Congrats Moonrat

Moonrat, my favorite anonymous editorial ass, is celebrating her 500,000th hit. Congrats! And check out her fabulous blog...

I Want to Know

Over at What Women Write, I'm looking for some advice on writing in accented dialogue. Resources for research? Ideas anyone?

The Bodleian Renovation

News on the Bodleian renovation. Time to pull THE BODLEY GIRL and all her ghosts out of the drawer...

Angelology

Monday night I went to an author reading. I showed up early because there's been lots of buzz about this book. Sometimes I wait until after the reading to buy the book, but the cover was so gorgeous and the reviews so positive, I bought the book and started it while I waited. I was slightly annoyed when the man announced the program was starting because I didn't want to put the book down. Until I remembered that the author, Danielle Trussoni, was about to speak!

Angelology is a fantastical thriller, not my normal genre of reading, but I was immediately drawn in. It's infused with historical fiction, a convent and a young nun (research for my Highgate/St. Peter's manuscript!), ancient secrets, the art world, World War II and elegant writing. From what I've read so far, it's the perfect combination of commercial and literary. Seven publishing houses fought over it. And Will Smith bought the film rights. This is going to be big.

I'll be back in a few days with a review. And watch over at What Women Write. You never know who might show up for an interview...

Multiple Narrators? Tame the Beast

Writing from more than one POV? Here's some great advice from Kathy Crowley on STET!.

I spent the weekend with my WIP manuscript, a literary mystery told by many narrators in different eras. Timely...and an omen to keep going!

Middlemarch

A dear friend sent this to me today. Isn't it lovely?

From George Eliot's Middlemarch.

"Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."

George Eliot is buried at Highgate Cemetery, the setting for my work in progress, The Architect at Highgate. The DFWWW Conference is coming up next month. I signed up for an agent pitch session. Incentive to finish!

Oscar Style

Do you have style?