Review of Seventeenth Summer

Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly is widely acknowledged to be the first YA, young adult, novel. It was published in 1942 and Daly very likely did write it at age seventeen.

I found Daly’s book to be a great time capsule of certain aspects of the Midwestern lifestyle that my mother would have experienced. My mother’s family lived closer to the earth than the families depicted in the novel. My grandfather had six kids to feed on a laborer’s salary.

What rang true were Daly’s descriptions of gardens, trees, birds, and even the insects. She made the water in the lake and rain that fell on the roof come alive in such vivid reality that I had to marvel at the skill for such a young author.

Elm trees have been gone for so long that I’d forgotten about their lacy foliage. Likewise, walking across the grass and stirring up clouds of powdery-winged moths. I had to go outdoors in the early morning darkness to see if insects still swarmed around the street lights—they didn’t. It made me feel that my little section of suburbia was something of a desert for life forms other than humans.

However, I can’t say I liked how Daly treated her teens. They were so bound up with artificially formal rules of how to fit into that society there was no room for the different or adventurous young woman. They would be punished by being ostracized and shunned. The guys didn’t fair much better. They were two-dimensional and hardly real as they were slotted into their assigned roles.

This book was published after the attack on Pearl Harbor and I couldn’t help feeling the dread of knowing all this wide-eyed innocence would soon come to an end in the worse possible way.

Yes, Seventeenth Summer was a window on an ideal, too perfect past. But it’s not a bad thing to be reminded of where we might have been … once. It can show us how much we’ve lost.

Writing Book Reviews

I’ve been trying for last couple of years to write a review of each book I’ve finished reading. Usually posting them on Goodreads first, Amazon second.

My first reviews were very brief, but that didn’t bother me because best-selling authors don’t need that much from me. However, local authors are a different story; they should be given extra attention and effort.

Take the time to write a review. The size doesn’t matter; it’s a small bonus with potentially big dividends for local authors.

My point: Give your local authors a boost by reviewing their work.

Here is my review for an author and lecturer at the upcoming David R. Collins Writers’ Conference in Davenport, Iowa.

Edisto Jinx by C. Hope Clark is our return visit to the chaotic world of Callie Jean Morgan, a former Boston police detective who has relocated to the palmetto lined streets of the South Carolina paradise. Callie’s life has been in deep disarray since the death of her husband two years earlier. She and her teenaged son, Jeb, are seeking refuge in the peaceful resort community that holds comforting ties to her past. But serenity is hard to come by when panic attacks plague her attempts to blend into the close-knit community of year-round residents.

Callie is haunted by more ghosts from her past life than her psychic next door neighbor, Sophie. Callie’s cop instincts seem to fail her as she spirals down into crippling self-doubt. The lifeline for Callie finally comes in the form of an auxiliary police badge and the return of her trusty Glock sidearm. They give her the weight and authority to pursue an investigation into a strange string of beach deaths that no one else wants to acknowledge as suspicious, related, and menacing. Everything falls into place as Callie hits her stride and shows the locals how real policing is done. The vacation community learns to trust her as she tames the panic attacks and begins to trust herself again.

Edisto Jinx is a satisfying addition to this mystery series.

Posted on Amazon March 28, 2016.

http://www.amazon.com/Edisto-Jinx-C-Clark/product-reviews/1611946654/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewopt_sr?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=recent&filterByStar=four_star&pageNumber=1

Posted on Goodreads March 28, 2016.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27036938-edisto-jinx

Who’s your favorite author?

The MWC’s social mixer meets at Bennigan’s, Rock Island, where there is good food, wine, and conversation. So of course THE question comes up: “Who’s your favorite author?” It always leaves me stumped and stuttering.

I feel my best answer should be “Whoever wrote what I’m reading now.”

First off, memory is the unfortunate issue for me; I can never recall facts and details fast enough. But my slowness to respond also means that I’m immersed in whatever book club selection I’m reading at the moment.

Also, off the top of my head … no one author stands out for long within the cloud of books I’ve read over the years. I know that’s not right. I’ve had plenty of favorites to choose from going back to the science fiction I started reading in high school. But favorites come and go depending upon my current interests.

