Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 53
February 4, 2020
Is the book American Dirt controversial?
I’ve taken a stand against the anti-cultural appropriation crowd in this blog before, but with the attacks on the new book American Dirt, it’s time to reaffirm that stand! This book is controversial, but only because its subject is immigration, which is hotly debated now in the US and around the world, mostly by far-right drum-beaters who want none of it.
The consequences of the anti-cultural appropriation crowd’s unfair and egregious attack on an author and publisher is just creating a...
January 30, 2020
Vladimir Kalinin…
[Note from Steve: Lots of spoiler alerts here. Of course, they just might pique your interest in some evergreen books. Proceed at your own risk.]
Vladimir Kalinin has a lot of staying power in my books. He makes his debut in The Midas Bomb, and his presence is felt through the rest of the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series,” The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan, the “Clones and Mutants Series,” Soldiers of God, and several works of short fiction, including “The Phantom Harvester” (see...
January 29, 2020
Steve’s shorts: O Canada…
[Note from Steve: A meaningful and romantic short story for our time…]
O Canada
Copyright 2020, Steven M. Moore
Frank Schultz finished reading the papers. He took a sip of his Earl Grey while he waited for his wife Evelyn to finish.
“Everything seems to be in order,” she said. “Are you ready to sign, Frank?”
He nodded. They smiled at their financial consultant.
“The proceeds from the house sale will be converted to an annuity. Together with your pensions and Social Security checks, you should...
January 28, 2020
My book marketing woes…
I have many book marketing woes. Everything I try confirms two things: (1) Self- and traditionally published small press authors have a tough time getting their books noticed; in fact, most authors do, even Big Five authors, unless the authors are among the Big Five’s anointed. (2) For the rest of us, having a successful book (whatever that means these days) is like winning the lottery because of #1. It’s fortunate that I derive so much joy from storytelling that I can say, “To hell with...
January 24, 2020
Movie Reviews #83…
Knives Out. Rian Johnson, dir. (He’s also the screenwriter.) Readers of mystery and crime stories will love this! At times lampooning the genre in general and Dame Agatha’s mystery novels in particular (or is this honoring Christie?), it’s deadly serious too—emphasis on “deadly.”
It follows trailblazer Christie’s standard formula—indeed, the standard formula for most mysteries, even today. A murder is committed, but is it a suicide or a homicide? Local cops think it’s the former. Old man...
January 23, 2020
Lack of resolution…
The twists and turns in a mystery story often delight readers of that genre. I like to include surprises at the beginning as well as the end too. The one at the beginning of Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder is one of my favorite beginnings, while the shocker at the end is too, a denouement that Christie might have enjoyed if she were writing today. Because thrillers are close cousins to mysteries, the surprises abound in them too—the closet scene in Aristocrats and Assassins was a lot of...
January 22, 2020
Steve’s shorts: The Music Woman, Part Two…
[Although The Music Man musical features a male character who’s basically a shyster, have you ever wondered why Broadway never had a music woman? Maybe Funny Girl, Mame, and Hello Dolly come close—the latter two from Jerry Herman, who just passed on—but Detective Castilblanco knows a music woman…]
The Music Woman
Copyright 2020, Steven M. Moore
Frank Dobson was interested in the disappearance and possible death of Nick Bellini and just about everything else we’d talked over with Sulli.
“He’s...
January 21, 2020
Themes revisited…
Stephen King puts plot above themes in On Writing. As a reader and writer, I disagree. My themes drive my plots, and I look for that in my reading. In my little course “Writing Fiction” (free PDF download—see the web page “Free Stuff & Contests” at this website for a complete list, including free short fiction) and elsewhere, I mention themes v. plot. Themes should wind in and around the plot to make the latter more meaningful. A book without a plot rarely interests me when reading genre...
January 20, 2020
Martin Luther King Day…
Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy lives on and has become more important in these days of strife in the U.S. Let’s all work to achieve the fair society he envisioned where everyone has equal opportunity to rise to their potential and improve their skills in a society free of poverty, hatred, and bigotry. He had that dream; let’s make it reality!
January 16, 2020
“Last chance to buy…”
From cars and condo developments to kids’ toys, consumers are often told it’s their “last chance to buy.” It’s a bit of threatening marketing that appeals to those who want to own something no one else can have in the future, or whatever audiences the marketing mavens are targeting with such slogans.
It’s often BS. Think about it: If that marketing campaign is successful, why wouldn’t they continue to sell the product? Twenty years ago we saw a Blue Man performance in Boston that was supposed...
