Coffeeshop Watch

Coffeeshops.  What a hotbed of crazy humanity!  There is the insanely overweight man with the state school ballcap.  The mixed-fashion college students--one in a plaid golf cap and skinny jeans, the other in a preppy black fleece.  There's the semi-cool, fighting middle age, work-from-home guy; the dowdy high school graduate slumped so far down in her chair that her brown shirt, brown hair and dark attitude melt into the brown leather; the crazy loud-on-her-bluetooth businesswoman--spouting catchwords and business slang like she's on Wall Street...

Then there are the writers.

They were sitting next to me today, at one of those high cocktail tables.  Each was waxing about his antagonist and romace plot line and hidden twists.  One had a heavy southern accent delivered in a nasal voice.  The other sported a beard and didn't talk much.

They were the only ones in the coffeeshop actually talking to each other.  What brought them together may have been the written word, but they managed to put a voice to it, conversing and exchanging ideas.

At first it was annoying.  I mean, I'm trying to write here!  But then it was intriguing and a bit inspiring--not hero dies saving a child inspiring, but small-twitch-of-a-smile-I-know-what-you're-going-through inspiring.

Writers.  I guess we stand out in a crowd.

Hmph.

Eggs

I am working on my award post but it is taking a lot more thought and energy than anticipated.  Therefore, here are some egg-celent photos to crack you up in the meantime.  I will start and end with crime eggs, per the purpose of this blog.

Happy Egg Week.  (I mean, you can't really say eggs and bunnies are connected with Easter...)

Contest Re-Up

Hi all...It's been a busy week and I have not been around the blogs as much as I would have liked.  Freelance work was good to me this week--three producing shifts at the tv station.  That being said, I've missed you guys!

So, with a lack of good ideas to publish today, I will repost this week's contest.

Guess each of the following writers (key word: writers, not authors), based on the locations in which they place their characters.  For more on this contest, see Tuesday's post.

Location, location, lcoation...
Louisiana: deep in the country but really only miles from a city steeped in despseration and devastation.
New York City: at the height of the Wall Street 90s, hedonism, neon, and flesh on every sidewalk.

Rome: in every church and every underground passage, the stones bleed history.

Nashville: the Athens of the South, eye-catching architecture and history-making locations spread across one of America's fastest growing cities.

Hints...
Louisiana: awarded the Edgar Award twice for Best Crime Novel of the Year.
New York City: had his best-known book made into a movie starring Christian Bale.
Rome: one of the best-selling and most controversial authors of all times.
Nashville: unpublished writer.

Guess all four and you win the book of your choice by one of the authors!

Obscenity

Today in Literary History...March 25, 1955: The U.S. Customs Department confiscates 520 copies of Allen Ginsberg's book Howl, which had been printed in England. Officials alleged that the book was obscene.

Obscene: For something to be "obscene" it must be shown that the average person, applying contemporary community standards and viewing the material as a whole, would find (1) that the work appeals predominantly to "prurient" interest; (2) that it depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and (3) that it lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. (LectLaw.com)

For more on banned books, check out The Dangerous Pages Review.

Exhilerating exhaustion

Broken glasses.  Jake to school.  Eye appointment for me.  Farm days at NC State--free ice cream for the kids!  Loooong drive home...

No post today.  Exhausted.  But good exhausted.

Location. Location. Location. (and a contest)

Louisiana: deep in the country but really only miles from a city steeped in despseration and devastation.

New York City: at the height of the Wall Street 90s, hedonism, neon, and flesh on every sidewalk.

Rome: in every church and every underground passage, the stones bleed history.

Nashville: the Athens of the South, eye-catching architecture and history-making locations spread across one of America's fastest growing cities.

These are all settings for books you know.  Some writers take pride in using location as its own character...And I must say, I love these books!

There are certain genres that lend themselves to the location-driven plot--mystery and historical fiction being two of them.  What would historical fiction be without a setting?  The late 19th century is a time, but place your characters in Victorian London and you have a feeling, a vision, a set of social mores that enrich your plot.

Mystery/suspense is also a great friend of the location-character.  Think of all the scenes made more mysterious by placing: an empty house, a dark night completely quiet or slashed by torrential rain, a building housing a shell corporation--bustling with lemming-like people as they keep their secret locked inside all that concrete.

Now, see if you can guess the books or writers whose locations I described above.  The first person to get all four correct will receive a book by one of the authors!  Spread the word...I bet you can figure these out if you think about it.

Questions for discussion: Do you like reading a book where location is a character (let's make it a given that it's done well)?  Is location important to you in your writing?  Would you rather read about real locations, or imaginary ones?  How about writers--do you prefer to stay true to history and geography, or create your own setting?

The Wolf Within my Mailbox (Monday)

A brief Mailbox Monday, then I have to get ready for work.  Strange that I'm the one going to work today.  It's been about 2 1/2 years since I worked full-time.  I will try to make the blog rounds at some point today.  It will all depend on the number of liveshots we have planned.  We'll see!

On to the mailbox...Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.

These last few weeks have been busy ones for my trusty mailbox.  The kids are starting to be unimpressed by packages!  I mean, they're all for Mommy anyway, right?

This week...
Margot Kinberg sent her mystery B-Very Flat, which I won on her blog, Confessions of a Mystery Novelist.

I bought Kristi Chestnutt's new release, The Wolf Within, at her book-release party.  It was the first of those for me and absolutely fabulous!  Kristi is, as her blog indicates, a ball of crazy energy and spunk.  And so far, this book reflects that.  You can find Kristi at Random daily thoughts, though probably not today because she's still recovering from the party.

Also this past week, because of this post on the Hollywood Spy (which I also included in yesterday's Foreign Post Roundup), I ordered and received The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rodgers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder.  This I purchased through the PaperbackSwap Market.

Alright, I know this is a bit low-key for me, but I have to get ready for work before the kids wake up!  It's my only time!  (If you haven't noticed, I am intentionally giving as much information without being dangerous.  It's kind of a game for this post.)  What kind of shampoo will I be using?  Hmmm...probably the new Burt's Bees samples sent to me by WUNC, a gift for supporting the NPR affiliate.

Ok, enough of that.  Now I see why this is so ridiculous!  Not only is it dangerous to give away too much of yourself, but it's also damn boring for others to read!  Who really gives a *l****...just kidding.  This is not that kind of a blog.