When I was in elementary school, I was a regular visitor to our school library. One day, the librarian pulled me aside and told me that she had a book she thought would interest me. The book was a Nancy Drew Mystery.

I checked out the book, took it home, and started reading it. I was immediately hooked. Not surprisingly, I continued to read mysteries, and by the eighth grade, I had discover Sherlock Holmes. Thanks to the school librarian, this early interest led to a lifetime of finding and reading mysteries, and eventually, to writing them. I still read mysteries, but I also read fiction in most genres except horror. I’m not interested in being scared to death.

The book I read most recently was The Ministry of Time, which is classified as science fiction. But there’s a big romance the develops fairly early in the book. So you could call it a blending of sci fi and romance. However, like any good story, there are mysterious things happening throughout that book that develop eventually into some really suspenseful events. The book has its flaws, but it’s a fun read. I gave it four stars. And while reading it, I thought yet again that just about any good book in any genre has a mystery of some sort at its heart.

Nancy Drew is a teenage amateur sleuth, often accompanied by her two pals Beth and George (really Georgia but everyone calls her George) and Nancy’s boyfriend, Ned. According to the Wikipedia article about Nancy Drew, the books were conceived by Edward Stratemeyer. He wrote plot outlines and then hired Mildred Wirt Benson to ghostwrite the early volumes, using the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Stratemeyer was the author of the Hardy Boys books for boys, and he created Nancy Drew to appeal to girls. The Nancy Drew stories began to be published in the 1930s. Back then, there seemed to be a stricter division of what boys would like and what girls would like. Or not. These days, romance seems to be the preferred genre for a lot of woman and not so popular with men. On the other hand, men tend to prefer non-fiction, and if they read fiction at all, it will most likely be a sci fi space odyssey or maybe something historical.

Recently I stumbled upon a boxed set of four Nancy Drew stories at Bookman’s book store. I took boxed set home and began reading the first, Without a Trace. The book and characters are as I remember from my childhood. Nancy is a cheerful, curious and tenacious character who won’t quit until she solves the mystery, in this case the theft of an expensive Fabergé egg. The main difference is that the story has been updated to modern times. That means characters engage in web searches, send and receive emails and texts, and, in general, are regular users of digital devices.

The Nancy Drew stories are entertaining, not complex at all, and easy to read. Not surprisingly, Nancy doesn’t take up any difficult issues that we often see in fiction such as poverty, racism, sexism, etc. The books are directed at mostly white, middle-class readers. However, it is worth noting that any active, self-determining and smart female character makes for a good role model for young girls. If you get a chance to read one, please do. I think you’ll enjoy getting to know Nancy and her pals.
​
​Thank you to my school librarian.

Masha du Toit is an African writer of science fiction and fantasy. She was a finalist in 2017 and 2018 for a Nommo Award, a literary award presented by the African Speculative Fiction Society.
See Nommo Award. Masha and I met some years ago on the social media platform Google Plus (G+). 
​

​Masha, you are South African from Cape Town. Please tell us a little about yourself and your life on the other side of the world.
 
That's right.  I live in Cape Town, in an area called Muizenberg which is right on the coast, a famous surf spot with a beautiful nature reserve estuary that's within walking distance of my home. A wonderful place to walk dogs, with so many birds, and other small wildlife. I recently started learning to paddle the kayak, so I have a whole new view on the area from the water these days.
 
I teach online to make a living (writing fiction doesn't pay enough!) so I was working from home long before the pandemic. My husband Brendon teaches design at a school for the deaf. He's an artist and musician too, although these days all his creative energy is being consumed by teaching.​

​My beloved dog Pippin died more than a year ago and my heart is still not ready for another dog. But in the meantime I have two lovely rats, Maurice and Frankie, who entertain me with their sweet, clever, gentle ways. 

I know you’ve written fantasy stories in the past. Your most recent books have all been science fiction. Prior to We Broke the Moon, you wrote the Linked Worlds trilogy which began with The Babylon Eye. Why do you think you chose sci-fi as your chosen genre? Or did it choose you?
 
I've always loved reading sci-fi, even when I was too young to really understand a lot of it. Probably because my older brother Andries always made the books he was reading, like Dune, sound so fascinating. I actually find both fantasy and science fiction equally compelling as genres. One of the reasons I introduced the virtual reality game that the characters play in We Broke the Moon, is so that I would have a chance to write more fantastical scenes featuring monsters and magic. So in some ways, We Broke the Moon is a crossover between science-fiction and fantasy.

Science fiction allows me to explore themes such as how our technology reveals who we are, and how it changes us. Our technology is not neutral, but it's also not evil. I hope my stories don't fall into the "beware the killer robots will take over" trope of so much sci-fi. Our inventions are extensions of ourselves. While we've done a lot of damage to the world in the name of technological progress, I hope that we can use our inventions to fix the mess we've created.
 
In We Broke the Moon, we find ourselves on a giant korf ship floating through space after the humans onboard fled Earth as a result of the AI Wars. The korf ship is accompanied by fleets of smaller space ships, Brommer and Jatai ships. The humans on the korf ship have put severe limitations on the ship’s artificial intelligence (AI) system because they deeply fear releasing an AI system like the one they fled, a system that had become psychopathic and had attempted to kill all the humans. The human relationship to artificial intelligence (AI) systems is a major theme of We Broke the Moon. Tell us about your interest in artificial intelligence and how this interest came about.
 
I am fascinated by the way that we are both increasingly dependent on technology to survive and express ourselves, and yet we are also so deeply distrustful of it. Our technology has long been an extension of ourselves - think of how books and writing have increased our ability to store and transmit information for centuries, now. Books are part our minds and memories in a very real sense. 
 
Added to that our tendency to anthropomorphize objects and imbue them with life and personality, and the idea of sentient artificial intelligence becomes quite interesting. What if we can artificially create a sentient, self-aware being? Is it truly alive, in the same way that we are? Can it suffer? What does freedom mean, when you can code an intelligence within limits you decide upon? What rights does such a being have? How does that reflect our ideas about human, and animal suffering, and human, and animal rights? The questions are endless.
 