Which raises the new question, perhaps a better question: Who or what got you started reading? Because something had to trigger that urge to keep on reading for enjoyment or learning. What ignited that first spark?

For me it was movies. I would watch something and then develop the need to know more. That need would send me to the library to find the source material. That’s what led me to the early science fiction books: War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, 2001, 1984.

For my sons, the first spark came from books on the Civil War. Later on, I took to reading selected passages from adult books like: Gary Paulson’s Winter Dance; and Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park and Congo. So, yes, you can read out loud to teens. I found there’s nothing like a censored book to peak their interest.

I’m letting my book clubs select my current favorite authors for the time being. I like the sense of discovery: from Margaret Atwood, to Jenny Lawson, and all the others. I like them all for different reasons—until the next month’s meeting and a new adventure begins.

Luck

Last week I went to the Midwest Writing Center’s annual meeting. At the conclusion of the business meeting a drawing was held. The prizes began with a nice selection of MWC Press books. The grand prize for many years has been a full enrollment for the David R. Collins Writers’ Conference held in late June. That amounts to three full days of workshops, readings, and a concluding lunch. An over $200 value in writerly bounty.

I’ve watched other people win and thought “Well, maybe next year” or “Maybe at the next Iron Pen contest”.

As it turned out This Was My Year!

And I almost missed it.

The people on either side of me won and I had to check out which books they picked. I also figured the luck for my row was already used up. So I was distracted when the next number was called. I looked at my ticket. It was my number. I had to ask “What did I win?”

It was the Big One!

I was surprised and happy all at once. (I’ll have to look up a better way to describe that in The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi—later.)

So now I have a new set of lucky numbers.

I have to say that in this and in a great many other ways I’ve been luckier with the Midwest Writing Center than with any of the state lotteries.

My thanks for MWC being there and making the odds better for all of us writers.

The Great River Writers’ Retreat Experience [2013]

“How is going to a writer’s retreat different from going into your room and closing the door?” my husband said.

“Well, duh. I didn’t have to clean anything.”

Long ago, I developed a ritual where I had to clean and straighten things up before starting a new craft project. For better or worse, I’ve extended that process to my writing.

When I checked into the Benet House Retreat Center in Rock Island, I had a sunny, clean room all to myself. One barrier down to guilt-free writing time.

Another bonus, absolutely no unnecessary clutter, no great masses of important things collected over a lifetime and carried along with every move. I have precious items tucked into every nook and cranny available in my personal space at home. They all have a story and meaning, and can be quite distracting at times. My retreat room came with two twin beds: one to sleep in and one to serve as an EFS (Exposed Flat Surface). That meant I could fill it with all the essential stuff I had brought with me, a manageable amount of clutter, since I had to carry it in by myself. Second barrier down.

Then there’s the treat of not having to cook any meals for six days. Sure, I had to make my own breakfast: brew some coffee, tea, unwrap a cereal bar. Letting someone else cook the rest of the time has always been pretty high up on my wish list for luxury. Sharing the buffet with the sisters two times a day was fine. I had enough good food to choose from and never felt hungry. If I had, the little kitchen area came stocked with microwave popcorn. Another distraction out of the way.

The solitude the retreat offered was calming and soothing, but, for me, it felt good not to be totally alone. A poet from Chicago occupied the room next door. We saw each other briefly in the mornings, shared a table at mealtimes, and occasionally passed each other on the nature trails. The rest of the time we, as writers, went our separate ways. 

The grounds of the monastery contained a small lake and ninety acres of woodland and prairie. Deer could be seen by day and coyotes heard at night. I haven’t had that kind of park-like experience in ages, so much the better not to have to pitch a tent to do it. I took the sidewalk down to the lake for morning and afternoon breaks. From the dock, I stared into the depths to see what creatures lived down there and watched birds skim over the water’s surface. It felt awe-inspiring to have the natural world so close at hand.

From the edge of the lake, a network of enticing paths took off into the woods. They were nicely mown and wide. On my first day, I took a leisurely walk and came back with four pages of observations. My notes provided some much needed detail for a scene in my novel.

So much for the easy part.

