Reb MacRath's Blog, page 36
March 11, 2013
REVIEWS REPOSTED
I wanted to bring this post up again in case you may have missed it. Here are blurbs and quotes from reviews that bridge the gap from my earlier novels as Kelley Wilde to my new work as Reb MacRath:
PRAISE FOR REB MACRATH
One of the greatest Christmas stories ever written—but one that may never be published. --Agent Henry Morrison on April Yule (formerly titled White Knights)
Reb MacRath writes with wit and pace. His prose can spin in unexpected directions, or with the precision of an expert pool player can send one—smack!—right into the corner pocket. Pay attention, because in one short sentence he can dazzle, baffle, and shock you. And in a book, well, just enjoy the ride! --Brad Strickland on April Yule
His writing style is unique and...he writes with such depth and emotion I can't help but wonder what he'll bring to the writing world in the future. --Kirkus MacGowan on Nobility
Nobility ranks right up there with Oh Brother Where Art Thou, a rendition of Homer's Odyssey also set in the south. The word craft is delicate and beautiful.. --Leila Smith on Nobility
Dazzling, visceral, heart-wrenching...A 152-page masterpiece. --John Logan on The Vanishing Magic of Snow
…AND FOR REB WRITING AS KELLEY WILDEWilde handles his ideas with wit and energy. A skilled writer has produced an engaging novel. --Publishers Weekly on The Suiting
Highly readable, with both laughs and chills. --Library Journal on The Suiting
Strongly original. One of a kind. --Kirkus Reviews on The Suiting
A tasty bit of modern horror with just the right touch of madness. A writer to watch. --The Buffalo News on The Suiting
Wilde has a flair for horrific showmanship and an instinct for the jugular that rivals the best writers of the genre. --John Farris on Makoto
Wilde’s style fits the story perfectly—it’s as sharp and polished as a samurai sword, and just as dangerous. --Rick Hautala on Makoto
One of Wilde’s particular talents is getting inside his characters’ heads. Whether it’s a dream, a cocaine high, or a slooow torture scene, his expert streams of consciousness and incredible sound effects put you right there. --Fangoria on Makoto
Untamed, unpredictable prose—that’s the trademark of Kelley Wilde. He writes like a bucking bronc, and each time out of the chute the Wilde man keeps improving. He’s got the moves! --Rex Miller on Mastery
The most unforgettable train ride since Agatha Christie booked the Orient Express. --Tyson Blue on Mastery
An exotic, mysterious puzzle that's impossible to put down--and impossible to forget.
--Ray Garton on Angel Kiss
PRAISE FOR REB MACRATH
One of the greatest Christmas stories ever written—but one that may never be published. --Agent Henry Morrison on April Yule (formerly titled White Knights)
Reb MacRath writes with wit and pace. His prose can spin in unexpected directions, or with the precision of an expert pool player can send one—smack!—right into the corner pocket. Pay attention, because in one short sentence he can dazzle, baffle, and shock you. And in a book, well, just enjoy the ride! --Brad Strickland on April Yule
His writing style is unique and...he writes with such depth and emotion I can't help but wonder what he'll bring to the writing world in the future. --Kirkus MacGowan on Nobility
Nobility ranks right up there with Oh Brother Where Art Thou, a rendition of Homer's Odyssey also set in the south. The word craft is delicate and beautiful.. --Leila Smith on Nobility
Dazzling, visceral, heart-wrenching...A 152-page masterpiece. --John Logan on The Vanishing Magic of Snow
…AND FOR REB WRITING AS KELLEY WILDEWilde handles his ideas with wit and energy. A skilled writer has produced an engaging novel. --Publishers Weekly on The Suiting
Highly readable, with both laughs and chills. --Library Journal on The Suiting
Strongly original. One of a kind. --Kirkus Reviews on The Suiting
A tasty bit of modern horror with just the right touch of madness. A writer to watch. --The Buffalo News on The Suiting
Wilde has a flair for horrific showmanship and an instinct for the jugular that rivals the best writers of the genre. --John Farris on Makoto
Wilde’s style fits the story perfectly—it’s as sharp and polished as a samurai sword, and just as dangerous. --Rick Hautala on Makoto
One of Wilde’s particular talents is getting inside his characters’ heads. Whether it’s a dream, a cocaine high, or a slooow torture scene, his expert streams of consciousness and incredible sound effects put you right there. --Fangoria on Makoto
Untamed, unpredictable prose—that’s the trademark of Kelley Wilde. He writes like a bucking bronc, and each time out of the chute the Wilde man keeps improving. He’s got the moves! --Rex Miller on Mastery
The most unforgettable train ride since Agatha Christie booked the Orient Express. --Tyson Blue on Mastery
An exotic, mysterious puzzle that's impossible to put down--and impossible to forget.
