Predictions for 2011

Literary Agent Richard Curtis has 10 predictions for the coming year.

His number 9:

Authors will go on virtual book tours and attend virtual publishing conferences without leaving home.

(Hate to be the one to break the news to him, but this has been happening for two years now, at least.)

Number 7:

We will begin to see e-book kiosks in bookstores and possibly in non-bookstores.

Number 4:

Educators, psychologists and parents will report learning and retention problems for children reading on screens.

Number 3:

The Big Six publishers will raise their current royalty rate over the standard 25% they currently offer.

He lists them all in GalleyCat. What’s your prediction(s)?

Young Adult Readers

If you’re a writer of Young Adult fiction, you want to know how to create buzz. If you’re a reader of YA, then you want to know what’s hot. In either case, you should know about a group of teen critiquers started by the Young Adult Library Services Association. The group in Bethesda are sent ARCs to read…and review. And they do so with honesty.

For example, one young girl read Fire Will Fail:

That one was so, so, so, so good," she said. "I read it three times.

Another girl read Invincible Summer and said:

Hard to read and even harder to finish.

She then rated it a 1 out of 5.

The girls not only review the book, but often the covers.

This group of readers have more power than just rating and reviewing books. Their opinions count when it comes to choosing the best teen books of the year.

If you want to read more about this group, head over to The Washington Post.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to one and all.

My guess is you’re all eating or loosening your belts after eating or watching football or laughing with relatives and loved ones. So, I probably should have wished you a Happy After Christmas since that’s most likely when you’ll drop by.

Today, I’ll be cooking, cleaning, eating, opening presents, taking pictures, watching my kids who are no longer kids, and wishing I could capture everything about the day and either remember it forever or put it on a hologram so I could call it up at will.

Here are two pictures from our Christmas.

This is our Christmas tree with presents unopened.

I no longer worry about pretty or fancy ornaments. Instead, I load the tree, as much as its limbs will hold, with ornaments made by the kids, ones that remind us of trips we took, or special ones sent or made by family.

This is the Santa and Reindeer I made years ago during my ceramic period.

Clearly Santa and all the reindeer, including Rudolph have arrived back after a long night of delivering presents.

In both, you probably noticed the strange crying bear in the Santa cap. That’s Billy Bear. He’s watched over every Christmas since I was a small child. It’s not Christmas until Billy Bear has his cap on. As to why he’s crying or why he has little fur left, that’s another story for another time.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone.

Word Play

A friend sent this to me so I thought I’d share.

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners:

• Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

• Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole..

• Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

• Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

• Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

• Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

• Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

• Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

• Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

• Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

• Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

• Decafalon (n.: The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

• Glibido : All talk and no action.

• Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

• Arachnoleptic Fit (n.: The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

• Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

• Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.


The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:
• Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

• Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

• Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

• Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

• Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

• Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

• Lymph, v.. To walk with a lisp.

• Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

• Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

• Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

• Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

• Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

• Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

• Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

• Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

• Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men

Book Videos

The Huffington Post has two articles on Book Videos. The first one was called “19 of the Best and Worst Book Videos.” The latest article is called “Book Videos: 7 More of The Good, Bad and Ugly.” I thought it was a bit funny that after the first videos ran, folks flooded the site with more low budget homemade videos. Also, both sets of videos available on Huffington Post start with the same author for his book, Buying Cigarettes for the Dog.

Some of them, like the one for Buying Cigarettes for the Dog are clearly amateur. Some seem quite polished and professional. Some you’re not sure whether the book being promoted is for children or adults.

You can watch each set of videos by clicking the links above. You’ll either laugh or cringe or smile. If you do go watch some of them, come back and tell me what you think.

If you'd like to see more book trailers, go over to L. Diane Wolfe's blog. She's hosting a Book Trailer contest.

Book Review: The Tale of Oat Cake Crag

If you’re a fan of Beatrix Potter or Susan Wittig Albert or historical fiction or books that make you want to curl up in a chair by the fireplace and read, check out The Tale of Oat Cake Crag.

