Jillian Getting's Blog, page 3

Inspiration Board for ‘The Wall of Williamsburg’ Series

I created a Pinterest board with the various images that came to mind as I was writing the first installment in The Wall of Williamsburg series. To me, the most important was finding the inspiration for the wall. I’ve been told no one would build a wall like this. Then I found a Canadian fort.

Statue of Love

Found this video online of a beautiful statue in Batumi, Georgia. I could watch this all day.

From Atlas Obscura:

Westerners are all familiar with the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet, but how about Ali and Nino? These doomed lovers inspired a colossal automated statue named after them, which now stands by the seashore of Batumi, Georgia.

The story, first told in the 1937 Austrian novel, Ali and Nino, is a familiar tale of lovers who end up in tragic circumstances that keep them apart. As opposed to warring families, in Ali and Nino’s case, it was the first World War. Ali, an Azerbaijani Muslim, falls in love with a Georgian princess, Nino. Sadly, after they are finally able to get together, the war hits home and Ali is killed. The author of the novel is unknown, credited to the alias Kurban Said. The title has become a literary classic in the area and is considered to be the national novel of Azerbaijan.

It was this famous love that inspired Georgian artist Tamara Kvesitadze to create her monumental moving sculpture in 2010. The giant metal artwork, also known as the “Statue of Love,” consists of two somewhat transparent figures made of stacked segments. Each day at 7 PM, the two figures slide towards each other, eventually merging as their segments pass between each other. never truly connecting. Sad stuff.

The whole automated performance takes about ten minutes and is often lit with bright, changing colors that give the figures even more life than their stark metal bodies usually project.  

Books Read in November 2015

Career of Evil

by Robert Galbraith

The third in the series, Cormoran Strike is back again. We all know that J.K. Rowling writes under this pseudonym and I have to say, she has embodied the genre wholeheartedly. This series is written very differently from her previous novel under her name, The Casual Vacancy, and is tense and fraught and a page-turner. Oh, and there’s a romantic subplot that doesn’t dally in the romance too much but is satisfying nonetheless. Already waiting for the next installment.

One Good Early Deserves of Lover

The Rules of Scoundrels, #2

By Sarah MacLean

I read the first in The Rules of Scoundrels series based on a Book Riot post about excellent romance novels to read to enter the genre. I read my first romance on a camping trip when I was maybe ten years old. There were a small variety of books in the main office, you know, leave a book/take a book. I took a romance because that seemed illicit and read it in my sleeping bag with a flashlight. Oh, the things I learned. I don’t read romance novels consistently but Sarah MacLean creates complicated characters, both male and female, who have much to overcome and can only do with the help of the one they love. There are four books in the series. Number three was also read this month (see below) and I’m waiting for the final installment to come in to my library. I’ve peeked ahead a bit and can’t wait for the twist!

Girl Waits with Gun

By Amy Stewart

A fictional account of an incident reported in a newspaper, Girl Waits with Gun is about a trio of sisters who must defend themselves and their home from a no-good thug. All the eldest sister, Constance Kopp, wants is justice. In her attempt to pursue a righteous end, she just might well learn how to shoot a gun and investigate a case.

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished

The Rules of Scoundrels, #3)

By Sarah MacLean

See The Rules of Scoundrels, #2. There is a standard plot pattern in romance novels, particularly in Regency era stories. We all know this. Reading the books back-to-back made the patterns a little more obvious but the great characters and fun mishaps and the flying sparks make it super fun to read.

A Likely Story

Library Lover’s Mystery, #6

By Jenn McKinlay

I love this series. Librarian protagonist. Check. Quirky best friend. Check. Multiple love interests. Check, check! And a mystery to boot! I have a general fondness for cozy mysteries – not that I want to be an amateur sleuth, but the romantic idea of a small town tugs at my heart – but when I discover characters who feel familiar, I’m hooked. This installment includes a house for two recluse brothers filled with booby traps and a romantic subplot that moves to the next level. And good on Ms. McKinlay for having A Likely Story issued in hardcover!

