I love Thanksgiving, not just because calories don’t count this one day of the year, but because it’s the day we reflect on how we’re blessed. Sometimes, it’s so easy to complain about the bad things that happen to us, or mourn losses both devastating and small, but on Thanksgiving we can focus on the positive.
I have always been an optimist. I was the kid who always looked at the silver lining, the person who focused on whatever good was happening and ignored the rest. I have tried very hard never to regret my decisions, even if I’ve come to realize the decision I made was wrong. Learn, move on. I’ve made many mistakes and hope that I don’t repeat them, but I try hard not to dwell on them. I can’t live in the past. Living in the past means regression, not growth, and I don’t want to live that way.
Sometimes, it’s hard not to get frustrated by some things in this business that are completely out of our control. Without the gals here at Murder She Writes, I would have been stuck in the “past,” frustrated with mistakes that are not my fault, or lamenting decisions I’ve made that were not smart, even if they seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
I am so thankful for all nine of them for listening, commiserating, sharing, and supporting me all these years. And I even appreciate the tough love that’s needed at times (cough Karin cough) when I get stuck in the “but it’s not fair!” mantra.
Life isn’t fair. We all know that. Friends listen, support, and help us move on so that we can live in the present and work toward a better future, and stop us from spiraling into self-pity.
Jen, Sylvia, Deb, Rocki, Sophie, Lori, Toni, Karin & Laura have blessed me just by being who they are, and by loving me, warts and all.
Okay. Just had to say that, even though I’m about to cry!
Now for the fun stuff.
I have a book out! Lucy Kincaid #3, IF I SHOULD DIE, is on sale now. I’ve had some reports that stores are slow getting it out, but if you go into a store and don’t see it, ASK. Hopefully that’ll help them open up the boxes in the storeroom and put those books on the shelf!
Some reviews:
“Brennan’s Lucy Kincaid/Sean Rogan books are not only excellent procedural thrillers, but also chart the evolution of an intriguing relationship. The peeks into the mind of this heinous killer are all too chilling, making the threat level palpable and the story riveting. Brennan is on a major roll!” – RT Book Reviews 4.5 stars!
“Non-stop action, spine-tingling suspense … a wonderful addition to a great series.” – Fresh Fiction
“If I Should Die is a spine-tingling chiller that will wrap you up in its mystery and take you on a heart-pounding race to the breathtaking finale!” – Joyfully Reviewed, Recommended Read
“[A] thrilling ride full of danger and suspense with its complex plot and well-drawn characters. … a terrific series.” – Romance Reviews Today
I’ve also updated my webpage! It’s now streamlined and can be viewed on mobile devices. I’m still updating content, but that’ll have to wait until after I finish revisions for SILENCED. Check it out and read an excerpt for each of the Lucy books, my revised bio, and upcoming events.
And yesterday I was on the Happily-Ever-After blog at USA Today with author Joyce Lamb. Check it out! Or read about some of my favorite books over at Romance @ Random (and every week R@R gives away books to five lucky winners, so it’s worth it to visit and comment regularly!).
Holidays are slow here at MSW, as it should be since most of us are spending time with our family or friends. Some of us have to work, however. And many in the military don’t get to come home for any holiday, protecting our ability to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the others days of the year. Tomorrow please come back for our own favorite military commander, Jessica Scott, who will be talking about her new book, BECAUSE OF YOU, an edgy and emotional military romance. And Jessica is giving away a totally cool prize!
The Brennan Family menu for Thanksgiving:
Turkey (I know, I swore I’d never make another turkey, but I caved)
Mashed potatoes (my mom makes the BEST)
Stuffing (my grandma’s recipe)
Broccoli (my three youngest kids love it)
Caesar salad
Rolls (from Costco, not homemade)
Olives, cranberry sauce, applesauce
Bread pudding (Kelly promised she’d make it for me)
Pumpkin something (Kelly hasn’t decided yet)
Apple pie (maybe, if Kelly doesn’t make pumpkin pie)
For the adult beverages, I got some champagne to make mimosas while I’m cooking … and wine for dinner.