Susan Wittig Albert has done more and written more than anyone I know. She started a now international group of writers, called Story Circle Network. I’m honored to say I’ve participated in two of the national conferences for SCN – once as a workshop leader and once as a one-on-one mentor. Susan writes non-fiction as well as fiction. In the fiction category, she writes the China Bayles mystery series, The Darling Dahlias series, and, with her husband, a Victorian-Edwardian mystery series. She also writes the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series. The Tale of Oat Cake Crag is the latest in that last series.

Here’s just a bit of the back cover blurb:

Miss Beatrix Potter has returned to Near Sawrey, seeking refuge from the bluster of London in the quiet of a mild March. But it is 1912, and elsewhere in England, Winston Churchill, the first Lord of the Admiralty, is said to be preparing for the unpleasant possibility of war. In the Lake District, the country peace has been interrupted by the numerous and noisy test flights of a new flying machine: the hydroplane.

Reading The Tale of Oat Cake Crag, you feel transported back to that time and place. If this is your first Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter book, you may be caught by surprise since the animals talk (to you and to each other), but you quickly lose your surprise because the animals have so much to say and have a different perspective on the people and the goings-on. An unseen narrator takes you on your journey, keeping you up on the ties between characters and animals and lets you in on the gossip or history when needed. Susan Wittig Albert takes great care to be true to the time period and historical happenings. She’s also true to Beatrix Potter.

If you’re new to the Land Between the Lakes, Susan gives you a Cast of Characters which you can read before you begin the story, as well as recipes and a Glossary in the back. I admit, though, I did not read the Cast of Characters nor the Glossary before beginning the book – and I never had a reason to search either since Susan does a great job of making things clear through the writing.

I remember reading Beatrix Potter as a kid, but I didn’t fall in love with her until I read The Tale of Oat Cake Crag. I’m now a fan of Susan Wittig Albert’s Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series. This is the seventh in the series. You can read the series out of order, though, since the Narrator makes sure you’re never lost.

The Tale of Oat Cake Crag
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Or you can go to Susan’s site to order an autographed copy

I give The Tale of Oat Cake Crag a Hel-of-a-Writer rating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: The author, Susan Wittig Albert, sent me an ARC of The Tale of Oat Cake Crag. That did not influence my review. I met Susan many years ago at the first book signing I had ever attended. There were multiple authors signing and I carried her book around the store for a long time before I worked up the nerve to ask her for her autograph. I won’t give away this ARC because she signed it, but I believe I’ll buy the first in the series and give it to a favorite aunt. I think she would love this series. And don’t be put off if you’ve never read a single Beatrix Potter book. You don’t need to in order to fall in love with the people and animals who live in the Land Between the Lakes.

Ads in Books

Putting ads in books is not a new concept. It’s been tried before. Now, however, it seems almost inevitable. According to the Wall Street Journal, marketers are now testing ads in e-books.

Marketers are exploring a variety of formats, including sponsorships that give readers free books. Videos, graphics or text with an advertiser's message that appear when a person first starts a book or along the border of the digital pages are also in the works. Ads can be targeted based on the book's content and the demographic and profile information of the reader.

Wowio Inc., a digital-book store, is already doing it. They’re selling ads in e-books downloaded from sites for reading on laptops or Apple’s iPad or Amazon’s Kindle. The ads you might see could be two or three pages of advertisement or some kind of freebie.

The movie site Fandango is … giving Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels," with three pages of Fandango promotions, to people who buy tickets on the site to the Jack Black movie "Gulliver's Travels," which opens on Christmas.

Advertisers believe that consumers will accept the ads if it means they get the book for free. Wowio charges advertisers between $1 to $3 for each book downloaded. Does any of this money trickle down to the writer? That’s up to the publisher.

Will you, the author, have a say-so over whether and what kinds of ads go in your book? Probably not, but Stuart Applebaum, a spokesman for Random House, said:

"It's a nonstarter here without their assent, regardless of format," he says. "However, if our authors were ever to be agreeable to it, it might have some traction."

