Top Ten Tuesday: From draft to published

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Spring Cleaning Freebie (for example, books you’re planning to get rid of for whatever reason, book’s you’d like to clean off your TBR by either reading them or deciding you’re not interested, books that feel fresh and clean to you after winter is over, etc.).

My choice is to clean out a draft blog post from a few weeks ago. The theme on February 23 was books which made you laugh and I had created a list of potential choices but I was too busy with work to put any words in place or pictures or anything else and so it was still sitting in draft unpublished.

Pratchett, Pratchett, Pratchett  - doesn't really matter which book really..

Jasper Fforde - I was a big fan of the Thursday Next books.

Beach Read by Emily Henry - My romance reading has completely changed over the years. Once upon a time I read mainly historicals, with some paranormal and the occasional contemporary romance. Now I read a lot of contemporary romance, with some historical and no paranormal at all. This was a fun, read in one sitting contemporary

Jenny Colgan is great at the funny story with a lot of depth. I have really enjoyed a couple of her series!

Marian Keyes -another author that makes me laugh, especially her early books. The later ones not so much!

The Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters  - an eccentric archeologist family gallivanting around Egypt, stumbling onto mystery after mystery! So much fun.

The Prenup by Lauren Layne - a recent fun contemporary read

Chocolate Cake for Breakfast by Danielle Hawkins - So many contemporary women's fictions novels have the balance  between romance, issues and humour just right! This author gives us a great Kiwi spin on the genre!

The early books in the Stephanie Plum series were makes you cry you are laughing so hard. The later ones make me roll my eyes in exasperation, but I had to include her because of those early books.

I mentioned contemporary romance novels earlier in this post, so it's only right that I includes a historical novelist as well. Tessa Dare makes me laugh every time I read one of her books!

Six Degrees of Separation: Phosphorescence to Hot Six

 Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best.  The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links.  I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

This month the starting point is a book called Phosphoresence by Julia Baird. Actually it's full title is Phosphorence: On Awe, Wonder and Thing That Sustain You When the World Goes Dark. It does sound interesting, even if it isn't my normal type of book. It was, however, quite a tricky title to start a chain with.

In the end I started thinking about what does the word phosphoresence mean, which lead me to the word glow. I was sure that years ago I had a book by a YA author that was called that but I couldn't find any reference to it anywhere so maybe I was misremembering. Instead I continued to ponder those two words and that lead me to think about things that glow (or at least they are represented that way in cartoons and movies). This is turn led me to the idea of nuclear power which uses uranium which in one form is known as yellowcake which leads me to the book of the same name by Margo Lanagan! Phew! That was quite a lot of thinking to get me to that first link.

Margo Lanagan also wrote a book about selkies, creatures from Scottish myth, called either Sea Hearts or The Brides of Roll Rock Island depending on where it was published. This is a book I have used before in Six Degrees and the book I was thinking of linking too next is the same one I used last time, so I had to take a different turn.

One of my favourite  fairy tale retellers in Kate Forsyth and I have picked her book The Beast's Garden which is a fairytale retelling of Beauty and the Beast, set in Nazi Germany. 

A book that I read last year, set in the immediate aftermath of WWII in Germany was Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees. Obviously there was plenty of food mentioned in this one!

The book I am currently reading is called A New York Secret by Ella Carey which features a young woman who is vyiing to become a chef in a New York restaurant during WWII, and again features lots of food. My review of this book will be up later this week.

From here I took an unexpected turn!  One of the characters in A New York Secret is called Tom Morelli, and so I couldn't go past the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. One of the two main male characters in this series is a cop called Joe Morelli. Now the Stephanie Plum books start with a book called One for the Money and continued through to Twisted Twenty-Six before she stopped using the numbers to name the books.  I stopped reading at Notorious Nineteen. It seems only right to choose Hot Six for this meme.

Next month's starting point is going to be Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart.

Sunday Salon: Stuck in a series vortex

This morning I finished reading Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich, part of the long-running Stephanie Plum series. I find myself in a pensive mood thinking about why it is that I keep reading series beyond the point of pure enjoyment. Whilst this post is not going to be a review of the book as such, it may contain thoughts about this book, the Stephanie Plum series as a whole, and reading series in general.

I have a tendency to have a really hard time to make a conscious decision to let a series go, in much the same way as I struggle with DNF'ing a book. There are tons of series that I have let drop off, but that was never actually a conscious decision because I wasn't enjoying the series anymore. It is more likely to be that I just didn't request the next book in the series from the library, or I borrowed it and didn't get to read it so had to be returned unread.

