Josh’s Comments (group member since Jun 17, 2010)

Josh’s comments from the Q&A with Josh Lanyon group.

Mymymble wrote: "It is freaking me out a little bit that there are still only 4 reviews, two days in to publication - mine, Karen's, someone praising the box set (which didn't include 6) and, top review, someone sa..."

Aww. Thank you, MyMymble. I hope people do enjoy it and say so.

Alison wrote: "Another Amazon-alternative audio book site is Libro.fm. You actually buy the book through your local independent bookstore. As a bonus, they do have a large LGBTQ section.

Look here: https://libr..."

I wonder if that's one of the partners of Findaway? I'll have to check them out.

Marge wrote: "Josh wrote: "MURDER TAKES THE HIGH ROAD in audio now on sale at CHIRP for $3.99 http://bit.ly/2Nj7yNQ"

Josh, thank you for highlighting this audiobook site. I've hated the idea of signing up for a..."

I'm so glad!

So I'm three chapters in--which is hardly any where at all, I know--and really enjoying it so far.

What I'm enjoying:

The leisurely pace and attention to detail

The careful effort to construct a believable, three-dimensional world peopled by three-dimensional characters. Again, I'm not far enough into the book to be invested in the main characters yet, but they interest me. I paid especial attention to Shaw, given that some of you found him problematical, but I'm not at a point where whatever the challenges are would be in play.

I do appreciate that it's already clear where he and North will have conflicts--and those conflicts feel organic, growing out of those three dimensional characters.

Mastery of the English language. And boy do I sound like a snob with that one, but... It is SO refreshing to see someone striving for style and voice when the majority of writers are doing their best to adopt a homogenized, generic...narration (I don't think you can really call that kind of narrative, "voice" because it's so stripped down and neutral.)

(Side note: that featureless, toneless, homogenized voice is actually pushed in writing courses now because it allows for speed, seamless co-writing, and accessibility by readers with reduced vocabulary and attention span. And I wish I was kidding about this, but I'm not.)

A traditional approach to storytelling and mystery.

Also, I envy the speed at which Ashe is able to produce!

1 - Williams and Sonoma cocoa

2 - Paris in March (GULP!!!) I'm nervous and exhilarated.

3 - Snow globes

4 - Finding a diamond stud that had fallen off while playing with Spenser. The back is lost, but I can live with that!

5 - The new batch of Hallmark Mysteries

Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "5 - Jo Malone fragrances"

One of my favorite places to kill time in airports is a Jo Malone store. :-) My quarry so far: Vanilla & Anis, Nutmeg & Ginger and Lime Basil & Mandarin."

I discovered her through a sample of Basil and Neroli (still a favorite) which then led me to Wood Sage and Sea Salt which led me to Honeysuckle and Davana... and I've never looked back (or smelled better) ;-D

I'm three chapters into Orientation by Gregory Ashe and really enjoying it. I'll save the rest of my comments for the actual book discussion thread.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Antonella wrote: "So last night I finished re-reading the paperback version of Mainly by Moonlight, because I had finally gotten by post I Buried a Witch. It was 3 o'clock and it was ..."

LOL Well, that's flattering. :-D

MURDER TAKES THE HIGH ROAD in audio now on sale at CHIRP for $3.99 http://bit.ly/2Nj7yNQ

Karen wrote: "I sampled the Orientation audiobook, liked it, and bought it. I've been listening the past two days and it really works for me with this narrator. Charlie David's voicing is making ..."

Yes, I appreciate it all the more in these days of info dump writing,

1 - How many people words our dogs know. :-D

2 - Browsing Ebay and Etsy for cool things to give and to get

3 - Moisturizer (especially when it's so cold and so dry)

4 - Finding workarounds instead of giving into frustration or anger

5 - Progress--in any direction

Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "2 - Spenser and Marlowe chasing and wrestling with each other all through the house (they sound like they're trying to murder each other, but no blood has been shed so far)."

Dogs pla..."

It's true. :-D

Jordan wrote: "Damon Suede resigns as president:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/bo..."

What a depressing mess.

Demi wrote: "My name is Demi I love to read. I live in MN with my husband, 2 daughters (though 1 is very far away in college now) and 2 dogs. I was an elementary school teacher until the girls arrived. I never ..."

Hi Demi! Welcome to our little hole in the wall gang. ;-) Reading, traveling and taking photographs sounds like a perfect way to spend a few years!