This definitely affects authors. So right now, at the beginning of this idea/trend, what do you think about it?

Innovative or Just Wacky?

Author Jonathan Safran Foer believes books have to be either “great or terrible. They require a leap of faith.” He’s created what he considers such a book, Tree of Codes. New York Magazine says, “It’s physically hard to read.” How do you make a book hard to read?

 Imagine a book—in this case the 1934 novel The Street of Crocodiles, a surrealistic set of linked stories by the Polish Holocaust victim Bruno Schulz—whose pages have been cut out to form a latticework of words. The result is a new, much shorter story and a paper sculpture, a remarkable piece of inert, unclickable technology: the anti-Kindle. Reading it is a little like going through an FBI document full of blacked-out passages, except that the excised portions are now holes through which you get glimpses of subsequent text. The format slows your eye down (though it helps if you slightly lift the page you’re on), but the book is so brief that it can still be read in half an hour.

Creating the book was so expensive, the publisher, just to break even, had to price the paperback at $40.

I say it’s a novelty, but won’t get my $40. What do you say?

Book Review: Twisted Reason

 Twisted Reason is the fourth in Diane Fanning’s series starring Lucinda Pierce. Lucinda, a homicide detective, is dedicated to her job and to the people who need her help. She’s also used to the looks she often gets when people see her scarred face. Kirkus Reviews called Lucinda Pierce a “complex heroine” and I would agree. Because she has so many facets to her life, Lucinda comes across as three-dimensional and as the kind of detective you’d want on your side.

Here’s the cover blurb describing the case that Lucinda Pierce is working in Twisted Reason:

 When a missing elderly man shows up dead on his son’s front porch, homicide detective Lucinda Pierce isn’t certain if she’s investigating a murder or one of the strangest natural deaths she’s ever encountered. Then, the search for a missing five-year-old girl leads to the discovery of the bodies of two more senior citizens. The investigation brings Lucinda into contact with the adult children of missing persons with dementia. This then resurrects the trauma of the death of her own parents causing Lucinda to question her motivation for continuing to search for answers when there are no definitive indications of homicide. A failed abduction attempt leads Lucinda to a man who did all the wrong things for al the right reasons and to a strange little Wonderland build with little money and lots of imagination.

Twisted Reason starts with a report of a missing elderly person – someone with dementia. This doesn’t set off loud bells since those with Alzheimer’s often wander. Lucinda, however, soon uncovers more missing elderly, some recent reports, some old. She’s disturbed by this and begins putting the pieces together, trying to see how all of the cases could possibly be related and trying to determine what could be simply cases of lapses of memory or wandering and what could be something more sinister. As bodies are found, she realizes that the lives of the remaining missing elderly may very well depend on her finding them before it’s too late.

Diane Fanning is an accomplished writer. Her books flow and she covers all the bases and doesn’t leave threads hanging. In addition to her Lucinda Pierce mystery series, she writes the Molly Mullet mysteries, and is the author of bestselling true-crime books. She’s also an Edgar Award Finalist.

This is not the first Lucinda Pierce mystery I’ve read, and it won’t be the last. I like reading strong female leads who are multi-dimensional. I also like that as strong as Lucinda is, she still cares and can empathize with the families who need her help. Lucinda has flaws beyond her mangled face, but they are flaws like you and I have and we can, thus, identify with her.

Twisted Reason is available from Barnes and Noble and from Amazon.

I give Diane Fanning’s Twisted Reason a Hel-of-a-Writer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: The author sent me this book, but that did not influence my review. One thing that did influence my reading is that Diane wrote on a topic that is not often used in fiction – Alzheimer’s. She delved into how the disease affects families and those suffering from it. In addition, she presents multiple sides. Most families are devastated when a father or mother go missing, but not all. Some Alzheimer’s patients are so lost in the tangles of the disease that they accept what has happened to them. Some remember and struggle to go home. Alzheimer’s is a heartbreaking disease and I’m glad Diane addressed it. I’m also glad that she did it in a mystery, a fiction book that is not preachy or sad. While there are parts of it that inform, those parts are subtle. I wrote about it here because Alzheimer’s runs in my family. Other reviewers, I’m sure, will focus on what a good read Twisted Reason is and what an interesting lead Lucinda is.