The idea of saying 'that's it, no more' to a series like Stephanie Plum is difficult because there was a time when I loved this series. I used to buy the books as they came out, and did this up to book 12, which is about when I decided that I didn't want to buy the books anymore but I was still happy to keep borrowing them from the library. Notorious Nineteen was marginally better than the last couple of books, but I still hadn't gotten to the point yet where I couldn't add my name to the request list once it was added to the library catalogue.

When I think about this series in particular, there are a few things that I think about.

I wonder if someone picked up this book as their introduction to the Stephanie Plum series if they would find it hysterically funny in the same way as I found the first few books in the series. Is it just not laugh out loud funny anymore because there are so many familiar scenes that seem to play out in each book: the cars that blow up, the whole Babe vs Cupcake thing with Ranger and Morelli, the fact that Stephanie couldn't apprehend a fly most of the time, Grandma Mazur's quips and Lula's constant state of hunger. The only element that is normally present that was missing this time was the animal humour - thank goodness! There's only so many times that a monkey giving someone the finger is funny - and for me that number was zero.

As an aside, I can't imagine ever picking up book 19 in a series without having read the previous ones, but apparently it happens!

I also wonder what impact if any the movie has had for readers of the series. In my imagination, I think I do see Katherine Heigl as Stephanie but the same isn't true for the characters who play Ranger and Joe. I still have my own image of what it is that they both look like.

I have contemplated rereading the few books of the series to see if they are actually as funny as I remember them being. The first time around, I would be laying in bed reading the books literally crying with laughter. And that wasn't just once, it was multiple times per book. I encouraged people I knew to read them and I know that they passed them onto their friends too.

I guess I am a little reluctant to try the reread in case it really does turn out that either they aren't as good as I remember them being, or that as a long time reader of the series I am now a little jaded by all the repetitive shenanigans. Whichever way it is, I don't want to spoil the memories that I currently associate with the earlier books.

Perhaps if I knew there was an end in sight for the series it would make it easier to go back to the beginning with a less pessimistic attitude, but as far as I can see the plan is for this series to keep going and going. All good books have a beginning, a middle and the ending. Perhaps the issue with this series in particular (but there are some other series where the same can be said to be true) is that the middle has been going for so long now that it is sagging badly, and the fight to get to the end is just going to be too uphill to make it.

What about you? Do you find yourself getting sucked into the series vortex where you just can't quite let go? 


Currently Reading

The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty, A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare and listening to A Taste for It by Monica McInerney.

Up Next

Taking chances by Deborah Burrows, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

One for the Money trailer

So....

After all the discussion of Katherine Heigl as Stephanie, an Irish guy as Morelli, who should play Ranger here we are! First glimpse of the trailer for One for the Money, based on the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich.







What do we all think?

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

Turn on all the lights and check under your bed. Things are about to get spooky in Trenton, New Jersey. According to legend, the Jersey Devil prowls the Pine Barrens and soars above the treetops in the dark of night. As eerie as this might seem, there are things in the Barrens that are even more frightening and dangerous. And there are monkeys. Lots of monkeys.

Wulf Grimoire is a world wanderer and an opportunist who can kill without remorse and disappear like smoke. He’s chosen Martin Munch, boy genius, as his new business partner, and he’s chosen the Barrens as his new playground.

Munch received his doctorate degree in quantum physics when he was twenty-two. He’s now twenty-four, and while his brain is large, his body hasn’t made it out of the boys’ department at Macy’s. Anyone who says good things come in small packages hasn’t met Munch. Wulf Grimoire is looking for world domination. Martin Munch would be happy if he could just get a woman naked and tied to a tree.

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has Munch on her most-wanted list for failure to appear in court. Plum is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. She also gets a big guy named Diesel.

Diesel pops in and out of Plum’s life like birthday cake – delicious to look at and taste, not especially healthy as a steady diet, gone by the end of the week if not sooner. He’s an über bounty hunter with special skills when it comes to tracking men and pleasing women. He’s after Grimoire, and now he’s also after Munch. And if truth were told, he wouldn’t mind setting Stephanie Plum in his crosshairs.

Diesel and Plum hunt down Munch and Grimoire, following them into the Barrens, surviving cranberry bogs, the Jersey Devil, a hair-raising experience, sand in their underwear, and, of course . . . monkeys.

I am not 100% sure that I get the point of these between the numbers Plum novels. With Stephanie struggling to sort out her love life between Morelli and Ranger already, it seems a little superfluous to add yet another man who wants to get it on with her, but I guess that while people keep on buying them, Janet Evanovich is going to keep writing them. I do wonder if Evanovich has an ending in sight for this series or if she is just going to keep going and going and going. All that may sound a little down on the author, which may be a bit harsh, because there were definitely some amusing moments throughout this book, but I am glad that I have stopped buying the Plum books and just get them from the library.