--Ray Garton on Angel Kiss
Published on March 11, 2013 13:11
THREE-ALARM ALERT!
Tomorrow, on Authors Electric @ http://authorselectric.blogspot.com be sure to check out "Oxford Rogue": the shocking true story of how one quick-tempered, Fu-loving, potty-mouthed Yank studied the Classics at Oxford...and learned to talk real pretty.
Published on March 11, 2013 06:40
March 10, 2013
A Not So Little Nothing Sunday
This has not been a Happening Sunday in any traditional sense.. No romantic adventures or literary breakthroughs or even spats with family or friends. But the fact that I'm writing about this at all is a small sort of personal breakthrough.
Listen: For many years my head was stuffed with the most useless nonsense: all great writers had to be two-fisted drunks, world-travelers and treacherous spouses. They owed it to Posterity and to their biographers to be bigger than life, 24x7, while they wrote the masterpieces that their lives eclipsed. Etc. I had my adventures, some great ones. But the more we all learn about writing, the more wonderfully we grow aware that all that stuff is poppycock--more often than not, poor excuses to avoid the real adventure...the real test of soul and courage: sitting again by one's lonesome with a fresh day's naked pages defying us to fill them. There are Alps to be scaled here and deserts to cross, hair turns that take the breath away.
Even so, some days in the lives of professional writers are quieter than others. And this Little Nothing Sunday pleasantly surprised me by turning out to seem not so little after all. I began work at 6 a.m. at one of my two Starbucks 'offices'. For the first two hours, I worked on social media and proofing my next digital release, APRIL YULE. By 9, I'd crossed town to my second 'office', where: I finished my March post for Authors Electric, the collective UK blog...continued proofing AY...typed up more first draft pages of my fall thriller...and ended up with another, shorter social media session. On the way home I stopped at a new wi-fi McDonald's for a coffee while I typed this post for Southern Scotch.
It's been a good day because it encompassed so much of the business of writing. Few of us have secretaries or even virtual assistants. Many of us do our own proofing as well as our own editing. Add in the writing--and some reading too--and you begin to see the need for redefining a 'good day'. The temperature's mild. It's still mid-afternoon. And, no, I did not chase bulls in Pamplona or cheat with the wife of a friend or start a brawl while dead drunk in a bar...Even so, I'm grateful for this quietly Happening Sunday.
Listen: For many years my head was stuffed with the most useless nonsense: all great writers had to be two-fisted drunks, world-travelers and treacherous spouses. They owed it to Posterity and to their biographers to be bigger than life, 24x7, while they wrote the masterpieces that their lives eclipsed. Etc. I had my adventures, some great ones. But the more we all learn about writing, the more wonderfully we grow aware that all that stuff is poppycock--more often than not, poor excuses to avoid the real adventure...the real test of soul and courage: sitting again by one's lonesome with a fresh day's naked pages defying us to fill them. There are Alps to be scaled here and deserts to cross, hair turns that take the breath away.
Even so, some days in the lives of professional writers are quieter than others. And this Little Nothing Sunday pleasantly surprised me by turning out to seem not so little after all. I began work at 6 a.m. at one of my two Starbucks 'offices'. For the first two hours, I worked on social media and proofing my next digital release, APRIL YULE. By 9, I'd crossed town to my second 'office', where: I finished my March post for Authors Electric, the collective UK blog...continued proofing AY...typed up more first draft pages of my fall thriller...and ended up with another, shorter social media session. On the way home I stopped at a new wi-fi McDonald's for a coffee while I typed this post for Southern Scotch.
