Peg Herring's Blog, page 21

I Am the Grass. Let Me Work

                                                                                                                                            
One of my favorite poems by Carl Sandburg (see the full poem here http://www.poetry-archive.com/s/grass.html ) came to mind on Saturday as a group of us cleaned up the cemetery at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. Neat rows of white markers stretch across a wide space. Some are detailed, providing rank, unit, and field of service; some have only a name and a date of death.

It makes one think about the grass.

There we were, working above ground. There they were, lying below it. Between us was the grass. It will be there when we, too, are underground. It will hide what we were, how we felt. There will be only a name and a few details.

So why do we get so upset about things?

What Is a Good Book?

Which Are the Good Ones?I've read a lot of books, but we probably won't agree on which were the best ones. Why? Because each book speaks to us as individuals: where we come from, what we value, and how we want our leisure activities to go.
Reading requires commitment: time for sure, concentration (some books more than others), and a degree of background preparation. The ability to read is the most basic level, but requirements build after that. For example, a person isn't likely to enjoy a book about modern immunology if she doesn't understand the vocabulary used or a book about WWII if she doesn't know or care who Winston Churchill was.
Reading serves different purposes. Many people read to escape from hum-drum, daily stuff. They want to escape reality, and they don't mind how wild the plots get as long as they're entertaining. Others demand that their fiction be realistic, with characters who could be real and plot-lines that might actually happen. People who read to become enlightened usually choose non-fiction and often have little patience for books that are offered just for fun.
Lots of readers. Lots of reasons to read.
As a former English teacher, I have to tell you I'm not thrilled with a lot of what sells these days. Bad writing, bad plots, and lack of creativity seem like glaring faults to me. Much of what's billed as non-fiction is actually fiction, with the authors either so biased or so deluded that I have no interest in what they claim is truth.
But not to the people who are reading those books and thinking they're really good.
So what constitutes a good book?
A good book is one that captures and holds your interest, whatever that interest might be. If it's panned by people like me but you enjoy it, read it. If nothing on the Best Sellers list does it for you but you have favorite authors you can't wait to get back to, that's okay. Keep reading what you like.
Keep reading.

Cheboygan-Yay!

I'm at the Cheboygan Public Library this week (Wednesday, April 29 at 6:30 pm), and here are some reasons I'm thrilled about it.

1. I only have to drive 60 miles round trip. While I enjoy the talks in Florida or the meet-and-greets in Detroit, it's kind of nice to stay home all day and then take a leisurely ride around Black Lake, knowing I'll be home again in only a few hours.

2. I'm likely to see people I know. Again, meeting new people is nice, but seeing old friends is nice too (even if I don't remember names as well as I used to!)

3. I'm not the only draw to the library. The Youth Art Fair is going on, so those who attend the talk will get twice the entertainment as they browse the displays before and chuckle at my stories later.

4. I'll have help. Because I'm local, Purple Tree Books owner Emily is going to handle book sales. This means I'm free to talk, which you all know is what I like best.

5. I've got a fun new topic. Choosing Your Next Great Read was a popular topic in Florida, so I'm looking forward to exchanging ideas with local readers about how they wade through the thousands of books released each week and find the ones that speak to them.

6. I have a surprise that I think will please a lot of people. If you want to know what it is, you'll just have to show up on Wednesday.

The reasons you should be thrilled? You can talk about books or listen to the ideas of others. You might win a free book. And if all else fails, you can have a cookie or two.

New Dead Detective Mystery

DEAD FOR THE SHOW is scheduled for release today. It's ready on Kindle for sure. (If you don't have a Kindle, there's an app you can download to get your other e-readers to read Kindle books. I know nothing about this, being a Kindle owner, but I'm told it's great.)

The book is also available in paperback from Ingram, which means you can order it at a bookstore and they'll have it in a day or two.

I don't see the print version on Amazon yet, but it's in the works. There's no way to predict how long it takes after we approve the proof copies.

So what is this one about?
DEAD FOR THE SHOW is Book #3 of the Dead Detective Mysteries, featuring Seamus, a throwback to the '50s who operates pretty well in 2015. In this one he's investigating the death of a the woman who refuses to believe she's dead. She was a member of a a theater group in Toronto, and Seamus ends up trying to protect her sister so she doesn't end up dead as well.

The series has a lightly humorous slant on the Afterlife and how life on Earth is viewed there. When a person is murdered, he or she can engage a dead detective to go back to Life and find out the whos and whys of the case. The situations the dead detectives get into are sometimes humorous and often suspenseful, but justice always wins out.

I enjoy writing the Dead Detective series and plan at least one more, hopefully for 2016.
Book #1 Book #2

Book #3Note: Books 1 & 2 will be getting new covers soon when they go into new editions. They'll feature the "new" Seamus pic (center above), so don't buy them a second time by mistake!