Guest Post: Enid Wilson

My obsession for Mr. Darcy

I am obsessed with Mr. Darcy. Guilty as charged!

 According to the Longman dictionary, obsession is defined as a fixed idea from which the mind cannot be freed. From the Internet, there are some alarming definitions. From the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, an obsession is an unwelcome, uncontrollable, and persistent idea, thought, image, or emotion that a person cannot help thinking even though it creates significant distress or anxiety.

When Helen agreed to host my latest book tour, she wanted to know how I came up with so many what if Pride and Prejudice stories. I can assure you that Jane Austen’s beloved characters do not cause me any distress. Far from it. In fact, I’ve found a new world of fellow writers and fans who share my love of JA’s works.

I’ve written what-if stories in many different genres. For example,
Sci-Fi:
• Mars vs. Earth – A Martian Mr. Darcy who found love with an earthling Elizabeth Bennet
• Every Savage Can Reproduce – Pride and Prejudice set in 3919 under the oppressive rule of Queen Immortal Catherine de Bourgh

Fantasy:
• Sketching His Character – With the help of a crystal, Elizabeth could see into the future
• Leather Kilt and Red Coat – A cross-over of Pride and Prejudice and Mulan

Modern:
• Under Duress – Mr. Darcy is an industrial designer, inventing naughty products for women
• Chemical Reaction – Mr. Darcy as a nutty professor

I post my stories in serialized format on my website and readers’ comments often help me develop the stories further.

 For example, my new book Fire and Cross: Pride and Prejudice with a mysterious twist was originally a short story of 3000 words. But after I posted it online, with the lovely feedbacks from readers, I developed the plot further. After six long months and many comments, Fire and Cross became my first mystery novel of about 70,000 words.

I declare that my obsession for Mr. Darcy only comes in small dose, and usually fed by readers from around the world! I hope you will share my fascination. To encourage you down this path of enjoyment, I’m giving out a pdf version of Fire and Cross and a lovely key ring with Aboriginal design to a lucky reader here.

Please comment below, head over to http://www.enidwilson.com and register for news. Be warned, the book contains explicit adult content so the competition is for people over 18 years of age.

About Fire and Cross
The combination of a lethal blaze and a garnet cross have ensured that ever since he was a boy, Fitzwilliam Darcy’s future is promised to an unknown lady. With danger looming from a suspected spy, and with murder close at hand, will Mr. Darcy cross paths with Elizabeth Bennet and win her affections?

Mr. Darcy’s journey to overcome his pride and find eternal love in Pride and Prejudice takes on a mysterious twist. This sexy what-if story, told from Darcy’s viewpoint, explores the demands of family members and other involved parties.

Fire and Cross takes this perennial favorite in another direction, bursting with overpowering emotion and surprising plot twists. Warning: The book contains explicit adult content.

Fire and Cross Details:
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Steamy D Publishing (December 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0980610575
ISBN-13: 978-0980610574
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
Available on Amazon

Thank you, Enid!

Leave a question or comment for Enid. She’ll be stopping by over the day. If you like, tell us about your own obsession.

After you say hi to Enid, zip over to The Blood-Red Pencil where I’m talking about establishing mood in your story.

Fire and Cross

Ever had an obsession? Maybe chocolate is something you can’t refuse or you have a growing collection of acorn people. Or perhaps, like the author Enid Wilson, you are obsessed with Mr. Darcy.

 You may remember that Enid came to visit us a little over a year ago. Her topic? Yeah, it was Mr. Darcy, specifically, The Hunt of Steamy Darcy. When I heard that she had written another escapade with Mr. Darcy in the lead, I asked her if she’d tell us about her obsession with the man and maybe a bit about her latest book, Fire and Cross.

