Patricia Stoltey

Author

Mix and Match Thursday

By:

What I’m Reading This Week:

In fiction I’m still working on Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe mystery, Some Buried Caesar. I was sidetracked by the Colorado Gold Conference and the extra sleep required to recover (and the two-hour finale of Big Brother), so I haven’t had as much time to read this week.

In nonfiction, I’m studying the food drying section of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Preserving Food by Karen Brees.

What I’m Thinking About:

I admit it. I’m thinking about the state of the nation and all the sub-topics that go with it. But this is a book and writing blog, so we’re not going to deal with those weighty issues here.

The writerly stuff on my mind has to do with whether or not to take a Saturday morning screenwriting class which falls on the same day as my ticket to see the stage version of To Kill a Mocking Bird.

What got me interested in screenwriting, you ask? I check in on Alan Chin’s blog, A Passage to Now, from time to time, and lately he’s been focusing on interest shown in his screenplay and how he’s doing a partial rewrite while juggling two other projects. It’s pretty interesting stuff if you have that little notion in the back of your mind that you might like to branch out and try something new. Alan also posted the names of books he’d recommend, so if you’re interested, here’s the link: Writing Good Screenplays.

My Quote of the Week:

So it goes.

———-Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. in Slaughterhouse-Five

This Week’s Recommended Blog:

I found K. D. Easley’s KD Blog when I followed a link to an article written by mystery author Lonnie Cruse: Writer’s Conferences: Are They Worth It? As I read some of the other posts, I knew I wanted to pass on the fun. Another post I especially enjoyed was: How to know if you’re a mystery writer.

The Best Thing I Had to Eat This Week:

That’s easy. It was the two squares of Lindt Dark Chocolate I had with my popcorn last night (while watching So You Think You Can Dance and Glee).

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Comments

  3. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books of all time. In fact, I’m going to the library and check it out. I want to read it again after all these years.

    Stephen Tremp

  4. Patricia; I enjoyed that link about mystery writers; although I admit I don’t think so much about where to put a body as how to kill the hapless victim!

    Reading right now? I’m making my way through Diana Gaboldon’s “Outlander” series – now on book 3. Most enjoyable.

    Thinking right now? Honestly? It’s do I concentrate on my writing today or clean my rather neglected house? Also (although this is an everyday thought – what am I making for dinner?)

    Enjoy the play – nothing in the world is like live theatre!

    Elspeth

  5. I liked this post!
    Here’s what I’m thinking about – Is J crying in daycare right now? I hope not!
    Here’s what I’m reading – your book, it’s very good.
    Best thing I ate this week – 5 Guys Burger (yummy!)

  6. I do think you’re right, Elizabeth. I’ve heard some pretty well-known authors talk about how they pick the personal characteristics of the victims and killers for their books from among the people they observe or deal with from day to day.

    Karen — Yep, I do love music and dancing, have been a fan of musical stageplays and movies since I was a kid. The fact that singing and dancing has made a great comeback to TV makes me very happy (even if it does steal a lot of time from my fun reading).

    And I should own up about the chocolate, I guess. Later, after I wrote this post, I ate two more squares. It is so darned good.