In We Broke the Moon, the characters are even more dependent on tech than we are, being on a ship in deep space. They have the same uneasy relationship with that technology. They are trapped in that situation, forced to confront this essential contradiction, or their tech that both sustains and threatens them. Maybe that is something we have to face too. Our technology gives us the power to change the world. We have to take on that responsibility, to try the best we can to answer the unanswerable questions we've created.
 
Your two main protagonists, Maksim and Io, are teenagers who are attempting to define themselves as well as find their place in the post-Earth world of the korf ship. Why did you decide to go with teens as protagonists?
 
Teenagers are fun to write because, by definition, they are going through such big changes. They are figuring out who they are in the world. They look at the world in a fresh way, deciding what they value, and what they want to change. That gives me, as a writer, the chance to explore the world in a way that might not be possible through the eyes of a more jaded, older character.
 
I also wanted to show the different generations' attitudes to technology. The adults, who have directly experienced the harm technology can do, are much more distrustful of it. The teenagers, less risk-averse, are more trusting of new experiences, more curious. Impulsive characters are a gift to a story teller! They make things happen.  
 
A key activity that these teens do for relaxation is to enter virtual reality settings to play games and engage in adventures. These virtual reality scenarios are very realistic and at the same time, fantastical. How did you manage to write so well about virtual reality?
 
The virtual reality game was my gift to myself as a writer who enjoys writing fantasy. Science fiction, especially when set on a deep-space ship, can easily become claustrophobic and limiting. Apart from the closed-off spaces inhabited by the characters, as a sci-fi writer you have to obey the rules of physics at least to some degree. The VR game allowed me to create luscious, expansive, immersive environments, and fantastical creatures. I tried to remember what it felt like, the first time I read stories of Narnia and Middle Earth. To conjure up that same sense of wonder, and create an immersive world to transport the reader out of their own reality. That was my hope!
 
The blurb of We Broke the Moon describes the book as “Hope Punk Science Fiction, a genre that focuses on friendship, love, and a hopeful, can-do approach to the challenges the characters face.” I did a little research and found that Hope Punk is defined as “weaponized optimism.” It has also been described as “part of a wider cultural and storytelling trend toward optimism and positivity in the face of bleak times.” Tell us about your view of Hope Punk and about your interest in writing in this manner.
 
I've become increasingly aware of the importance of stories. We humans constantly create and recreate our reality through narrative. The stories we tell ourselves about who we are, and why do what we do, to make sense of chaotic and unpredictable reality. 
 
Stories are essential to us. I understand the value of dark, cynical and grim stories, but I don't enjoy them. My ability to put myself in the story, to empathise with the characters is just too strong. I don't have the ironic detachment needed to enjoy tales of treachery and cruelty.
 
Life is hard and lonely at times. There's not much I can do to make things better. But as a writer, I might be able to create a small escape for a reader, to remind them of the power of friendship and kindness, so that after closing the book, they can go back into their life with a bit more hope, and strength, to face the challenges out there. That's what hope punk is for me. Not to create a sugar-coated version of the world - my stories do contain pain and sadness as well. Hope punk is about facing that darkness, holding up a small light in the knowledge that you are not alone.
 
Another theme in the book is the human relationship to the natural world. By that, we mean the natural world of Earth which humans on the korf ship no longer experience directly. What are you attempting to convey in this rather subtle theme?
 
The tension between human and nature is in all of my stories. Humans are part of the natural world, but we try to separate ourselves from it, to deny our animal nature. We do so much harm to the environment that keeps us alive. We feel so lonely, we are so proud of our unique abilities, and yet we are surrounded by creatures who are not so different from us. It's fascinating to look into the eyes of a dog, or a crow, or an octopus, and try to imagine how they see us.
 
We Broke the Moon is a sad book in some ways, as the humans are forever separated from Earth, the world that shaped us as a species. I hope to remind my readers that we are not there yet. We are still flying through space on the most magnificent of space-ships, the planet Earth, a self-sustaining life support system that will always continue surprising and delighting us, no matter how long we explore it. 

Also you are an artist and you created the covers for your books. What inspires your covers? 
 
Cover design is difficult! It's a combination of the creative and commercial. As a cover designer you are trying to create an image that will convey a very particular story, and attract readers who will enjoy it. The cover needs to be different enough to catch a reader's eye, but not so different that it stands out as odd or unappealing. I'm never really satisfied with my attempts.  But on the other hand, it's one of the advantages of self-publishing that I have the control to create my own covers, and am not at the whim of a publisher.
 
What’s next? Do you have another book in progress?
 
I am working on two books at the moment, a new experience for me. I've started on the sequel to We Broke the Moon. But I'm also finishing a completely different project that I started during lockdown. It's a light fantasy, working title Ray and the Cat-thing.It grew from my own need to find entertaining, joyful, escapist books during lockdown. It's an utterly self-indulgent story that includes all of the things I found myself longing for during lockdown, like hanging out with friends, or going on a care-free camping trip.
 
During our hard lockdown here in South Africa we spent several months where we were not allowed outside our homes at all, not even for exercise. We could get groceries and medication and that was it. The experience taught me some hard lessons in what I really value. Writing this story is my chance to escape and explore those things, if only in my imagination. 
 
Thank you, Masha. 

Tamara (Tammy) Poff is a Tucson artist, author, and teacher. Here she introduces us to her latest book, In the Company of Fiber Artists: Creative Inspiration for Creative Heddle Weavers.
  
Tammy, you are known as a fiber artist and weaver primarily working with the rigid heddle loom.  Can you tell us about weaving as a form of fiber art, how you were drawn to it, and what its appeal is for you?
 
