Worth the Wait: One was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming

For Julia Spencer-Fleming fans it's been a long wait, but One Was a Soldier was worth waiting for!

Since Episcopal Priest Rev. Clare Fergusson re-upped in the military to serve as a helicopter pilot in Iraq at the end of the previous book, fans have been eagerly awaiting this new installment in the series. The plot focuses on Clare and other vets adapting to civilian life. When a young veteran appears to commit suicide, Clare disagrees with her lover, Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne, and investigates the case as a murder (with help from her fellow vets). I'm afraid to say much more about the plot for fear of giving anything away but, like her other books, the plot is compelling, the characters complex and unforgettable, and the end leaves the reader eagerly awaiting the next book. Let's just hope we don't have to wait three years. :)

For those who haven't read the series yet, the Kindle version of the first book, In the Bleak Midwinter, is currently on sale for $2.99. If you don't have a Kindle, you can download free Kindle software for your desktop, laptop, cell phone, or iPad.

Thank you, Julia, for this wonderful book and for the opportunity to review an advance reader's copy.

A Reply from Ray Bradbury!

Ray Bradbury is one of my all time-favorite authors. Just look under Bradbury in the topics list if you don't believe me! The older I get, the more he inspires me. Not just his wonderful writing, but his optimistic and loving attitude toward writing, life, and doing what you love.

This week Sam Weller, Ray's biographer, posted a request on his blog about Ray: did you have a question for Ray? I did -- and I was thrilled when Ray sent me an answer on Sam's blog, Listen to the Echoes!

I pasting the relevant parts here, just in case Sam's blog ever disappears:

January 4, 2011

Ask Ray Bradbury!

By Sam Weller at 4:38pm ET

I am visiting with Ray Bradbury later this week. If you have a question for him, I’m happy to ask. Just post your inquiries in the comment field down below, and Ray and I will do our very best to answer. All questions must be submitted here before noon pacific standard time on Friday.

Best,
Sam Weller

Dear Ray,
You are my favorite author and I feel like I’ve come to know you through your stories. After reading Sam Weller’s biography, I almost feel like you are family, a dear uncle who lives far away but whose visits and stories I eagerly await.
I would love to receive a note from you. If I write to you and send a card for you to sign, will you send it back? I know you are very busy but I would treasure it forever. Also, is sending a letter to your publisher (HarperCollins) the best way to write to you?
Thank you very much,
Cathy Akers-Jordan
Davison, MI
Comment by Cathy Akers-Jordan — January 5, 2011 @ 5:48am

Dear Cathy,
Thank you for your note! If you send a message to me in care of HarperCollins publishers, they will forward the letter to me.
Love!
Ray
Comment by Sam Weller — January 7, 2011 @ 5:56pm

Mere words can't express how happy this simple answer made me! Ray answered my question! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an important letter to write. :)

RIP Dick Francis

I didn't hear this sad news until Entertainment Weekly arrived today (click to enlarge):


























I love his wonderful stories which often have a horse-racing connection and always have interesting characters and excellent plots. I'm glad his son Felix will continue writing but I will always miss his unique writing style. I like to think Dick's in Heaven now with his beloved Mary, chatting with the Queen Mum about horses.


Links:
Dick Francis on Stop You're Killing Me!
Dick Francis author web site

Bradbury at 89

After I found the interview with Ray Bradbury from July, I decided to put him in my Google Alerts so I don't miss any more news. I just learned that Ray celebrated his 89th birthday at Clifton's Cafe in downtown LA, where the Science Fiction Society met in the 1930s.

Next month he'll be signing his books at Every Picture Tells a Story in Santa Monica on Oct. 24. Oh, how I wish I could be there!

UPDATE: Ray will also be speaking Oct. 3 at the Duarte Festival of Authors (Southern California) and signing his new book We'll Always Have Paris. I'm so glad I added Ray to my Google Alerts! I just wish I could get to CA to meet him.

RIP Sister Carol Anne

I just learned that one of my favorite authors, Sister Carol Anne O'Marie who wrote the Sister Mary Helen mysteries, died in May from Parkinson's disease. After seeing a death date on her Stop You're Killing Me page, I found her obituary and a nice article in the online Catholic Voice about her homeless shelter: "Nuns continue ministry to homeless women in Oakland."

I found this picture and a nice remembrance of her on Stephen Danko's web site. There's another nice tribute on Janet Randolph's blog.