And best, we have lots of games to play. Growing up, we always played card games (Chinese Rummy was my favorite.) Today I hope to get in a game or two! Do you have any favorite family games? If you check out my website, let me know what you think and what information you’d like to see up there. (I know some of the pdf files are outdated! I’m getting to them!) Or, let me know where you plan to buy IF I SHOULD DIE (I’m just curious! Digital or print? Order online or go into a store?) I’m really sad about Borders this week because they have always treated me so well, and the Elk Grove staff was amazing. My prayer today is for all Borders staff who love books like we do, to find jobs doing what they love. Or, if you want to share a favorite recipe, please do! I might just make it next year! Comment for a chance to win A BOX OF BOOKS. I’ve been cleaning out my bookshelves and have some duplicate copies of some great books by JT Ellison, Mariah Stewart, and others! Plus, I’ll toss in whatever book in my backlist you want
On Saturday I posted my involvement in the Banned Books Week Hop. You can read it here, and check out the prizes I’m offering! Remember, one entry a day!
Today, I wanted to talk about some of the most challenged books.
It’s important to understand that when we talk about “banned books” these aren’t books banned across the country by the government. Banned books are often challenged books that are banned in limited schools and public libraries because a vocal minority spoke up.
I believe in freedom of speech and these citizens deserve every right to stand up and denounce a book they don’t like and articulate why.
I believe in the rights of parents to approve what their child reads. No child should be reading material for school that their parents find offensive or antithetical to their religion or personal beliefs. In these rare instances, I believe the teacher should strive to offer an alternative, or dialogue with the parents to find out what the specific issue is. Parents have the right to ban certain books from the house, just like they can ban certain movies or video games.
However, no one person should have the right to deny everyone else the right to read a book. Not in a free society.
Banning books is not a liberal or conservative issue. It’s not a religious issue. People of all political and religious stripes seek to ban certain books. And I strongly believe that no one should be forced to read a book, as much as I believe they have the right to read any book.
This is not to say that age-inappropriate books should be placed in libraries, but I think our librarians are smarter than that. No one is seeking to put the Joy of Sex in elementary schools. The books that get challenged the most are classics, or books written for the children’s market. (This includes YA books.)
Other than the obvious, perennial “banned” books like To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, here are some of the most challenged books of the last decade:
The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
Killing Mr. Griffen by Lois Duncan
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle
Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park
Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
And here’s a neat little list from the ALA of the ten most challenged books in 2010:
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Lush by Natasha Friend
What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Revolutionary Voices by Amy Sonnie
Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Now, I’m preaching to the choir. So what I want from you is to talk about ANY book you’ve read that has impacted you in any way. It can be a book with a moral lesson that has stuck with you, or a laugh-out-loud feel good book, or a classic that you have never forgotten, or a non-fiction book that taught you something valuable. Share, because remember, everyone who posts this week is in a drawing for one of five great prizes, including an advance copy of my upcoming IF I SHOULD DIE.
And one more thing … the amazing and talented Mariah Stewart has a new book out this week in her Chesapeake Bay series. HOMETOWN GIRL is a must read. I pre-ordered my copy and it’s sitting on my desk waiting for me to finish writing my next book.
Check out this wonderful trailer for Mariah’s book.
I can not wait! And you don’t have to—you can go buy it now and read it before the end of the weekend! Here at Amazon or BN.com BN.com or wherever you like to buy your books.
And, I’m teaching a rare on-line class. I usually teach only one a year. This one is on romantic suspense for the Kiss of Death chapter. I don’t take remuneration for these type of classes, so all the money goes back to the chapter for their scholarship fund. The more people who take the class the greater chance more scholarships KOD can offer so members can go to the RWA conference! More information here, but if you’re interested don’t wait because it starts on Saturday!
P.S. — A special thanks to Rocki for posting my blog this morning! Some of you may have noticed we’ve had some technical issues. You’ll be happy to know we’re moving providers and getting all this fixed–hopefully it’ll be all done by the end of the weekend! Thanks so much for your patience
Murder She Writes had joined more than 250 blogs in the effort to raise awareness that books should not be banned. Scroll to the bottom for a list of ALL participating blogs … many of whom are giving away prizes!
From Ray Bradbury and FAHRENHEIT-451 (one of my all-time favorite books):
“Somewhere the saving and putting away had to begin again and someone had to do the saving and the keeping, one way or another, in books, in records, in people’s heads, any way at all so long as it was safe, free from moths, silverfish, rust and dry-rot, and men with matches.”
I’ve always found it ironic that a book about the tragedy of book banning (through the total physical destruction of books-fire) has been banned by different people for different reasons.
Parents should be the arbitrars of what their children read. If I, as a mom, ban a book from my house, that is my right. (And I have. Some books are inappropriate for kids. Some books are inappropriate for me!)
