IWSG: How’s your world? (A Long, Strange, Trip)

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 
Remember, the question is optional!
April 1 question - The IWSG’s focus is on our writers. Each month, from all over the globe, we are a united group sharing our insecurities, our troubles, and our pain. So, in this time when our world is in crisis with the covid-19 pandemic, our optional question this month is: how are things in your world?

The awesome co-hosts for the April 1 posting of the IWSG are Diane Burton, JH Moncrieff, Anna @ Emaginette, Karen @ Reprobate Typewriter, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard!
Be sure you visit them and thank them for their hard work!

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The IWSG question came through on my email while I was in a pretty weird place, and almost made me laugh. Because our world was at once amazing, and utterly surreal.

Here's the story: While my husband and I were exploring Antarctica (along with approximately 160 fellow passengers, staff and crew of the Oceanwide Expeditions vessel Plancius), the world fell off a cliff. That’s how it looked to us, at least, as we emerged from a week of awe-struck exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula to realize that... we couldn’t go home.

That was a pretty literal “can’t go home.” We were not allowed to land at our port of origin in Ushuaia, Argentina (Tierra del Fuego). At first, it looked like we’d just be quarantined on the ship for an extra day, then allowed to land, and some of us would still be able to catch our flights. Before we reached port, however, we got word that Argentina had shut down all internal flights, AND closed all hotels, etc. Under the circumstances, Oceanwide Expeditions could not disembark us in Ushuaia, even if the local authorities would allow it.

The next choice was to cruise to Buenos Aires, a trip predicted to take about a week. In the end, Argentina closed their borders to us entirely, and we landed (after much negotiation on the part of Oceanwide) in Montevideo, Uruguay.

In the meantime, we had endured a rather typically rough crossing of the Drake Passage (or maybe a bit worse than average). For me, that made staying on the ship something pretty akin to hell, as I endured 72 hours of intense seasickness. I then got to enjoy about 3 days of nice weather, before we hit another moderately rough day and I spent another 3/4 of a day in my bunk.

No one on the ship was as happy as I to reach Montevideo, and tie up at a pier where the ship did not move at all (though my body never quite believed that, and in fact is still trying to readjust).

It took three days to get all passengers off the ship to confirmed flights out of there. No one could land without a flight, and my husband and I got off on the 3rd day. As far as we know, only one person is stuck in Uruguay, though at least one other is unable to return home anytime soon, and quite a lot are in quarantine in their home countries, where the governments are being aggressive in trying to slow the spread of the Corona virus.

During the lead-up to leaving the ship our concern was wholly on getting home, without much thought as to what that would be like, but as we spent hours in airports trying to get there, the extent of the change in the world was borne in on us.

We are home now, still trying to work out just what this all means for us, let alone for the world. One result: our family will be together, as our younger son is moving back home to continue his on-line education until the university reopens, due to arrive today. Finding private and quiet spaces for 4 people to work on computers has been a challenge, but hey--we all need something to do while we shelter in place, right? Plus, moving books and furniture gave me a good workout.

So while our weird world was a bit more exotic than most peoples', we have in fact had an amazing and memorable trip--even more so than expected! But... I don't recommend international travel during a pandemic :)

And no, I will not be taking any more cruises. Oceanwide, the staff and the crew of the Plancius were amazing, and I will recommend them to anyone who asks. But I am clearly not meant for a sailor, and shall stick to canoes and kayaks.

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That lengthy tale doesn't leave much room for writing news... just want to share that Frostfire Worlds has come out at last, with my story "The Revenge of Gorg." Looks like a nice collection!

 

Also: writing did happen during all the travel. More on that as things settle down, but edits on Death By Donut are under way, along with some bonus short stories!

Hope you are all getting lots done with your enforced writing time! And check back on Friday for the first of my Antarctica photo posts. Penguins: as good as cats for lifting your mood.

All images and text ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2020, unless otherwise indicated.
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!

Mystery Monday: Oliver Twisted Review and tour

Today I have the pleasure of hosting a stop on another Great Escapes tour and giveaway, for a fun sea-going mystery!

Title: Oliver Twisted (An Ivy Meadows Mystery)
Author: Cindy Brown
Publisher: Henry Press, 2016. 280 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1635110418
E-Book ASIN: B01DAPK14Q

Publisher's Synopsis:

Orphans. Thieves. Murder. And an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet!

When Ivy Meadows lands a gig with the book-themed cruise line Get Lit!, she thinks she’s died and gone to Broadway. Not only has she snagged a starring role in a musical production of Oliver Twist, she’s making bank helping her PI uncle investigate a string of onboard thefts, all while sailing to Hawaii on the S.S. David Copperfield.

But Ivy is cruising for disaster. Her acting contract somehow skipped the part about aerial dancing forty feet above the stage, her uncle Bob is seriously sidetracked by a suspicious blonde, and—oh yeah—there’s a corpse in her closet.

Forget catching crooks. Ivy’s going to have a Dickens of a time just surviving.

Books in the Ivy Meadows Humorous Mystery Series:

• MACDEATH (#1)
• THE SOUND OF MURDER (#2)
• OLIVER TWISTED (#3)

My Review: 

I really enjoyed this book! It's been a while since I had a book grab me by the face and insist I read right through, but this one did it. It took only a few pages to get fully engaged, and I felt almost physical pain when I had to put it down 40 pages from the end and go to work. The funny thing: I can't really say just why this book got me, and not the last several I've read.  The writing, the characters, and the story just seemed to work for me. I liked Ivy, who shows a good balance of solid work as both detective and actress with just enough metaphorical face-plants to keep her human (more goofs as detective than actress, which makes sense as the former is her new profession).