Enid Wilson hails from Australia, but is known world-wide for her cross-genre stories and books involving Mr. Darcy and Ms. Bennett. On her website, she serializes stories and lets her readers help her with plots and twists – sort of interactive writing.

So come back tomorrow to learn about her obsession with Mr. Darcy – and to find out how to throw your name in the hat for a gift AND a pdf of Fire and Cross!

Book Review: Don’t Fall Asleep

Don’t Fall Asleep by Laura Eno is part of the Dream Assassin series starring Cassandra Dade.
<< In the 27th century, a psychic aberration has manifested in humanity, gifting a select few with the ability to weave dreams for others. They apply their addictive trade, calling themselves Dream Merchants.

Rarer still are those who can assassinate people while they dream…>>

In Don’t Fall Asleep, Cassandra has recently arrived on Altair IV. She is one of the dream assassins and she works and lives by her own code of ethics. She’s also rich, beautiful and running from her past. She decides to seek out a partner, one she can train and trust. In her line of work, she’ll need someone who has her back and will “stand between her and mental destruction.”

Altair IV is not a pretty planet. The common people live in horrible conditions in the underworld and buy dreams like drugs. The rich live above ground in their lofty bubbles and tourists visit the domes in-between.

Cassandra chooses Nathan, but he, like her, has secrets. She teaches him to assassinate without being detected. He teaches her to let loose and smile. The question is will either of them survive when they go after one of the most corrupt men on Altair IV.

There’s a lot of action in this book, as well as quiet moments of introspection. Neither Cassandra nor Nathan is portrayed as a super hero incapable of being hurt. Both have their demons to conquer, but they realize they have a better chance of surviving if they stick together.

I give Don’t Fall Asleep by Laura Eno a rating of Hel-of-a-Writer. This is the first book in the Dream Assassin series, but it’s not the first book I’ve read by Laura Eno. Once again, she has not disappointed.

Don’t Fall Asleep
ISBN 145385519X
EAN-13 9781453855195
Amazon
Kindle
Nook

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the author, but that did not influence my review. The author did not ask for a review, although she did, in her autograph, say, “Please enjoy!” I took that as encouragement, not a demand. And, no, I did not read this during jury duty. That would be a no-no and would get me kicked off. If I got caught. Which I didn’t. Besides, have you seen the cases they try in Federal Court? I bet the government has its own squad of dream assassins who come after people who hide books in their laps or listen to books on tape with a teeny ear plug. Not that I did that. I didn’t. Shoot. Now I’ve scared myself and won’t be able to sleep tonight.

Your Character’s Emotions

 Mike Nettleton, co-author of The Big Grabowski and its sequel Sometimes A Great Commotion and several other books, is here to talk about himself, his characters, and how the two don’t always overlap.

Welcome Mike Nettleton!

Character Emotions

Writing about your character’s emotions can be tricky. It also mirrors life. Your feelings and reactions in a situation are often much different than you thought they’d be. The same goes for those characters you thought you had all figured out beforehand.

If you’ve ever begun writing a scene, confident you knew how characters would react or what would be going through their minds at a moment of high emotion, only to have them shift gears and head in another direction, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

But our own lives are like that, aren’t they?

Let me give you an example.

After forty-two years of on-the-air work in radio, I’ve decided to retire at age sixty-two. There are a number of reasons for this, including disenchantment with the current corporate consolidation of the broadcasting business. The controlled anarchy I used to love, the adrenaline of flying by the seat of your pants, the parade of quirky or sometimes outright bizarre co-workers and hangers-on, have been replaced by an assembly-line mentality. Money-hungry number crunchers driven by their need to manipulate the stock price of their mega-corporation have put their mouths to the siphon hose and sucked all of the fun out of my occupation.

