Poetic Justice (League of America)

The other day, Sandra Seamans told me about an anthology accepting superhero poetry. I've submitted three poems.

Honest

Today on Murderati, Pari Noskin Taichert ponders honesty in writing:

1. Writers: Should novelists write to a particular market? Should they follow the conventional wisdom of knowing where their books will go in the bookstores BEFORE they begin?

2. Here's another bit of conventional wisdom: you should write what you've written so that your audience can understand and stay with you. Readers, what do you think of that?

3. Readers: do you know when you’ve found an “honest” writer? Or honesty in the fiction you’ve read? Can you give us any examples?

4. Everyone: Does honesty in writing even matter?

5. Everyone: What the heck is “honesty in writing,” anyway?

I commented:

I think writers in the very early stages (discovering voice, exploring subject matter) shouldn't concern themselves too much with where their books will fit in the market. I think honesty in writing is writing about something that affects you firsthand or that elicits a genuine, powerful reaction from you. You may not be able to do this while trying to write to a market.

Novelists who've sold a genre book and are planning another in the same genre should keep in mind the ins and outs of the genre, yes.

Depending on what you're writing, honesty matters to different degrees. Memoirs are expected to be brutally honest, but for fiction it only matters that you start with a seed of honesty to ground the story in some universal human truth. As long as you keep a sense of that center, you can embellish and imagine in any direction the story takes you.

Story of the Titanic Book Order

I don't often order from BarnesandNoble.com, but two weeks ago the math worked out, making BN.com the cheapest, fastest way to get the books I wanted. Only I didn't get all the books I wanted. Instead of Prime Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan, I received Story of the Titanic, an irregularly wide picture book from Dorling Kindersley. I was charged properly for Prime Time, and Prime Time was listed on the packing slip; it just wasn't in the box.

BN.com Customer Service responded promptly, sending me a postage-paid return label which I affixed to the original box. Only the box was too wide for my mailbox, so I had to bring it to the post office. I haven't had access to a car since Sunday, and won't for the next two weeks. I had to walk a mile to and from the post office carrying a shopping bag just wide enough to hold the box. I'm just glad it wasn't heavy and it didn't rain yesterday.

"You're a pistol, Dubbie. You're gonna do great things."

My review of The Middleman Complete Series DVD set is at Crimespree Cinema. If you're as much a pop culture geek as I am, you must get it.

Summer Snapshot

The July 2009 issue of The Houston Literary Review (PDF) is online, including my poem "Summer Snapshot". Thanks again to poetry editor Joseph R. Trombatore. Zoom in.

Slice of Life

Got together with my friends from the early days of Font, Hofstra's literary magazine, last night for a barbecue. There was much to celebrate including the birth of a son to John and Kelly Ricotta and their purchase of a house in Lindenhurst where the party took place. Thanks again to my friends Deshant and Tracy who gave me a ride to and from the festivities in a rental Mini Cooper (Great car). I wore the Lineup baseball jersey and hope to have some pictures to post.

Warehouse 13

A mysterious bleeding stone mask possesses a museum employee while the President is visiting. In the aftermath, Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) are transferred to a super-secret detail in South Dakota. Working for the seemingly immortal Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder), they're tasked with tracking down and neutralizing various artifacts that have taken on supernatural aura.

The premise to SyFy's newest show is familiar by now (The X-Files, Men in Black, The Middleman), but I'll watch for smart writing from the likes of Jane Espenson and David Simkins acted naturally by McClintock, Saul Rubinek, and Kelly.

JACK WAKES UP by Seth Harwood

One-hit-wonder action star Jack Palms, on the rebound from a trashed reputation and a heroin addiction, agrees to help his old friend Ralph with a drug deal. Jack is just supposed to be window dressing, maybe show the prospective buyers a good time. The next morning, though, Jack finds Ralph brutally murdered and sets out on a personal quest for answers.

If you remember the B action flicks of the 90s as fondly as I do, you'll appreciate Jack Wakes Up. The book's third-person present narration brings a movie to mind and, along with short, punchy chapters, keeps the plot moving. Though Jack Wakes Up may be an homage to action movies, Harwood's careful characterization and overall energy made Jack and his world seem new to me. And now I'd gladly visit them again.

Federer's Fifteenth

Tuning in midway through the second set, yesterday's Roddick/Federer Wimbledon final was still the best match I've ever seen. Crisp play throughout, not to mention in the 30-game fifth set. In the end, unfortunately for him, Andy Roddick flinched. Roddick's play has definitely improved since previous losses to Federer, but Federer still has a mental edge on him.

Commentators have been saying how well Roddick handled the loss, but to me he seemed to be mocking Federer in the post-match ceremonies. He probably couldn't believe he had lost. I wish he had more self-control, but then he might not be the same player.

Nitpickers say Federer hasn't faced Nadal in these past two Grand Slams, but history is often as tough an opponent as the one across the net. Congrats to him.

Lucky Seven

My seventh C.J. Stone story, "Artifacts", has gone live at BEAT to a PULP, a great capper to a day of hot dogs and baseball. Thanks again to David Cranmer and Elaine Ash. As usual, I slept through the fireworks, but I don't need a light show to appreciate America and the freedoms she represents.

CASTLE Tie-in Plans

A member of my crime TV and movie discussion list CrimeSeen passed along word that a novel tie-in to Nathan Fillion's ABC crime series "Castle" is in the works.

The first chapter of Heat Wave by Richard Castle will be posted on ABC.com August 10. The full novel will be published by Hyperion September 29. The author's true identity has yet to be revealed but my money's on Stephen J. Cannell or one of James Patterson's ghosts.

Summer Rentals

Recently on Crimespree Cinema I've reviewed two B action movies that came to stores this week: The Betrayed, starring Melissa George and Oded Fehr, and 12 Rounds, starring John Cena.