May You Read an Interesting Book

After the double DNF of June, I did very much want to enjoy Sandra Balzo's Dead Ends. One of my blind dates with a book, it promised a cozy mystery that would be maybe more interesting than the Pokemon brain the last book gave me.

That's when the Universe decided to remind me that interesting is often used in Chinese curses.

The book was either 1) not edited by anyone, 2) was not edited by a professional editor with an understanding of industry standards in regard to formatting, or 3) the author insisted on STETing the incorrectly formatted text and the frequent absence of other things like dialogue tags so you know who is speaking.

This lack of correct formatting and dropping of tags make the text basically unreadable. If you're not sure why, tell me who is speaking the third sentence on this page. Is it the character above the paragraph, or the character below (who is also unnamed because there is no dialogue tag there, either.)

As a pro I'm utterly baffled. If I ever turned in a manuscript like this to any of my publishers I would be fired. Anyway, this one is another DNF.

Next up is Dear Old Dead by Jane Haddam, and I confess, I did peek at the first chapter to assure that was correctly formatted and didn't contain any references to cards. Thumbs up on both fronts -- bless you, Jane. :)

Comments

Better than Fried

I cut some chives from the kitchen garden to make garlic-chive baked fries for dinner. This is a great side dish for veggie burgers. Click here for the recipe from Taste of Home.com.

Make It Yourself

As we head into December, here are ten ideas for easy handmade gifts: Cookie Exchange: If you live close to your friends invite them over for a cookie exchange. Basically everyone bakes a set amount of their favorite cookies, and these are exchanged at the gathering by lottery, sharing a little from each batch with everyone, or however you want to do it. You can also exchange recipes, too. My neighbor did this once and it was wonderful. Favorite Recipe Cookbook : For my favorite person I found a copy of my favorite cookbook from a vintage bookseller (yes, I am that old) and went through it making notes on all the recipes I used, how I tweaked them, etc. Ornament: There are probably a million free tutorials on how to make your own holiday ornaments, so do some research online. I like to make hanging pomanders , which smell heavenly and are biodegradable after the holidays. Mug Rugs: If you sew, making up a set of mug rugs is simple and easy; I add these every year to my ...

Journal Find

This is a page from my 2010 poetry journal. My handwriting isn't the best, so I'll transcribe it: If my heart survives to tell all the secrets kept inside it will be an abalone shell in which the beauty did reside. But I think I will always be lost to the tides that rage in me . . . humbling and polishing . . . I don't write many self-portrait poems, but this one isn't too embarrassing. A bit overly dramatic, but the girl I was eleven years ago went through some tough times. I'm in a much more peaceful place today.

Rayen

Search This Blog