Weaving is the foundation of fiber arts. I've read that evidence of interlacing thread on thread can be traced as far back as the Paleolithic era, 27,000 years ago. It surged as an art form in our time, from the 1950s onward, finding its way from a functional to an aesthetic purpose.
 
For those sensitive to fiber then, I think there is a primal call to express ourselves with this medium. As a knitter from age five onward, I can't remember a time when a skein of yarn didn't excite me. As a painter and a weaver, working with fibers allows me to respond to the materials differently than painting does. Weaving is another way of getting your hands dirty with yarn – it's a unique form of therapy.
 
One of my favorite (true) stories of "fiber therapy" was of a young man who bought eight knitting needle sets from his local yarn shop. When the shop owner asked what he needed eight sets for, he answered, "I'm buying them for my study group. We found that when one person reads the material, and the others knit, we get better scores on our tests!" As fiber passes through our hands in repetition, it quiets the everyday buzz in the back of our minds for multiple benefits.
 
So, it is the process that lured me in. I was a floor loom weaver in my art school days. As a wholesale yarn representative many years later, I saw a rising demand for the portability, accessibility, and quick results of the little loom. I devoured everything I could find to learn the rigid heddle from multiple perspectives, then developed some quirky little tricks of my own and taught 100's of new weavers from there. I taught in yarn shops throughout five states of the eastern time zone where I could see, close-up, what my new weavers struggled with and what they wanted. I never thought I would be writing patterns – writing books was just a joke I started. I would have to say that my students dragged me into this, and my network of loyal weavers internationally is what drives me onward.

​You've written three books now on rigid heddle loom weaving, the most recent of which is In the company of Fiber Artists: Creative Inspiration for Rigid Heddle Weavers. Tell us about this latest book.
 
With book three, I wanted to change course a bit.  I am known, since book one, as the designer who takes rigid heddle weaving beyond the traditional path to a more contemporary approach. My readers write me to say that they didn't realize that their simple weaving tool has so much potential. I wanted to continue that, but with a twist. I felt my weavers deserved inspiration to go further "beyond the rectangle," as my tag line implies.
 
Additionally, I wanted to pack more of what I value into this more expansive work – more creativity from diverse sources, more connection to our community, and more concern for our planet's future. So I researched and reached out to the eight national and international artists whose amazingly generous and inspiring response is the cornerstone of this book.
 
One of the strengths of this book, in addition to gorgeous illustrations and instructional material, are the interviews with several artists working in this medium. What did you hope to achieve by giving these different artists' perspectives?
 
The celebrity interview format to encourage new ideas has been available to most other seekers - authors, painters, sports lovers, and so on. I found a hole in what was available to inspire my weavers similarly.
 
I did not know at the onset, however, how much the genius of the artists interviewed would change my own direction. I feel like the patterns in this book are some of my best work because the pieces had to be worthy of the artist who inspired them.
 
My end game here was to light a little firecracker under my readers to get going, keep going, and try something new – something outside their comfort zone with more of their own genius involved. The response from my early readers has been overwhelming with all of the new ideas they are generating. In that sense, mission accomplished. I also hope to inspire weavers to think hard about their materials - what we are contributing to the planet and the community. Weaving uses a lot of yarn with a certain amount of waste. It's tempting to fall for synthetics due to the cost. Finally, we are beginning to understand the cost to our environment when we use these petroleum products, and we are finding affordable answers to that.

​
You have devoted considerable space to instructional material, including diagrams, charts patterns, and techniques.  Do you see yourself as much a teacher as an artist?
 
Well, my undergraduate degree is in Art Education. For mere survival, I spent decades in business instead. I feel like I've returned to my roots now. I didn't think I wanted to teach back then. I wanted to paint, so my graduate work was in fine arts, painting. My students seem to respond favorably to my teaching style. So apparently, that remains my calling, and I find that gratifying. I do want to build in some painting time, though.
 

​
I really loved all the great quotes that are tucked away in the text. Do you have a favorite?
 
My favorite is from Sophia Loren: "There is a fountain of youth; it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to life, to the lives of the people you love."
 
To me, this summarizes our reason for being. If I am remembered only for that, I am satisfied.
 
The chapter on Move Forward-Give Back is especially inspiring. Tell us about that, and in particular, the Linus Project.
 
As we feed our creativity, we generate a lot of stuff – stuff full of love, as I like to think of it. The process is a big part of the reward, and we can add to that reward by helping others in need.
 
I joined a knitting group here in Tucson that used to meet before the pandemic slowed us down. A chance to have a cup of coffee with other handcrafters feeds the soul. The group's organizer, Bev, is also the local coordinator for Project Linus. This national organization exists to donate handmade blankets of various sizes to comfort children in need.
 
I started by knitting a few blankets and sewing together a quilt. Then I realized that I didn't see anything about weavers in the requests. I thought this would be a perfect project for us. The challenge was to find fibers that would be soft, washable, natural, and affordable for weavers with a budget. I was excited to find some low-cost bamboo and lyocell yarns that work beautifully for my patterns.

​I was interested in your comments on sustainability in your latest book. Not only are you recycling yarns from cast off weavings, you also address the issue of synthetic materials in weavings, and also contamination of natural fibers. You call for use of "renewable fibers." Can you tell us a little more about that?
 
First, we must acknowledge that almost everything we do has an environmental impact. The other day I read that even a little text from our phones has a discernible cost to the eco-system. Each step toward a zero-carbon effect, while not perfect, is progress in giving this planet a longer life, not only for future generations but for the remainder of our lives as we see global warming effects in real-time.
 
Acrylic, nylon, and polyester have a considerable presence in the fiber world. These are plastics manufactured from petroleum that gained status in our mothers’ generation for their low cost, softness, and washability. We now know that they break down in the wash and in landfills and find their way into our bodies to destroy our health. As I say in the book, "Do we really want to wrap a baby in a petroleum product in the first place?"
 
