Springtime Reading Spells

I’ve recently joined Goodreads, and I was shocked to find out via looking at other profiles, that I am really lagging behind in my reading! I’m amazed to see how much some of these people have read, and when I look at my bookshelf, I realize that I’m definitely lacking in some areas.

Usually, when it comes to reading, I go through these crazy three-month long spells where I become a written word monster – devouring everything in my path. Usually, this happens in late spring, when the weather’s nice enough to lounge out on the deck in the sun with an icy drink of some sort in my hand, and I can be completely absorbed in whatever I’m reading.

Past reading marathons, I’ve read Charlaine Harris, James Ellroy, Graham Greene, books about Wyatt Earp and Tombstone, Jesse James, and Muhammad Ali in Manila.

But these days, my schedule doesn’t really allow for much lounging during the daylight hours, so I trying to come up with another way to squeeze reading into my schedule. So here it is. I figure if I declare it here on the blog, that I’m going to start my reading marathon today, then I’ll actually make it happen.

I’ve got some really good sounding books on the shelf right now, so without trying to overwhelm myself too much, here’s what I’d like to read this spring:

P.N. Elrod – haven’t actually read any of her books, but I love the idea of mixing vampires and film noir together. It sounds like a match made in heaven for me! Plus, I like that a lady's writing from the perspective of a hardboiled vampire detective.

James Ellroy, American Tabloid – I’m a huge Ellroy fan. I think his writing is both completely insane, and completely brilliant. I bought this book second hand a few months back, and it’s just been sitting on my bookshelf for a while. I think it’s time to pick it up.

Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye – The Robert Altman movie based on this book is one of my very favorites of all time (I think it ranks in second place after The Third Man for me.) I’ve always wanted to read the book, but haven't gotten around to it.

Anne Rice, The Witching Hour – I started this book a few months back, really liking it, but sort of dropped it after an extreme spell of busyness (that seems to be my pattern of late when it comes to reading.) I’d definitely like to finish it, and move on to the other books in the series.

Amanda Hocking, My Blood Approves Series – they say you should read within your own genre, so these would definitely be good ones to continue with. Plus, reading it on an e-reader will be really cool. I don’t actually own one, but I’m planning on borrowing one to read these, and see what the future of reading is like. I, for one, think it’s looking pretty awesome.

So there we go – hopefully I’ll be able to get through this list during the season. I think it’ll be good timing, because as we speak, I’m rounding the corner to completing the first draft of my second book -- the sequel to Drowning in the Dark. Once I finish and get it published, maybe I can take some time to jumpstart my reading.

I’m looking forward to the challenge!

Keeping Upbeat on a Monday Night

I’ve made it to the other side of 15,000 words. Yahoo!

Even though I’m feeling good about it, I still feel like I’ve been struggling to get the words and the plot of the sequel down. Just writing the first book was a big step. Now I have to figure out how to keep it interesting and not have it be redundant.

Drowning in the Dark takes place in a small town on the Oregon Coast. And of course, there’s only so much you can do in a small town without things getting boring. I imagine that’s why there’s so many urban paranormal books out there. Cities do keep things interesting.

I think even big authors have trouble with this in their sequels. Like Charlaine Harris did that in the Sookie Stackhouse series. The second book in the series mostly took place in Dallas, leaving behind the small town of Bon Temps. Or of course in the Twilight series, Bella leaves Forks to go after Edward in Italy. And then it seems that in the third installments, the characters return home.

So these are things I’ve been mulling over while writing the second in the series. I think too, keeping that romantic intrigue without hitting the readers over the head with it is tricky too. I myself only enjoy a splash of romance in what I read – for me, less is more. But at the same time, I understand that it really drives most stories.

On a side note, I’ve discovered that I’m really not the reader I thought I was. I recently joined Goodreads, and was adding books to my library, when I came to the realization that I really have read very few books in the paranormal genre. I’ve read a lot of the greats in horror -- Stephen King, Richard Matheson and Ann Rice, but there are some definite holes in my reading. Holes that I want to fix soon! If I only had the time… Sometimes I’m faced with the choice between reading or writing. And these days, I’ve mostly been choosing writing.

Anyway, those are my ramblings on a Monday evening (just about a Tuesday morning by now.) Perhaps I’ll check back in on the other side of 20K.