キャミー・タング著「戌年」連載小説 プロのドッグトレーナーであるマリ・ムトウは、厄年を迎えている。 犬小屋と訓練所の改築をしながら、いつも不服そうにしている家族と同居することになった。母と姉に言わせれば、犬の毛とよだれかけにまみれる仕事は、家族にとって恥ずべきものだという。彼女は元カレを説得し、数ヶ月間犬を預かってもらうことにした。しかし、彼の兄は、数週間前に彼女が誤って車に追突した、怒り狂ったセキュリティ専門家であることが判明する。 アシュウィン・ケイトウは十分な問題を抱えている。叔母が玄関先に現れ、同居を希望している。彼は彼女にすべてを借りているので、断ることができません。母親が家を出て行った後、ネルおばさんはアシュウィンと弟を引き取り、愛のあるキリスト教の家庭で育てた。しかも、弟のダスティもアパートを追い出され、居場所を求めている。しかし、彼は犬を飼っている。そして、その犬の飼い主は誰だと思いますか? しかし、旧友でオアフ島のノースショアでデイスパを経営する私立探偵のエディサ・ゲレロから依頼を受ける。マリの施設で奇妙な破壊行為があり、3年前に失踪したエディサの妹の財布を発見する。エディサはマリが危険な目に遭っているのではと心配する。警備の専門家であるアシュウィンがすでにマリを知っていることを知ったエディサは、忙しい若い女性を密かに監視することを彼に依頼する。 アシュウィンは、活発でのんびりとしたドッグトレーナーに不本意ながら惹かれていく。彼女は、幸せそうな母親を思い出させる。その母親の裏切りによって、彼は人と距離を置くようになったのだ。マリは、アシュウィンの冷たい外見を見抜き、彼が家族に忠実な男であることを認める。彼は、彼女のキャリア選択を批判するだけの母親や姉とは違う。 マリのバラバラな家庭とアシュウィンのバラバラな家庭の中で、過去を隠そうとする人たちから、彼らの周りに危険が迫ってくるようになる。彼らは、影で動く秘密に光を当てることができるのか? 過去に発表されたパートへのリンクはこちら。 *** 第8章 - 恐ろしくも真っ白な不動産書類 『みんな仲良くできないのかな?』 マリは無用に力を込めて箱に本を投げ入れた。最近、なぜ彼女は人生の中で全員と言い争いをしているのだろう?もしかすると、これは本当に悪いアイデア
Captain’s Log, Stardate 05.12.2006
Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is PINK by Marilynn Griffith.
My Thursday book giveaway is THE PREACHER’S DAUGHER by Lyn Cote
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for PINK and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.
Chick-lit: I did take time today to catch up on a couple e-mail loops I’m on, one of which is the chick-lit loop. There’s been a really good discussion about where the genre’s going—if it’s evolving, if it’s dying, what?
Most people had good points. One woman especially said something that resonated with me, and which I think applies to most other genres as well:
A lot of chick-lit now being published is a lot of the same rehashed storylines. You know what I’m talking about—bridezilla, weirdo mother, dating lots of losers, etc. It’s making chick-lit readers bored.
As chick-lit writers, we have to take the essence of chick-lit—the voice, the plight of the single 20- or 30-something woman—and give it a different spin. If we keep up with the market and see that bridezilla is being overdone, then take a different theme and turn it on its head. It forces writers to be more creative, more unique, more original.
I see this a lot in entries I judge. Some entries have a really unique theme, idea, premise, or characters. However, many of them don’t have that something different to make it stand out as a story.
I think writers sometimes don’t pay enough attention to that aspect of storytelling. The characters are so real, the story so alive in their minds, they don’t want to think that it needs a boost of something to make it memorable.
MEMORABLE.
Scarlett. Everyone knows who I’m talking about.
Bond. Don’t even have to say his first name.
Darth Vader. (Okay, that’s actually movies)
Harry Potter. (No discussions from the anti-HP corner)
They’re all memorable stories. Scarlett puts b*tch in a whole ‘nother level. When it first came out, Ian Fleming’s James Bond was THE man’s man. Darth Vader is not your typical “son betrayed by father” story. Harry’s stories make the wizard/witch fantasy something out of the box.
I’ll take Brandilyn Collins as an unwitting example. EYES OF ELISHA, DREAD CHAMPION—her Christian heroine has visions and solves crimes. Innovative, especially when it first came out, especially within Christian fiction. Not your typical suspense, not your typical paranormal, not your typical crime story.
Okay, okay, my rant is over. But all you writers (and there are a lot of you who read this blog) really analyze your story. What makes you stand out within your genre?
TMI:
Diet: According to my body fat % scale, I’m down one fat percentage! I don’t know how, considering I haven’t been eating that well lately and exercise has been nonexistent. But oh well! I’ll take it!
Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is PINK by Marilynn Griffith.
My Thursday book giveaway is THE PREACHER’S DAUGHER by Lyn Cote
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for PINK and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.
Chick-lit: I did take time today to catch up on a couple e-mail loops I’m on, one of which is the chick-lit loop. There’s been a really good discussion about where the genre’s going—if it’s evolving, if it’s dying, what?
Most people had good points. One woman especially said something that resonated with me, and which I think applies to most other genres as well:
A lot of chick-lit now being published is a lot of the same rehashed storylines. You know what I’m talking about—bridezilla, weirdo mother, dating lots of losers, etc. It’s making chick-lit readers bored.
As chick-lit writers, we have to take the essence of chick-lit—the voice, the plight of the single 20- or 30-something woman—and give it a different spin. If we keep up with the market and see that bridezilla is being overdone, then take a different theme and turn it on its head. It forces writers to be more creative, more unique, more original.
I see this a lot in entries I judge. Some entries have a really unique theme, idea, premise, or characters. However, many of them don’t have that something different to make it stand out as a story.
I think writers sometimes don’t pay enough attention to that aspect of storytelling. The characters are so real, the story so alive in their minds, they don’t want to think that it needs a boost of something to make it memorable.
MEMORABLE.
Scarlett. Everyone knows who I’m talking about.
Bond. Don’t even have to say his first name.
Darth Vader. (Okay, that’s actually movies)
Harry Potter. (No discussions from the anti-HP corner)
They’re all memorable stories. Scarlett puts b*tch in a whole ‘nother level. When it first came out, Ian Fleming’s James Bond was THE man’s man. Darth Vader is not your typical “son betrayed by father” story. Harry’s stories make the wizard/witch fantasy something out of the box.
I’ll take Brandilyn Collins as an unwitting example. EYES OF ELISHA, DREAD CHAMPION—her Christian heroine has visions and solves crimes. Innovative, especially when it first came out, especially within Christian fiction. Not your typical suspense, not your typical paranormal, not your typical crime story.
Okay, okay, my rant is over. But all you writers (and there are a lot of you who read this blog) really analyze your story. What makes you stand out within your genre?
TMI:
Diet: According to my body fat % scale, I’m down one fat percentage! I don’t know how, considering I haven’t been eating that well lately and exercise has been nonexistent. But oh well! I’ll take it!
Comments
Way to go on losing one fat percentage! But, wait a minute...I think...maybe...yep, it somehow made it's way here, lol.
Mir
And congrats on the lost 1%!