But please, in a free society, no one has the right to ban a book for ALL.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who give up essential liberties in order to protect a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
The First Amendment, as is the entire Bill of Rights, is essential for our country to be free, and books are the permanent foundation of free speech. Our military men and women have fought and died for more than two hundred years to protect our freedoms–freedoms many of us don’t think about, or take for granted.
There are countries where people are killed or imprisoned because of what they say. There are countries where people are killed because of what religion they practice. There are countries where women have no rights, where women are punished when they are raped because, in the eyes of the government, their rape was their fault.
These are countries where government bans books and information.
Censorship is not a liberal or conservative issue. Banning books and ideas affects the left and the right equally.
But it all starts with banning one book.
Visit as many of these blogs as you can — many are giving away books and other prizes throughout the week!
Tell me: what’s your favorite banned book?
Follow me on Twitter @allison_brennan for tweets of favorite banned books all through the week.
On Monday my kids start school. I’ve already had two orientations (on Tuesday for my second grader and on Wednesday for my third and fifth graders.) On Friday it’s the high school orientation, with a special meeting with just the seniors. Yes, I have a senior. I don’t feel old enough to have a daughter who will be 18 in a few months. :/
I’m VERY excited about the start of school because I get my regular schedule back. Having the kids around is one thing, but summer is also full of playtime, sports practice, summer day camp, shopping, and (of course) boredom. They want mommy time, but mommy has deadlines! So balancing it all is a chore because no two days are the same. Worse, because it’s summer, the kids stay up later so I can’t get back to the computer until later. When school starts I know that I have my 9-3 writing time and my 9 pm – midnight writing time. While I am not an organized person in most of my life, I need a set writing schedule. When I see something on my calendar for, say, 1:30 in the afternoon, it’s much harder to focus because I know I have this obligation. During the school year, I rarely schedule anything during my writing time.
The other night we had a scare–my boys came back from football practice and my youngest ran around the side of the house to tell me he was home, and came across a rattlesnake. Dan decapitated it and it continued to slither around, which is downright creepy.
I know there are snake lovers out there, but I’m not one of them. I can handle small snakes (King snakes, garter snakes) if they don’t surprise me, but rattlers terrify me. And terrified my son. He turned and ran and was crying so hard he couldn’t talk–it took several minutes for my husband to get out of him that he saw a rattle snake that hissed at him. When Dan found the snake, it was coiled. Snakes don’t generally attack unless they’re cornered, and this one was definitely cornered.
Here’s the video my daughter took of the snake 30 minutes after it’s demise:
We didn’t take a vacation this year. Next year, because RWA is in Anaheim, I’m planning on taking the family to Disneyland before the conference. Then maybe they can stop by the literacy signing so they can see what mom does when she leaves for a couple weeks every summer.
I also have two exciting projects. I’m dipping my toe into digital self-publishing. This won’t replace my traditionally published books–but hopefully help me find new readers and also give my current fans some fun, inexpensive stories to read!
The first is an amazing paranormal/urban fantasy anthology called ENTANGLED. All the proceeds are benefiting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The stories have been donated, as well as the cover art, the formatting, and the press. I wrote a Seven Deadly Sins novella, which will hopefully tide my paranormal fans over until I know what’s going on with the third book in the series, Mortal Sin. It’s a meaty story, nearly 30,000 words. And the cover is absolutely gorgeous. ENTANGLED will be available wherever digital books are sold on September 12.
Demon hunters Moira O’Donnell and Rafe Cooper are dragged into the dangerous world of nocturnal predators to find “Ghostly Justice” for a virgin sacrificed to an ancient blood demon in Allison Brennan’s all-new Seven Deadly Sins novella.
The other project is four short stories in a single-author anthology. Two of the stories were previously published in anthologies, but many of my fans haven’t read them. And two are completely new and original, including a novella I’d originally “almost” sold to Arabella Magazine as a serialized story before the mag went under. I just got the cover that I hired Hot Damn Designs to design and am SO thrilled with it. I don’t know when it’ll be out–but I hope later this fall.
Now, I’m in the middle of writing SILENCED (Lucy Kincaid #4.) I put it aside this week to read the page proofs of IF I SHOULD DIE (Lucy Kincaid #3) and can’t wait to get back to it. I’ll admit, it’s a little scary having a new publisher and a new editor after 17 books with the same people. Scary and exciting and nerve-wracking!
This year is full of beginnings and endings. And now that the end of summer is here, I’m eager to dive into all my projects with 110%.