It's been a good day because it encompassed so much of the business of writing. Few of us have secretaries or even virtual assistants. Many of us do our own proofing as well as our own editing. Add in the writing--and some reading too--and you begin to see the need for redefining a 'good day'. The temperature's mild. It's still mid-afternoon. And, no, I did not chase bulls in Pamplona or cheat with the wife of a friend or start a brawl while dead drunk in a bar...Even so, I'm grateful for this quietly Happening Sunday.
Published on March 10, 2013 12:36
March 6, 2013
Give My Tootsie Role a Hug
Note: the following true tale of how I passed myself off as a woman in order to break into print first appeared on Authors Electric, the great collective book, February 12, 2013. http://authorselectric.blogspot.com
I had a date with a model last night. I can’t talk about her, but I can tell you this: the road to hell is truly paved with the best dimensions. Then again, years ago, I found the road to heaven’s gate in a cross-country move.
Act 1 Time: the middle-Eighties, when we still sent letters. I set out from San Francisco, where a strayed loin is the quickest way to get from Pant A to Pant B. Destination: New York City, the heart of the publishing action. I arrived with fire in the belly—and more in need of a fresh start than any hundred writers. Why? In the previous decade I’d sent out thousands of queries. Though I now had something wild and fresh, a query recognized as mine would call to mind yesterday’s cabbage. I had a chance in Gotham to change the way agents perceived me. And I hadn’t come unarmed: I’d arrived at a clear understanding that the query process was weighted in favor of agents. With hundreds of queries a week to tear through, they were looking for grounds to reject—not to read. And grounds for rejection included far more than grammatical howlers. NYC agents might guess my probable income from my Queens address. My age, job and education could be turned against me too. So the playing field had to be leveled. First moves: I rented a mid-town mail drop and bribed the manager to allow me to call my box number a Suite. I kept my life out of my queries, declining any specifics. Education? “A good school.” Age? “Young, but not absurdly.” Employment? ‘I live comfortably on an inheritance.’ And…My nomme de guerre? Kelly Wilde.
Act 2 One year later. Same old bleep. But how could this be happening? I’d found my voice; my query rocked; I even had a Good Address. One night I recalled having read that about 80% of agents and editors were female. What if I…Well, did I dare… I tried adding one more e to my pen name: Kelley Wilde. Talk about Yeah, Baby moments! But I’d have to alter my handwriting, too, to keep my gender under wraps when I signed my letters. And, like good ole Dustin in Tootsie, I began to think continuously of little touches and trademark phrases that belonged to Kelley-Welley.
Act 3 One day I received the letter that all writers dream of: The opening pages just blew me away…I’ve got to read your manuscript…I heard cash register ringing when I saw your name! Was Kelley-Welley happy? Oooo, I could have danced all night—and did when X, the Pennsylvania-based agent, agreed to represent me. She loved my book, The Suiting, and wanted to know allllll about me. She asked me to call her, collect, any time. Well, here the comedy began: though X had never asked me, I knew that she thought I was female. Obviously, I couldn’t call her. But I didn’t want to offend her, and so…Kelley-Welley was given Big Backstory Blues: a childhood tragedy had resulted in both shyness and a fear of phones. One day when we met, though, we’d be like old friends and hug away like maniacs. This went on, absurdly. A sort of race against the clock with hopes that X could land a sale before the jig was up. One night Kelley-Welley possessed me while I was composing a letter to X. To my horror, I found myself typing: “Oh, X, it isn’t fair! Why did I have to be both smoking hot and shy?” I tried to shred the letter. Failed. I tried to burn it. Failed again. The next morning I barely succeeded in passing the mailbox in order to trash my lunatic sex kitten outburst. I was getting far too deeply into character, I knew. And naughty Kelley-Welley seemed to be stronger than I.But before I slipped again an offer was made on The Suiting—the first novel from a total cipher who claimed to be frightened of phones.
Act 4 The time had come to meet with X. And I decided that sooner was better. So we arranged our date by post, fifteen years before I’d buy my first computer. Then Kelley-Welley suited up, spruced his hair, shined his shoes, and bused to Pennsylvania. I recognized X at a glance by the hurt and confusion I saw in her eyes. We enjoyed a pleasant lunch and went over the plans for my next book, since Tor wanted a two-book contract. At the end of lunch, I asked her: Would she have represented me if she’d known that I wasn’t a woman? Before you pass judgment, consider her words: “Honestly, I don’t know. The book was so dark and unsettling…If I’d known you were a man…” X didn’t have to finish that. If I’d played by the rules, I’d have gone to my grave without ever selling a book.
