Back in the Saddle Again

Okay, I'm not literally back in the saddle. Injuries from my ill-spent youth prevent me from being able to ride. The saddle in question is the recliner in our great room where I sit typing this post. It has been too long since my last blog post. Real life got in the way.

My father-in-law developed pneumonia in February, which caused major complications with his sarcoidosis and pulmonary hypertension. The result was a choice between his going into a nursing home, or our moving to Florida to help look after him. Sarah and I chose to move.

Ours was a rather rapid exit from Kentucky. Within a month, and with a lot of help from our friends and family, we packed our belongings, left our jobs, canceled our scheduled appearances, and moved eleven hundred miles from nearly everyone we knew. As a result, writing in general and my blog in particular were put out to pasture.

We are slowly getting settled into our new lives here. Sarah's dad is much better than when we arrived. His memory isn't what it was before the collapse, and he is pretty much confined to a wheelchair. We've gotten ramps built, a handicapped shower installed, and other needed changes around the house finished. The two of us have sort of settled into the back half of the duplex, which gives us and her parents some privacy.

I think the move was the best decision for all of us. Her folks won't be able to live on their own again. At seventy-one, Sarah's mother can't manage his oxygen, wheelchair, walker, and the other necessities of getting him moved from one place to another. She also finds talking to all of his therapists and doctors a chore better delegated to us. The same is true of paying bills, shopping, dealing with ordering oxygen and medicines, and handling most problems that come up.

So what happens when a writer becomes the primary caretaker for a family member? Writing suffers. That doesn't mean writers stop writing. I started out small, doing a weekly column for Examiner.com, then went back to work on my book. Now, I am back to my blog. Stay tuned, and you might see a new book review soon.

The Villain and Gerald Costlow

Gwen just discovered that Gerald Costlow discussed villains in general, and Circle of Dishonor's in particular, in his blog post "The Villain". She only wishes she had found it sooner. She says that shows how bad she is at keeping up with her friends.

The sequel to Gerald's "A Plethory of Powers".

Book Review: The Last Nude by Ellis Avery

The Last Nude is a complex story splashed across the lifespan of painter Tamara de Lempicka. I didn’t know much about de Lempicka when I started reading the book and had only vague ideas of what it was like to live in Paris during the Jazz Age. Ellis Avery did a great job of making the city and the era come alive. The wealth and decadence of the age along with the underlying tensions of turbulent political winds mingle with the passions of Tamara and her model Rafaela.

Rafaela is beautifully captured as the love interest of Tamara de Lempicka. Little is known of the model’s life, leaving Avery free to create her background. I could easily believe that Rafaela was a half Catholic, half Jewish runaway determined to escape an arranged marriage.

Tamara also comes alive on the page, but the result isn’t pleasant. After looking at a few short biographies of Tamara de Lempicka, it is clear that in life she was known to be rather disagreeable. She certainly leaves much to be desired as a protagonist. Tamara is arrogant, proud, stubborn, and unscrupulous. Rafaela is no match for her. The unequal relationship between the women and Tamara’s willingness to do anything for the sake of her art left me cold.

Overall the book is a tantalizing look at an era that was soon to be lost to the Great Depression and World War II. It is worth the read for the glimpse it gives us at a world few can remember. The characters are complicated, well developed, and interesting. Avery does a nice mix of historical and fictional, glitter and grit, sensual and harsh. Every page offered something new to the reader.

Ellis Avery has created a memorable work that I am happy to recommend She does a credible job of explaining the reasons behind Tamara de Lempika’s more egregious acts. Just remember there is a huge gap between understanding and liking de Lempika, and don’t come to the work expecting to find a protagonist the average reader would identify with.

Highlighted Author

Highlighted Author

Today I am the Highlighted Author on Charlene A. Wilson's blog. Charlene highlights authors of both fiction and non-fiction works on her site. Stop by and find out more about authors in your favorite genre.

2012 Derringer Awards Submission Instructions

This year I am the coordinator for the Derringer Awards Judging. Below is an update of the instructions for submitting stories. I did not write the instructions, those came from the Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog. I have simply updated them with my contact information and reposted theme here so my mystery editing friends who might not belong to the society could enter stories. Authors must belong to SMFS to submit.
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The period to submit stories for the Derringer Awards will open Sunday, Jan.1, 2012, at 12:00 p.m. (noon), Eastern Standard Time. The following link will take you to the blog page which details the complete rules and guidelines for the Derringer process. http://shortmystery.blogspot.com/2008/08/smfs-derringer-awards-procedure.html

1.) Who can submit: Members of SMFS as of Dec. 31, 2011 or editors of publications (print or online; see link above to read qualifications for 'publication') that feature short mystery fiction.

