Patricia Stoltey

Author

Bits and Pieces

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Tomorrow’s Guest Blogger

My guest tomorrow is Cara Lopez Lee, author of They Only Eat Their Husbands: A Memoir of Alaskan Love, World Travel, and the Power of Running Away. Writers of memoir might be especially interested in Cara’s story. And all women who’ve yearned to travel. Or run away. And you guys surely want to investigate who (or what) eats their husbands. See, we have something for everybody here.

What I’m Reading

I finished Matt Hilton’s action thriller Judgment and Wrath. Highly recommended if you like thrillers with really creepy bad guys.

Next up is Rock, Paper, Tiger by Lisa Brackman. Here’s the tiny synopsis from Lisa’s website:

“Iraq vet Ellie McEnroe is down and out in China, trying to lose herself in the alien worlds of performance artists and online gamers. When a chance encounter with a Uighur fugitive drops her down a rabbit hole of conspiracies, Ellie must decide who to trust among the artists, dealers, collectors and operatives claiming to be on her side – in particular, a mysterious organization operating within a popular online game.”

Doesn’t that sound good?

Profanity in Fiction

The Blood-Red Pencil Blog is doing a whole week of posts about using profanity (as a writer) or accepting or tolerating obscenities in fiction (as a reader). Monday, Maryann Miller’s post was titled Potty Mouth?. Yesterday, Jim Thomsen asked To What Extent Do You Tolerate The “F-Word” in Fiction? If you write or read hard-boiled mysteries, thrillers, and even some mainstream and literary fiction, this can be an issue. Check out the blog posts and add your thoughts to the comments.

One of the Best Movies Ever

I watched Invictus this week. Great acting, and a wonderful movie based on the true story behind the South African 1995 Rugby World Cup win and how closely the event was tied to the political development of the nation during Nelson Mandela’s first time as President of South Africa. Highly recommended.

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Comments

  4. Greetings, Jane. I’m glad to know you liked Lisa’s book. I love reading new authors and trying to help spread the word.

    As far as our characters go, there are a few that are pretty hard to control. I’m still weighing the pros and cons for my really bad, bad guy.

  5. Hi Lisa — You’re most welcome. Personally, I don’t have a problem with bad language in books, as long as it fits the character. Others don’t like any profanity. And another set of readers can tolerate anything except taking the Lord’s name in vain. That’s why this week’s discussion on The Blood-Red Pencil is so interesting.

  6. I just finished Lisa’s book and thoroughly enjoyed the realistic characters and interesting storyline. I’ll definitely read more of her books when available.

    Now I’m heading over to read about the profanity thing as my characters don’t always hold back. I need to learn how to control them and what comes out of their mouth.

  7. Patricia, thanks much for the plug for ROCK PAPER TIGER, and many thanks for reading.

    I guess I should mention in the context of the rest of your bits and pieces that, uh, there’s quite a bit of profanity in the book. I’m of the, “if it fits the voice and the circumstances, go for it.” In the case of this particular MC, there were a lot of reasons beyond her background and circumstances. She uses tough language as sort of a cover for real feelings/vulnerability. But it’s not everybody’s cup of cappuccino.

    Lisa (Brackmann)

  11. I love movies and have put Invictus on my list.

    The F word was never in the “old” movies or the great literature of the world, or “older” crime fiction. I hate it. In recent movies and literature, I will tolerate a few if the movie or book is powerful; but beyond that, no matter how good the story might be, I walk away. What’s the point of it, or even of this @*&# euphemism?

    Call me old-fashioned. I don’t mind.
    Ann

  12. Patricia,
    Thanks for the movie review :-). I haven’t seen Invictus yet, but maybe I’ll check it out…

    Thanks, also, for pointing us towards that post on using @*&# words in writing. It’s a decision that I think every author needs to think about. I’m really interested to see what folks think about that issue.

  14. Pat, I thought Invictus was a fine movie, too.

    I’ll be back tomorrow for what is apparently going to be a very interesting guest post!