Act 5 The changes that followed were subtle and spaced over the course of a year. X led me through the process, protecting and advising me, and for that I will always be grateful. But after the first book was published, she began to grow more distant. And one day my editor complained that X seldom came to the city and too often did not return calls. I needed a good New York agent, she said. I had my pick of several—and, wouldn’t you know it, I picked the wrong one. But we all have our screw-ups and pipers to pay. And once upon a time I played a cool, slick game of ball when the odds against me were 10,000 to 1. Let the trumpets sound in honor now of your own dazzling footwork on a playing field tilted to favor The House.
Coda Enough talk about publishing. Kelley-Welley is long gone. May I close on a note that is pure Reb MacRath? Change your opinions less often than your undies. But let the same two rules apply: Keep them fresh. And let your manner inspire the warmest of wishes for a more intimate look underneath.
Published on March 06, 2013 09:06
March 1, 2013
March Update
Have nearly finished proofing my spring release, entitled APRIL YULE. But what that means to me is that I need to go through it once more, line by line and word by word. I want my name to stand for beautifully edited, beautifully proofed and beautifully written work.
I've decided to switch formatters, at least on a trial basis. We'll see how this goes. But if it works, the lower price will free me to do some advertising. Achieving visibility is still the big issue--with about 340,000 ebooks published in 2011. The new price will also empower me to get out 2-3 more books this year.
If the formatting goes well, I'll announce the release date within the next 2 weeks.
Fingers crossed. Stay posted!
Reb
I've decided to switch formatters, at least on a trial basis. We'll see how this goes. But if it works, the lower price will free me to do some advertising. Achieving visibility is still the big issue--with about 340,000 ebooks published in 2011. The new price will also empower me to get out 2-3 more books this year.
If the formatting goes well, I'll announce the release date within the next 2 weeks.
Fingers crossed. Stay posted!
Reb
Published on March 01, 2013 18:05
February 25, 2013
Perception, perception, perception: Part 2
Getting ebook reviews is difficult, even for an award-winning author who's been around the block. But, finally, it struck me that I had buried assets: the blurbs and reviews I'd received for four Kelley Wilde novels. Some of my colleagues are far richer in the volume of online reviews they've received. I can't compete with them, not on that score. But I might, just might, make some good use of the praise I'd received for those traditionally published novels. I might admit, more cheerfully: No, I don't have 100 reviews for any of my ebooks...yet. But I do have some glowing blurbs from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, etc.
So here is what I'm posting at the start of my new spring release:
PRAISE FOR REB MACRATH
One of the greatest Christmas stories ever written—but one that may never be published. --Agent Henry Morrison on April Yule (formerly titled White Knights)
Reb MacRath writes with wit and pace. His prose can spin in unexpected directions, or with the precision of an expert pool player can send one—smack!—right into the corner pocket. Pay attention, because in one short sentence he can dazzle, baffle, and shock you. And in a book, well, just enjoy the ride! --Brad Strickland on April Yule
His writing style is unique and...he writes with such depth and emotion I can't help but wonder what he'll bring to the writing world in the future. --Kirkus MacGowan on Nobility
Nobility ranks right up there with Oh Brother Where Art Thou, a rendition of Homer's Odyssey also set in the south. The word craft is delicate and beautiful.. --Leila Smith on Nobility