I did laugh a couple of times, the monkeys are initially amusing. If I still had a copy of the book I might be tempted to go through and see how many times Carl the monkey gave someone the bird. It was an awful lot of times and it got very repetitive after a while.

I was glad to see that Morelli and Ranger both played small parts in this novel. In at least one of the other between the numbers novels it was as if they both had dropped off the face of the earth! Some of the dialogue is amusing, especially with Lula.

"Ranger this and Ranger that," Lula said. "Don't none of you people think for yourself? I bet you can't wipe yourself without Ranger telling you."

Tank looked at her in the rearview mirror. "I'm telling him you said that."

"I might have misspoke," Lula said.

It seems that Lula and Tank have a few issues to sort out in their relationship, which should at least allow for this book to actually sit within the series a bit more.

As to the plot, well, Stephanie is after some FTA's and as usual she is having great difficulty in picking them up. One of them has gotten himself mixed up with some people that might be a little out of the ordinary and is planning world domination from his base in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Much hilarity ensues...or a little bit at least.

Mostly this is just same old same old and yet I keep on reading them, and I can't see that changing any time soon even if they aren't books that leave me laughing until I am crying anymore.

This is one of my reads for 2009 Pub Challenge.

By the way, I visiting evanovich.com for the first time in months today and it looks much better than it used to! Just thought I would throw that out there.

Rating 3.5/5

Other Blogger's Thoughts:

Passion for the Page
Savvy Verse and Wit

Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

New secrets, old flames, and hidden agendas are about to send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most outrageous adventure yet!

Mistake #1: Dickie Orr Stephanie was married to him for about fifteen minutes before she caught him cheating on her arch nemesis, Joyce Barnhardt. Another fifteen minutes after that, Stephanie filed for divorce, hoping never to see either of them again.

Mistake #2: Doing favors for super bounty hunter Carlos Manoso (aka Ranger) Ranger needs Stephanie to meet with Dickie and find out if he's doing something shady. Turns out,, he is. Turns out, Dickie's also back to doing Joyce Barnhardt. And it turns out Ranger's favors always come with a price...

Mistake #3: Going completely nutso while doing the favor for Ranger and trying to apply bodily injury to Dickie in front of the entire office. Now Dickie has disappeared and Stephanie is the natural suspect in his disappearance. Is Dickie dead? Can he be found? And can Stephanie Plum stay one step ahead in this new, dangerous game? Joe Morelli, the hottest cop in Trenton, New Jersey, is also keeping Stephanie on her toes - and he may know more than he's saying about many things in Stephanie's life.

It's a cat-and-mouse game for Stephanie Plum wherein the ultimate prize might be her life. With Janet Evanovich's flair for hilarious situations, breathtaking action, and unforgettable characters, Lean Mean Thirteen shows why no one can beat Evanovich for blockbuster entertainment.

I will start out by saying that I was a little underwhelmed with this entry in the Stephanie Plum series of mysteries. I had thought that Janet Evanovich was back at least nearer to top form in Twelve Sharp, but this one wasn't as laugh out loud funny as some of the other books in the series were. I'm not saying that it was terrible, but I didn't think it was fantastic either.

Stephanie is still crap at capturing her FTA's, she is shuffling back and forward between Ranger and Morelli, still getting herself into terrible scrapes and things get blown up. This time, Ranger asks Stephanie to plant a bug in her ex-husbands office and so she goes there and causes a scene. Unfortunately for Stephanie, Dickie then goes missing and Stephanie is the most obvious suspect. Then his business partners start disappearing as well, and it becomes obvious that there is something big going down!

For me, as a fan of the series, I have come to expect little character development. I would however really like to hear something about Steph's mum doing something in a future book other than just cooking, ironing or drinking.

I am finding the secondary relationship between Lula and Tank quite interesting....here's hoping for a HEA for those two!

As to the always interesting question of Ranger vs Morelli - I am still firmly in the cupcake corner, although Ranger is very tempting!

As always, I am looking forward to the next book in the series, although hopefully it will be better than this one.

Rating 3.5/5

Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich

From #1 blockbuster bestselling author Janet Evanovich comes a Stephanie Plum novel that takes adventure, action, suspense (and maybe even true love?) to new heights.

Watch your back…
Look both ways…
Because love is in the air…
And that means big trouble!

Mysterious men have a way of showing up in Stephanie Plum's apartment. When the shadowy Diesel appears, he has a task for Stephanie -- and he's not taking no for an answer. Annie Hart is a "relationship expert" who is wanted for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Stephanie needs to find her, fast. Diesel knows where she is. So they make a deal: He'll help her get Annie if Stephanie plays matchmaker to several of Annie's most difficult clients. But someone wants to find Annie even more than Diesel and Stephanie. Someone with a nasty temper. And someone with "unmentionable" skills. Does Diesel know more that he's saying about Annie Hart? Does Diesel have secrets he's keeping from Stephanie and the two men in her life -- Ranger and Morelli? With Stephanie Plum in over her head, things are sure to get a little dicey and a little explosive, Jersey style!

