Julaina's First Contest For You to Enter

Books are boats on the River of Time. Some volumes survive while others vanish.

These sentences are a brief summary from a paragraph in a novel. Name the novel and the page number in the hardbound edition.

The first person to blog the answer here wins a writer's gift basket that includes a book, of course, and other "tools" writers can use.

There's no time limit on this contest. I'm patient. I'll wait for the winner's answer.

Page Turners

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown are two page turners that have held my attention these last couple of weeks. I couldn't put them down long enough to blog!

Since I'm only half way through Dan Brown's fascinating book, I'm ready for the next chapter right now. Back to blogging after I finish the book.

Chapters Alternating Historical Times

SARAH'S KEY by Tatiana De Rosnay takes place in Paris with alternating chapters in 1942 and 2006. The character in 2006 is researching the Paris Roundup of Jews in July 1942, and it looks like a character from that 1942 event might be a connection to someone she is close to in 2006. The book is a page turner. I find I'm reading it more than I'm working on my novel. Hmmm.

"A Frigidaire Song" by Carly Anne

Carly Anne West wrote "A Frigidaire Song" for the S.F. Writers Conference Anthology that inspired a short story I'm writing for the West Oakland Anthology due October 1st. My story is called "Goldie, the Mirror".

I'm always interested in what motivates people to write what they write. Carly Anne's character writes letters to her Frigidaire, my character talks to a mirror. My character began as a dear friend of ours who passed away a year ago, but the character morphed into his own identity, not just our friend's.

Maybe we writers could compile a book on what inspired us in each of our writings. I'd buy it.

Peter's "Thirty-Five Across"

In the S.F. Writers Conference Anthology I posted about last time, I forgot to mention an outstanding story, "Thirty-Five Across" by Peter Dudley. I'm not biased because he happens to be in the same writing groups that I am. It is my all time favorite short story by him.

I've previously posted about setting, especially with the novel about Locke, California. Peter's setting is not ominous like Locke, but he describes the cafe and the people who come in out of the rain and it puts me right there. I'm doing the cross word puzzle with the narrator and I hear his sighs. I feel the rain. Nice story to read on a hot day like today.

S.F.Writers Conference Anthology

"Building Bridges from Writers to Readers", the 2009 anthology is filled with short stories, essays, and poetry. It's available for purchase from the conference co-founders, Agents Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen.

They invited those of us whose written work was printed in the anthology to their home in San Francisco on a very warm Sunday a couple of weeks ago. We writers were able to sign our work in each others' copies while we enjoyed wine and snacks provided by Elizabeth and Michael.

My entries were "The Bees' Nest", a short story about a mother and daughter and a poem, "Life Preserver in the Jungle" about a couple vacationing in Costa Rica.

The anthology was expertly edited by Vicki Weiland who was supportive, encouraging, and detailed. This edition is outstanding in the quality of the pieces.

The conference is held every year in February, on the weekend closest to Valentines Day. Hope to see you there.

Another word for grin

Margie Lawson, in her on-line writing classes, encourages writers to be creative with body language, especially facial expressions. That's great, but how many new ways can we express grin? Thanks to Dictionary.com's Word for the day, here is a new one to add to our list:

Word of the Day for Wednesday, August 26, 2009
rictus \RIK-tuhs\, noun:

1. The gape of the mouth, as of birds.
2. A gaping grin or grimace.

A rictus of cruel malignity lit up greyly their old bony faces.
-- James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

His belly swelled grotesquely, his hands curled, his cheeks puffed out, his mouth contorted in a rictus of pain and astonishment.
-- Tony Horwitz, Confederates in the Attic

Then, as the sympathy and praise engulfed him, Hector would invariably roll over onto his back, legs in the air, his mouth twisted into an otherworldly rictus.
-- Bruce McCall, "Writers Who Were Really Dogs", New York Times, June 5, 1994.

Has anyone read "Writers Who Were Really Dogs"? Sounds interesting!!!