Back On Track

I finally feel like I'm back in the swing of things. I suppose Mondays can do that. But mostly, it's cause I'm finally getting over this cold, and this bad sunburn is starting to fade and heal. I got it a couple days ago when I stupidly forgot my skin nearly never sees the sun, and didn't put on sunscreen, and ended up looking like a lobster. It was like having a heating pad that starts to get uncomfortably hot, but you can't take it off.

Since I'm feeling better, I started working on my novel again. After an hour or so, I caught up to where I was at chapter seven, where I had stopped to go back and change things about my character Shea. Now I feel back on track in that regard too. Maybe I can get more done on it this summer than I think. And by the way, I've gotten over that minor freak-out I had in my last post about "copying" Tolkien... things are staying the way they are, for now. I just need to think up a little more history so things feel more real to me. I get a little insecure about my writing every so often. That's normal, right?

I'm also trying to read about ten books before September, all of which you can scroll through on the left, on my Shelfari bookshelf. I'm not sure if I can get through them all, but I'm going to try. The one I'm reading now is The Old Silent, by Martha Grimes. I thought I might tell you a bit about it, since I'm really enjoying it. I got introduced to this mystery writer through my aunt. All of Martha Grimes' books, at least in her main series, are about a detective named Richard Jury, who works for Scotland Yard in London. He goes all over England to solve muddled crimes, and they're written with a fair bit of wit. His partner, Sergeant Wiggins, is reminiscent of Watson. Wiggins' endearing quality is that he's a bit of a hypochondriac, constantly thinking that he's coming down with something, and can usually be seen opening a packet of lozenges, complaining about the weather (any weather), or eating digestive biscuits. Richard Jury's superior, Chief Superintendent Racer, always thinks Jury's work isn't good enough, and is constantly trying to outwit the orange cat that hangs around his office. But he never wins. The author gives each of her characters a few quirks, which makes it very entertaining to read, and balances out the darkness of murder. This particular book in the series has quite a few tangled motives and storylines, and it might be my favorite so far. If you're interested, the first book is called The Man With A Load Of Mischief. I highly recommend it.

Photo: The cover of The Old Silent. It's not exactly the cover I have, since I buy Martha Grimes books for $3 or $4 at Half Price Books, and they're usually worn old '80s and '90s editions, which is enjoyable in itself.