Clearing the decks before NaNoWriMo

View from Lookout Mountain, CO. Photo by Gale O’Connell

Monday, November 1, marks the start of National Novel Writing Month (affectionately referred to as NaNoWriMo). During this period, writers all over the world focus on putting 50,000 words on paper or in their computers. By not worrying about quality or pausing to find the perfect word, writers can bust through creative blocks and get momentum going.

The web site http://www.nanowrimo.org gives this description: “Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly. . . . As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.”

One of the friends I made at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ conference encouraged me to join, and we are designated writing buddies for it. I’m really looking forward to the experience. In the meantime, I’ve been busy cleaning up as many tasks I can after a summer of procrastinating. I’ve almost finished my latest polishing of my novel, The Pine Tap Bar & Bait Shoppe, and will put my agent search on hold until after November 30 (the end of NaNoWriMo).

Recently read: John Dunning’s the Sign of the Book

Yet another one of Dunning’s erudite masterpieces featuring Cliff Janeway and plenty of books. Janeway and his lover, attorney Erin D’Angelo, head west from Denver to the tiny backcountry town of Paradise, Colorado. D’Angelo’s old friend, with whom she hasn’t talked since college, is in jail, accused of murdering her husband—who was once D’Angelo’s fiancé. The dead man was a collector with quite a library, and Erin convinces Janeway to suss the situation out as well as to get a sense of the worth of the books. A hometown lawyer provides invaluable assistance, a vicious deputy turns into a loose cannon, a weird preacher and his two redneck assistants seem to be connected to the victim, and the old friend confesses, but no one believes her because wouldn’t a mother confess to save her emotional disturbed son? Hard to put this one down.

KK Brees’ latest venture

Karen Brees and I met years ago at the San Francisco Writers Conference. At that time, she was primarily writing nonfiction. Her books include a variety of topics ranging from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Preserving Food to The Everything Guide to Depression. I recently got an update from her and she’s now branched out into historical fiction set in the WWII years—one of my favorite eras. In Headwind, Professor Katrin Niessen becomes an OSS agent to stop the Nazis before they reach Norway. Check out her web site for more information on Brees and her books at http://www.karenkbrees.com/fiction.htm

Recently read: Margaret Maron’s Winter’s Child

I first discovered Maron years ago when she was writing her Sigrid Harald books. This one is part of her series featuring Deborah Knott, set in North Carolina. Knott, now married to Sheriff’s Deputy Dwight Bryant, finds herself in some troubled circumstances as Bryant tries to cope with his son, his ex-wife who has disappeared leaving their son alone. As they try to find out what happened, family dynamics become increasingly complex. A pleasant read.

The wild whirl of life in the mountains

Couldn’t resist posting this photo of Carl on our patio! The photo was taken by Gale O'Connell.

Recently read: William Lashner’s Bitter Truth

Philadelphia lawyer Victor Carl has a new client. For once, the client, Caroline Shaw, is not a member of the criminal classes. Quite the opposite—Shaw is Main Line Philadelphia with a pristine pedigree. And instead of hiring Carl to prove someone is innocent of a crime, Shaw wants him to prove that her sister did not commit suicide. Carl follows the clues all the way to Belize, discovering along the way that a Main Line family and an organized crime family seem to share some members.

Miami Book Fair International

Image from http://www.miamibookfair.com/

One of the bigger book fairs in the country is this 26th annual fair from November 14 through November 21, which calls itself an eight-day literary party. It includes a Street Fair, a Festival of Authors, Comix Galaxy, and Children’s Alley, speakers who range from Margaret Atwood and Barbara Kingsolver to Al Gore and Ralph Nader, 250 publishers and booksellers, not to mention lots of BOOKS. For more information, see http://www.miamibookfair.com/