I'm so sorry to hear of her death and to learn that she suffered from Parkinson's disease. Apparently she didn't let it slow down her writing or her ministry! God bless you, Sister. I wish I could have met you in person but am glad to know you indirectly through your books. Rest in peace.

RIP Tony Hillerman

Tony Hillerman, 1925-2008.

Obituaries at NY Times and Omnivoracious

Bibliography * Unofficial Web Site









Photo courtesy of the NY Times.

Bradbury at Book Fair

I wish I had been at the West Hollywood Book Fair! Ray Bradbury attended to talk to the audience about his love of writing. Regular readers of this blog (all two of you) know he's my favorite living author and I would love to meet him. I love his stories and I'm always inspired by his essays about writing.

I've pasted the complete article here in case the link disappears.

The Many Loves of Ray Bradbury

by Erik Amaya, Contributing Writer

Wed, October 1st, 2008 at 7:58AM PST
Updated: Wed, October 1st, 2008 at 8:45AM PST

Well before author Ray Bradbury appeared on stage, the audience at Sunday’s West Hollywood Book Fair eclipsed the number of available seats. When he arrived, Bradbury was greeted by applause. Needing no introduction, the writer began to tell the audience about love. “Over a period of years, [I’ve discovered] the answer to everything is love,” he told the crowd. Bradbury loves films, plays, and people. His passion for these things has afforded him an extraordinary life. With a new production of “Fahrenheit 451” opening soon, many of Bradbury’s thoughts focused around the novel and play. His story began with actor Charles Laughton. “Charles Laughton was my teacher and my good friend. He asked me to write a [stage] version of ‘Fahrenheit 451,’” Bradbury recalled. “He took me to Disneyland and I flew over [Peter Pan’s London] with Charles Laughton. You can’t beat that, can you?”

It was on this trip that Laughton asked Bradbury to write a long-form play. The result was “Fahrenheit 451.” “One night, he called me and took to dinner with Paul Gregory, his producer,” Bradbury said. “Over dinner, they gave me two double martinis before they gave me the bad news. My play didn’t work.”

Bradbury famously wrote the novel version of “Fahrenheit 451” in the basement of the Powell Library at UCLA. “When I first got married, and we had two children, it was hard to write around the house. I needed an office, but I had no money,” he remembered. “I was wandering around UCLA one day at the Powell Library and I heard typing downstairs. I went down to see what was going on.” It turned out there was a typing room in the basement with a pool of twelve typewriters. “You could rent one for ten cents an hour,” Bradbury recalled. “I said, ‘Oh my god! This is going to be my office! I don’t need money!’ I went to the bank; got ten dollars worth of dimes. I went to UCLA, moved into the typing room and in nine days, I spent nine dollars and eighty cents and wrote the first version of ‘Fahrenheit 451.’”

This drew applause from the crowd. “So it was a dime novel, wasn’t it?” he joked.

Written during the McCarthy era of suspicion and paranoia, Bradbury had a hard time placing his novel for publication. He recalled the person that eventually did publish it. “A young man came along. He was starting a new magazine. He was roughly the same age as I was.” Bradbury was twenty-six at the time. “He said, ‘I don’t have much money, can you sell me a story of some sort?’ I said, ‘Look, I’ve got this new novel in three parts, ‘Fahrenheit 451,’ can you buy that from me?’ He said, ‘Yes, I’ll give you three hundred dollars.’ So, in late winter of 1953, ‘Fahrenheit 451’ appeared in the first issues of Playboy Magazine. Hugh Hefner has been a good friend for fifty years.”

Around this time, twenty-seven of Bradbury's stories were adapted by EC Comics. “They stole the stories! I caught them at it!” he recalled with a smile. “I trapped them and they started to pay me and the adaptations came out very well. The illustrations were beautiful. I am very proud of my association with that comic magazine.”

Despite the way that situation began, Bradbury feels his stories appearing in comics form made sense. “I started my life with comic strips. When I was nine years old, Buck Rodgers came into my life. I looked at Buck Rodgers. He pulled me into the future and I never came back. Buck Rodgers is one of my fathers. It’s natural I would want to be in comic strips.”

Shifting from the stage and magazines to the screen, Bradbury talked about his early cinematic experiences. “I started going to films when I was three-years-old. I saw ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ with Lon Cheney. I saw ‘Phantom of the Opera.’ I saw the dinosaur film, [The Lost World], when I was seven and dinosaurs changed me for life. I met Ray Harryhausen when I was eighteen and we promised each other to someday do a film together.” In 1952, Harryhausen created the creature for “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms,” based on Bradbury’s short story, “The Foghorn.”