Opting for natural fibers like cotton and wool appears to be a step forward. Still, the former is associated with excess water usage, toxic fertilizers, and pesticides, and the latter with methane contamination, animal cruelty, and poisonous chemicals in preparation.
 
Transforming plant material into rayons like bamboo and Tencel (brand name for lyocell) appears to be the answer for the future as these fibers are robustly sustainable and grown with very little toxic intervention. Alas, these too, have had a bad chemical footprint when we turn them into yarn.
 
Not to despair, weavers should give some serious thought to prioritizing natural fibers as a growing number of farmers join the movement of sustainable agriculture. Additionally, there are new manufacturing processes called closed-loop that reduce waste production and contamination. It's all about consciously taking steps in the right direction.

What's next for you?
 
As I mentioned, this book has kind of changed my direction. I have so many colleagues who do a great job of teaching new weavers how to use the rigid heddle, make a scarf, make a placemat, and all the basics.
 
While I'll always have the beginner in mind (I have an online course for beginners at weavingwithpoffstudio.com), the next big chapter in my life's book will probably be more deeply dedicated to this concept of finding inspiration for the weaver. I'm thinking about an online membership site for that purpose. And I want to get a little painting time in, too!
 







Websites:
Tamara Poff:
https://weaving-with-poff-studio.thinkific.com/
https://www.poffstudio.com/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PoffStudio
 
Project Linus:
https://www.projectlinus.org/
http://www.projectlinustucson.org/
 
LINKS to Book and Book  Reviews.
 
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Company-Fiber-Artists-Creative-Inspiration/dp/099845902X/
 
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57060101-in-the-company-of-fiber-artists?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Jnw2dZYiAQ&rank=1

Barnes and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-company-of-fiber-artists-tamara-poff/1138864033?ean=9780998459028

Please meet Tucson author Kathy McIntosh. Kathy and I know each other from our membership in Sisters in Crime, a national organization for writers of mystery fiction.

Let’s start with your mysteries. You have two series, Havoc in Hancock (humorous suspense) and Adventure Calls (mystery). Tell us a little about each of these series including the settings, main characters, themes.
 
I began the Havoc in Hancock novels while living in Idaho.
I’d always loved Carl Hiaasen’s novels, so I set out to be the Carl Hiaasen of Idaho. His books, set in Florida, are generally about wacky characters trying to save endangered species. I enthusiastically recommend them, particularly his earlier books. 

​In Mustard’s Last Stand, an eco-activist called Roadkill recruits his screenwriter brother to help him fight a safari camp being set up on land once owned by their family. Lots of that, believe it or not, came from “real life.” My eco-activist daughter introduced me to the real Roadkill, a chatty and personable young man who dressed in the skins of animals he found on roadsides. Really. We had a delightful breakfast together and that spawned my idea for the book and for Roadkill, the character.
 
It happens also that at that time, protesters were fighting the establishment of canned hunts, where captive elk and other animals were hunted by sportsmen the grounds of the “hunt.” I switched zebras, water buffaloes and a former zoo lion for actual Idaho wildlife.
 
Roadkill gets help from four pregnant women and a recently fired Sears security guard on the hunt of a pill addict. 

​In the second of that series, Foul Wind, one of the pregnant women from Mustard’s Last Stand, Feather Sullivan, and her mother get into trouble at a wind farm near Hancock while trying to save her sister from a murder rap.
 
Once again the themes of environmental issues and family helping (or hindering?) family arise.
 
Environmental activists often use “forest names” when they don’t want to use their birth names. I chose Feather because in the first novel, she’s very pregnant and definitely not feather-like. The character is also a bit whimsical and rash at times, a bit like the flight of said feather.
 
I set the books in northern Idaho, in the fictional town of Hancock. One of the nicest compliments I had was from a reader who said Hancock reminded him of the town he grew up in, in northern Idaho!​

When we moved to Tucson some six years ago, I set my next series, Adventure Calls, about an eco-tourism company, in Arizona. The first, Murder, Sonoran Style is set in the Sonoran desert. (I think it has more dry humor than those in Idaho.) In that book, a former science professor becomes a partner in an eco-touring company and very shortly finds the dead body of a hated developer. Since he’s been killed with Gabe’s hunting knife, it falls on Gabe to find the murderer.
 
I read the first in the Havoc in Hancock book, Mustard’s Last Stand, which I found very amusing. Do you find humor difficult or easy to write?
 
I tried to write a serious book, but the humor kept popping in when I least expected it, so I gave up and allowed entry. That sounds as if it’s easy, but when my critique group suggests I add “a bit more humor” at a certain point, I find it very difficult. That’s when it seems forced rather than with the flow. I do think certain characters create their own humor, with their appearance, dialog, attitudes and behavior, but I have to be careful not to create stereotypes or rely on pranks or pratfalls too much. Finding the right balance in humor isn’t easy.
 
In April, I’m giving a talk on Zoom about humor in mysteries through Friends of the Kirk-Bear Canyon Public Library here in Tucson. So right now I’m exploring more about how others view and write humor in fiction. And I definitely am seeking out suggestions of favorite humorous mystery writers!
 
Mustard’s Last Stand also had a deeper environmental theme. Is environmental conservation a strong interest of yours?
 
All my books have an environmental bias. Conserving our environment is a strong interest of mine, something my parents instilled in me—a gift I’m grateful for.
 
You’ve contributed to anthologies for writers about the writing process. Tell us a little about that. 
 
I edit fiction and non-fiction to support my fiction writing, and I’m passionate about words and language, so I happily contribute to such anthologies when I can. My best piece of advice is to get your butt in the chair and get words out. Next best? Be sure to move around every half-hour so you don’t wind up with bursitis or other health issues!
 
You also seem to have a strong interest in cooking and recipes, and you’ve contributed to books about food. Tell us about that, too.

Confession: I’m even more interested in eating than cooking, and love to find new restaurants (pre-pandemic). However, I do enjoy trying out new recipes and sharing the good ones. Some of the cooking anthologies I’ve contributed to give the profits to charity, which is a way of giving back I’m happy to support.
 
