IWSG--Welcome to 2017.

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 (click on the badge above for the list) and connect with your fellow writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

End of the year  Round-up!

I vowed to finish drafting Gorg's book before the end of the year, and I'm pleased to announce that I knocked out the final chapter on New Year's Eve, finishing with nearly 2 hours to spare, though of course I know very well that there will be a lot of work to be done on the MS. That will come after it sits for several months, though.

Other accomplishments for 2016:
1 book edited and published (The Problem With Peggy).
1 story submitted to the IWSG contest.
approx. 40 flash fiction pieces posted on this blog
Add in the draft of Gorg the Troll, and it's not my best year, but not too bad, either. I certainly failed in my resolve to start submitting stories regularly for publication, but at least I did submit one. It's a resolution I'll renew, and try to use those "Flashback Friday" weeks off from writing for the blog to give me time to work on more developed shorts worthy of submission.

Oh--and I read 167 out of the 155 books I aimed for in the Goodreads Challenge. About 1/2 were children's books (middle grade novels, not picture books!). I'm still not sure if this number is a good thing or a sign that I'm dodging a lot of stuff with my nose in a book (or my headphones in a book--a lot of those were audio books).

Where do I go in 2017?
The big project will be to get the 3rd Pismawallops PTA mystery out of the dark hole where I stuffed it a year ago when it wouldn't quite work out, and make it into a real draft, which I can then work on editing. With luck, I'll have it in shape in time to start a new project in November, since I enjoy the NaNo challenge. I'm also going to give a shot, this summer, at doing more writing while on vacation. I need to see how practical it's going to be to keep writing while we ramp up to more travel in retirement.

Now for this month's question.

January question: What writing rule do you wish you'd never heard?
The one about how if you don't write every day you must not really be a writer. Bull. If you write at all, you're a writer. If you want to make a living, working every day is essential. But if you have a life, count every word wrested from the other distractions of your life as a triumph. If you write at all, you're a writer. The more often the better, but I spent far too many years doing less writing than beating myself up over not writing. It's not helpful, and it's not productive.

How about you? What were your triumphs in 2016? What do you look forward to in 2017?

Mystery Review: A Pinch of Poison, by Alyssa Maxwell

 

Title: A Pinch of Poison (A Lady & Lady's Maid Mystery, #2)

Author: Alyssa Maxwell

Publisher: Kensington, expected release Jan. 2017. 304 pages

Source: Electronic ARC from publisher in exchange for my honest review 

Publisher's Blurb:

In post–World War I England, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, encounter an uncharitable killer at a charity luncheon sponsored by a posh school for girls . . .

Good deeds build good character, and good character is what the Haverleigh School for Young Ladies is all about. Lady Phoebe—with the tireless assistance of Eva—has organized a luncheon at the school to benefit wounded veterans of the Great War, encouraging the students to participate in the cooking and the baking. But too many cooks do more than spoil the broth—they add up to a recipe for disaster when the school’s headmistress, Miss Finch, is poisoned.

The girls at Haverleigh all come from highly respected families, none of whom will countenance their darling daughters being harassed like common criminals by the local police. So Lady Phoebe steps in to handle the wealthy young debutantes with tact and discretion, while Eva cozies up to the staff. Did one of the girls resent the headmistress enough to do her in? Did a teacher bear a grudge? What about the school nurse, clearly shell shocked from her service in the war? No one is above suspicion, not even members of the school’s governing body, some of whom objected to Miss Finch’s “modern” methods.

But Lady Phoebe and Eva will have to sleuth with great stealth—or the cornered killer may try to teach someone else a lethal lesson.

My Review:

First the business: I was approached by the publisher with the offer to recieve an advance review copy of this book because I reviewed the first in the series, Murder Most Malicious last December, through a Great Escapes Free Tour. In neither case did I receive any payment beyond the electronic ARC. I'm scheduling this for Jan. 2, as the release date is supposed to be Jan. 1.

Okay, on to the good stuff. I enjoyed the first in this series, though I had some issues with it (see review). This second book is, I think, an even stronger work. The author is working in one of my favorite times and places (England between the wars), and has done her research well. Fans of the first couple of seasons of Downton Abbey will probably enjoy this, and will be able to bring the visuals from that series to mind to add color to the setting. Ms. Maxwell has done her research, and presents the period well, and I was not struck by any anomalies or anachronisms.

I noted in my review of the first book that I had some trouble with sorting out characters in the beginning and with the POV switches between Lady Phoebe and her maid, Eva. Both of those problems were gone this time (and might have been more my problem than the writer's in the first book). I had forgotten most of the details of Murder Most Malicious, but the author provides enough context that it would work to start with this one, though I always advocate reading a series in order if possible. The author focused well on a few characters, and that I think is a strength, as anyone who really matters is well-drawn, to the extent of the understanding of Phoebe and Eva (so the male leads, as it were, are a little opaque, because the girls are still trying to figure them out). The suspects are nicely developed, and get more so as Phoebe and Eva come to understand them better.

It's worth a comment on the narration, which is third person limited throughout, but alternates point of view chapter by chapter between Phoebe and Eva, with occasional shifts between scenes in the same chapter. The author has handled this well, and there are cues given each time the shift takes place, to keep it clear. I enjoy seeing the different ways the two young women view other people--they are very much influenced by their stations in life, even as each tries hard to see beyond those limits. There is a very nice thread of early feminism as well.

And what of the mystery? It is solid, with a number of convincing suspects and lots of secrets, lies and motives. I saw my way to a very small part of the truth early on, but missed the perp and a lot of the complexity of motives. Most of the lies and secrets tied in to the murder one way or another, but just enough didn't to keep it believable--not every lie comes from a fear of being implicated in murder.

My Recommendation:

This is shaping into a strong cozy series, and anyone who enjoys the classic British country house mystery will enjoy it. Also recommended to fans of Downton Abbey, the 1920s in general, and mysteries that showcase developing relations of all sorts, not just romance (so far, the romance is pretty secondary, with signs that it will ramp up in future).

About The Author

Alyssa Maxwell has worked in publishing as an assistant editor and a ghost writer, but knew from an early age that being a novelist was what she wanted most. Growing up in New England and traveling to Great Britain fueled a passion for history, while a love of puzzles of all kinds drew her to the mystery genre. She lives in South Florida in the current year, but confesses to spending most of her time in the Victorian, Edwardian, and post WWI eras. In addition to fantasizing about wearing Worth gowns while strolling manor house gardens, she loves to watch BBC and other period productions and sip tea in the afternoons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FTC Disclosure: I received an ARC of A Pinch of Poison from the publisher, and received nothing further from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Happy New Year

Let the sun rise on 2017.  Here's to a better year, and to writing despite (thanks to Chuck Wendig for the NSFW pep talk).