Jim Nelson's Blog, page 12

“Use three senses to make a scene come alive”

Gustave Flaubert

One bit of writing lore I’ve heard many times, and always attributed to Gustave Flaubert:

“Use three senses to make a scene come alive.”

I’ve written before on my skepticism of writing lore. It often follows a pattern: Some nugget of keen insight for writers to follow closely, attributed to a big-name writer to burnish the saying with a little authority. Certainly this pattern is being followed with the “three senses” quote.

In this case, though, my skepticism is f...

All three Bridge Daughter books in a Kindle box set edition

All the books of the Bridge Daughter Cycle are now available in a Kindle box set. That means for a single reduced price you’ll get:

Bridge DaughterHagar’s Motherand Stranger Son

The Bridge Daughter Cycle: Books One to Three is over 770 pages, perfect binge reading for these quarantined times. It’s also available for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, meaning all three books are available to read for free.

Enjoy!

Published 1 August 2020.

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? – The greatest Hollywood novel of all time?

the greatest Hollywood novel of all time. Horace McCoy’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is marginally a Hollywood novel, in that almost every central character came to Los Angeles to enter the film industry. All are unsuccessful at it—or, more accurately, they’re still waiting for success to saunter their way. Desperate and in the throes of the Great Depression, they turn to dance marathons as ...

IN MY MEMORY LOCKED now available

My latest is now available in Kindle and paperback!

IN MY MEMORY LOCKED is a modern detective story set in near-future San Francisco. The Internet has been decommissioned and replaced with the Nexternet, a worldwide network allowing people to transmit thoughts, emotions, and memories like text messages. The Old Internet has been stored on Alcatraz Island unchanging and in stasis, preserved as an artifact of history.

The detective—computer security consultant C.F. Naroy—is hired to lo...

IN MY MEMORY LOCKED, a new cyber-noir thriller

This June 15th, take a journey to a future where emotions are sent like text messages and others’ memories are streamed like movies. IN MY MEMORY LOCKED is my latest, a futuristic detective novel set in San Francisco, 2038.

C.F. Naroy is a computer security consultant hired to stop hackers from destroying the only remaining preserved copy of the Old Internet—”Old” because the Internet has been replaced by the Nexternet, a technology that allows anyone anywhere to transmit instantly love,...

What Makes Sammy Run? – The greatest Hollywood novel of all time?

Previously: The Day of the Locust

Budd Schulbergs What Makes Sammy Run? may not be as fatalistic or absurd as The Day of the Locust, but its ten times as incendiary in its depiction of the movie industryor, perhaps, of the types of personalities it attracts.

The book is an all-American rags-to-riches Hollywood novel, with its Horatio Alger character climbing the Tinseltown ladder one backstab at a time. Like Yossarian and Holden Caulfield, the titular Sammy Glicks name became synonymous with...

Bikes to Books Spring 2020 virtual tour

Bikes to Books is a literary bike tour of San Franciscograb a bike, follow the map, and learn a little about San Franciscos rich literary history. The tour starts at Jack London Alley and ends at Jack Kerouac Alley, on the way passing all twelve streets named after San Francisco writers. Its designed to be taken individually or, twice a year in a group led by @enkohl and @burrito_justice.

This spring, for reasons youve probably heard about, the bike ride will be done virtually on Twitter...

The Day of the Locust – The greatest Hollywood novel of all time?

Previously: Introduction

When I ask other writers to name the greatest Hollywood novel of all time, the more well-informed usually reply The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West.

Wests novel is a singular American novel. It dices and juliennes the Hollywood of the Great Depression without a moment of hesitation or an ounce of sentimentality. With disgust (and a little glee) West holds up for display Hollywoods winners as well as the legions of desperate outsiders shut out of Hollywoods dream...

What’s the greatest Hollywood novel of all time?

Photo by Thomas Wolf (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Lets lay down the ground rules. A Hollywood novel is

a book-length single work of fiction,regards the American film or TV industry, andis set in or around Los Angeles, California.

The Hollywood novel should not be confused with the Los Angeles novel, which may be set in similar locations but is not primarily concerned with the film industry.

This rule eliminates from contention great novels often mistaken for Hollywood novels but not actually about the...

STRANGER SON on sale now

On sale nowSTRANGER SON, the third book in the Bridge Daughter Cycle!

STRANGER SON picks up sixteen years after the events of Hagars Mother. Ruby Driscoll is now a Hagar living on the streets and halfway homes of Southern California. When she was thirteen, her mother was sent to prison while her younger brother was put up for adoption. Now twenty-nine and facing her biological mortality, she wants to right a wrong.

Desperate to locate her brother and reunite her family, Ruby begins an...