I also liked the mystery. It was complex, and I was unsure who was the perp until very near the end (though there were earlier moments when I fingered the right person, I was always diverted off onto another suspect). The book does a nice job of making you think about family and relationships without making itself into any kind of treatise--these things just matter to the story.

The writing is strong and well-edited, though the discussion of "duct/duck tape" is going to send me off to do some research. The Dickens references throughout (well, it *is* a Dickens cruise) add an element of fun as well as forcing me to dredge up memories of books long past. I admit to remembering the musical Oliver! quite a lot better than the book Oliver Twist. In fact, the least real thing in this book, in my opinion, was Ivy's ability to skim quickly through a Dickens novel or two. That man used a lot of words!

Although this is the 3rd book in the series, it stands alone just fine. I will be going back and reading the first two!

Recommendation: 

A great summer read, not too demanding but not total fluff, either. If you are a Dickens fan you'll get some real bonuses out of it (I've read just enough Dickens to catch a lot of the references, but not all).

About the Author:

Cindy Brown has been a theater geek (musician, actor, director, producer, and playwright) since her first professional gig at age 14. Now a full-time writer, she’s lucky enough to have garnered several awards (including 3rd place in the 2013 international Words With Jam First Page Competition, judged by Sue Grafton!) and is an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Writers Workshop. Though Cindy and her husband now live in Portland, Oregon, she made her home in Phoenix, Arizona, for more than 25 years and knows all the good places to hide dead bodies in both cities.

Author Links

Website & Blog: www.cindybrownwriter.com
Twitter handle: @friendlybrown
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cindy-Brown-author/288210721356802?ref=hl
Purchase Links
Amazon     B&N

 

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For more summer reading, check out my mysteries, at summer sale prices!

 

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Middle Grade mysteries: 2 New Frankie Dupont Books!

   

Participating in a Book Review Blast with Mother-Daughter Book Reviews.

About the Books

Title: Frankie Dupont and The Science Fair Sabotage  
Author: Julie Anne Grasso | Illustrator: Alexander Avellino | 
Publication Date: May 11, 2015  
Publisher: Independent  
Pages: 134 
Recommended Ages: 8 to 12  
Publisher's Summary: Frankie Dupont is less than impressed when he has to attend the Sustainable Science Fair with Kat and Amy. Upon his arrival, he learns that Amy's brothers have had their robotics chip stolen. Keen to recover the chip, Frankie questions the kids in the competition, but everyone seems to have a motive. When baffling clues start rolling in via ͞ Snap-Goss ͟instant messages, Frankie realizes it will take all of his detective muscles to solve this case. An illustrated mystery for ages 8- 12.

My Review: 
I found the mystery and solution in this story perhaps the most satisfying so far of the Frankie Dupont Mysteries, but admit that as it has been many months since reading the first two, I found that I had lost track of some characters whom I was clearly expected to know. This is frustrating at first, but soon enough the story picks up speed on its own. A quick and easy read, it is nevertheless a good mystery, with a solution that holds up, and it is even plausible that young Frankie can solve it more or less on his own, with some reasoning.

Amazon * Goodreads

Title: Frankie Dupont and High Seas Heist
Author: Julie Anne Grasso | Illustrator: Alexander Avellino
Publication Date: July 6, 2015 
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 148 
Recommended Ages: 8 to 12
Publisher's Summary: Frankie Dupont seems to catch odd-ball cases in the most unlikely places. You would think he would be used to it by now. When his next case lands him on a luxury cruise liner full of devious chocolatiers with ulterior motives, Frankie will be expected to solve the crime, even before it's committed. Although his mind is certainly up for the challenge, Frankie realizes his stomach has yet to find its sea legs. An illustrated mystery for ages 8- 12

My Review:
Frankie's all at sea this time. He has gone on an Antarctic Cruise with his father, his dog, and his two sidekicks Kat & Amy, on a mission to find a thief and stop a theft before it happens. This time Frankie is working alongside both his father and Inspector Cluesome, who up to now has felt more like a nemesis or at least an arch-rival. 

It wasn't until they took off from Tasmania that I remembered that Frankie lives in Australia. That helps make the cruise a little more plausible, but the whole thing still feels maybe a little too far from realism, or maybe Antarctica feels that accessible from Australia (a cruise to Antarctica to reveal a new chocolate does feel a little absurd; maybe it's supposed to). The mystery is still good, though the denouement was visible from fairly far off, and this time Frankie is maybe a bit too dependent on his gadgetry rather than his brains. 

Recommendation:
I enjoy Frankie, and find that in most of his stories he has a nice blend of unusual smarts--and some lovely flaws, including too much belief in his own skills.The books aren't terribly realistic, and aren't trying to be--there's a hint of SF/Fantasy in most of them, from the super-advanced detective gadgets Frankie uses to the mysterious behavior of Enderby Manor (Book 1). That means that I have to change my mind-set a bit to read them, but most children will have no trouble with it. 

I can recommend the Frankie Dupont books to any child who likes mystery. I would say it's for fans of the Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown, but these books probably come before those in terms of reading level. The publisher lists the age range as 8-12; I would probably say the audience tends to the lower end of that span.

Amazon * Goodreads

About the Author: Julie Anne Grasso

With a background in paediatric nursing, Julie Anne Grasso spent many years literally wrapping children in cotton wool. Every day she witnessed courage and resilience from the tiny people she cared for, which inspired her to write stories to entertain them. A science fiction nerd (she even owns a TARDIS), cupcake enthusiast and lover of all things mystery, she lives in Melbourne with her husband Danny and their little girl Giselle. Most days she can be found sipping chai tea and dreaming up wonderful worlds that often involve consumption of cupcakes.





And it's time for the Kid Lit Blog hop, now hopping once a month. Follow the link and join the hop, or just hop around to check out lots of great kids books.