The Heart Goes Last

By Margaret Atwood

This book felt like several different types of books. It began as an obvious post-apocalyptic tale about a couple trying to make ends meet in a terrible new world. Then it became a dramatic story about their relationship. And then, finally, the plot kicked in and things started to happen until the ambiguous end. I think the ambiguous ending was the point of the story but I have to be honest – I’m not sure. It’s certainly a book that can be debated by fellow readers so drop me a line if you’ve read it.

Murder on Amsterdam Avenue

Gaslight Mystery, #17

By Victoria Thompson

Lovers of this series rejoice! It contains the long-awaited marriage of Sarah Brandt and Frank Malloy. The former midwife and former Sergeant Detective (you’ll have to read to series to find out why I use the word ‘former’) have had a long road to this point. Malloy is a working class cop and had to overcome his worry that he wasn’t good enough for Sarah since she came from high-society before marrying a doctor. They have both lost spouses and have children, so blending the family is another obstacle. (Let alone the murders that keep cropping up.) Their relationship has been developed in a realistic way, or as realistic as it can be with a midwife amateur sleuth helping a cop who goes against the establishment at every turn. Thompson’s historical details are also fascinating. Each book is set in a different neighborhood of late 19th century New York City so new things are always learned.

Named of the Dragon

By Susanna Kearsley

I’m making my way through Susanna Kearsley’s novels. It started with The Winter Sea and then The Splendour Falls and I was in. Each story has a female protagonist in a period of flux and a magical or mystical element that helps her figure out her way. Named of the Dragon had a little less mystical than other books. It incorporated tales of Merlin who was from Wales, where the story is set. I don’t know much about the Merlin myths so the tidbits woven into Lyn Ravenshaw’s personal journey. (Love her name. She would fit in a Hogwarts.)

Lamp Black, Wolf Grey

By Paula Brackston

Paula Brackston is another author whose back catalog I’m working through. Lamp Black, Wolf Grey was another book set in Wales incorporating the Merlin myth, although much more directly. This is Brackston’s first book and while magic is part of the story, it only tangentially relates to the protagonist. Merlin has his own historical subplot that bleeds into the present. I expected the protagonist to be a witch because of her later books. This felt a bit like Susanna Kearsley in that history and magic and the present time begin to overlap. It was strange reading two books about Merlin and Wales back to back. Not at all on purpose but they complemented each other well.

The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen

By Katherine Howe

Katherine Howe is another author whose books I will read without knowing a thing about them. She usually writes about witches to some degree but this book is a ghost story without ever using the word. Howe often incorporates the past into her works, often times through historical subplots. The ghost allowed a fluidity between past and present that kept everything linked together. No need for a chapter break to move back over one hundred years.

Guidebook to Murder

A Tourist Trap Mystery #1

By Lynn Cahoon

I’ll give any cozy mystery series with a bookish bent a try. Guidebook to Murder was a recommendation on my library’s ebook site based on my reading habits, so I gave it a go. A high-powered laywer gives up her career to open a bookstore/coffee shop in a small coastal town – the dream. An elderly woman Jill Garnder befriended dies, leaving Jill her house and lots of money. Then suspects appear and it’s deemed a murder. Relatives come out of the woodwork, as do city council members and developers who want to raze Jill’s new home to build condos. Jill’s surfer friend and the hunky detective determined to keep her safe are nice additions.

Murder Past Due

Cast in the Stacks Mystery, #1

By Miranda James

Murder Past Due is literally the first cozy mystery I’ve read with a male protagonist. I didn’t realize it at first – Charlie could be a woman’s name – but no, Charlie is a man, a librarian and bit of an eccentric as he goes around town with his Maine Coon cat on a leash. I enjoy all cozy mysteries related to books and I have a part Maine Coon cat so I was invested by the end of chapter one. Charlie gets invested in the murder of a former high school nemesis due to the young man renting a room from Charlie who happens to be the dead man’s son. It was interesting reading a cozy with a male protagonist. It definitely goes against form. There was nothing wrong with Charlie as a character but I find that I am able to identify with attributes of women in cozies, or at least attributes I wished I had.