“The Foghorn” grew from Bradbury’s boyhood love of dinosaurs. Like “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms,” that love would lead to another film, John Huston’s 1956 version of “Moby Dick.” “[‘The Foghorn’] was the first story in [the short story collection] ‘The Golden Apples of the Sun,’” Bradbury explained. “I gave a copy of that book to John Huston. He read that first story and later told me he gave me the job because he read my story about dinosaurs.” Working on the film was not the happiest of experiences and would later form the basis for the novel, “Green Shadows, White Whale.”

It was during this time that the stage entered the circle of Bradbury’s loves. “I went to work in Ireland for a whole year writing screenplay of ‘Moby Dick,’” he remembered. “While I was in Dublin, I saw the work of Sean O’Casey on the stage there. I saw George Bernard Shaw’s production of ‘Saint Joan’ and these productions began to teach me to write for the stage.” All the while, he would receive letters from friends sure that Bradbury would come home and write something about Ireland. He would write back with, ‘No, I don’t think I will.’ Eventually, that position changed. “When I’d been home about a year, a voice cried out inside my head, ‘Rick, darlin’!’

“I said, ‘Who is it?’

“He said, ‘It’s your cab driver that drove you every night from Gillcock to Dublin and

“I said, ‘Yes.’

He said, ‘Would you mind putting it down?’ So I began to write one act plays about Ireland and I didn’t know if they were any good or not.”

Eventually a friend of Bradbury’s asked about the plays. “He said, ‘Come to my house next Thursday night. I’ll have some actors there and they’ll stand up and read your plays to you and you’ll be able to tell if they’re any good.’ So, the next Thursday night, I went to his house and he had actors there and they read my plays and we fell on the floor. The goddamned things work! So at long last, I was thirty-seven-years-old, [and] I was beginning to write plays that worked.” This would eventually lead to his long form play about Ireland, “Falling Upward.”

Working out of Desilu Studios (now part of the Paramount lot), Bradbury put on productions of plays such as “The Pedestrian” and “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit.” Performed with amateurs and minimal lighting and direction, Bradbury discovered despite the technical difficulties, his plays really did work. He opened “The World of Ray Bradbury” in New York in 1964. “You feel your way, don’t you,” Bradbury said. “You love something and you do it. Then it works, or it doesn’t. Then you do something else that you love.”

Eventually, Bradbury even made that stage version of “Fahrenheit 451” work.

I knew some of his stories had been adapted for The Twilight Zone but didn't realize they had also been adapted by EC Comics* (which were collected in Tomorrow Midnight). Now I have new books to look for -- just in time for October (which is Bradbury time, you know). :)

* With apologies to my friend Bill W. who told me this but I had forgotten!

Happy Birthday, Ray!

Ray Bradbury is 88 years old today. Happy birthday, Ray, and many happy returns!

One review I read said that Ray's stories create vivid images or moods that stay with readers for years. That's it exactly. I know what it's like to be a boy growing up in the 1920s, to sneak out my window to see the carnival train arrive in town, to discover the supernatural at a carnival, to walk on Mars, to dream of rockets, to meet dinosaurs, to float in space, to fear that mysterious ravine that runs through town or the trapdoor to the attic that wasn't there yesterday, to taste dandelion wine, to love Halloween, to fear a future with no books, and oh so many more wonderful, frightening, and amazing things because I've read Ray.

One of my favorite stories is how Ray's life changed forever when, at age 12, he became a writer after a strange encounter with a carnival (which he later incorporated into Something Wicked This Way Comes). He describes the encounter on his web site in In His Words:

I've also pasted the essay here.

Hello again!

At the end of my last web-site talk I promised to tell you about how I happened to fall into becoming a writer.

Some of it was gradual, and part of it was accidental.

Back when I was twelve years old I was madly in love with L. Frank Baum and the Oz books, along with the novels of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, and especially the Tarzan books and the John Carter, Warlord of Mars books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I began to think about becoming a writer at that time.

Simultaneously I saw Blackstone the Magician on stage and thought, what a wonderful life it would be if I could grow up and become a magician.

In many ways that is exactly what I did.

It was an encounter with another magician that changed my life forever.

During the Labor Day week of 1932 a favorite uncle of mine died; his funeral was held on the Labor Day Saturday. If he hadn't died that week, my life might not have changed because, returning from his funeral at noon on that Saturday, I saw carnival tent down by Lake Michigan. I knew that down there, by the lake, in his special tent, was a magician named Mr. Electrico.

