Authors' Referrals

 

From Kate's Writer's Crate…

 

The best storytellers ground readers in their fictional worlds—no matter how familiar or foreign—with specific details. Once given believable foundations, most readers will follow the plots and admire or distrust characters as the authors hope.

How much more fun when some of the specific details reference actual books, movies, music, TV shows, locations, and meals. If authors I love mention real details, I'm willing to check out their referrals.

        Here are some examples:

 

        In The Last Enemy, author Pauline Baird Jones places a stack of books on the nightstand of Dani Gwynne, a woman in the Witness Protection Program. When her room becomes a crime scene, two US Marshals catalog her reading material:

"Interesting mix. JD Robb, Tom Clancy, Tonya Huff, Alistair Maclean…Orson Scot Card…Louis L'Amour…the Bible…and Lord of the Rings…" (page 24)

                                        ***

        Jennifer Crusie uses movies, music, and food, especially Krispy Kreme donuts, as running themes in her novel Bet Me. The two leads, Min and Cal, end up at a revival movie theater showing Big Trouble in Little China. They also go out to dinner. Min so enjoys the Chicken Marsala, she is determined to make it herself. The many results are funny and disastrous as she tries to make it diet-friendly, too. Both of them love Elvis, but it's Costello for Cal and Presley for Min. Costello's "She" plays a part in the plot as does Cal's version of "Love Me Tender" which starts off as a snarky joke and ends as a declaration of sorts—this is a Chick Lit romance after all.

                                        ***

Kresley Cole uses The Amazing Race as a template in Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night, the third novel in her Immortals After Dark series. In this version, the tasks undertaken by vampires, werewolves, Valkyries, witches, and many other creatures are always dangerous, but the prize is worth the risk. The winner can go back in time and rescue two people they loved who died.   

In the series, one character loves Mike Rowe, the host of Dirty Jobs. Cole also references musical groups like Crazy Frog as ring tones.

                                        ***

The Golden Treasury by F. T. Palgrove is a collection of classic poems by Milton, Keats, etc., carried by numerous characters in some of the 56 charming romance novels written by Essie Summers. (See book review posted on 2/11/2013.) Robert Burns is often quoted from The Golden Treasury. I was pleased to find a pocket-sized version of it in my grandfather's library.

All of Summers' books are set in New Zealand, a place she describes so lovingly from the sheep stations, mountains, and lakes to the cities near the sea, all filled with such friendly people and delicious meals, that her readers dream of visiting there—including me. I gave four of her novels to a friend who traveled to New Zealand six months later. Several others on the tour were also drawn there by Summers' books—and everything she wrote about her home country was proven true.

 

Do you follow up on referrals made by your favorite authors?

 

 

Summer Reads

By Kate Phillips

 

As a reader, I always love finding books that appeal to me. As a writer, I am twice as pleased when the authors also provide Masterclasses within their books.

        Masterclasses take place when performance artists and musicians work one-on-one with students. Writers don't generally have this option, but I have found some books to be Masterclasses for characters, backstories, plots, settings, voice, and/or creativity.

       

When summer arrives, I want to read some lighter stories. But I still want to read Masterclass-level books as my writer side wants to continue learning about great characters, strong plots, and good writing.

The most popular post I have written is about JD Robb's In Death series. (See post dated October 22.) If you enjoyed these books, you will probably enjoy Suzanne Enoch's Samantha Jellicoe series. It is not as gritty and graphic, but still well done.

While Nora Roberts as JD Robb has written close to 40 books,the Samantha Jellicoe series is only four books—Flirting with Danger, Don't Look Down, Billionaires Prefer Blondes, and A Touch of Minx—a perfect amount for a vacation week.

Like the In Depth series, the male lead, Richard Addison, is a brilliant and wealthy business man, but has no criminal past. Unlike the In Death series, the female lead, Samantha Jellicoe, is not a police lieutenant, but the world's best cat burglar. In both series, people are murdered, crimes need to be solved, and love will win out although there are many obstacles and humorous situations along the way.

        As a writer, I love how these complex characters react when they meet, interact as they get involved in each other's lives, and transform to solve the many dilemmas in the multi-layered plots.

        I am also recommending two books by Pauline Baird Jones. They have radically different writing styles which fascinates me.

        The Last Enemy is the first in a trilogy, but this one is by far my favorite. The plot: Romance writer Dani Gwynne witnessed a murder and is placed under protective custody. However, the protective custody is not as safe as promised. Marshal Matthew Kirby and his team are determined to find out what happened that left three US Marshals dead and the witness missing. They learn not to underestimate a romance writer hunted by a hit man who is leaving them a trail of gruesome crime scenes.

        Dani makes excellent use of her plotting skills and, with help from fellow writers, fans, and Internet friends, saves herself time and again until the Marshals catch up. But can they stop the hit man or can Dani only trust herself?

        On a much lighter note, The Spy Who Kissed Me is a funny murder mystery. My favorite lines on page 7 introduce the main character and narrator:

Isobel. Picture someone petite, fragile, and blonde, done in soft pastels, lusciously formed—and you'll know how I don't look.

        Isobel Stanley, Stan to her friends, writes children's books about the antics of a cockroach which her mother considers tacky. Stan also plays the organ and gets roped into covering for the regular organist at a church function. Lost in her thoughts on her way home, she takes a wrong turn, witnesses a shooting, and then a dashing young man dives into her open sun roof. What's a girl to do next?

        I admire the author's numerous funny turns of phrases—highly creative.

What beach books do you enjoy?