I’ve been reading some YA mysteries. I read ALL UNQUIET THINGS by Anna Jabaz coming back from Thrillerfest, and now I’m in the middle of THE CHRISTOPHER KILLERS by Alane Ferguson. You can draw your own conclusions
What are you reading right now? Let me know and I’ll several people will be getting some free books! That’s right, my daughter Kelly and I are purging our bookshelves. We’re putting together 3-4 boxes of books–whatever can fit into the flat rate postal box. A mix of YA, thrillers, mysteries and romance. If you win, you can read the books or pass them onto a friend! I’d much rather give my books to the loyal readers of MSW than strangers in the library And every box will also have one of my backlist titles as I go through my shelves and re-organize.
And finally, for those of you who have been frustrated by our Murder She Writes site going up and down for no apparent reason … our wonderful hosting company is moving our site to a new server this weekend, so we hope that the problems will be over next week.
I never knew why until I started writing this blog tonight and realized that I also love reading a book series more than a stand alone.
Sure, on occasion there is an amazing movie that transcends the plethora of so-so productions. THE DEPARTED, for example. Or INCEPTION. Or CASABLANCA, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, and THE SIXTH SENSE. But more often than note, the movie is “good” but rarely “great.” (Had THE MATRIX or PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN ended after the first spectacular movie, I would have included them in outstanding feature films.)
There have been many great films produced throughout the years, but when you have one stand alone movie that’s it. It’s over. It has to be amazing, awesome, want-to-see-again thrills. The same thing goes for books. There are many great stand alone books that I count among my favorites: THE STAND by Stephen King; REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier; WELCOME TO TEMPTATION by Jennifer Crusie; and several of Nora Roberts big summer stand alones. (My mom just finished CHASING FIRE and thought it’s one of her best to date–how DOES that woman keep getting better after so many books? Amazing.)
But as I was glancing at my shelves of keepers, trying to find stand alone titles that are my faves, I realized that most of my favorites are because of a character in a series. Robert Crais’s Joe Pike. Michael Connelly’s Mickey Haller. J.D. Robb’s Eve and Roarke. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli & Isles. Lisa Gardner’s D.D. Warren (and of course Quinn and Rainey!). My shelves are full of series. Karin Slaughter. Ridley Pearson. Even my favorite of Dean Koontz’s books are part of a series– the Odd Thomas books.
You might say most romances are stand-alones, and in one sense they are–the reader follows one couple who has an HEA by the end of the book. But even in romance, writers tap into the human need of connection–writing trilogies or connected series with recurring characters. We (the readers) don’t want to let them go. I get more email about what’s going to happen with Patrick Kincaid, a recurring character who hasn’t had his own book than I do with simple, “When’s your next book coming out?” Our own Rocki has created two amazing worlds with first her Bulletcatcher series, and now her Guardian Angelinos. Different heroes and heroines in each stories, but within the same world so you can follow them over multiple books.
Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know. But I equate my love of series characters with my preference of television to the movies.
With t.v., the viewer doesn’t have to have a complete “story” in the macro sense. Yes, we need a resolution to the immediate one-hour situation, but we know we’ll be visiting the characters again next week. We look forward to finding out what’s happening, even against the backdrop of whatever genre we’re watching.
Some television shows have limited character growth. Most of the crime shows are limited in this scope. Though I love LAW & ORDER: SVU and over umpteen seasons Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler have grown as characters, but the show is primarily about the one hour story, not the characters who populate it. In this regard, it’s the one exception in my television preferences. I’ve given up on CSI and CRIMINAL MINDS and many other shows because there was little to no character growth–or if there was, it was a sudden change necessitated by a cool plot in one or two shows.
When I first seriously started writing, I had three kids and worked full-time. The only way I could make the time to write was to give up television. I did–for three years. Television had become a habit, because there was a lot of crap on. The early 21st century hadn’t yet seen the explosive growth of cable television series. The good shows (like DEADWOOD) were on paid television, which I didn’t subscribe to. I found that series on DVD. Or they weren’t promoted or supported (like FIREFLY) which I discovered only after I saw the movie SERENITY.
When I started watching television again, I did it first by watching a complete season on DVD. I’d missed a lot in giving up the tube for three years, that I needed to catch up on what was popular. I watched VERONICA MARS on DVD with my teenage daughters and LOST and DEADWOOD with my husband. I fell in love with television all over again, but on my terms.
When I got my Apple TV and started downloading seasons from iTunes, I realized there was still a lot of crap out there — but cable was coming into its own. I discovered LIFE (thanks Toni!) which unfortunately was cut short to only two seasons by short-sighted television executives who didn’t know a good thing–oh, wait, LIFE was NBC. Network. No duh, they were making a lot of crap, no wonder they didn’t see a good thing! And JUSTIFIED (FX), SUPERNATURAL (W/B) and now THE KILLING (AMC). And more.
