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The author of these blog posts is a lawyer by day and fiction writer by night.
Jun6

“Dimiter”

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I just finished the book named Dimiter by William Peter Blatty. This is the same man that wrote the Exorcist, among other books.   I like lots of different genres and thought this one sounded like a good read. Alas. It was below my expectations.

This book was a little slow to catch my attention. There were a lot of characters with a lot of strange names. It was difficult at first to keep them straight and it didn’t get much better. I had to keep going backward (not easy to do on an e-reader, by the way) to be sure I had the right character in mind.

It was a depressing tale as well. There was a bit of redemption but not enough to make me happy.  The reviewers called it a thriller- sorry, I didn’t see that at all. Nope.  Kind of dull and scholarly in my opinion.  No thrill there.

As to the New York Post reviewer, Jennifer Shaw, it would be my opinion that she either didn’t read the book or the hard cover is a totally different story than the e-book.  She named some of the characters but she obviously had no clue as to their relationship.  Sounded like she read the book jacket and moved on.  Should’ve been what I did.

In all, I give this one a thumbs down.

Jun4

Five Sisters Blues Cafe

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The Five Sisters Blues Cafe is a new restaurant in Pensacola located at Belmont and Devilliers.  It is a cute place reminiscent of  New Orleans restaurants. It has brick walls and columns and echoes like crazy in there.  They also have an outdoor dining area with ceiling fans.  I went today with my friend, John, and the place was hopping.   Saw loads of other people I know. 

Good country food- excellent fried chicken.  Had to pass on the banana pudding as I had no room but I bet it was awesome. 

They have po boys made with Gambinos bread as well as the good old fashioned country cooking. The name is a tribute from the owner to his mother and her four sisters.  I highly recommend the place. I know I’ll be back; over and over since it is a short walk from my office.  Go early as the parking is limited.  By the way, you can also enjoy a cocktail while you are there, if you are so inclined.

Check out the menu: http://fivesistersbluescafe.com/menu/

Jun2

Private Tour

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When I got to court today, the marshal service was excited to report that the new security system had been installed and that I now had more protection with a camera right beside me focused on me and my table where I conduct proceedings. That was nice to know. There has always been security at the main entrance and there was only one monitor for the whole courtroom in the old bldg.

We have moved to a new bldg and now there is a full control room. Imagine my delight when I came back from my lunch break and was invited by the senior marshal on duty for a private tour of the control room. It is amazing. There are TONS of cameras all over the bldg and parking areas. They have about 25 monitors- AND they are COLOR! I’ve never seen a color one. We are moving up town.

I told the guys that I didn’t ever want to be in the holding cell and be on that particular monitor. LOL! Jail cells are not somewhere I’d ever want to be.

 The US Marshals assigned to that bldg are all truly remarkable and love their jobs. They are so good to me and I am happy that I got a tour. I would’ve never asked for such but I loved it.  Made me feel special on a blah day.

Jun1

The blahs

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I had a case of the blahs this past weekend. I just couldn’t get motivated to do anything much. I actually read 2 books which is rare for me anymore.  I did spend Saturday with my friends, Marie, Victoria and Maureen and we had a blast. Came home to the blahs on Sunday and Monday though.  Perhaps I was just tired from the writing of 15,000 words the weekend and Mon and Tues of last week.   Maybe I needed to recharge my batteries. 

Where the heck is that bunny when you need it?

And- where does it get that all that energy? Speed?

May27

Playing hooky

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I had depositions this afternoon that canceled at the last minute and was able to join some friends for painting, wine and shop talk. I never do this. I stay at the office and plug away. I was encouraged by my staff to run away and play (think they were trying to get rid of me so they could party, too?)  Anyway, I had a ball and check out my painting:

May26

I’m at loose ends

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So, I had a mad dash- more like a sprint- the last four days as I added 15,000 words to one of my manuscripts.  I now have to make a decision about what to do next.  I have a chapter and a half on the new WIP that I have  been ignoring lately as I wrote two short stories and then this craziness of 15,000 words.  I didn’t even leave the house the whole of last weekend as I worked like a little beaver on the additions. 

Now, I need to decide if I’m gonna start that new story  about a dream lover inspired  by www.heligan.com  and the lost gardens there or if I’m going back to Surfer Bride. Or perhaps I need to work on edits on the short story I want to submit to www.storysouth.com since their deadline is approaching.  Decisions, decisions.

May24

Hormones, tannins and word counts

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That sums up my weekend. Determined to break the barrier between category romance and single title romance, I spent the weekend upping the word count on one of my manuscripts. Got 10,000 more in. Then the hormonal headche kicked in.  OR did it? I did imbibe some red wine which we all know has tannins which can cause headaches.  AND oh yeah, what about eye strain from looking at a computer screen for hours on end?  That could have been the culprit there as well.  

I made it through 9 of the 15 chapters and hope to edit two a night for the next three nights to get the word count up another 10,000.  Wish me luck- Hopefully, I won’t collapse in a heap and burst a blood vessel in my eye.  OR get carpal tunnel syndrome. The old wrist is aching from overuse already. But I gotta move onwards and upwards.

May22

Letters to Juliet

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Went to see Letters to Juliet yesterday after work.  I mostly wanted to see it because of the scenery of Italy.  Love Italy.  It was an ok movie. Not spectacular but a nice escape.  The best part of the whole thing was the inimitable Vanessa Redgrave and her real life husband, Franco Nero.  Their true love for each other shone through. It was lovely to see the way they look at each other, even after being together for so many years.

Poor Vanessa Redgrave has had such a hard year- first her daughter, Natasha, died and just recently she lost both her brother and sister. It did my heart good to see that she has a man beside her that clearly adores her. I’m sure he’s helping her though all her pain.

The younger male lead, Chris Egan, was a bit reminiscent of Heath Ledger- not in body type but in some of his facial expressions.  He is Australian, too. Hope to see him  in more. 

Amanda Seyfried did a nice job.  One thing that annoyed me though, was the director’s insistence  in showing her in close up, over and over, with a soulful look on her face.  Once was enough, already. 

So, overall, I recommend this one.  Enjoy for a quick escape.

May21

My Weekend’s Cut Out for Me

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So, yesterday, Deb Werkman had an on-line pitches  here: http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com/ 

I pitched Runaway  with the idea that she’d give me some feedback on the pitch.  Well, imagine my shock when she said she wanted the full!.  She said my voice was shining through. She also said she  had some concerns with the story which she would address when she saw the full.   So, had a moment of panic because I need to polish it some more.  I wanted to amp up some parts of it- make the romance more “romantic” as it were.  

The weekend is now mapped out for me- gonna get this puppy ready to send!  Good thing the boy went back to college yesterday and the other son is gonna be in his room with his guitars.  Spouse is going fishing so it looks like Dell and I have weekend plans now!  

May20

Martha Grimes

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Martha Grimes is  my absolute favorite writer and has been since the 1980s.  I adore her stories about Richard Jury and Melrose Plant.  She’s so witty and clever.  The characters are so real and fun.  All the books are named for pubs.

I own all of the books she’s ever published.  She  has others besides the Jury series.  They are excellent as well. Search on Amazon and order some. You won’t regret it.

Her latest book is called The Black Cat.  I started it last night and so far, it is as good as the rest.  This one is autographed. As most of you know, my son is in architecture school in Ft. Lauderdale. There is a cool book store in Delray, Fla (just up the road from him) called Murder on  the Beach.  Martha made an appearance there last month on her book tour and my son went and listened to her talk and got me the book.  What a great son!   I sure wish I could have been there. 

Anyway, I highly recommend this series.  I think The Black Cat is #22.