Mr. Electrico was a fantastic creator of marvels. He sat in his electric chair every night and was electrocuted in front of all the people, young and old, of Waukegan, Illinois. When the electricity surged through his body he raised a sword and knighted all the kids sitting in the front row below his platform. I had been to see Mr. Electrico the night before. When he reached me, he pointed his sword at my head and touched my brow. The electricity rushed down the sword, inside my skull, made my hair stand up and sparks fly out of my ears. He then shouted at me, "Live forever!"

I thought that was a wonderful idea, but how did you do it?

The next day, being driven home by my father, fresh from the funeral, I looked down at those carnival tents and thought to myself, "The answer is there. He said 'Live forever,' and I must go find out how to do that." I told my father to stop the car. He didn't want to, but I insisted. He stopped the car and let me out, furious with me for not returning home to partake in the wake being held for my uncle. With the car gone, and my father in a rage, I ran down the hill. What was I doing? I was running away from death, running toward life.

When I reached the carnival grounds, by God, sitting there, almost as if he were waiting for me, was Mr. Electrico. I grew, suddenly, very shy. I couldn't possibly ask, How do you live forever? But luckily I had a magic trick in my pocket. I pulled it out, held it toward Mr. Electrico and asked him if he'd show me how to do the trick. He showed me how and then looked into my face and said, "Would you like to see some of those peculiar people in that tent over there?"

I said, "Yes."

He took me over to the sideshow tent and hit it with his cane and shouted, "Clean up your language!" at whoever was inside. Then, he pulled up the tent flap and took me in to meet the Illustrated Man, the Fat Lady, the Skeleton Man, the acrobats, and all the strange people in the sideshows.

He then walked me down by the shore and we sat on a sand dune. He talked about his small philosophies and let me talk about my large ones. At a certain point he finally leaned forward and said, "You know, we've met before."

I replied, "No, sir, I've never met you before."

He said, "Yes, you were my best friend in the great war in France in 1918 and you were wounded and died in my arms at the battle of the Ardennes Forrest. But now, here today, I see his soul shining out of your eyes. Here you are, with a new face, a new name, but the soul shining from your face is the soul of my dear dead friend. Welcome back to the world."

Why did he say that? I don't know. Was there something in my eagerness, my passion for life, my being ready for some sort of new activity? I don't know the answer to that. All I know is that he said, "Live forever" and gave me a future and in doing so, gave me a past many years before, when his friend died in France.

Leaving the carnival grounds that day I stood by the carousel and watched the horses go round and round to the music of "Beautiful Ohio." Standing there, the tears poured down my face, for I felt that something strange and wonderful had happened to me because of my encounter with Mr. Electrico.

I went home and the next day traveled to Arizona with my folks. When we arrived there a few days later I began to write, full-time. I have written every single day of my life since that day 69 years ago.
I have long since lost track of Mr. Electrico, but I wish that he existed somewhere in the world so that I could run to him, embrace him, and thank him for changing my life and helping me become a writer.

-Ray Bradbury, December 2001

Mr. Electrico was right, Ray: you and your stories will live forever. Keep living, loving, and writing!

The End of The Cat Who...?

This summer I am listening to the audio books of one my favorite mystery series: The Cat Who... by Lilian Jackson Braun. For those who aren't familiar with the series, each title begins with the words "The Cat Who" as you can see by following the link to a list of the books.

Braun doesn't have her own web site. There are several devoted to her works but most are not up-to-date. I also noticed that no two sites have the same birth year for her; estimates range from 1912-1916, making her at least 92.

Braun wrote the first three books in her series in 1966-68, then took a break until 1986 when she began writing a book or two each year until 2007 for a total of 29 books, making this one of the most prolific and longest-running modern mystery series. I think it was also the first cozy series to feature cats among the main characters. Regardless, she is the Queen of the Cat Cozies.

The series follows the adventures of journalist Jim Qwilleran (called Qwill) and his two Siamese cats, Kao K'o Kung (Koko) and Yum Yum. The cats are just as important to each story and as realistically three-dimensional as Qwill. Braun skillfully walks a fine line in her portrayal of Koko. Is he a super-smart, psychic cat who can solve crimes, or is Qwilleran projecting his own subconscious ideas onto Koko's neurotic antics and interpreting them as clues to help him solve crimes? Is it just a coincidence that the apparently psychic Koko has an unusual abundance of whiskers (60 instead of the usual 24)? And what about the tingle in his magnificent mustache that Qwill gets when he has a hunch -- is he identifying with Koko or is it all just coincidence?