The most recent cookbook my recipes are in is Recipes to Kill For, A Desert Sleuths Cookbook.

​
​We’re in a difficult time now because of the covid-19 pandemic. I enjoyed your January 2021 newsletter titled “Hope in 2021” which explored your insights into a trip to South Africa you and your husband took and what that had to do with the hope you experienced there. Can you give us some information about that as well?
           
In the Cape Town Flats, an extremely poor community outside Cape Town, I learned that people can surprise us with their kindness. That gives me hope for America’s future, as well. I also talked about a graduate of Caring Hearts High School, in Kenya, who wants to give back some of the blessings she received. That’s exactly what the founder of the school, Vincent Kituku, hoped when he started it: creating a community of educated young people who might one day make changes in their country.
​
(Above right) Students from Caring Hearts High School working in a trash clear-up day at Tala, a small town near the school. Kathy and her husband are school donors.

I also wrote about some innovative approaches to water conservation being undertaken in Cape Town, South Africa, a town that in 2018 faced terrible drought. You can find my recent blog post on that subject on my website, www.KathyMcIntosh.com The post is https://kathymcintosh.com/hope-in-2021/
 
​
What’s up next for you? Do you have another book planned or underway now?
 
I’m thrilled that the audio book of Murder, Sonoran Style, will be out this spring. I’m finishing up book two in the Adventure Calls series. This one features a secondary character from the first book, guide and chef Madrone Hunter, and is set in northern Arizona, in the town of Cottonwood. The title will be Murder, Cottonwood Style. I’m also bringing Roadkill into this book, to link the two series together. And because Roadkill was a favorite with readers of the first series.
 
Links:
 
Mustard's Last Stand: https://www.amazon.com/Mustards-Last-Stand-Havoc-Hancock-ebook/dp/B00GK73FC2/
 
Foul Wind: https://www.amazon.com/Foul-Wind-Hancock-Humorous-Suspense-ebook/dp/B015VNN31I/
 
Murder, Sonoran Style:
​  https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Sonoran-Style-Adventure-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07R8NLT26/
 
Website: https://www.KathyMcIntosh.com/
​

I think it’s safe to say that we were ready for 2020 to be done and gone by last March or April. So here we are at the beginning of a new year with two signs of hope: 1) a Covid-19 vaccine will be widely available soon – that is, if our leaders can get it together and get the vaccine to us; and 2) Trump will be gone by January 20 (unless he tries to stage a coup which I wouldn’t put past him). Be prepared to defend American democracy from a proto-fascist.
 
Art:
How has this past year affected art and artists?  Artists are always looking for opportunities to show and sell their work. The year 2020 was the most challenging for artists in many years. Almost everything went “virtual.” We couldn’t have “live” Open Studio tours or popup events, and most galleries stopped having live exhibits and openings.
 
I turned to Etsy in an attempt to sell small artworks, among other things. I did indeed sell some small artworks, mainly in the Art:Flora and Art:Abstract categories. But the big surprise was the popularity of malas. FYI, a mala is a Buddhist/Hindu circular string of beads (kind of like a rosary) that is used in meditation to help concentrate and say mantras which are sort of like a prayer. A traditional mantra has 108 beads and an amulet attached. A lot of westerners wear them as necklaces.
 
At first, I thought that my buyers were using them as necklaces only. But I quickly found out that many are using them to meditate. That’s understandable. We’re all pretty stressed out because of the pandemic. To sit silently and say a prayer, mantra, or an affirmation helps calm the mind and body.

Etsy keeps very good statistics on who clicks on what and who makes an item a “favorite.” The stats told me that of every 20 “favorites,” 19 of them are malas. So Baja Arizona Treasures will be offering more malas in 2021. See more at Baja Arizona Treasures.
​​

​Books:
I could write a book (seriously) about what I’ve learned about the publishing industry in the past few years, and in particular, in 2020. Here’s a summary:

• The publishing industry is undergoing a change on the magnitude of when the printing press was invented (1436), and then later, when paper production became cheap enough to print newspapers and inexpensive books (late 1700s, early 1800s). These days, traditional publishers are consolidating and trying desperately to hang on to control of the book world in the face of greater and greater challenges from indie writers and publishers, the internet, and more.
• Indies (independent authors/publishers) face constant unrelenting discrimination from the “trads” (traditional publishers) who like to ignore indie writers, or disparage them as less than/not as good as trad-published authors. Fact is, some of the indies are the best writers out there.
• Some indie authors have been very successful. Several are making over $100,000 a year, and I know of one who made over $1 million last year. These authors usually are engaged in “rapid write-rapid release,” producing a 50,000 word book (not the typical 70K to 100K words) every six weeks or so. Almost always these books are in the genres of romance/romantic suspense or sci-fi “space operas.” (stories like Star Wars and Battlestar Gallactica). Also these more successful writers typically have a patron (usually a wife or husband) who pays the bills so that the writer can write. But most indie writers like me are spending more than we’re making trying to put books into production and then market them once they are published. Otherwise, the books just disappear, and no one knows they exist. The vast majority of indie writers don’t make much money at all, and are often going in the hole until they have enough books out there to start eeking out a profit. Trad-published authors aren’t doing much better. The publishers just are not providing the same level of support as they have in the past, especially in the area of marketing. Often trad-published authors have to provide these services themselves and at their own expense.

​

•  A large secondary industry has grown up to “help” authors, which is another way of saying these “helpers” are making more money from providing these “services” than the authors are making from writing and publishing their books.
• I started writing to supplement my meager income. In the past, I had always been paid for my writing as a newspaper reporter and a freelance writer for magazines (locally, Zocalo, and The Desert Leaf). I was very naïve about making money by writing and selling books, especially fiction. I’ve concluded that the only way to succeed is: a) have enough money before even starting so that I can spend money on promotions and ads; and 2) follow the “rapid write, rapid release” method to produce as many books as humanly possible, preferably in romance or space operas. I don’t have lots of money to spend on ads and promos, I don’t want to spend 12 hours a day on a computer churning out books, and I don’t have a patron.

