National Chocolate Cupcake Day
National Chocolate Cupcake Day
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I can totally get behind this day!
When stressed and the scene isn’t coming together!
Chocolate Cupcake for the win!!
For more information on this holiday – Check out National Day
Book Review: Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It’s been a long time since I last read Jeffrey Archer, and where better to start again than at the beginning of his works.
This book is total fun! Seriously.
Simple, straightforward, ever so slightly pretentious without being snobbish. And there’s a twist in the tale that’s just brilliant (the second twist was a little bit too much though to be honest).
Clear language, flowing and precise. The characters are equal parts adorable and annoying, without being tedious.
A good romping read that doesn’t tax the mind too much.
Highly recommended!
Work in Progress: Logistics
Logistics: the planning, implementation, and coordination of the details of a business or other operation – from dictionary.com
Or for a writer:
- all set props: furniture, doors, and other scenery stays in the same spot through out the scene
- if a character wears a blue waistcoat make sure it doesn’t turn black at some point in time
- how many bullets have been fired?
- wounds do not move around the body!
- storyboarding works – as long as you keep to them
- do not miss place your character
- taking a week to figure out exactly how to kill the damn bad guy!
Book Review: St. Peter’s Bones by Thomas Craughwell
St. Peter’s Bones: How the Relics of the First Pope Were Lost and Found . . . and Then Lost and Found Again by Thomas J. Craughwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Excellent book filled with history in terms that are easy to understand and simple to follow. I learned a lot from this that I hadn’t known before, and was very pleased to see mention of the awesome St. Vibiana, who’s personal history and story are so slim anyway. This was great, and put the timeline of the archaeology below St. Peter’s Basilica, into fuller perspective. Recommended reading!
National Coffee Day
HAPPY NATIONAL COFFEE DAY!!!
I’ll be at my nearest Starbucks sitting happily with my Cordusio (new favorite) and my notebooks. I’m on the 3rd act of the next book. It’s exciting and terrifying but oh so amazing!
Where will you be?
Research Trip: Grand Park LA
Grand Park LA is one of the location settings in my next book. It runs from the Music Center to the iconic Los Angeles Courthouse. It’s a beautiful green space, that has a nice Starbucks tucked away, fountains kids can play in, and plenty of benches.
For more information: Grand Park LA
Work in Progress: The Empty Pen
While writing, I have a tendency to write old school!
Yes, that means the first draft is hand written into notebooks, and then it’s typed up in Scrivener (the best program ever … no seriously it’s the only program I’ll use, but that’s a whole different post!)
So when I get down to an empty pen, it feels like progress!
Book Review: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca
Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve read a few reviews saying this book felt like a let down.
Personally, I loved the book! I enjoyed reading about Grace Humiston, and her crusade to help those who were downtrodden by society. Grace was a strong willed woman, who took on the system, got her Law Degree and faced off with corrupt officials and police departments. And she did it all in a time where women didn’t even have the right to vote.
I will admit that the narrative was too jumpy, and it took some time to figure out the actual timeline of the story and where we were at in her life. The writer had a simple way of writing, that made it easy to read yet felt as if it was about two steps below you.
It’s a bit slow to start with, but as you work your way through the narrative, you start to see Grace’s amazing story.
What is fascinating about this book, is the realization of how much hasn’t changed – how police departments everywhere still look at ‘Missing Persons’, how Immigrants are looked at, how women are viewed by higher officials. Grace could step out of 1910’s in to 2010’s and wonder what if anything had changed.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Women’s History. I would warn it can be choppy and at times disjointed, but worth reading all the way to the end.