One of the things I enjoy about the series is all the places Qwill and the Siamese visit and all the people they meet. At the beginning of the series they live in the city but eventually settle in the country after Qwill inherits a fortune from his mom's best friend, "Aunt" Fanny. The state is never identified but is clearly the upper-Midwest. Since Braun is from Michigan, I like to think it's Michigan because some of the names sounds very familiar: Pickax sounds Bad Axe, MI and Ittybittywassee River sounds like Titabawasee River. She's never specific and drops enough hints that it could be anywhere in northern Michigan, Minnesota, or Wisconsin.

This is a very cozy series with an emphasis on descriptions of people, places, customs, food, and Koko and Yum Yum's antics (of course). There's a host of recurring supporting characters we get to know and love almost as much as Qwill and the Siamese including Polly, Qwill's long-time girlfriend; Arch Riker, Qwill's friend since childhood and fellow journalist; Junior Goodwinter (and the extended Goodwinter clan), a newspaperman from Moose County, and many, many others. Qwill enjoys collecting folk stories so the almost every book contains a quaint historical or personal story from a minor character that greatly adds to the flavor of the series.

Cat lovers will enjoy the playful and sometimes neurotic behavior of Koko and Yum Yum and the way Qwill spoils them. Qwill doesn't cook for himself and lives on restaurant food but cooks or purchases gourmet food for the cats. In each book Koko and Yum Yum's antics relate to the title of the book and the current mystery (of course). I love the fact that they act like real cats! You can tell the author loves cats and has been owned by several Siamese. As the "owner" of a half-Siamese I can verify that Braun portrays their quirky personalities accurately and affectionately.

After settling down in Moose County (400 miles north of everywhere), Qwill and the Siamese sometimes visit his cottage at the lake, presumably one of the Great Lakes. Qwill is always skeptical of the lake residents' obsession with the UFOs said to appear over the lake in the summer. This becomes a running theme/joke in all the books set at the lake, my favorite of which is The Cat Who Saw Stars. (I won't give away the ending but it's perfect!)

Settling down with one of The Cat Who... books is like a pleasant visit with comfortable old friends. Although the plots are interesting, there are seldom any surprises and you love them anyway because you get to visit the people and cats you love.

The series changed noticeably in 2002 with The Cat Who Went Up the Creek. It wasn't quite as focused as the previous books, but given the author's age (probably 90 at that time), it was understandable. The next couple books were better but the last few were shorter and had a lot less plot. Most disappointing was the last book, The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers.

SPOILER ALERT! I'm about to give away important plot elements of The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers -- stop reading now if you don't want to know. The first problem in this book is the lack of a puzzle, an essential element in even a cozy mystery; there is no crime of any kind and, hence, no plot. Other troublesome problems are that a likable minor character is tragically and pointlessly killed in an auto accident; Polly unexpected leaves Qwill for a job in France, apparently permanently; Qwill, nonplussed, simply decides to date someone else; Qwill's home burns down; the cats are hardly in the story; and we never learn the significance of Koko's extra whiskers (which is what the title refers to). Most frustrating are Qwill and Polly's actions which are completely out of character. Although they never marry, Qwill and Polly are devotedly attached to each other and in The Cat Who Came to Breakfast he realizes he can't imagine life without her. These horrible events left me wondering if Braun simply wanted to end the series and decided to do so in a dramatic and unexpected way, however disappointing to her readers. When I heard she was working on a new book, The Cat Who Smelled Smoke, I hoped that she would fix or undo everything that happened in The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers, or a least explain it. Sadly, the most recent news is that The Cat Who Smelled Smoke has been canceled by the publisher; no reason is given and I can't find any news about the author. I fear the worst. Apparently The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers was the last of the series and am very sad to have it end with such a disappointing and uncharacteristic book.

Despite the unfortunate last book, I still strongly recommend this series for anyone who likes cozies, cats, or light, fun mysteries. I also recommend the unabridged audio books read by George Guidall. If you don't want to buy them, you can probably find them in your local library. (I know the Flint Public Library and Genesee District Library have them.)

