K.B. Pellegrino's Blog, page 2
May 27, 2022
Beyond Writing...
I have just finished the rough draft of my eighth mystery novel. This does not mean I have not edited it. I have, several times, but my editing is limited by the fact I am the writer and I can be only so effective as my own editor. Now it has gone to my editors. In addition I have used an AI to scan my book for too many adjectives and adverbs as well as a surplus of common use phrases and suggested ill used words. The process used requires me to take the information and re-edit after I've received the edited versions from my editors. Meanwhile, with help I choose a cover and work toward what should be included for the inside flap, cover, and back cover info. Bowker is visited for ISBN numbers and Barcodes for soft cover, hard cover and ebook. Now the copy received from the editors must be aligned with changes suggested in the AI, Artificial Intelligence report. I do my final edit, before forwarding the copy to the manuscript designer. I will then receive the copy back for a final proof and must again read the three hundred or so pages looking for errors or typos. I will now confirm the design of the cover and other pages added to the manuscript and off to the press. I do so like writing. I do not so much like the remainder jobs required for publishing. And note, I've not mentioned the marketing aspect some portions of which interface with previous activities. Whew, I need a rest. K. B. Pellegrino, Author
May 26, 2022
May 22, 2022
Abrupt Changes
In Massachusetts on Thursday this week, the temperature was a chilly 52 degrees F, and on Saturday we suffered at 95 degrees F. This is New England in western Massachusetts. And when there is a wind as on this past Thursday drop the temperature another ten points from the chill factor.
What kind of personality lives and thrives in such an environment? My kind. Changes, abrupt changes in any area of my life annoy me. I confess I am more creative when I'm dissatisfied. It is then I search my brain for solutions for balancing my world. I write faster when I am hungry. The same could be said when I'm cold. I spew flurries of words when I'm physically working at some job I have and would rather not have. Oh, what does this say about me?
Perhaps I am one of those off beat characters who when happy just lolls around absorbing the gloriousness of the moment dwelling in the comfort of pleasure, unable to rise to the job at hand.
Perhaps my life is motivated deliberately, where I wait for a sting before initiating work even work I love. I blame it all on my geographical location. That way when I'm too lazy to endeavor to begin any project, I tell myself, weather told me to enjoy.
K. B. Pellegrino, author
What kind of personality lives and thrives in such an environment? My kind. Changes, abrupt changes in any area of my life annoy me. I confess I am more creative when I'm dissatisfied. It is then I search my brain for solutions for balancing my world. I write faster when I am hungry. The same could be said when I'm cold. I spew flurries of words when I'm physically working at some job I have and would rather not have. Oh, what does this say about me?
Perhaps I am one of those off beat characters who when happy just lolls around absorbing the gloriousness of the moment dwelling in the comfort of pleasure, unable to rise to the job at hand.
Perhaps my life is motivated deliberately, where I wait for a sting before initiating work even work I love. I blame it all on my geographical location. That way when I'm too lazy to endeavor to begin any project, I tell myself, weather told me to enjoy.
K. B. Pellegrino, author
Abrupt Changes
In Massachusetts on Thursday this week, the temperature was a chilly 52 degrees F, and on Saturday we suffered at 95 degrees F. This is New England in western Massachusetts. And when there is a wind as on this past Thursday drop the temperature another ten points from the chill factor.
What kind of personality lives and thrives in such an environment? My kind. Changes, abrupt changes in any area of my life annoy me. I confess I am more creative when I'm dissatisfied. It is then I search my brain for solutions for balancing my world. I write faster when I am hungry. The same could be said when I'm cold. I spew flurries of words when I'm physically working at some job I have and would rather not have. Oh, what does this say about me?
Perhaps I am one of those off beat characters who when happy just lolls around absorbing the gloriousness of the moment dwelling in the comfort of pleasure, unable to rise to the job at hand.
Perhaps my life is motivated deliberately, where I wait for a sting before initiating work even work I love. I blame it all on my geographical location. That way when I'm too lazy to endeavor to begin any project, I tell myself, weather told me to enjoy.
K. B. Pellegrino, author
What kind of personality lives and thrives in such an environment? My kind. Changes, abrupt changes in any area of my life annoy me. I confess I am more creative when I'm dissatisfied. It is then I search my brain for solutions for balancing my world. I write faster when I am hungry. The same could be said when I'm cold. I spew flurries of words when I'm physically working at some job I have and would rather not have. Oh, what does this say about me?
