Debra's comments

Debra's comments from the Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group group.

Note: Debra is no longer a member of this group.

Debra Purdy Kong here!

Author of mysteries, Fatal Encryption and Taxed to Death.

We are finally getting lovely spring weather here in Vancouver. Reasonably warm and sunny mixed with cloud. The younger generation are in T-shirts and shorts. The rest of us are still wearing jackets, but at least we all need sunglasses!

Oh, I loved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! The movie wasn't quite as good, though it had a couple of hilarious moments. Well, maybe more than a couple. I was killing myself laughing in the movie theatre at times, but sometimes I was the only one.

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Debra wrote: "Hi Joy, it's been awhile since I contributed. I was in Hawaii for the Left Coast Crime writers conference and taking a bit of a holiday, and I'm still trying to catch up on the backlo..."

Speculative fiction, as I understand it, is writing about other worlds, although you can blend it with real worlds. So, it would include science fiction, fantasy, or a blend of these things. I just posted a review of Goodreads today.

Those are great quotes, Joy, thank you!

Interesting responses, Joy. To me "No snowflake ever fell in the wrong place" means that everything happens for a reason, and that we're either to gain from it, or learn by it. In other words, no opportunity or experience is wasted.

Hi Joy, it's been awhile since I contributed. I was in Hawaii for the Left Coast Crime writers conference and taking a bit of a holiday, and I'm still trying to catch up on the backlog of emails. I just finished reading two books: Oh Danny Boy by Rhys Bowen. This is a historical mystery set in 1902 New York, which I very much enjoyed. The other book is a collection of speculative fiction stories called "Finding Creatures and Other Stories" by C. June Wolf, a Canadian writer, which I also enjoyed. I'll be posting a review in a few days.

Debra

Hi Joy, here's one of my favorite quotes, which I read in "The Snow Leopard".

No snowflake ever fell in the wrong place.

It always makes me stop and think.

I don't know you either, Jim, but I'm sending out a prayer and good thoughts for you and your family. Hang in there. You'll make it through.

Welcome to all new members. Wow, this is becoming one popular group, Joy!

I love the Herriott books, though it's been a long time since I read them. I also loved the BBC series based on the books. Great stuff!

Debra
FATAL ENCRYPTION
TAXED TO DEATH

Today, (Sunday) I just finished 8 hours at my day-job as a security officer, and patrolled around a campus making sure doors are secure, etc. The campus was eerily quiet and I was the only one in some buildings. The snowploughs are out there madly cleaning sidewalks and parking lots for the onslaught of staff and students tomorrow. I work tomorrow, but have Tues., Wed., Thurs. off which I'm hoping to fill with reading and writing. Of course, you know what they said about the best laid plans....

Last night, I just finished a medical mystery by Daniel Kalla called "Blood Lies". It's a good book and I'll post my review in a few days. Dan writes about what he knows because he's an emergency physician at Vancouver General Hospital, so those hospital scenes are definitely realistic.

I'm about to start a book by a member of my local writers' group called "A Firm Place to Stand". This is a non-fiction book about finding support within one's church and maintaining faith in God while coping with mental illness. The author, Marja Bergen, opened my eyes to the fact that some churches still regard illnesses such as bi-polar as the devil's work and have therefore ostracized the individual. Needless to say, that's hardly helpful to the sufferer, and Marja knows exactly what she's talking about because she's been there. Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading it.

Debra
Author of FATAL ENCRYPTION
and TAXED TO DEATH

Oh, thanks for the link, Joy. You are a lovely person! Sales are going a little slow right now, despite some really great reviews here, on amazon.com, and elsehwere. But it's after Christmas, recession's here and people have bills to pay, so I completely understand. I'll just keep trying to promote where I can and hope for the best. But thank you for asking, my friend.

Actually, I'm near Vancouver, British Columbia, Joy, and trust me, we usually don't get this much snow. At least not since I was a child walking to elementary school in the 60s. It's really something here. We've shovelled more in the last ten days than we have in the last 10 years.

Debra
Author of
FATAL ENCRYPTION

Hi Joy, Happy New Year to you and everyone on the list! After three weeks of more snow than rain (I think we broke records) the snow is finally going to turn to rain tomorrow and stay that way awhile. It's been stressful to drive to work in, and thankfully I found a bus route that gets me to work on time, provided the snow's not piling too high.

My favorite place to read is stretched out on the sofa in our living room, which is under the large picture window and provides lots of natural light. But I most often read in bed just before sleep and in the car while waiting to pick up my son from school, or on my lunch break at work.

Sorry, I should have said how different "authors" use it. And speaking of point of view, one of the most riveting books I've read is BELOVED by Toni Morrison. It's been a few years, but much of the tale (I can't recall if it all is) is told from the POV of a dead child.

Thanks for mentioning those books, Joy, and the quote is terrific. Point of view is something that really interests me. I love to see how different others use it.

Hi Joy, and everyone. Now that I've finished the disconcerting JOBLESS RECOVERY (an all-too realistic story about what happens to a computer programmer when his job his outsourced) and posted my review, I've turned to a book that's been sitting on my TBR pile for nearly 3 years. I've finally picked up THE STONE DIARIES by Carol Shields. Needless to say, I heard a lot about this book when she won major awards for it, so I decided to give it a try. Well, I can see why it gathered so much attention. For anyone writer who wants to know how a terrific writer handles multiple POV, this book is a good way to learn.