Related Web Sites:
Stop You're Killing Me
Fantastic Fiction (a UK site)
Wikipedia
Ronald Frobnitz and Family (not up-to-date; site name is a reference to one of Qwill's aliases)
The Unofficial Lilian Jackson Braun Site (not up-to-date)

Review: I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

I Shall Not Want is the sixth book in Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne series. In this much-anticipated book, we learn what happens after the death Russ’s wife and Clare’s reinstatement in the military at the end of All Mortal Flesh.

In you aren’t familiar with this series, it’s set in the small town of Millers [sic] Kill in up state New York where ex-military helicopter pilot and newly ordained Episcopal Priest Clare Fergusson often gets involved in the criminal cases of Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne. Clare is a refreshingly unusual heroine while Russ, also ex-military, is a much more traditional hero: an admirably good and decent man who is also a very good cop. The two are antagonistic at first but soon realized they are strongly attracted to each other. Clare is reluctant to get involved with a married man for moral reasons and Russ is determined to be faithful to his wife despite recent troubles in their marriage. Trite as it sounds, the tension between Clare and Russ is the driving force between these two very likeable characters in a very well-crafted series. All of the plots are amazingly but understandably complex and compellingly unpredictable. Keeping with the theme of Clare’s vocation, each book title refers to a hymn or scripture with the related text included as a preface.

I Shall Not Want starts off with a bang that will drive you crazy until you see how it plays out. You may be tempted to skip to the end but resist the urge and enjoy the ride. The plot is excellent, as usual, and involves the deaths Latino immigrants who work on the local farms. Clare’s work with the immigrants throws her into close proximity of Russ and the tension between the two is heightened by the grief and guilt they feel over the recent accidental death of Russ’s wife. The possibility that Clare’s unit will be called up for active duty in Iraq increases the tension throughout the book.

In addition to the usual supporting characters, we meet a new police officer Hadley Knox, who returns to Millers Kill as a divorced mom. The first female officer in the Millers Kill PD struggles to adapt and has her own romantic problems that complicate her new career. I really like her and hope she sticks around!

The book has an ending that will satisfactorily resolve some issues but leave you looking forward to the next book. I can’t say more than that without giving anything away! Do plan on uninterrupted reading time because once you start this book, you won’t want to stop.

If you haven’t read the series I strongly recommend you start at the beginning so you don't miss any of these fantastic stories or the on-going character development:

1. In the Bleak Midwinter (2002. Agatha Award for Best First Novel)
2. A Fountain Filled With Blood (2003.)
3. Out of the Deep I Cry (2004. Finalist 2005 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel)
4. To Darkness and to Death (2005.)
5. All Mortal Flesh (2006. 2007 Nero Award, Finalist 2006 Agatha Award for Best Novel, Finalist 2007 Macavity Award for Best Novel, and Finalist 2007 Anthony Award for Best Mystery)
6. I Shall Not Want (2008.)

Thank you, Julia, for another wonderful book and for allowing me to review it! I hope to goodness you are busy writing the next one. ☺

Dumbledore is Gay

Saturday, October 20 on the news everywhere: J.K. Rowling Reveals 'Harry Potter' Character Dumbledore Is Gay.

I must admit my reactions were the same as Jo's regarding fan fiction and Christian groups who think the books lead to kids practicing witchcraft, but I also wonder if Sir Ian McKellan is now sorry he turned down the role.

My two cents: the fact that Dumbledore's great love also turned into his greatest rival (whom he had to defeat) makes his character even more tragic.

Fantastic Tales of Ray Bradbury

I just purchased the audio book Fantastic Tales of Ray Bradbury. It's a wonderful collection of 14 of his most popular stories and, best of all, it's read by Ray Bradbury. He introduces each story by explaining how he got the idea and I like that a lot. My only complaint is that it does not include a table of contents.

While searching online for the table of contents I found some great sites devoted to Ray, including one with quotes. I love this quote:

"If you can't read and write you can't think. Your thoughts are dispersed if you don't know how to read and write. You've got to be able to look at your thoughts on paper and discover what a fool you were." ~ Ray Bradbury (Salon.com, August 29, 2001)

You said it, Ray!

Here are the web sites:

Ray Bradbury (official web site)
Fantastic Fiction (includes all his works in chronological order)
Ray Bradbury Online (a list of his audio books and some quotes)
Ray Bradbury Audio (contents of many of his audio books, including Fantastic Tales of Ray Bradbury)

I've loved Ray's books for a long time and have written about him several times. Here are the links if you are interested: Hooray for Ray!, 86 and Still Writing, and Farewell Summer.