 
My conclusion: in 2021, I’ll be better off focusing on good physical health, spiritual and psychological wellness, and especially, having fun. So starting today and in 2021, I’m making art and writing books for fun. And hoping for the best.  

Feel free to comment. What are your plans for 2021?

Happy New Year!  

Home_Sunday morning, January 1, 2021

There are many “best of 2020” book lists now appearing in the media. Most of these books were published this past year, and most are traditionally published, not indie published. (indies are frequently ignored).

Here’s my list which includes older books as well as new ones. As you can see, I read nonfiction and fiction in several genres. Offhand, I’d say the only genre I don’t read is horror. Life is scary enough so I have no interest in reading horror, certainly not for fun. The links with each book title will take you to my review on Bookbub. Or you follow this link to all my reviews, not just the ones below.
​https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-shane?list=reviews
​
​

Nonfiction:
 
​Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration and Homeland Security. Todd Miller. No doubt you know about how the ravages of climate change are leading to environmental refugees and warfare. Miller considers those ravages that will affect security not only on our borders but also INSIDE the U.S. Yes, have you ever considered borders within the U.S. that prevent the free movement of U.S. citizens affected by climate change?
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/610978983
 
​
​Dangerous Books for Girls. Maya Rodale. A history of publishing based on scholarly research, with emphasis on what has come to be known as “romance.” This book is full of fascinating cultural data. For those of you with strong negative opinions about romance, and who probably have never read a romance within the last 30 years, start here. You’ll learn something.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2447367495
 
Eyes of the World. Marc Aronson, Marina Budhos.  Robert Capa and Gerda Taro were two European Jews (Hungarian and German) who met in Paris in the 1930s, fell deeply in love, and embarked on careers in the newly emerging field of photojournalism. https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3493865829 
​

​Historical Fiction:

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Kim Michele Richardson
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1850599419
The Giver of Stars. Jojo Moyes
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1211552781

​These two books both address the Pack Horse Library Project initiated by the WPA during the Great Depression. However, the books are quite different. Book Woman is a dark tale of the “coloreds,” the Blue Skin people of eastern Kentucky. Giver of Stars, although it addresses some difficult issues, is a lighter book about two librarians in the Pack Horse Library project. 

Literary Fiction:

Love in the Time of Cholera. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A rich tapestry of a tale that, despite the title, is not about love at all. Obsession is a better word here.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2065929734
 
Mystery/Suspense Fiction: 
​
Calculated Risk. K. S. Ferguson. mystery-suspense wrapped up in a sci fi setting with a spoonful of romance thrown in, too. https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2059853590
​

Romantic Fiction:

Flowers from the Storm. Laura Kinsale. All the romance tropes get turned on their head when the rich, arrogant math genius duke has a stroke early in the book and has to be rescued from an insane asylum by a Quaker woman. This book shows up frequently in the “best ever” lists.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1249165865
 
Welcome to Temptation. Jennifer Crusie. Sophie accompanies her filmmaking sister to Temptation, Ohio, where Sophie meets the mayor, Phin. Crusie wrote this book as a feminist response to criticisms of the romance genre. Lots of humor in this book.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2833665396
 
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction:

All Systems Red. Martha Wells. MurderBot, a corporate security android (SecUnit), is tasked with caring for a group of human scientists who come under attack. Winner of both Hugo and Nebula awards to a novella. This is clever and funny at times, but thought-provoking, too, when we consider how smart some of our devices are becoming. https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/109092955
 
The Fifth Season. N.K. Jemisin. This book is so wildly inventive with such fabulous world building that I’m not even going to try to describe it briefly. Winner of Hugo, Nebula and other awards. 
​https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1921622241

​I met Lois Winston through our mutual membership in Sisters in Crime. Lois is an award winning. USA Today-best-selling author who writes in several fiction genres, in nonfiction and also children’s literature. She writes terrific mysteries and even better, they are mysteries that will make you laugh. Lois is also a person who has been very helpful to other writers. For that, we all thank her.
 
Lois, you are a prolific indie writer working in several fiction genres. You came to writing from a background as a literary agent. What make you decide to cross over the bridge from the publishing industry and start writing?
 
Actually, it was the other way around. The agency that represented me invited me to join them as an agent after learning that I had helped several friends get published by polishing their proposals. I began my agency career reading through the slush pile and offering editorial input to some of the agency’s other clients as well as writers they were considering representing. Eventually, I graduated to having my own list of clients. All the while, I continued with both my design career and writing my own books. I’m now semi-retired, concentrating only on writing more books.
 
Your Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series draws readers in for a number of reasons. One is the humor we find in your cozy mystery series. Anastasia has been described by Kirkus Reviews as “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” We know Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich are often very funny. Do you find humor difficult or easy to write? What sources do you draw on to make things funny for your readers?
 
No one was more surprised than I when I discovered I could write humor. I’m someone who has botched up the punch line of every joke I’ve ever attempted to tell—if I can even remember the joke in the first place! But it turns out when it’s just me and my computer, the humor flows through my fingertips onto the screen.
 
As with most of my plots and characters, the source for my humor comes from what I see and read in the news. My humor is more cerebral than pratfall or slapstick and sometimes leans towards sarcasm, but it’s never nasty. I believe being a Jersey Girl has molded much of my outlook on life. When you live in New Jersey, you experience irony on a daily basis—like my grandfather, in law enforcement in North Jersey, while his brother was a bootlegger in South Jersey.
 
I read your first Anastasia mystery, Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun. While I did laugh out loud while reading, I was struck also with how humor helped the protagonist Anastasia deal with significant trauma (a husband who managed to ruin the family finances before dying suddenly). Is humor a consistent way for your characters to deal with life’s challenges?
 