Given that I actually finished this book I am going to keep this brief.

This was billed as a between-the-numbers Plum book with a holiday theme (this time Valentine's Day), somewhat similar to the abysmal Visions of Sugar Plums (Christmas), and features one of the characters from that book, Diesel. Fortunately, I have to say that this second book featuring this character was a much better read.

First things first though.....where were Joe and Ranger? Both of them received a minimum of mentions throughout this book. I think Stephanie spoke to Joe on the phone once and received a message or something from Ranger if I remember correctly. Never fear though, Diesel lusts after Stephanie as well. It must be tough being irresistible.

This was more Stephanie Plum, with all that that means - Grandma Mazur, Lulu, and Stephanie's sister Valerie, her fiance Albert Kloughn and the kids were all there. I have to admit to getting a bit panicked when Valerie and Albert started getting involved because the last time they played a major part in one of the books I found them really annoying. This time though, they were in there, but they were there for a reason, and there was at least some resolution around their storyline!

The idea of Stephanie as a relationship consultant was a fun one as well. All in all, I am glad that I picked this one up. I thought about not doing so after the last holiday novella debacle, but this time around it wasn't too bad at all.

Rating 4/5

Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich

Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, where bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's life is about to implode.

FIRST A STRANGER APPEARS While chasing down the usual cast of miscreants and weirdos Stephanie discovers that a crazed woman is stalking her.

THEN THE STRANGER REVEALS HER SECRETS The woman dresses in black, carries a 9mm Glock, and has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to dark and dangerous Carlos Manoso....street name, Ranger.

NEXT, SOMEBODY DIES The action turns deadly serious, and Stephanie goes from hunting skips to hunting a murderer.

SOON, THE CHASE IS ON Ranger needs Stephanie for more reasons than he can say. And now, the two are working together to find a killer, rescue a missing child, and stop a lunatic from raising the body count. When Stephanie Plum and Ranger get too close for comfort, vice cop Joe Morelli (her on-again, off-again boyfriend) steps in. Will the ticking clock stop at the stroke of twelve, or will a stranger in the wind find a way to stop Stephanie Plum....forever? Filled with Janet Evanovich's trademark action, nonstop adventure, and sharp humor, Twelve Sharp is Janet Evanovich's wildest, hottest novel yet!

So I have had this on my TBR shelf for a while, and as I am lending it to someone I thought I should read it before I send it on, so I picked it up last weekend.

I had seen quite a few reviews that suggested that this was one of the better Plums for a while, and whilst it was good, it wasn't great. It didn't have me rolling around laughing, with tears running down my face as I have been in the past with other Plum books. Maybe that is more about me than about the book, but that's my reaction.

As for the plot...does it really matter. This is Plum after all! Actually it wasn't too bad. A woman turns up at Stephanie's work claiming to be Ranger's wife, and threatening her. So Stephanie has a stalker for a few days..that is until the woman is found dead, and all the clues point to Ranger being the one who killed her. To top things off, somebody close to Ranger has been kidnapped, and it looks like that was Ranger too. Either Ranger has been a very busy boy, or there is more than one of him around!

All the usual gang were here. Lula and Sally Sweet, Tank and Grandma Mazur, fortunately very little mention of Stephanie's sister and family, and all the normal things happen. There are bombs blowing up, FTAs to catch, Ranger and Morelli to choose between. Oh, that's right, she doesn't have to choose between them. I don't know what' s taking her so long. It's a no brainer for me!! Just call me cupcake!! I'd be happy having some of Joe's cake in the morning! It has to be said that one of the funniest scenes in the book for me was when both Ranger and Morelli are wanting to move into her apartment with her. Poor Rex...all that testosterone!

As for character growth, well, there's not a lot of that either! Stephanie still is terrible at her job, Lula and Tank appear to have got it together, Ranger seems to be getting a little softer and Grandma Mazur joins a rock band.

So if there is little character development, all the usual characters and events is it worth reading. I'd still say yes, although I don't know for how many more books.

It's interesting to note that not too long ago it was announced that Janet Evanovich is going to be working on a new series in collaboration with Stephen Cannell. (I originally saw something about this over at He Wrote,She Wrote, but then they also blogged about this over at Dear Author as well.) Not being a huge fan of her collaborations with Charlotte Hughes, I guess that I will be reading the book, but it will be from the library. Speaking of which, Motor Mouth is waiting for me to go and pick up!!

Rating: 3.5/5