Janice Law's Blog, page 17
December 13, 2012
The NY Times has a new book out and our son, Jamie Trecker, has...
The NY Times has a new book out and our son, Jamie Trecker, has the piece on visiting Leipsig!
Enjoy!
December 11, 2012
Compost pile, first sketch
Compost pile, first sketch
December 6, 2012
Intimations of Mortality
After a certain age, intimations of mortality come thick and fast. I don’t refer to that early warning sign, Modern Maturity, which arrives on the doorstep come one’s half century. Nor the ads for hearing aids, reading glasses, large print books, and mobility devices.These, after all, are just part of a targeted ad campaign.
No, I refer to those many upstanding institutions and worthy causes which have suddenly begun to take a keen interest in my life expectancy. Clearly totally unfamiliar with the finances of the typical author, groups as like the Ornithological Lab at Cornell, the Nature Conservancy, and even, unkindest cut, my alma mater, have begun angling for a place in my will. Little do they know!
It’s just modern fund raising, but under the euphemisms and the fancy talk, they are really asking me to leave them money and die soon. The old Medieval Memento Mori was no more direct than that.
December 5, 2012
This was looking frankly boring until I decided to make it a...
This was looking frankly boring until I decided to make it a snowing picture rather than just a snow picture
December 4, 2012
First sketch of snow in Bafflin
First sketch of snow in Bafflin
December 3, 2012
Literary Promotion, part 3
My Sleuthsayers colleague, David Dean, has just published a new book The Thirteenth Child, and in the spirit of self-promotion and mutual aid, we’ve both agreed to be part of a Next Big Thing blog chain. You can read his answers to questions about The Thirteenth Child at his blog from November 27: www.Sleuthsayers.org.
Here go my answers to the blog questions about my newest novel.
Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your book (or story)?
Fires of London
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Reading a biography of Francis Bacon, the 20th century English painter who became the protagonist
What genre does your book fall under?
mystery fiction
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Leonardo DiCaprio has the right sort of face for Bacon and Maggie Smith would be perfect for this dear nanny.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Painter serving as an air raid preparedness warden during the Battle of Britain becomes implicated in a series of murders.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
It is published by mysteriouspress.com and is available in ebook form from a number of sources and in paperback from Amazon
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Less than a year
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I really don’t know. The setting is certainly dark but there’s probably a bit more humor in the narrator than in the typical noir novel, as my protagonist really does have a sense of the absurdity of life.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Inspiration is mysterious. Bacon just started talking to my inner ear and I went with it.
What else might pique a reader’s interest?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Bacon was a gay, promiscuous, hard-drinking genius, who survived, despite a rackety life, into old age. He was a very hard worker, a mostly self taught artist, obsessed with paint. I think the setting in the Blitz and the artist’s relationship with his old Nan are also different and intriguing.
Next Up:
Leigh Neely, writer, editor, blogger at Criminal Element and Women of Mystery, and one half of the writing duo that comprises Neely Powell, has agreed to continue the chain. They have a new novel coming out this spring and you can catch up with her and Jan Powell at www.neelypowell.com and get the early scoop on Second Nature, out soon from L & L Dreamspell.
December 2, 2012
Several of my Sleuthsayers colleagues have new books out....
Several of my Sleuthsayers colleagues have new books out. Elizabeth Zelvin’s latest is an e-book novella, Death Will Save Your Life.
December 1, 2012
Messiah Dress Rehearsal
Tis the season for Handel’s Messiah and the venerable Handel & Haydn Society in Boston is the original name in this seasonal production, having performed selections from it as early as 1815.
We had a chance to sit in on their dress rehearsal this week. Although there were necessarily interruptions in the flow of the piece, as Harry Christophers stopped the orchestra or chorus or soloists for refinements in the performance, the overall effect was still impressive and hearing the soloists was a revelation. One really gets an idea of the power of trained operatic voices sitting down front in a nearly empty hall.
Beyond volume, the soloists, Karina Gauvin, soprano, Daniel Taylor, countertenor, James Gilchrist, tenor, and Sumner Thompson, baritone were all impressive, with Gauvina and Taylor being unusually expressive. The orchestra and chorus, as always, were first rate.
The H & H performance will be aired live Dec 2 on WGBH 99.5 Classical- available on the net.
November 30, 2012
November 29, 2012
Deer Fencing
Deer fencing is a way of life if you want to raise veggies or flowers or protect various conifers. Ours, ugly orange worksite security fencing, aka the Orange Stalag, is the only thing that is recognizable on Google Earth. It’s a real eyesore but it turns out to be an attractive subject to paint.
Who knew?