It is—for both my characters and me. I learned a long time ago that sometimes you can either laugh or cry, and you’ll feel much better if you choose to laugh. Laughing releases endorphins, and that makes us feel better. So I try to find the humor, both for my characters and myself, in as many situations as possible. Even when I was writing dark romantic suspense, I tried to inject a bit of humor into some of the dialogue and deep point of view to relieve the tension, make my characters more human, and give the reader a break from the darkness.

​Anastasia is a magazine crafts editor. You are an award-winning craft and needlework designer. Each of the Anastasia mysteries has a craft design included at the end of the book. Tell us a little more about those designs. What kind of designs do readers find in your books?
 
Each book contains several designs. Unlike other crafting cozies that feature an amateur sleuth who works in one particular craft, because Anastasia is a crafts editor, I decided my series would feature different crafts from book to book. The designs always have some connection to the plot. I choose crafts where I can write directions that don’t require patterns, which would be problematic for ebooks and paperbacks. Also, all of the crafts I feature are easy enough for even the most novice of crafters. I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated by the projects.
 
Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun features bridal crafts and crafts for a Fourth of July picnic or barbeque, including bridal tennis shoes, birdseed roses, recycled jeans placemats, clay pot candles, and a decoupaged wooden flag tray.
 
Mop dolls are featured prominently in Death By Killer Mop Doll, so I included a bunny mop doll project and a string doll angel ornament.
 
In Revenge of the Crafty Corpse the murder victim was a crafter who often worked with fabric yo-yos. Along with yo-yo instructions and stitching tips, there are directions for embellishing a sweater with yo-yos and making a yo-yo doll and four yo-yo Christmas ornaments.
 
Decoupage Can Be Deadly includes basic decoupage directions and tips along with instructions for Potichomanie decoupage, illuminated decoupage, embossed decoupage, and Repoussé decoupage.
 
A Stitch to Die For offers instructions for two knit and two crocheted baby blankets.
 
I include scrapbooking tips in Scrapbook of Murder, which centers around an old scrapbook the daughter of a murder victim discovers while she’s clearing out her mother’s attic.
 
In Drop Dead Ornaments Anastasia’s son and his classmates craft glass ball ornaments to sell at the town’s annual crafts show to raise money for the local food pantry. The book contains a variety of different glass ball ornament crafts.
 
Finally, in Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide, my newest release, I showcase a variety of Christmas crafts made by recycling greeting cards, including 3-D ornaments, gift bags, a triangular flag garland, a wreath, and a wall-hanging photo frame.

Many authors have a blog. You are unusual in that you turned your blog over to Anastasia. She interviews other writers, provides readers with great recipes, and writes about crafts, too.  What made you decide to turn your blog into a place to find all these goodies?
I didn’t have a blog until my agent sold the Anastasia series. My publisher wanted to know what I planned to do in the way of social media. I truly detest Facebook, but I bit the proverbial bullet and set up an account. Within five minutes I was bombarded with friend requests from creepy dudes in Third World nations. I immediately deleted the account and decided to create a blog instead.
 
Looking around at other author blogs, I realized most were about writing and geared toward fellow authors. I wanted to attract readers. So I set up the blog to be the online home of the magazine where Anastasia and her fellow editors work. I try to feature posts about topics you might find in any women’s magazine. So even when I have guest authors, which I do quite frequently, I ask them to write posts on topics that would appeal to a wide variety of readers. For instance, if I’m hosting an author who is a nurse in her day job and writes medical mysteries, I’ll ask her to write something health-related. If a book takes place in a real locale that could be a vacation destination, I’ll ask the author to write about the setting for her book. If an amateur sleuth runs a bakery or catering business, I’ll ask the author to supply a recipe.
 
Tell us about your new release, Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Book 8).
 
Two and a half weeks ago magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack arrived home to find Ira Pollack, her half-brother-in-law, had blinged out her home with enough Christmas lights to rival Rockefeller Center. Now he’s crammed her small yard with enormous cavorting inflatable characters. She and photojournalist boyfriend and possible spy Zack Barnes pack up the unwanted lawn decorations to return to Ira. They arrive to find his yard the scene of an over-the-top Christmas extravaganza. His neighbors are not happy with the animatronics, laser light show, and blaring music creating traffic jams on their normally quiet street. One of them expresses his displeasure with his fists before running off.
 
In the excitement, the deflated lawn ornaments are never returned to Ira. The next morning Anastasia once again heads to his house before work to drop them off. When she arrives, she discovers Ira’s attacker dead in Santa’s sleigh. Ira becomes the prime suspect in the man’s murder and begs Anastasia to help clear his name. But Anastasia has promised her sons she’ll keep her nose out of police business. What’s a reluctant amateur sleuth to do?
 
Buy Links:
Amazon 
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
 
What do you do for fun when you aren’t writing and publishing your books?
 
I love the theater. I’m lucky enough to live a short commute from Broadway and know the secret to scoring really cheap theater tickets to many productions ahead of time and without waiting in line for hours at the TKTS booth. So I go to as many shows on and off Broadway as possible. I would have loved a career on the Broadway stage, but I have a tin ear and two left feet—a fact reinforced when years ago my two-year-old said, “Mommy, please don’t sing. You’re hurting my ears!”
 
To learn more, go to Lois Winston’s website here:  https://www.loiswinston.com/
and Anastasia Pollack’s blog here: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com
 
Link to my review of Lois’s first book, Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, here:  https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2555461940
 
Extra: Anastasia interviewed Letty Valdez (my Letty Valdez Mysteries) here:
https://anastasiapollack.blogspot.com/2018/08/book-club-friday-interview-with-mystery.html

Introduction:
P.S. Meraux is a writer based in Georgia. Her Luminary series is the recipient of a Silver Readers’ Favorite Book Award.  Her most recent novel, Without Merit, received a Gold Readers’ Favorite Book Award. In this interview, P.S. uses the terms YA which refers to Young Adult, typically teenagers, and NA which refers to New Adult – readers who are older teens up to about age 30. As many of you know, I spent several years working as a college reference librarian. I’ve always been a fan of YA literature. Some of these books are the best written and well-worth a read, no matter how old you are!  
 