Soulless

(Parasol Protectorate, #1)

by Gail Carriger

Soulless was as fun a read as I expected. Alexia Tarabotti is a spinster in Victorian London. Bored at a party, she goes into the library for a cup of tea and is attacked by a vampire. She renders his abilities useless with her touch, a little trick of hers due to her preternatural state of having no soul. When the vampire continues his attack, she kills him with her trust parasol. Enter two werewolves to help solve the crime, one of whom is Lord Maccon, a desirable bachelor. Alexia and Lord Maccon team up to find to source of the rogue vampires and sparks fly along the way.

Multiple Points of View

While reading The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny, I realized she switched between points of view without the traditional section or chapter breaks. All scenes were written in third person limited, looking over one shoulder at a time and listening to inner thoughts one character at a time. Penny ignores the general ‘rule’ of third person limited which is that one shouldn’t change viewpoints mid-scene. (That’s saved for the fancy third person omniscient.)

I am taking a break from edits on a cozy mystery at the moment for two reasons: one, there is a major plot overhaul that needs to occur and two, I’ve been debating the point of view.

I’ve written the new outline so step one is complete but the POV debate ensued in my head.

The mystery is about a mother and daughter team of amateur sleuths and I want to show certain scenes from one of their points of view. I’ve lined up the character POV and scenes purposefully to help build the mystery and back stories.

As I was reading the most recent draft, I found a handful of scenes where I switched back and forth between the mother and daughter on the same page. The scenes are pivotal and there is reason to have access to both of their thoughts. I’ve been tinkering, trying to figure out if I should be looser with POV or tighter.

After reading The Nature of the Beast, I’ve decided my mystery is going to be tighter third person limited. I will end a scene and insert white space or start a new chapter to delineate a potential change in POV. Not that I’m against a seamless movement of third person limited. I just think it should be purposeful.

My goal is to have the mother and daughter each have clear goals and secrets and desires. No confusion.

The Nature of the Beast is served by the constantly flowing points of view because the story is about a small town deeply affected by the death of a child. There are several scenes in which many characters congregate and the scene plays out with the reader getting to walk around the table and listen in on the thoughts of each.

I haven’t read any other books by Penny so I don’t know if this is standard fare for her or used specifically in The Nature of the Beast. As with all writing, I say, write it anyway you want. Just have it be on purpose. And Penny’s choice served her story.

Word of the Day

The next three books coming my way from the library are:

 This short list should explain my reading habits in a word – omnivorous.

Attaboy

Happy Thursday!

I first saw this video on a friend’s Facebook page and now love The Goat Rodeo Sessions. ‘Attaboy’ makes me want to do a jig. It makes me happy to be alive.

Enjoy.

The Royal Assassin by Kate Parker

I don’t so much review books as write about the books I read and what I found interesting as a reader and a writer. There may be spoilers. Reader beware.

The Royal Assassin

(Victorian Bookshop Mystery #3)

By Kate Parker

When the Duke of Blackford enters her bookstore, Georgia knows the Archivist Society is in need of her services. The Tsar of Russia and his family are visiting Queen Victoria on the auspices of the engagement of the Russian princess Kira to the son of the Queen’s cousin. When Kira’s bodyguard is found dead on a train returning from Scotland, the Queen calls on Blackford to discreetly protect the princess and prevent an international incident.

The Russian royalty refuses help in finding the murderer, suspecting anarchists and demanding every extremist in London be hanged. But that is far from the English way. To get the job done, Georgia must go undercover as Kira’s English secretary. She soon discovers that anarchy isn’t the only motive in the case—and that someone is determined to turn royal wedding bells into a funeral dirge.

