the most egregious, though. I put it in the same category as the Monsanto commercial where the most notorious chemical company in the U.S. tries to present itself as looking out for food safety in American households (?), or BP’s Alaskan commercial about how they’re providing new energy solutions for America (the Gulf spill?). Does the Times think anyone buys this outrageous double-speak they call “reporting”?
Item: Grammar experts. I’ve had exchanges with a few. Most are very helpful and much more accessible than any HS English teacher I’ve had (generally only slightly better than HS math teachers in knowing what they’re talking about). Most of these experts recognize the difference between fiction and non-fiction and their grammar requirements (one can argue that the latter should pay closer attention to “the rules”). I have two grammar rules: (1) Never believe what MS Word tells me (I’ve had Bill Gates correct me, wanting to replace it’s with its, or vice versa, for example, and be completely wrong); and (2) in my fiction, natural speech, especially in dialogue, trumps the grammar rules every time (if not ending a sentence with a preposition becomes too stilted, don’t fix it—of course, this isn’t even a rule).
That doesn’t mean I don’t look for grammar errors. On the contrary, I write fast, and there are common errors I make in that process. (The different conjugated forms of “to lie” v. “to lay,” for example, always give me fits.) You should always note the errors you make often and look for them when beginning your copy editing. When in doubt, go to a grammar expert’s website and ask about it. Most give free advice. (They might also try to get you to hire them as copy editors too—fair warning.) On the other hand, if a copy editor tells you never to use contractions in dialogue, fire him immediately!
Item: Come interview with me. I hope you enjoyed the review of John Hohn’s excellent new novel Breached on Wednesday. John is scheduled for an interview on Monday. Although the dates aren’t set, so are Lee Mims, author of Trusting Viktor, and Linda Hall, author of Night Watch—the latter book will be reviewed next Wednesday. Authors who want me to review their books should always try Bookpleasures.com first, where I and many other reviewers hang out. Authors who want me to interview them should query me via my contact page. If I decide it’s appropriate (this is a PG-13 site, after all, and more politically neutral than most people might think), I’ll send you a list of questions (you don’t have to answer them all and can add others).
Item: The Collector. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s now available. Chen and Castilblanco are back in NYC. They set out to solve the murder of a SoHo art dealer, delve into the shadowy world of art theft, and discover that stolen artworks can be used as collateral for some dark and sleazy entrepreneurship. This is #5 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series.” I’ll provide you a free copy in return for an honest review.
Item: World Enough and Crime. This is recent anthology (Donna and Alex Carrick, editors) that contains a short story by yours truly, “The Case of the Carriageless Horse.” (Part of my motivation for writing this story about Castilblanco’s first case was to protest NYC Mayor De Blasio’s campaign against the carriages in Central Park. The mayor wants to remove all the charm from the city and turn it into the real Gotham. Where’s Batman when you need him?) There are many other great tales here from a host of talented authors. This is available in both pbook and ebook formats.
Item: Coming next year. Although you can’t hold me to it, I do plan to keep writing. Book sales are flat, but I’m having too much fun to quit! (If I can entertain just one person with one of my books, then that and a shot of Jameson’s will keep me happy.) A sequel to Muddlin’ Through (remember ex-USN Master-at-Arms Mary Jo Melendez?) and Chen and Castilblanco #6 (see the excerpt at the end of The Collector, which also has a contest some might be interested in) are in the works. I’ve mentioned in this newsletter a few times that I’m also working on a new sci-fi story, More than Human. Interesting problem there: I have so many new ideas for this novel that I’m a bit stymied. (Is this writer’s block? I think it’s the opposite.) One solution is to write more than one novel. Another is slash-and-burn content editing, filing away sections of prose for later use. I’ll also have to admit that the very real ebola epidemic has killed some of my motivation to work on this (slight spoiler alert). Time will tell.
In libris libertas…