Dazzling, visceral, heart-wrenching... --John Logan on The Vanishing Magic of Snow
…AND FOR REB WRITING AS KELLEY WILDEWilde handles his ideas with wit and energy. A skilled writer has produced an engaging novel. --Publishers Weekly on The Suiting
Highly readable, with both laughs and chills. --Library Journal on The Suiting
Strongly original. One of a kind. --Kirkus Reviews on The Suiting
A tasty bit of modern horror with just the right touch of madness. A writer to watch. --The Buffalo News on The Suiting
Wilde has a flair for horrific showmanship and an instinct for the jugular that rivals the best writers of the genre. --John Farris on Makoto
Wilde’s style fits the story perfectly—it’s as sharp and polished as a samurai sword, and just as dangerous. --Rick Hautala on Makoto
One of Wilde’s particular talents is getting inside his characters’ heads. Whether it’s a dream, a cocaine high, or a slooow torture scene, his expert streams of consciousness and incredible sound effects put you right there. --Fangoria on Makoto
Untamed, unpredictable prose—that’s the trademark of Kelley Wilde. He writes like a bucking bronc, and each time out of the chute the Wilde man keeps improving. He’s got the moves! --Rex Miller on Mastery
The most unforgettable train ride since Agatha Christie booked the Orient Express. --Tyson Blue on Mastery
So here is what I'm posting at the start of my new spring release:
PRAISE FOR REB MACRATH
One of the greatest Christmas stories ever written—but one that may never be published. --Agent Henry Morrison on April Yule (formerly titled White Knights)
Reb MacRath writes with wit and pace. His prose can spin in unexpected directions, or with the precision of an expert pool player can send one—smack!—right into the corner pocket. Pay attention, because in one short sentence he can dazzle, baffle, and shock you. And in a book, well, just enjoy the ride! --Brad Strickland on April Yule
His writing style is unique and...he writes with such depth and emotion I can't help but wonder what he'll bring to the writing world in the future. --Kirkus MacGowan on Nobility
Nobility ranks right up there with Oh Brother Where Art Thou, a rendition of Homer's Odyssey also set in the south. The word craft is delicate and beautiful.. --Leila Smith on Nobility
Dazzling, visceral, heart-wrenching... --John Logan on The Vanishing Magic of Snow
…AND FOR REB WRITING AS KELLEY WILDEWilde handles his ideas with wit and energy. A skilled writer has produced an engaging novel. --Publishers Weekly on The Suiting
Highly readable, with both laughs and chills. --Library Journal on The Suiting
Strongly original. One of a kind. --Kirkus Reviews on The Suiting
A tasty bit of modern horror with just the right touch of madness. A writer to watch. --The Buffalo News on The Suiting
Wilde has a flair for horrific showmanship and an instinct for the jugular that rivals the best writers of the genre. --John Farris on Makoto
Wilde’s style fits the story perfectly—it’s as sharp and polished as a samurai sword, and just as dangerous. --Rick Hautala on Makoto
One of Wilde’s particular talents is getting inside his characters’ heads. Whether it’s a dream, a cocaine high, or a slooow torture scene, his expert streams of consciousness and incredible sound effects put you right there. --Fangoria on Makoto
Untamed, unpredictable prose—that’s the trademark of Kelley Wilde. He writes like a bucking bronc, and each time out of the chute the Wilde man keeps improving. He’s got the moves! --Rex Miller on Mastery
The most unforgettable train ride since Agatha Christie booked the Orient Express. --Tyson Blue on Mastery
Published on February 25, 2013 03:26
February 24, 2013
The Jim Dallas Dossier
For readers who are new to Ken McKea and the Jim Dallas mysteries, this spoiler-free primer is based on the first three entries in the series.