Perhaps I am one of those off beat characters who when happy just lolls around absorbing the gloriousness of the moment dwelling in the comfort of pleasure, unable to rise to the job at hand.
Perhaps my life is motivated deliberately, where I wait for a sting before initiating work even work I love. I blame it all on my geographical location. That way when I'm too lazy to endeavor to begin any project, I tell myself, weather told me to enjoy.
K. B. Pellegrino, author
May 6, 2022
The Nursery
Grey and overcast today, following a heavenly day yesterday runover, brought me to the nursery to buy some perennials and annuals for my city space. This garden center overflowed with buying opportunity in shades of green and blooming colors available for the crowd. Friday morning and there were lots of folks buying. Don't you love it when a customer knows more about the plants than the employee and the both get into a discussion? I listen. They are my teachers. I try not to be noticed but I follow the two for a bit. I hear, "just nip the bud in the fall and they'll come back" for a particular spring flower. I didn't know this fact. I had planted that flower and it did not return for me. Why? Like many aspects of my life, I am not always in the sophisticated know. It's only recently I realized I could get an APP and identify all the plants in my garden. Don't think I'm a total amateur. I am not. I have planted and sustained so many varying types of evergreens, deciduous trees, perennials, and annuals shrubs and flowers. I read about them, but often I forget their needs just as when I forget the meaning of a word I used before. I must pay attention and keep a notebook of the map of my garden. I have gardening books. I have books on every aspect of life. I google. Still I should note more. It would save time in my writing....if I remember where those notes are.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
April 19, 2022
Easter Season...
I have been sans computer for several days. But, but, but, it left me with lots of time to celebrate Easter. The family gathered as many of yours did. No masks. Lots of hugs. We relished togetherness after the two cold years of attempting distancing. Easter is a special holiday, holy day. There is that spirit of renewal that Spring brings. But the holy message of the day is the best. He lived so you may have hope of Salvation. What could be better than to be included in that promise?
Some of us this past weekend viewed the new movie, "Father Stu." The story of Father Stuart Long's life shattered any core of sophistication I ever thought I had. His desire, his drive to find his place with God is among the stories of saints. The portrayal of this punky kid by Mark Wahlberg collapsed the shell around my heart. What spirit was in this man who shed his arrogance and pride in search of God? It does not proselytize, this film. It is a picture of a man who finds God in a journey from the lowest of backgrounds. It is a journey of overcoming. It is a renewal of the soul and my soul reaches out to try better.
In the spirit of this season, I wish you well.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
Some of us this past weekend viewed the new movie, "Father Stu." The story of Father Stuart Long's life shattered any core of sophistication I ever thought I had. His desire, his drive to find his place with God is among the stories of saints. The portrayal of this punky kid by Mark Wahlberg collapsed the shell around my heart. What spirit was in this man who shed his arrogance and pride in search of God? It does not proselytize, this film. It is a picture of a man who finds God in a journey from the lowest of backgrounds. It is a journey of overcoming. It is a renewal of the soul and my soul reaches out to try better.
In the spirit of this season, I wish you well.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
April 16, 2022
Easter and Hope
Easter Season leaves me breathless. It is the holiday, holyday, that brings me hope. Now I’m writing today after three days of no computer because of a malware attack. I wanted to write every day, but writing on my phone is daunting. To say I was unhappy with my typing hands tied is an understatement. Easter sits in early Spring midst glorious and debilitating weather. At least it is so in New England. Doesn’t matter whether it’s forty or seventy these days, the hope of Easter has comforted me. ...
April 3, 2022
Post April Fool's Day
I deliberately bypassed this fun day April Fools Day, because for all my mystery writing I am unable to get the best of any of my family or friends on this day. On the evening before I have a million ideas, but when I get pumped early in the day with a rich lie....Well, I cannot find a better joke over the original one pulled on me in the morning. My muse dies. It's the only time it dies. What can I do? As the day wears on, I start the music and yoga stretch and wonder where oh where has it gone..
