Book Review: Nora Bonesteel's Christmas Past by Sharyn McCrumb

Nora Bonesteel's Christmas Past: A Ballad Novella by Sharyn McCrumb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fans of Sharyn McCrumb's ballad series need wait no longer for a new Nora Bonesteel story. NORA BONESTEEL'S CHRISTMAS PAST offers McCrumb at her best with two parallel stories centered around Christmas Eve.

In the primary story, Nora Bonesteel, she with the Sight, welcomes a new family in the old Honeycutt place next to her family home on the mountain. Summer people have decided to spend the holiday season instead of returning to Florida. Shirley Haverty wants to be friends with Nora but lacks knowledge of mountain traditions. She's too pushy at first, although she gradually backs off. When she arrives on Nora's doorstep one morning with a tale of her house being haunted, Nora invites her in, listens to the story and has an idea about what is happening in the parlor over at the Honeycutt mansion. She's sure her old friend is keeping a promise to be home by Christmas. The promise was made in the Second World War.

A parallel story involving the sheriff and his deputy takes the two on a trip up a mountain just as bad weather sets in. Pressured by a prominent politician to arrest a man for hitting his wife's car over in Tennessee and running from the accident send the two men on a journey they aren't likely to forget. They find their quarry, an old man living in a rundown farm house, at the end of a gravel lane. When they try to get the man to go with them, he agrees but is concerned for his aging wife. She needs firewood. A window in the bathroom lets in icy air. The two lawmen help split and stack firewood and reglaze the window. Darkness comes early. Before they can leave, the old man notices his cattle have gotten out of the barn. Again, the two lawmen help.

I won't tell you what happens in either story, but long-time fans will not be disappointed. The richness of McCrumb's detail, her deep knowledge of mountain tradition, her acknowledgement that prying is a breach of good manners combine to bring us a heartwarming read.

Yes, it's about Christmas. More, it's about human nature.

Received through NetGalley before I bought the book for my collection.



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Book Review: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Kathryn Erskine imagines what it would be like for a ten-year-old child to have to deal with the death of her brother. (No spoiler here) Caitlin has Asperger's syndrome and sees her world as black and white. She literally interprets what goes on around her, doesn't know how to read people's moods and has many of the tics and behaviors we associate with someone who finds the world confusing.

Until The Day Our Life Fell Apart, Devon translates the world for Caitlin. When students and teachers at his middle school are gunned down, Caitlin is set adrift. Her father has difficulty coping with her while trying to understand his own grief.

Caitlin's best friend is her dictionary. She learns two words, closure and empathy, that help her help her father.

Erskine wrote the manuscript after the Virginia Tech shootings and before Sandy Hook. Through Caitlin she explains the unexplainable.

A wonderful read for people of all ages.

Book Review: 400 Things Cops Know

Sometimes I buy a book because I think it will be good for research in the future. I usually scan it, pick up and read random chapters and put it on the shelf. Then I bought 400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman by Adam Plantinga, I thought I'd follow the same pattern. So did not happen.

I don't know what I expected, but Plantinga delivered so much more information in a way that made this list of "things" a page turner. Well written with terrific organization, the book falls into chapters like "16 Things Cops Know about Booze and Drugs." Each chapter has a theme and a series of short entries. "You'll read about people on their fifth DUI conviction, their seventh, their ninth. It's enough to make you look around at the way other countries do things. Drive drunk in Finland and the punishment is a year of hard labor."

"If you encounter an assault victim in the 'hood who has been punched in the mouth and is missing teeth, ask him if his teeth were knocked out tonight or had they already been like that. It is a wholly appropriate question, for dental hygiene is one of many casualties of the urban environment."

For a writer, Plantinga's blunt and often humorous style should help us be better writers. Why? Because for one thing, he takes us inside a cop's head so we can look at the world through his eyes. Because he debunks so much of what we watch on television. It should come as no shock that the needs for visual drama trump policing procedures.

