Vacation #2

My Vacation

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to Philadelphia/Maryland/DC

Reading Material

After finishing The Black Echo, by Michael Connelly, I went into a big library boom and collected A Mammoth Murder and Murder Among the OWLS, by Bill Crider, Murder in the North End, by Rochester native Patricia (PB) Ryan, and The Colorado Kid, by some guy named Steve. They were all enjoyable, but I gotta say that I liked Pat's book the best. It's not because of her location, either. She writes a good story with well-drawn characters and beautiful period detail (1870s). I just learned, also, while looking for these images, that the sixth book in her "Gilded Age" series is coming out in December, entitled A Bucket of Ashes. Here's a look:

















Edit: I just learned from Patricia's site that this is going to be the last in the series, and that all threads will be tied up nicely.
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Back from Vacation

Well, I'm back from Vacation, and it's time to get down to business. I've got lots to blog about, but I'm way behind on my doomsaying. In the original plan, I was going to give Major League Baseball a reprieve for All-Star Week, but I missed a couple of weeks along the way, so I have to eliminate someone this week, and those someones are....

The Chicago White Sox. This is the first of the recent World Series winners that I have eliminated. The Cards are still in it. The Red Sox are still in it. You'd have to go back to the 1990 World Series Champs, the Cincinnati Reds, to find the only other recent Champ to be eliminated thus far. Which probably says a lot about the atmosphere of winning. But the White Sox are floundering. The pitching that they rode back in 2005 has been virtually depleted. They made a commitment to the future by re-signing Mark Buehrle, but the future is not now.

Yikes!

Holy Crow!

It's been over two weeks since my last post! Well, I've been taking a much-needed vacation to the Mid-Atlantic. It's something I can tell you about later. But I wanted you to know that the San Francisco Giants will NOT win the World Series this year. Barry Bonds appears to be one of those guys destined to never have a ring. Oh, Well. Too much controversey anyway.

World Series Survivor is BACK! (With one less survivor)

I must apologize for missing my normal Monday post last week. I need some Time Management counselling, I think. Anyway, I would have needed to take a couple weeks off to work into the World Series, I'll just have to readjust the schedule. And the week off helped me, too, I think. It looks like I have my next 3 victims lined up, starting with Baltimore.

I sorta feel sorry for Baltimore. As much as I've been frustrated by the last 14 years of Blue Jays baseball, the Orioles have finished behind the Blue Jays much of the time. So, Orioles fans must feel that much more frustrated. Add in that they have experienced some success during the season in that time (I think it was 2004 that they were in first place into June), and it heightens the tension. I understand that several fans don't like the owner, Peter Angelos. Well, apparently the owner doesn't like the coach, either. After about two seasons' worth of games, Sam Perlozzo has been fired, the first managerial victim of the season. It looks as if the Orioles have given up on another season. Let's see if they can climb out of the basement.

I'm Done! (Again!)

I have finished my re-write of the novel, adding about 2000 words to it. It now stands at about 72,500 words. A short novel, to be sure, but tight, I hope. I was looking for places to add to, believe me.

I have asked a few people to read it and tell me what they think. I am also now officially a member of a Sisters-in-Crime subgroup called The Guppies (the Great UnPublished). I am hoping that I will gain a wealth of information from this group, maybe even getting my manuscript read and reading a few myself. I really hope to get some help on...

Query Letters! That's right, it is now time to switch gears from narrative fiction to selling myself. I am going to have to research both agents and editors to find out who I think would be most likely to want to represent or publish this novel. There will be a quite a few letters leaving my place for NYC in the following weeks. And it's going to be a long process, so stay tuned.