2.) Submission limits: Each member of SMFS may submit up to two (2) stories, your own or someone else's. Please note that a story's author need not be a member of SMFS, but the submission must be made by either a member or the editor of the publication in which the story first appeared in 2011. Submission limits for editors are detailed below, from the blog page: If the publication contains up to 25 stories first appearing in 2011, up to 3 of these may be submitted by the editor for Derringer consideration in 2012." 26 to 50 stories first appearing in 2011, up to 4 of these may be submitted by the editor for Derringer consideration in 2012." 51 to 75 stories first appearing in 2011, up to 5 of these may be submitted by the editor for Derringer consideration in 2012." more than 75 stories first appearing in 2011, up to 6 of these may be submitted by the editor for Derringer consideration in 2012. By the way, editors who are also SMFS members still have their two-story quota as members, in addition to the number allowed for their magazines.

3.) Publication date: Only stories first published in English in 2011 are eligible for the 2012 awards. If a story appeared, for example, in a "Winter 2010-2011" issue, or a "December 2010-January 2011" issue of a publication, it would be eligible for consideration this year. On the other hand, one appearing in such issues for 2011-2012 would be eligible for consideration in the 2012 award cycle.

4.) Submission format: Please submit each story, with its author and publication data, to me at hypatiax@aol.com in Rich Text Format(*.rtf). I will check the story's eligibility and strip identifying data from it before sending it on to the appropriate judges. The subject line of your email should read: Derringer - Story Title - Category

The Categories are:

Best Flash Story - up to 1000 words
Best Short Story - 1001 to 4000 words
Best Long story - 4001 to 8000 words
Best Novelette - 8001 - 17,500 words

PLEASE NOTE: Again, submissions begin at 12:00 EST Sunday, Jan. 1. Please don't send anything before that time, as it will be discarded.

Gwen Mayo
Derringer Coordinator 2012

Guest on Edin Road Radio

If you like books and haven't heard of Edin Road Radio, you should pay a visit. Jesse V. Coffey has a wide range of guest authors who read selections of their work, talk about what they write, and share a half hour on air with her. I had the privilege of being her guest on December 27 and am happy to say she has invited me back when my next novel, Concealed in Ash, is published.

Between readings, we talked about my love of Kentucky history and the great special collections at the University of Kentucky and Transylvania University. I also complimented the wonderful effort of Kentucky and Indiana historians in building the Kentuckiana Digital Library, and put in a good word for the Morris Book Shop here in Lexington. The Shop always has my book in stock.

When you have a half hour to listen, stop by and play one of the shows on Edin Road Radio. Jesse does a great job hosting blog talk radio. Her guests cover a wide spectrum of work, her show is great fun, and I look forward to listening to more of her broadcasts. Closing out the year on Edin Road is poet David Nelson Bradsher on December 29. Her website lists upcoming guests in January and early February.

The list doesn't go far enough to include Sarah E. Glenn, but she will be on the show next year. I'll be blogging more details of that closer to the date of her appearance.

Book Review: Civil War Lexington, Kentucky

The History Press has just released a new book by Joshua and Karen Leet, titled Civil War Lexington, Kentucky: Bluegrass Breeding Ground of Power. In the interest of full disclosure, I was introduced to the Leets by fellow author Stephen Zimmer who invited me to their launch at The Morris Book Shop, here in Lexington, where I am sure you can still get autographed copies.

At first glance, you might think that Lexington is an odd choice for a Civil War book. There were no great battles fought in the city, nor was Lexington a key strategic location. Instead, Lexington contributed her greatest minds, bravest hearts, and most loyal citizens to the war. Civil War Lexington, Kentucky reflects the people, North and South, who loved their home state and fought for what they believed was in her best interests.

Joshua and Karen Leet take a history lovers' look at Lexington's leading families and Lexington's role in shaping United States history, and how Lexingtonian lives were changed by the war that divided the country. There is no deeply footnoted scholarly text to wade through; this is a book that is friendly to the lay reader. It's also the sort of book for history lovers, Civil War buffs, and anyone who loves Kentucky history. Certainly, there is enough meat to the text to be worthy of the researcher's shelf, but it also belongs in the gift shops of state parks and Kentucky historical sites, particularly those in the Bluegrass.

I am very happy to have this slim volume as a new addition to my Kentucky history bookshelf, and will be referring to it often to enrich the background of my novels.