Take the Miranda bugaboo. Cops in real life don't immediately read a perp his rights. "As a police officer, you are required to read someone their rights only after they are in police custody and you have begun interrogating them about an offense. Custody plus interrogation equals Miranda, not before."

Chasing a perp isn't high on Plantinga's list of preferred activities. Many reasons. You don't usually stand a chance of catching a fleet-footed youth. You don't know what's around the corner and down an alley. You may have spent too much time at the Donut Diner. And female cops and detectives NEVER, EVER chase a suspect in high heels. Sure way to break an ankle. Besides, you won't catch him.

I ordered this before it was released. When it arrived, I fell on it like a starving person finding a chocolate cache.

For my mystery writer peeps out there, stop reading this and order it. Read it. Return to it often. I plan to.

Book Review: The Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner

First of all, I love any writer who shares a first name with me. Betsy Lerner and I are also writers. Beyond that, I doubt there are many similarities.

Lerner divides her book into two main sections: writing and publishing. She makes clear that these are not the same, although no one is published without writing first. She explains that there are different types of writers. The ambivalent writer has so many ideas for projects that few if any are begun, let alone finished. The natural writer, a rare beast, perhaps even an endangered species, seems to have all the right words in all the right order without having to learn the craft of writing. The wicked child uses her family as the jumping off point for characters and plots. Right or wrong, often she trashes her family all in the name of art. Others are the self-promoter, the neurotic and those touching fire. Most writers will find themselves in one if not more of her types.

In the second half of the book, publishing, Lerner gives terrific advice on seeking and landing an agent (she herself is one and knows of what she writes), handling rejection (even Stephen King garnered a stack of rejections before his first sale), knowing what editors are looking for, knowing what you as a writer wants, working on the book with your editor and marketing your work after publication.

I recommend this to anyone who is starting out as a writer. Lerner pulls no punches yet leaves you laughing at some of her lessons. They serves beginning authors well. Those of us who have published a book or books already can still learn from this book. It's a reference book full of common sense and oft overlooked advice on how to behave as a writer.

It should be on every writer's bookshelf -- after the writer has read it.

Book Review: Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John Douglas

Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars on Goodreads


John Douglas has written a reference book that belongs on the desk of any crime writer. Even though not every writer discusses the FBI's serial crime or the behavioral analysis units, this study into the mind of criminals opens endless possibilities for topics while at the same time reinforces the effort these brave agents go through to solve some of the most bizarre crimes. The model for Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, Douglas detailed profiles, habits and next moves to give law enforcement officers new tools to use in their fight against crime.

Through interviews with many of the most notorious serial killers and mass murderers, Douglas takes the reader inside their minds. From Charles Manson, who had to sit on the back of a chair to appear taller than he was, to Richard Speck, who murdered nurses in South Chicago, Douglas holds little back. Evil people are portrayed in all their evilness. This journey leaves the reader wanting a hot shower, sleeping with the lights on and jumping at every strange sound in familiar surroundings.

Chilling and yet fascinating, the reader will want to turn away but won't be able to.

Book Marketing on Steroids

This post is likely to annoy some, anger others and spur a different group to aim higher. Why annoy? Because some of my writer friends think every writer should have this kind of marketing support. Why anger? Because some of this came about during negotiations between an agent and a publisher. Why spur on and encourage? Because the more we write, the better we get as writers and marketeers. The better we get, the better our sales. And the greater the possibility we have to land one of these contracts where more is done for us.

A bit of background before I dissect this full-page ad from Publishers Weekly. Sharyn McCrumb is a long-time NYT bestselling author. Her ballad novels featuring Nora Bonesteel are continuing favorites. There hasn't been a new one in a long time. This novella comes ready made for success.

That said, Abingdon Press, which has been around for 200+ years, is throwing a ton of effort behind this release. Let's parse this ad.