-via Goodreads

A running gag throughout The Royal Assassin is a fear of anarchists under the bed. Everyone fears them – the Queen, Russian tsars and princesses – and sees them everywhere. I’m not sure about the validity of the reference to attempts on Queen Victoria’s life by anarchists. (See this fun article that summarizes the eight assassination attempts.)

There isn’t much detail provided about the anarchists. They are merely a link to the Russian princess betrothed to a British duke. Apparently they are all Russian and enjoy blowing things up. An anarchist printer is introduced briefly but his politics are never addressed. And the actions by the pertinent anarchists are ultimately driven by a single woman’s quest for justice (in her mind).

A vague concept of Russian anarchists allows the introduction of a cast of characters not previously seen in the Victorian Bookshop series. Georgia goes undercover as an English teacher to help protect the Russian princess. Working in a British aristocratic household filled with Russian aristocratic guests creates a bit of a farce, but a dangerous one. (You know, because of those damned anarchists.)

Parker does a good job maintaining the various languages spoken by the characters – English, French and Russian. While all dialogue is written in English, it is very clear when another language is spoken and who then is being kept out of the conversation. That could have gotten very messy but is very easy to keep track of.

A subplot between two characters that has been brewing comes to a satisfying conclusion in this installment. And Georgia and Blackford continue to make eyes at each other and kiss several times. Their relationship is doomed – she is a middle-class bookseller and he is a duke. Georgia periodically thinks about how he should be getting married and producing an heir. Those asides were a bit distracting. The obstacles to their relationship have been obvious from the first book. It makes more sense when Georgia feels sad about her feelings for Blackford.

So watch out for anarchists while reading The Royal Assassin and keep your fingers crossed that Georgia and Blackford are the sorts of characters to defy historical conventions.

Jackaby by William Ritter

I don’t so much review books as write about the books I read and what I found interesting as a reader and a writer. There may be spoilers. Reader beware.

Jackaby

By William Ritter

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary–including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police–with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane–deny.

Doctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.

-via Goodreads

The premise of Jackaby caught my eye and the engaging characters and swift plot kept the pages turning. Abigail Rook is a fascinating narrator, a young woman searching for adventure, so much so that she has run away from home and crossed an ocean. Jackaby is a detective who can see what others can’t, i.e. supernatural beings and phenomena. There’s a ghost living in Jackaby’s home as well as an assistant currently a duck due to a bad spell.

The characters are complex and not fully understood by the end of the novel. There are more depths to be plumbed. And thankfully, there is no romance between Abigail and her employer. She has eyes for a certain policeman involved in her first case.

There are some very specific things in the book I wish would have paid off at the end and some non-specific things that I’m unsure about. Let’s begin with how some specifics are at odds with other vague items.

As noted in the description above, the location is a city in ‘New England’, not a particular state. I’m not sure that was necessary. It’s a fictional location so go ahead and pick a state. The year is specific but current events of that time are irrelevant. I think the year is a placeholder for a time before vehicles and other modern technologies, as well as a time when Abigail’s independence makes her stand out. Knowing the general time period is enough to establish those necessary elements to the characters and setting. Having a specific year seems unnecessary or, if necessary, it isn’t realized.

The primary detail that bugged me by the end of the novel was Abigail’s skill and the reason Jackaby wants to keep her around. He may see what others cannot but she sees all the ordinary details that other people just don’t bother seeing. This is demonstrated at the first crime scene when Abigail notices things in the victim’s apartment that lead her to know his job which is a key detail in their investigation.

However, her keen eye didn’t play into the climactic fight with the Big Bad and the successful resolution. She is part of the fight, and throws several poorly aimed books to thwart the criminal, but her particular skill set doesn’t directly help the fight. I would have liked that. Abigail is brave but her snappy intelligence isn’t used like it could have been.

That said, Jackaby is a charming start to a series full of colorful characters and mysterious creatures.