The real Ken McKea : Ken McKea is the pen name of Brad Strickland, a well-known and respected pro who’s pretty much done it all in the course of his 70-odd novels: from Sci-Fi to Horror to Young Adult to NonFiction…Now, finally, he’s writing the sort of fiction he love best to read. Series inspiration : Originally, Brad had intended a series partnership with his friend Tom Fuller. Both writers loved John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series: the complex hero, the beautifully drawn Florida settings, the impeccable balance between character development, mystery, action and theme. They envisioned an honest homage that would also remain an original spin. With the passing of Tom Fuller, Brad rewrote their first effort to bring it into line with his own growing vision. The title game : Titling series entries is one of the great challenges. Lawrence Sanders took the Commandments and Deadly Sins. John D. Macdonald, of course, took colors. Sue Grafton grabbed the alphabet. Janet Evanovich snagged all the numbers. What was Ken McKea to do? His solution reveals a truly clever mind at play: The first book is called Atlanta Bones; the second, Cuban Dagger; the third Eden Feint...Ken tips his hat to Grafton—but in doubling up on the letters, he signals his plan for a thirteen-part series…and promises far greater speed. The series engine : Jim Dallas, an Atlanta cop, nearly died roughly six years before Atlanta Bones in a house fire that claimed his wife’s life. Cop corruption was involved—and two cops arrested, then jailed after making a sweet deal with the prosecutors.Now retired—and working as a sometime problem-solver—Jim has burn scar tissue over thirty percent of his body and he counts the days till the cops are released—and he can have his revenge. Cool partners: As the great McGee had his Meyer, Jim Dallas has a memorable friend in Sam Lyons. Here are the basics about them: Jim: Age: 35 Height: 6’2” Weight: About 200 lbs. Hair color: Brown, bleaches to sandy-brown Eyes: Light brown Defining qualities: Badly scarred by fire on torso. Missing fingernails on right hand. He looks better than he thinks he does and, despite his scars, he is attractive to women. Former profession: cop Residence: On Cady’s Island, south of Jacksonville, in a 5-room brick cottage that had once been a lighthouse-keeper’s home. He gets to the mainland by ferry or skiff. Finances: Approximate annual income from pension/insurance, forty thousand range. Plus what he might average on his cases, when he takes payment. Clothes: Prefers knit shirts and khakis. Well-worn dark brown Merrell sandals. Can dress up when required: sharp gray suit, conservative tie. Wheels: Drives a 1986 Chevy pickup truck, beat-up and jury-rigged in places. As long as it runs, Jim’s satisfied. But the truck’s not much longer for this world, at least in the life of the series.
Sam: Age: 48 or thereabouts. Height: 6’4” Weight: About 240 lbs. Hair color: black. Eyes: Very dark—approaching black. Race: A dazzling combination of Seminole/Welsh/Irish/German/Italian. Defining qualities: A voracious reader. Eloquent speaker and fantastic listener, able to get anyone to confide in him and cozy up. A pacifist who discovers, in Cuban Dagger, that he too has a line that must not be crossed. Former profession: Insurance investigator Residence: Beach cottage that once belonged to an 1890s railroad magnate. It’s cluttered, because he’s interested in everything and tries everything once or more, from archery to painting to photography. Finances: Golden parachute when he retired very young (at about 46). He is comfortably well-off. Clothes: Stunning assortment of loud Hawaiian shirts. Has kept one dress shirt, tie and suit from his insurance days—for weddings and funerals, he says. Wheels: Sam drives a deep blue Lincoln town car, the 1997 Signature edition. There’s a story behind it—he actually bought it about five years ago from the proverbial little old lady who’d put less than a thousand miles on the odometer—but that’s for a later book. Sam lavishes care on the Lincoln, and he’s much more conscientious about both cosmetic and mechanical upkeep than Jim is with his truck.
Stand-alones with continuity : Any of the first three books can be read as a stand-alone novel. McKea is a meticulous writer who knows how to take care of his readers: wherever you start in the series, you’ll be given just enough to know the gist of what’s preceded. Wherever you start, you will never feel lost.
The progression so far: Atlanta Bones begins roughly six years after the brutal murder of Jim’s wife, Susan. He still suffers traumatic flashbacks and still suffers from shame over his scars. But not a day passes that isn’t checked off methodically on his calendar: reminding him of when the crooked cops who killed her will be released. Both copped out, and he also keeps track on their parole hearings…he has plans. But with each book Jim Dallas grows stronger and more admirable. In Eden Feint he has a moving breakthrough—when a young woman he happens to like doesn’t notice his burned hand.
And coming soon… What can readers expect in the next 2-3 books?
Glades Heist: Jim travels to South Florida to tell a woman, politely, that he can’t help her locate her missing husband. Then before he can even begin, he’s attacked by parties unknown, badly smashed around, and before he knows it he’s on the trail of both the woman’s husband and the woman herself, who has vanished. A theft more than a decade old, never solved, enters the picture…and it’s a matter of money as well as of survival.
Islamorada Jam: Dallas has been warned not to get in any trouble down in the Keys, but inevitably, well, things happen. When a drug bust goes spectacularly wrong for the police, Dallas and Lyons are asked by their cop friend Joe Palacios to do some unofficial investigating. They’re hanging way out there—and the drug runners are unforgiving.
