Doing It Write! and Jack Reacher

A couple of things to mention today: office spaces and Jack Reacher.

First, office spaces. Or more exactly, your office spaces. In last week’s issue of my e-newsletter, Doing It Write!, I wrote about the office I’m creating for myself in one of the downstairs bedrooms. In response, subscribers sent in descriptions of their own writing spaces. This week and next week, I’m putting in two of the more unique ones. Both of them reminded me of Hemingway’s office in Key West. All three are ones I’d like to explore. At the very least – take a picture! If you want to hear about these fabulous writing spaces, you can sign up to receive Doing It Write! (for free) by going to my site and clicking on the words Sign Up or sending me an email with your email address with “subscribe” in the subject line.

Now to Jack Reacher, the protagonist of Lee Child’s mystery-suspense series. I’ve been reading the series, although not exactly in order. I bought a couple of the newer books and liked them so much, I backtracked to start the series from the beginning. I’m almost to the end of Tripwire, which is the third in the series. This book is quite different from the others I’ve read – primarily because Reacher is not the action hero as in the others. I’m getting close to the end, page 354, and he’s done very little except go from here to there doing leg work and contemplating his life and falling in love. It’s the antagonist, Hobie, who has all the action.

Not necessarily a bad thing. We want to know about Reacher’s more personal life; it is a series where the character should develop and grow. But half-way through the book, I was wanting him to DO something. Fight off an attacker. Kill a bad guy. Definitely save the brave woman being held hostage. Get out of that first-class airline seat and DO something. Surely there will be some action in the final 63 pages. Hopefully.