Why did my creative juices dry out? I am certainly capable of writing a funny, aren't I? One friend commented, "You think in story format, not one liners, although one liners come from your stories. You don't make fun of real people, but fiction is your format. You don't write tell-alls about yourself or others unless they are characters in your book. Write a short story and you'll find your muse for April 1, 2003. Wait for it folks.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
Why did my creative juices dry out? I am certainly capable of writing a funny, aren't I? One friend commented, "You think in story format, not one liners, although one liners come from your stories. You don't make fun of real people, but fiction is your format. You don't write tell-alls about yourself or others unless they are characters in your book. Write a short story and you'll find your muse for April 1, 2003. Wait for it folks.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
March 29, 2022
The Winds of March
Talk about foretelling, the winds of March blow and blow. The cold runs through me. My hair is in disarray. Where is the ‘going out like a lamb’? Not here in Springfield, where today the temperature hovered at 28 degrees fahrenheit. It’s my birthday month and I’m certain the Weather Gypsy purposely brought me into this world in a blow out of winds and cold temperature and then laughed at me labeling me the ‘blustering baby’. On the other hand what better month for my birth. I was prepared for li...
March 6, 2022
Moral Questioning
Moral Questioning….
I write mystery, murder mystery, police procedural, serial murder, and murder for greed, jealousy, lust, compulsion, revenge, justice, and, etc. I write to present motives behind my fictional murders. These murders don’t begin to reach the horror of real murders. Those murders, in real time and some nearby me, make me cringe. I become uninterested in motives. The idea that my world, the world I live in, would allow the worst of crimes and in inordinately unacceptable numbers prevent me from true examination.
But, but…fictional crime allows me the luxury of dedication to understanding of the details of motive, weapon, opportunity, personality profiling, culture, and policing. How do the police discover the murder/s? Who were the victim/s? Has justice been served? Were there innocents hurt in the search? What is the moral in the story?
I absolutely believe in the morality behind the telling of the solving of a murder/s. I do believe justice can never be served completely. Why? Because the victim is no longer living. Life, the best result, cannot be returned. Why bother solving a murder if justice can’t be given? Because the best sense of some justice is better than no justice. Bringing the perpetrator to a hearing and independently corroborating police investigations send the sense of closure to the public. Inquiry into motives that may be acceptable such as self-defense allays the public’s fear of railroading. The perpetrator is now off the streets sending some security to the minds of citizens.
I always have a moral overview in my writing beyond the immediate crime/s. Each novel has a view of what I see as current social problems. For instance, in several of my books, I glimpse the upheaval presented by early and constant child abuse. In one, I remind us that perfect housing and jobs and marriages do not guarantee safety from a psychopath. Another depicts the camaraderie of boyhood friends that prevent intelligent men from seeing what they know. Shedding light on the great impact children have on us which we often deny. The murder mystery novel’s goal is always about morality. Have a read in the genre. Read one or more of my seven books in the MCU Captain Rudy Beauregard Mystery Series.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
I write mystery, murder mystery, police procedural, serial murder, and murder for greed, jealousy, lust, compulsion, revenge, justice, and, etc. I write to present motives behind my fictional murders. These murders don’t begin to reach the horror of real murders. Those murders, in real time and some nearby me, make me cringe. I become uninterested in motives. The idea that my world, the world I live in, would allow the worst of crimes and in inordinately unacceptable numbers prevent me from true examination.
But, but…fictional crime allows me the luxury of dedication to understanding of the details of motive, weapon, opportunity, personality profiling, culture, and policing. How do the police discover the murder/s? Who were the victim/s? Has justice been served? Were there innocents hurt in the search? What is the moral in the story?
I absolutely believe in the morality behind the telling of the solving of a murder/s. I do believe justice can never be served completely. Why? Because the victim is no longer living. Life, the best result, cannot be returned. Why bother solving a murder if justice can’t be given? Because the best sense of some justice is better than no justice. Bringing the perpetrator to a hearing and independently corroborating police investigations send the sense of closure to the public. Inquiry into motives that may be acceptable such as self-defense allays the public’s fear of railroading. The perpetrator is now off the streets sending some security to the minds of citizens.
I always have a moral overview in my writing beyond the immediate crime/s. Each novel has a view of what I see as current social problems. For instance, in several of my books, I glimpse the upheaval presented by early and constant child abuse. In one, I remind us that perfect housing and jobs and marriages do not guarantee safety from a psychopath. Another depicts the camaraderie of boyhood friends that prevent intelligent men from seeing what they know. Shedding light on the great impact children have on us which we often deny. The murder mystery novel’s goal is always about morality. Have a read in the genre. Read one or more of my seven books in the MCU Captain Rudy Beauregard Mystery Series.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