I decided mid-summer that I would give notice on or near my 62nd birthday. As it drew nearer, the anticipation built. My wife and I began counting down the days, hours and minutes until I performed my last radio show on December 31st. We fantasized about the corporation downsizing again just before I gave notice, eliminating my position, and thanking me with 9 months severance pay. The perfect ending in our eyes.

Finally, the Friday before my birthday arrived, I drove to work, a carefully-worded letter of resignation beside me on the seat, a small knot tightening in the pit of my stomach.

I’d rehearsed the moment in my mind a thousand times. I’d hand the letter to Brad, my boss (for whom I have immense respect), tell him I was retiring at the end of the year, and listen as he tried to wheedle me into staying. But I’d refuse and, as I left his office, I’d jump in the air, click my heels together, and do the happy dance. Unbridled joy would flood through me and I’d feel a sense of well being unlike anything else in my life.

What actually happened was this. After accepting my letter and hearing my end-of-year
I’m outa here declaration, Brad simply nodded, shook my hand, and said, “Congratulations.” And that was it. When I walked out, there was no jubilant jig, no ear-to-ear grin and certainly no feeling of triumph. In fact, to my amazement, I felt a rising sense of melancholy. The elation I thought I’d feel about the upcoming years of freedom and promise transformed into sadness over my lost youth and even a creeping fear that without radio, I might find myself rudderless, without purpose.

After a time, back at my desk working on preparation for my weekend radio show, the mini-gloom passed and I was able to revel a little in the moment. After all, I had plans; I wasn’t going to sit idle. My resignation marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life, not simply the end of an era. Any sense of regret I may have felt seeped away.

And I saw how over-thinking or over-planning the reactions of my characters could inhibit their real emotions and reactions.

Now my advice is: Don’t be afraid to allow the characters you’ve brought to life on the page surprise you with their reactions and feelings. For reasons unknown to you, they may announce a dislike of a particular food or suspicions about a character you thought they’d like. You may find your fearless hard-charging hero quivering in the corner at the appearance of a spider. You may discover he or she is not as scrupulously honest as you once believed.

As far as I’m concerned, the more unpredictably your characters act and feel in the myriad of situations you throw them into, the more three-dimensional they become. Just because they live between the covers of a book shouldn’t mean they have any easier time getting in touch with their true emotions than we mere mortals do.

Thank you, Mike.

If you’d like to find out more about Mike Nettleton and his books, please visit his website, Deadly Duo Mysteries.

 Sometimes a Great Commotion
ISBN# 978-0982144367
Kindle Version

 The Big Grabowski

ISBN-13: 9780982144336

ISBN: 0982144334

Available at Barnes and Noble

I know characters have surprised me with their reactions to situations. How about you? Has a character ever done the opposite of what you expected? Do you let them do what they seem to want to do, or do you try to rope them in? Any questions for Mike about character development?

Your Characters Are Not You

If all my characters acted and reacted like me, they would be pretty danged boring. Luckily, author Mike Nettleton does not write himself in every character and his characters are far from predictable.

 Mike Nettleton co-authors books with his wife Carolyn J. Rose (who stopped by Straight From Hel last month). Together, they’ve written The Big Grabowski and its sequel Sometimes A Great Commotion and several other books. Mike grew up in Bandon and Grants Pass, Oregon. A stint at a college station in Ashland led to a multi-state radio odyssey with on-air gigs in Oregon, California, and New Mexico under the air name Mike Phillips. In 1989 he returned to the Northwest and in 1994 joined KEX Radio in Portland. His hobbies are golf, pool, Texas hold-em poker, and book collecting. Now, instead of hearing Mike’s voice on the radio, you can read it in his books.

But Mike knows the difference between the author’s voice and his character’s voice. Tomorrow, he’ll be here to talk about that difference.

Feel free to say “hi” to Mike and come back tomorrow with questions.

Also, today I’m over on Glynis Jolly’s blog explaining some of my editing “rules” for bloggers. If you have time, zip over and tell me one of your rules.