For me most of his stories evoke "a world where miracles are just everyday occurrences and even the most ordinary things are pervaded by eerie glimmerings of the supernatural and the unknown" (to quote the blurb on Dandelion Wine).

I feel compelled to read Ray's books in the fall, not just the ones with obvious Halloween/autumn connections (like The October Country, The Halloween Tree, From the Dust Returned, and Something Wicked This Way Comes). I also want to read those with summer settings that evoke that sense of October and the supernatural (like Dandelion Wine).

There's nothing like curling up with a good Ray Bradbury book on a dark, cozy evening while listening to the rustle of fallen leaves in the crisp autumn air. My stack of books and I are ready for fall, even if the weather isn't cooperating.

RIP Madeleine L'Engle

In yesterday's news: 'A Wrinkle in Time' author L'Engle dies.

Now I feel really sad. I loved her books when I was a kid. I didn't realize how much A Wrinkle in Time impressed my husband until he blogged about it yesterday. Now I want to read all the books in that series again, including the "new" 4th book which I've never read. (Yes, when I was young this series only had three books.)

UPDATE: Oct. 3. I just visited her official web site and found that there are five books in the Wrinkle in Time series!

The News section of her website includes this memorial info:

The memorial service for Madeleine will be held on November 28th at 4pm at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. That is the day before her 89th Birthday--come help us celebrate Madeleine!

NPR Features a tribute to Madeleine and the tesseract here!

More on Cozies

I've been thinking about my previous post on cozies and I realized I didn't mention the main reason I like cozies! Cozies are comforting.

This weekend when I was looking for something to read, I realized how important the comfort element is to me. My tendonitis has been hurting a lot, I feel overwhelmed with grading (I'm behind because of the tendonitis), and I'm worried about Saffron. I wasn't in the mood for a medical thriller (too graphic), a psychological thriller (too scary and/or unrealistic), or a police procedural (too graphic). I realized I needed a cozy! In cozies the violence usually take place off stage and the focus is on how the crime effects the characters' lives. There are lots of descriptions of food, settings, and wonderful characters. When you need a comforting visit with old friends, a cozy series is even better. The fact that the murderer is always brought to justice at the end of the book is also comforting.

Thinking about this made me remember that reading a cozy (a book in Dorothy Cannell's series) help me cope with 9/11. When I couldn't take any more unthinkable tragedy, I curled with one of her books and I was transported to a little village in England where I didn't have to think about anything else. When I saw Dorothy at Magna cum Murder that October, I told her why I now considered her books comfort reading and we both cried. She has new book this year and I can hardly wait to read it!

Need comfort? Read a cozy.

Farewell Summer

It took 55 years, but Ray Bradbury, 86, has written a sequel to Dandelion Wine. I haven't read it yet but I'm looking forward to it! Read the review by Carole Goldberg.

I'm so glad you are still writing and inspiring us, Ray!

A Disappointing Book from Elizabeth George

In today's paper I saw that Elizabeth George's new novel, What Came Before He Shot Her, is #7 and rising on The New York Times best-seller list. I wonder who is reading this book, because I'm sure not!

This is a prequal to the previous book in George's Inspector Lynley series, With No One as Witness, in which an important supporting character is killed. (No names mentioned in case you are still reading the rest of the series!) It's not Inspector Lynley or his sidekick Constable Havers, but it is someone close to them. The book ends with Lynley resigning from Scotland Yard and Havers uncertain about the future.

What Came Before He Shot Her does nothing to advance the series storyline. Instead it's 600 wretched pages about the wretched life of the 12-year-old who killed the important supporting character. It's grueling, realistic, and awful beyond words. If you like torturing yourself with realistic fiction, you'll love it, but that's not why I read mysteries. Where is the sense of closure or justice?

Don't bother looking for your favorite characters, either. The important supporting character shows up for two pages (long enough to die), Havers and Sergeant N'kata show up for only two pages (in a scene from With No One as Witness), and Lynley doesn't even appear.

Don't mistake me: I like George's writing style and loved all of her previous books. That's what makes this one all the more disappointing.

86 and Still Writing

Yesterday Ray Bradbury turned 86 -- and he's still writing! He's also still an optimist. Read about it on CNN "Ray Bradbury forecasts highs for humanity."

I was just surfing the web and learned that in 2004 he received the National Medal of Arts. I also found a nice interview from 2001 on SciFi.com.

About this time last year I mentioned that Ray was the first science fiction/fantasy author that I ever read. I still love him. Every fall I feel the urge to re-read his books, especially the Halloween-related ones, and I think of him every time I hear about Mars on the news. If you don't know why, visit his web site for info about Ray and his books.