1 - Hunting down obscure old movies and TV shows on YouTube

2 - Spenser and Marlowe chasing and wrestling with each other all through the house (they sound like they're trying to murder each other, but no blood has been shed so far).

3 - Daily Harvest smoothies

4 - Slowly, slowwwwly catching up after nearly a month of flu and floundering. This week I've been trying to get the books I'd put in Kindle Unlimited reformatted and relisted wide.

5 - Jo Malone fragrances

Antonella wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Here are the five habits I’m working on in 2020:

1. Making sure I start my morning and night routine/habit stack on time so I can get to work and bed earlier.
...
5. No sugar. With ..."

Yes. This is the problem for me as well. No sooner do I devise a nice set of New Rules then I begin rebelling against them.

Jordan wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Here are the five habits I’m working on in 2020:

1. Making sure I start my morning and night routine/habit stack on time so I can get to work and bed earlier.
...
..."

I admire this choice!

Maybe bittersweet chocolate might work for you? It's full of antioxidants and not a lot of sugar.

Antonella wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Let's figure out the details—date and time and place—closer to the occasion."

IMO we are closer to the occasion ;-).

Le Salon du Livre is taking place in Paris around the 20th-23r..."

Yes, it is for sure that I'll be in Paris with LB Gregg--we'll be at the salon on the Friday and Saturday for sure.

We're still figuring out all the details, but it looks like we'll be in Paris on the 17th-23rd. It's not confirmed, but that's the original plan.

From Blind Side:

A Santa in a red and yellow Hawaiian shirt and shades was Aloho-ho-hoing everyone passing through Kahului Airport on Maui.

It turned out Christmas in Hawaii was not an original idea, and the small airport was packed with holiday-makers in shorts and Santa hats. Even so, it was only a short wait for their rental car and then they were on the road to Kihei and the Pineapple Inn.

They’d had a couple of drinks on the not-quite-six-hour flight and the lush scenery—luminous and sparkling from recent rain—was genuinely breath-taking, so their collective mood was cheerier than when they’d boarded at LAX that morning. Taylor, face partially hidden behind his aviators, looked…maybe not relaxed, but less rigid than he had in a week. The damp breeze through the Jeep windows whipped some color into his face, and Will began to feel a little more confident about insisting they needed to get away.

The inn turned out to be cozy, quaint, and very small— a total of four guest rooms and a little cottage—which was not a problem for two guys pretty sick of humanity at the moment. It was about a twenty-minute walk to the ocean, but that was also okay. They were surrounded by a sprawling tropical garden complete with fountains, pool and hot tub, and, most important—given Taylor’s precarious mood—the whole set up was relatively affordable.
Taylor nodded in approval at their room, unexpectedly soothing with lots of verdant light streaming through all the windows, dark-wood furnishings, and classic Hawaiian leaf-patterned linens. A private lanai faced seaward, offering a really stunning view of palm tree-framed ocean.

They unpacked with their typical quick efficiency—maybe less talkative than usual, but then there was no job to discuss. Or rather, the job was to get their relationship back on track. In a funny way, Will was reminded of that camping trip from hell in the High Sierras. The trip that had changed everything between them.

Or rather, the trip that was supposed to fix everything that had changed between them.

That was the hope here—and Taylor must share it too because he had agreed to this impromptu vacation, just as he had agreed to camping in the mountains. At least this time they were somewhere warm and comfortable and to his liking.

At least Will hoped it was to his liking.

“What do you think?” he asked, as Taylor sat down on the foot of the bed, pulled off his sunglasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Taylor glanced up. “Nice. Very nice.”

“What would you like to do first? Grab something to eat? Check out the beach?”

Taylor made a face. “Honestly? More than anything I’d like to sleep.”

They had not been sleeping much. There had been a lot of lying still and controlling breathing so as not to disturb the other. Funny you could know someone so well you could tell between their real sleep and their fake sleep.

Today my list is Five Things I Want to Do in 2020:

1 - Take more long and leisurely baths (I should hasten to add that I do shower daily--I believe in hygiene!--but baths always seemed so...frivolous).

2 - Use more candlelight and lanterns in the evening.

3 - Read more poetry, listen to more poetry. Read more fiction. Listen to more fiction.

4 - Drink more tea. Try different types of tea.

5 - Learn how to nap.