1. 100-copy early reader campaign. Most of us with small press contracts are lucky to have 10-15 copies to send out. We have to badger our publishers for the Kindle file to attract reviewers. Many of the names for the early readers came from Sharyn herself, but not all. Some came from the publisher knowing who the best earlier readers in her genre are. All are expected to review the book. 
2. 100-copy radio reviewers promo. I don't know 100 radio reviewers. I would need a PR specialist to help with this.
3. Multi-media publicity campaign. I know most of my local newspaper and magazine publishers. Outside of a 50-mile radius, I'm just another writer looking for column inches. I can send press releases and hope, but it helps if you know someone at the publication to grease the skids. As far as national book review pubs, again it's rather a crap shoot as to whether my book will be reviewed or not. I have to try, but I would rather have a bit of help to attract attention.
4. Author signings at large festivals and book fairs. NYT bestsellers do well because they have support.  If an indie or small press author gets in, it's a lonely place. If you are with a publishing company that has high visibility. you'll be overwhelmed. Otherwise, you're likely to be underwhelmed.
5. 20-stop regional author tour in southeast. Again, having a large publisher behind you to set up the appointments helps bring bodies and dollars to your events. You can do it yourself given enough time and contacts. If your book will attract a regional audience through its subject, you'll have a better chance of doing this on your own.
6. National print and online advertising. Not likely if you are with a small press or on your own. I don't have deep pockets to pay for advertising.
7. #NoraIsBack social medial campaign. All of us can do this. We can register our book titles and put together social media events. It takes time that you might not be able to spend.
8. Online reading group guides. We should all have these on our web pages. If our publishers will print the guides at the back of the book, all the better. Some will; others won't. AT least put these on your websites, along with topics you are qualified to talk about.
9. Abingdon Book club and blogger program. This works if your publisher has such programs. If not, you're on your own.

Is this all bad news for indie and small press published writers? No, because there are several things in this list we can all do without spending a boatload of money. We'll spend a boatload of time, thought. It's hard to figure out how to divide our time between promotion and writing the next book. We are often reminded that selling books is a marathon, not a sprint. True, but publishers would like to see a return on their investment in publishing our works. So would we.

We have to be smart to control the stress of feeling we have to do it all. Good publishers and agents can and should help. Alas, not all do.

Book Review: For I Have Sinned by Kristen Houghton

For I Have Sinned by Kristen Houghton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'll start by saying I'm really pissed off at Kristen Houghton. Her well-written book cost me a good night's sleep, because I stayed up waaay too late to finish it. I've read several things by this writer and liked them. Without a doubt, this is her best book yet.

Kristen Houghton proves there is room for one more tough, sexy PI with the introduction of Cate Harlow, who takes her place alongside PI Warshawski and Stephanie Plum.

Houghton takes a lead from the headlines to discuss pedophilia in the priesthood. A year before the book opens, Cate found the body of a terribly mutilated man. The story is buried; the man was not. Ten years later in current time, she takes a job to find a teen who vanished the same year as the murder. The missing person case is long cold, but Cate displays a soft heart for the downtrodden. A well-drawn character with many levels of meaning, she begins delving into what happened to the boy when her ex husband and homicide detective calls her in the middle of the night to come to a crime scene. There she sees the mutilated body of another man, this one wearing a priest's collar, a lot of blood and nothing else.

The new murder is eerily similar to the older one, although the first body wasn't identified as a priest. She is troubled by the collar and a Latin message written inside. Cate and Will, the ex, combine with Cate's current boyfriend, the medical examiner, to figure out what happened.

Secondary characters are fully fleshed out, providing a rich tapestry of human behavior, desire and motive. From a pair of homeless men to a friendly neighbor to a mysterious man who appears without much warning, Houghton gives us characters that are real. You want to know what happens to them. You want to know their history, their backstory if you will. You want to know how each fits into the tapestry of a terrible murder.

The book is fast paced, well written and brings to light a delightful character in Cate Harlow and a wonderful contrasting pair of lovers. This first in a series promises hours of page-turning reading.