Remember when I said last month that Hershey’s weather was like Glasgow with grass?
God must be a Scotsman, because he turned the oven on, and we’re baking here.
The tl;dr version of this newsletter: Nothing new coming out to report.
APPEARANCES
We had a great time in May at Art on Chocolate. We sold 11 books and a couple totebags, despite a thunderstorm coming up early in the afternoon. The show was larger than last year’s inaugural edition, so if you live in the Hershey area, try to come out next year (we’ll be there as well).
My next appearance will be Aug. 13 at Murder As You Like It, sponsored by Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop. It’ll be a one-day affair with attendees capped at 50, and I’ll be giving the lunchtime address on Sherlock and Mark Twain. More on this later!
COMING UP UPDATE
Ride of My Life
I’m revising the middle section of the second draft in this space shuttle comic novel and aiming to finish by the end of the month. Part of yesterday was spent looking at footage of shuttle landings, including one from inside the flight deck. It looks very boring, sitting there staring out of the window, unless you realize they’re thousands of feet up, falling at Mach 1, and coming to a landing that has to be stuck once (no flybys). It takes a pilot with an amazing amount of self-control to be able to take on that huge responsibility of getting the ship down safely.
In the meantime, I’ve also been looking at the plot structure, identifying holes and figuring out how to patch them. You would think two passes would have pulled them, but this is a complicated book, with much of it happening off-stage, and I want to coordinate these plot threads so they weave a compelling narrative (and this metaphor is why we’re advice to “kill your poodles”).
Suburban Stockade
I’ve edited the first chapter of the book and turned it over to Teresa for comment. Once I get her feedback, I’ll move through the rest of the book with the intention of getting it out late this year.
Career Indie Author
Still chugging along. I putting up a new post every Monday
on the website and we’re still on track for publishing this in December.
I8Media
What has Bill been watching and reading lately? Let me tell you.
“Agnes and the Hitman,” by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
Yes, it’s an old book, and while I’ve liked Crusie’s work before, this one deserves a five-star review. This was one of three books she wrote with thriller writer Mayer, so the plot is a combo of heartfelt family and romance and steel-eyed rough-edged violence by dangerous men.
Set on the South Carolina coast near Savannah, “Agnes” is about a cookbook author in a serious bind. In seven days, she has to host a wedding on her newly acquired estate as part of her contract with the previous owner. If she fails, she loses the house and the money she’s put into it. Someone is trying to keep her from succeeding. Features attempted dognappings and assassinations, cast-iron pan fights, lots of lust and some hot sex, New Jersey mobsters, shadowy government agencies, sharp funny lines in unexpected places, bizarre situations, and the most fun I’ve had reading a book in ages. Thinking of Crusie is a romance writer is like calling Stephen King a horror writer; you’re in the ballpark, but not on base.
“Pushing Daisies”
I vaguely knew this show existed back in 2007/2008, but it wasn’t until I saw this Buzzfeed post showing a series of screenshots from the show that I realized I had missed a gem. It’s a contemporary fairy tale about a pie-maker who can resurrect the dead, his formerly dead girlfriend, the waitress and former jockey (Kristin Chenoweth) who loves him, a police detective who hires the pie-maker to help solve murders, and two retired synchronized swimming sisters, and other assorted off-kilter characters. There’s romance, shocking deaths, fast-paced and funny lines, great guest stars (Paul Reubens, Fred Willard, Christine Adams, David Arquette, Molly Shannon, Shelley Berman, Missi Pyle, Richard Benjamin, Wendie Malick and more), and frankly all I need to say is look at the Buzzfeed post and if that doesn’t catch your interest, feel free to carry on.
“The Educational Beatdown”
A blogpost from the Active Response Training website describing a slice of human behavior among a segment of the population that could be described (depending on your POV) as poor, blue-collar, or the underclass. It describes an encounter, filmed by a TV crew working on a different story, where a guy disrespecting the homeowner being interviewed is taught a lesson in manners.
Finally, did you know Wikipedia has a list of Selfie-related injuries and deaths? Just another way technological advances enable those with poor impulse control to achieve their personal Darwin Award.