A much more difficult task was the main reason I had listed on my application for wanting to be chosen for this retreat. I had hoped for a private, safe place to work on a short story begun over a year before during a workshop at the David R. Collins Writers’ Conference. The class assignment had been to write something personal to a person no longer around. I had written to my recently deceased mother.

I had come up with a reasonable first draft. The instructor had read it aloud to the other workshop participants. I wouldn’t have been able to read it myself; my grief was still too fresh. It had remained untouched since then. But now, I knew I’d have to read it at the end of the retreat week; the prospect was unnerving. I only had a few days to prepare for something that, for me, might be impossible.

I made my revisions and began to practice reading it aloud. The first day went badly, but the next one went well enough to give me hope. I kept practicing. I whispered it softly to myself in my room. I read it louder if I knew for certain that I was alone. And finally, I took it down to the dock and offered it to the fish. My public reading at the Midwest Writing Center was barely adequate, but I got through it and that counted as a success in my book.

A few of the things that I took away from the 2013 Great River Writers’ Retreat: the honor of being the first local writer chosen to participate, the validation that my writing has steadily improved over time, the ability to cope with fear and anxiety, and the commitment to continue writing.

In short, I have a new way of seeing myself thanks to the Midwest Writing Center, its volunteers, and its sponsors.

(More information on the Retreat and the application process is available on www.mwcqc.org/contests/writers-retreat/ or by calling Ryan Collins at 563-324-1410.)

Shedding Secrets

After a week of rewrites: I’m done! I’m happy! (I’m mega relieved!)

I finished within the time limit I set. (Pretty much….)

It feels good to be finished and have it really FEEL finished. (This time.)

I’m happy with the results … more than the other times I thought I was finished. (YES!)

The thing that surprised me the most was how well the basic core, or structure, of my book held together. I changed a character, added lots of information, and generally tried to clear things up in the storyline. (Hopefully no more loose ends.)

Basically, I was getting rid of the secrets my characters were hiding from each other. (And the reader.)

Sad part: I had to cut out my biggest Easter egg. (Cute or not, I was told it was too confusing.)  

It’s not all sad … I still have the tomato shirt. (Providing its share of color.)

Bonus: I now know the difference between recreation and re-creation. (Hyphens are sometimes sooo important.)

P.S. Since I was late last week, I will be posting early this week. (Providing balance to the blog life.)

Reading OUTLOUD

Last week I created a new character to replace a problematic one.

This week I began to implement all the changes that come with inserting the new guy into my story. Sort of like introducing him to the neighborhood and see if he makes friends.

Well, maybe not friends, but he does have to fit into the scheme of things and behave himself and accomplish the mission. The mission: to clarify and connect and reveal the motives behind the actions of the other characters. And let’s not forget the plot. I have been guilty of leaving too much to vague innuendo. Some of that came from years of tip-toeing around the real Erik Jansson. Some comes from this being my first novel—I’ve rewritten it so many times that I wonder if it is still my first novel. I suppose that it always will be the first until it is officially finished.

It has taken time and a few different attempts at organization to actually get started with the writing. First up: I made a list of the names I would use with the Microsoft Word editing feature “Find.” Yes, I needed a list because changing one name meant I had to change another for continuity. I used my list to search for and change whole names and partial names and to leave one name unchanged.

Secondly, I made a list of the chapters I thought needed changing. I came up with 12 chapters out of 40. My plan at that point was to make the changes and then go through the manuscript from the beginning and smooth things out. I would read every word out loud because it does work to speak and listen and not give the brain a chance to automatically fill in the gaps and gloss over the mistakes.

So, I had a plan but I couldn’t get myself started. The clock was ticking. People were waiting for me. In an effort to get going, I tried starting from the end in the hope that working backward would make the beginning easier. No luck.

I ended up at the beginning and reading every word out loud … making changes along the way working from a list of my goals.

I’ve been amazed at the kind of things I’ve found so far: a name change that was missed, a present tense verb that had to be past tense, a third person pronoun that should have been first person, a misspelling that was also missed by a “search.” Reading the work out loud was definitely one of my better decisions.

Some days went better than others, and after a couple of really good days I confidently announced that I would make my deadline of Monday. I am on track to finish.

However, my weekly blog post had to wait a day.