Kingston Loot: Pirate treasure or a big-time scam? That’s the nugget around which this adventure will form.
Published on February 24, 2013 14:23
February 20, 2013
COMING: THE JIM DALLAS DOSSIER
Mystery readers, rejoice! To prepare you for the arrival of the fourth entry in Ken McKea's hot Jim Dallas series, you'll find a painless primer on this site next Monday.
The primer is breezy and easy to read. And it's guaranteed to cure any anxieties that you may feel about starting in on a series that's well under way. You can read the books in order--or, with the help of this primer, in any order you like.
Two thumbs up from Reb MacRath: Ken McKea is 14K!
The primer is breezy and easy to read. And it's guaranteed to cure any anxieties that you may feel about starting in on a series that's well under way. You can read the books in order--or, with the help of this primer, in any order you like.
Two thumbs up from Reb MacRath: Ken McKea is 14K!
Published on February 20, 2013 12:16
February 18, 2013
High Praise from Brad Strickland
The prolific Brad Strickland, author of 3 Jim Dallas thrillers (so far) and about 65 other books, has weighed in with a wonderful quote. I plan to use this for my spring release, but post it here in advance:
Reb MacRath writes with wit and pace. His prose can spin in unexpected directions, or with the precision of an expert pool player can send one—smack!—right into the corner pocket. Pay attention, because in one short sentence he can dazzle, baffle, and shock you. And in a book, well, just enjoy the ride!
Mondays don't get too much than this, thanks to Dr. Strickland.
Reb MacRath writes with wit and pace. His prose can spin in unexpected directions, or with the precision of an expert pool player can send one—smack!—right into the corner pocket. Pay attention, because in one short sentence he can dazzle, baffle, and shock you. And in a book, well, just enjoy the ride!
Mondays don't get too much than this, thanks to Dr. Strickland.
Published on February 18, 2013 17:01
February 15, 2013
When We're Drafting, Lots Goes On
I've known only a couple of writers who claimed that their first drafts were their last. Supposedly, the words came as notes once did to Mozart's brain: each one perfect as it was. Or, if you will: the entire book or concert was already completed...and simply transcribed. Well, hats off to Wolfgang. But those writers were delusional if they really did believe their novels couldn't have used lots more work. A low form of genius may be a play when a writer is able to get it all down in sellable form, in one swoop. But none of those writers who boasted to me of their first draft ability produced a single novel that stood the test of time.
And why be surprised about that? Consider how much is at play even we're working from a detailed outline:
1) Our brains are processing matters of plot, structure, pacing, character, grammar, word choice, style.
2) Our brains are also timing the release of vital info, especially in mysteries: clues that can't be delayed for too long but mustn't be revealed too quickly.
3) A daily tug of war goes between the left and right sides of our brains: the right side wants control, of course, but the left side wants us to throw in everything including the kitchen sink--so we can see what works out. If we have no control, we'll end up with a 1000 page novel we need to edit down to 300-400 pages. If we have too much control, we'll end up with a novel that has no real soul.
4) In the exhausting marathon of writing a long novel, we need to maintain our energy and keep our juices flowing. The psychology of composition becomes as important as the creative act.
Some will turn out first drafts that are cleaner and more polished. But none of should feel discouraged. Worlds are in collision, within us, when we get those first words down.
And why be surprised about that? Consider how much is at play even we're working from a detailed outline:
1) Our brains are processing matters of plot, structure, pacing, character, grammar, word choice, style.
2) Our brains are also timing the release of vital info, especially in mysteries: clues that can't be delayed for too long but mustn't be revealed too quickly.
3) A daily tug of war goes between the left and right sides of our brains: the right side wants control, of course, but the left side wants us to throw in everything including the kitchen sink--so we can see what works out. If we have no control, we'll end up with a 1000 page novel we need to edit down to 300-400 pages. If we have too much control, we'll end up with a novel that has no real soul.
4) In the exhausting marathon of writing a long novel, we need to maintain our energy and keep our juices flowing. The psychology of composition becomes as important as the creative act.
Some will turn out first drafts that are cleaner and more polished. But none of should feel discouraged. Worlds are in collision, within us, when we get those first words down.
Published on February 15, 2013 17:32