What do all these shows have in common? Character. Not only characters, but characters who matter. Characters who are flawed. Characters who screw up and do the wrong thing for the right reasons or the right thing for the wrong reasons. Characters who are growing and changing in each and every episode. Characters we connect with. And one more critical factor: story.
You can’t have a solid series, even with great characters, even with Timothy Olyphant, without the backbone of a good story.
Nothing stood out more clearly to me than the blend of story and character than when I saw LUTHER.
Philadelphia Inquirer reviewer Johnathan Storm summed it up best:
“With the tormented Luther, it’s sometimes tough even to identify who is the cat and who is the mouse. Writing and acting come together to produce characters, more than stories, who are powerful, surprising, ambiguous, and all that other stuff.”
While I disagree that it is the character MORE than the story, I think that because the characters were so real that they BECAME the story. It was seamless.
LUTHER is a BBC show that I would never have discovered if not for my cousin Ginny mentioning it when I was visiting her and my great-aunt. So thank you Ginny!
LUTHER best illustrates my point because it is a limited mini-series. Six episodes (though I read they are producing two two-hour episodes for later this year) that have a complete story arc within the episode, and a continuing (and complete) story arc over the six-episode season.
Maybe Matt Roush with TV Guide is more succinct:
“This bold British import is among the best TV I’ve seen in a mediocre (on network TV, anyway) fall season. Fast-paced, constantly surprising and darkly entertaining, Luther is about as far as you can get from a cookie-cutter procedural.”
I wouldn’t say that LUTHER is better than JUSTIFIED … it’s different. I went into the series knowing it would end in six episodes (it was only later I discovered the two future shows.) It hooked me from the beginning, when Luther is chasing a child predator who had molested and killed many young girls. He’d left one of his victims in a box and she would die if Luther couldn’t get the bastard to talk. Luther chases him and the killer falls and is hanging precariously off the edge of a catwalk. Luther stands over him and demands to know where the girl is. He knows that the killer will not tell him if he’s safe, so he lets him hang. And keeps him hanging until he knows the girl has been found and is alive.
And keeps him hanging a beat longer. Another beat.
He falls.
Brilliant, daring television.
LUTHER isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. What it must do, and does better than most shows I’ve seen, is draw the viewer into the lives of not only the main character but the people who surround him. Alice Morgan, the brilliant sociopath who John Luther knows killed her parents but can’t prove it, is the mouse to his cat . . . or is it the other way around? (Honestly, she is better than Hannibal Lechter. Just as smart, but subtle.) And Luther’s estranged wife (no, I didn’t like her any more than I like Winona in JUSTIFIED) was perfectly played (for a weak-willed don’t-know-what-I-want female who did, fortunately, redeem herself in the end.) His partner Justin Ripley, a rookie I adored–young, idealistic, with a conscience that both supported Luther and criticized him when warranted. He played by the rules, but at the same time believed in his senior partner. And Ian Reed, Luther’s best friend and staunchest supporter and . . . more. I don’t want to give anything away.
And while Idris Elba as John Luther was the core of the show, it only worked because everyone rose to the challenge. The writing was sharp, the acting top-notch, the stories psychologically terrifying and interesting, and the character development deep and real.
Perfect? No. But without watching it again, I wouldn’t be able to point to the flaws. As an American, some of the British rules were a bit different. Cops don’t all carry guns, for example. And sometimes they talked so fast that, with their accents, I couldn’t quite understand everything they said. But I got the gist, and didn’t need sub-titles
What I loved most of all, however, was the relationships. Between Luther and his estranged wife, Zoey. Luther and Alice. Luther and Ian Reed. Luther and his partner. Luther and his boss. And how they all interacted. How each episode stood alone, but built the foundation for the last two episodes.
Writers, mark this down as the next series you watch. Less than six hours of time, it’s worth it. Crime show fans? Mark this down as a thrill ride with great characters you won’t want to end.
After watching LUTHER, I knew exactly why I preferred series to stand-alones, and television to movies. Character depth and growth against the backdrop of a great story.
It just doesn’t get any better than that.
So tell me — what television series stood out so much that it reignited your love of t.v.? What book series is a must read as soon as the book comes out?
As an aside . . . this weekend we’re starting a new hopefully monthly feature of guest bloggers. So come visit us on Saturday and say hi to my friend Misa Ramirez!
… and wine for dinner.
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