Happy Birthday, Ray! May you have many, many more. Keep writing!

The End of Harry Potter

Big Harry Potter news today on CNN (Rowling hints Harry Potter might die) and FoxNews (Rowling Says Two Characters Will Die in Final Harry Potter Book). The second headline is more accurate. For the video and/or complete transcript check out the two fan sites of which J. K. Rowling approves: Muggle Net and The Leaky Cauldron.

Speaking of web sites, Rowling has a very nice web site with trivia and other fun things, but it doesn't include what we really want to know: when she'll be done writing the last book! (She really doesn't need a news section since any comment she makes is quickly snatched up by the media and reported as news.) According to The Leaky Cauldron, Rowling will probably finish the last book next year.

The new movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, also won't be out until next year. I was hoping for the movie this year, to make waiting for the last book a little easier. Darn!

What I'm Watching: The Da Vinci Code

Last Thursday I saw The Da Vinci Code for the second time. I hardly ever see movies at the theater any more, so that alone should tell you how much I liked it. It's very well done and follows the book closely. The cast and directing are excellent and Sir Ian McKellan (as Sir Leigh Teabing) nearly steals the show!

I've asked a couple of friends who have seen the movie but haven't read the book if they had any trouble following the plot. They did not, but of course it's even more fun it you have read the book.

Speaking of the book, here is my two cents: I don't know why people are so worked up over a book of fiction. Everywhere I look churches are having meetings to discuss The Da Vinci Code. I'd feel better if I thought they were actually reading it and making up their own minds, but I suspect that (like my aunt's church) it's just the minister telling his congregation why they shouldn't read such heratical lies.

They are missing two crucial points: 1. It's a work of fiction, and 2. Just because Dan Brown wrote it does not mean that he believes it or that he is promoting the destruction of Christianity (as some Evangelical denominations and Catholics seem to think).

How do I know it's fiction? Duh. It's in the fiction section in the bookstore. If it were real it would be in the religion or history section. Also, take a look at the copyright page (on the back of the title page). The keywords section lists the book as fiction; it also includes the usual disclaimer that "All of the characters in this book are fictious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental."

What about the "Facts" page at the beginning of the book? Well, those facts are basically true. There was a Priory of Scion in 1099, Opus Dei does exist, and Brown describes the architecture of the settings well. Other than that, assume any details are fiction.

The "Facts" page is a way to get the reader's attention. It's no different than the author claiming to have found the enclosed manuscript under mysterious circumstances (or inherited it or whatever) and publishing it. This is just the author having fun with the reader by pretending that the characters and events are real, but that doesn't mean they are real.

For example, two of my favorite mystery authors, Laurie King and Elizabeth Peters, use this technique in their popular series. Does this mean readers think Sherlock Holmes, Mary Russell, Radcliff Emerson, and Amelia Peabody were real? Heck no! We know it's just good, wholesome fun and enjoy it.

Maybe average readers of The Da Vinci Code don't recognize this literary technique because they don't read much. They pick up the book because they've heard so much about it and assume it's all true, and overlooking the fact that it's in the fiction section.

The thing that makes The Da Vinci Code so controversial and such a best-seller is the inclusion of a theory about Jesus. One of Dan Brown's previous books, Angels and Demons, is similar to The Da Vinci Code and is about a cover-up by the Vatican. It's very good but not nearly as controversial as The Da Vinci Code. Why not? No radical Jesus theory. Throw in a controversial theory about Jesus and you've got an instant best-seller. (Remember the movie The Last Temptation of Christ?)

The irony is that the main thing some people object to in The Da Vinci Code, the idea that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and had a child, isn't even Dan Brown's idea! He even explains in the text that it comes from Holy Blood, Holy Grail (by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, who sued Brown and lost). Their book sold well but wasn't an international cultural phenomena like Brown's. Why? Probably because it's in the non-fiction section. (It probably should be in the fiction section since serious Biblical scholars and historians don't see it as a reliable source. I haven't read it, so I personally can't vouch for it one way or the other.)

The Da Vinci Code should be read for what it is: an interesting, entertaining, and well-written thriller. I enjoy it for those reasons but I also like the fact that it makes readers think and probably even read other books.

Towel Day

Do you know where your towel is?

In honor of Douglas Adams (1952-2001), author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, May 25 is Towel Day. For details refer to Wikipedia and the Towel Day web site -- and don't panic!