An Interruption in Freebies

Winner of KILLING SILENCE was Patti T. Due to the death of my laptop (purchased a scant six months ago) I'm suspending the freebies for this week. I hope the Princess Bride Effect is in play and the infernal machine is only mostly dead, but since I'll be traveling for the next few days, I have to leave it behind. I can't deal with daily updates to this blog on my iPad. Remember, my IT has DIO in the middle.
I've decided to pick the giveaways up again in May, when the third Sleuth Sisters book comes out, so stay tuned! And don't forget to look for DEAD FOR THE SHOW, which will release on Monday whether I'm ready or not!

Freebie Day 4: April 14, 2015

Killing Silence
Want 2 free copies of this book? Respond here or on Peg’s News on Facebook to be entered in the daily drawing. If you haven't yet "met" Loser, you're in for a new and uplifting experience!
 Book #1 of the Loser MysteriesSetting: Richmond, VA
Loser lives on the streets, washing up in public restrooms and eating when the opportunity arises. When the father of a child who’s been good to her is accused of murder, Loser feels compelled to help. In order to do so, she’ll have to overcome her demons: the inability to speak normally, the desire to be left alone, and her tragic past, which haunts her every moment.This book is now available as an audio book as well as in print and e-formats.

Freebie Day 3: April 13, 2015

Her Majesty’s Mischief
Want 2 free copies of this book? I'm giving away two books each day until the release of the 3rd Dead Detective Mystery, DEAD FOR THE SHOW, on April 20. The books are mixed up, so if you want a specific title, watch this spot daily until the one you want shows up. Then respond here or on Peg’s News on Facebook to be entered in the daily drawing.
Yesterday's winner is  Lori C.N. Congratulations!  NOTE: This one isn’t out yet, so you’ll have to wait until I get copies, May-ish.

Book #4 of the Simon & Elizabeth series Setting: Tudor London & ScotlandElizabeth I sends her loyal friend Simon to Scotland to bring back an honest assessment of Mary, Queen of Scots. While Simon’s away, his wife and son get into hot water trying to solve a murder. Nobody has a good time for a while, but things work out in the end.

Check out DEAD FOR THE SHOW on Amazon, where it's up for pre-order for Kindle and will be available in print one week from today! 

Freebie Day 2: April 12, 2015

Winner of Yesterday's books: Victoria K.
3 Sleuths, 2 Dogs, 1 Murder
Want 2 free copies of this book? Respond here or on Peg’s News on Facebook to be entered in the daily drawing.



Book #1 of the Sleuth Sisters Series by Maggie Pill (AKA Peg)
Setting: Allport, MI, a town seems a lot like a blend of Alpena and Rogers City
When middle-aged sisters Faye and Barb start a detective agency in their small town, most people think it’s a joke. Only Baby Sister Retta wants to associate with them, and since she tends to be bossy and manipulative, she’s the one person they don’t want around.

Freebie Day 1: April 11, 2015

The Dead Detective Agency
Want 2 free copies of this book? Respond here or on Peg’s News on Facebook to be entered in the daily drawing.




Book #1 of the Dead Detective seriesSetting: Grand Rapids, MITori can hardly believe it when she wakes up dead. The Afterlife is nice, but she really wants to know why someone would murder the secretary at an investments firm. The solution to her problem? Get a dead detective and launch an investigation.
NOTE: This is one of the two that will be re-released this summer with a different cover. Same book, new edition, so watch the titles.

As a Reader, I'm Tired

Tired of what, you might ask? (Even if you didn't ask, I'm going to tell you.)
I'm tired of "must-read" books that depress the heck out of me.
Families that are breaking apart.
Teenagers who are going through hell.
People in crisis who don't deal with it well.
I know books have to have such characters to create tension, but in many recent bestsellers these are the protagonists; the people I'm supposed to keep reading on for.
Last night I started one of the current must-reads. It's really well-written, and the hook
was excellent. I read on, chapter after chapter. Things got worse for the main character, and as a result, he got worse, acting out, making his family suffer, cutting ties with those who might have helped him get through it. As page after page of humiliation and despair crawled by, I began to feel that I was wallowing in misery, the main character's and that of everyone around him.
Now, I worked with teenagers for decades, and I'm aware that this can happen. I've seen the sad kids who brag about how much they drank last weekend or pretend they don't care that the whole school is gossiping about the disgusting or shocking or self-destructive things they've done.
But reading about such people isn't fun for me. About a third of the way through the book, I realized I was sad, really sad. The kid was ruining his life, and many around him were doing the same. Now it's a tribute to the author's skill that a book can create this mood, but I asked myself: What's enjoyable about this? I closed the book, and I don't think I'll be opening it again.
I'm a mystery fan, and of course mystery is about evil in one form or another. But it seems the modern, literary-fiction-type mystery novel has turned its focus from solving a crime to watching the people involved self-destruct. Gone Girl. The Girl on the Train. The Gold Finch. My Sunshine Away. The list goes on.
The tortured soul isn't new in literature: Crime and Punishment, Jude the Obscure, and Lord of the Flies are examples of great works in which the protagonists spiral downward to destruction. But there's also Great Expectations, The Power of One, Huckleberry Finn, and even Wicked, in which the protags struggle against bitterness instead of wallowing in it for most of the book.
Me? Maybe I've got no class, but I'll take books with a happier slant. I want a protagonist with a little nobility, not one who succumbs to his darkness.