 
You describe yourself as a writer of YA (young adult) paranormal romance novels. What drew you to write for this age group? What’s the attraction of the paranormal to you and your readers?
 
            I stumbled into it actually. One day I read an interview that Stephanie Meyer's muse was an image from her sleep. Well, the green-eyed monster was upon me. My dreams are so predictably boring with topics like; Did I pay the phone bill? Was the chicken in the marinade? Or sometimes I go to the gym in my sleep -- nothing remotely inspiring as a vampire-werewolf-human love triangle.
            Several weeks went by with me being grouchy at my dreams for their lack of creative input. You may scoff at this but I really was. Then I awoke in the middle of the night with a full bladder, not only were the dreams not stepping up but drinking wine before bed didn't help either. Or did it?
            I had this image dancing behind my eyelids of an immortal, a witch and an animated candelabra rushing down this amorphous corridor that was being created as they went forward by the candelabra's lively attachment. I didn't understand where it came from. I couldn't recall seeing anything online, on my phone, on the big screen or small -- that could have been the root of it. I wondered where they were going? Why the rush? Why were these different character types in this cluster?
            I jotted a note to myself and went back to bed, wondering if more would be revealed in my sleep. It wasn't. Oddly enough, I didn't need the note. When I awoke I remembered the images in vivid detail. Over a morning cup of coffee. or perhaps half a dozen, I sat at my desk and found myself outlining the story of these characters. That initial image, while similar to one in Luminary, actually led me to reverse engineer this epic story. That 'dreamed image' is actually something in the last book in the series.
            I suspect that I write for YA and NA readers because that's where my mindset is. I might try my hand at a more mature story someday. I have an idea for a series, but I don't have the character firmly set up in my mind; how she speaks, what her motivation is, what ticks her off -- and I need to get that set so she'll be authentic.
            I think people like to believe in magic and the paranormal. Maybe it's not the bib-bidi-bob-bidi-boo kind, but unexplained things happen all the time. Running into that cute guy a second time on the subway, meeting a new friend who will talk straight to you-- just when you need it, or getting insight into how to write a better novel -- from strangers you meet online.  Sometimes the stars align and presto -- you get just what you need.
 
Do you have a favorite author in this genre? or a favorite author in another genre?
 
            Asking me that is like asking if I have a favorite pair of shoes. And if you'd ever seen my closet, your eyes would pop in absolute shock -- and you'd know that I have more than one pair. Much more.  I have eclectic tastes and like: Cassandra Clare, Richelle Mead, Lauren Kate, in addition to the above mentioned Stephanie Meyer -- all are great paranormal romance authors. I also read: J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephen King, J.R. Ward, Diana Gabaldon, Sara Donati, Agatha Christie, Laurie King, Robert Ludlum and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 
 
Your most recent novel, Without Merit, is described as a “supernatural, mystery thriller.”  The teenage girl in the story wakes up in a hospital with near-total amnesia. What gave you the idea for this story?
 
            I was sitting in Gatwick International Airport (London) waiting to board a plane for home. I'd been in Scotland visiting my relatives and castle hopping. A guy sitting next to me was playing a Liam Neeson movie, "Unknown," on his iPad.  It's basically a derivative of the Jason Bourne series.  There are so many books about "amnesia victims searching for their identity" it's almost a trope by now.  
            I remember thinking, "What if the amnesia victim wasn't human?"  Suddenly a whole bunch of possibilities opened up for a story.  I pulled out a notebook (yes, I travel with one) and outlined the first book before I boarded the plane. 
            The protagonist in Without Merit starts out thinking that she's this ordinary teen without a memory or parents. And as she learns the disturbing details of Merit's life, she has to wrestle with acceptance because Merit is not a nice person.
 
Without Merit seems to be essentially about her search for self-identity. She’s looking for a lot more than just learning her name and where she came from. Do you think this is a central issue for most teens – trying to figure out who they really are?
 
            No matter your age, we all get bombarded with all kinds of messages every day from television, social media, magazines, coworkers, friends and family. This is especially true for kids and teens. It takes a while for each of us to figure out who we are, what we stand for, and how we want to live our lives. Until a person has all of that sorted out, it can be easy to be influenced by outside voices.  Some of those voices are benign; some have ulterior motives.
            I intentionally let the protagonist in Without Merit make some mistakes, believe in people who shouldn't be trusted, and have her ideas about people blow up in her face. It was my way of testing her mettle and making her real.  I wanted her to fail, fall and get back up, which she does. She learns that she's stronger than she knows.
 
Your ability to write suspenseful action scenes and to create a sense of mystery is very impressive.  What do you think is the key to creating suspense and making your readers want to keep turning pages?
 
            Wow, thanks for the compliment, I really appreciate that.  I read a lot of books! I think about what intrigues me in a story. 
            I'm not afraid of having a character go off in one direction -- the wrong one -- if I can use the action to drive the story forward later on. I've been told that I write with a great deal of detail -- this from readers who like my work. (Smile). 
            I find that if I make a sequence of events believable, the reader will be carried along with the main character and when something happens or is 'about to happen' that heightens the reader's response.  
            I invest in my characters' emotions; fear, hope, ambition. I've written chapters where I began weeping while I was typing out the story.  There are some particularly heart-tugging scenes in my book, Flare, the final book in the Luminary series.   
 
What are you working on now?
 
            To be honest, I am quite shocked that I've written eight books so far. I didn't know that I had that many words in me. Right now, I'm outlining the second book in the Vessel series. Without Merit was book one of what will be a two-book series.  And I'm writing my first vampire novel at the same time. It's weird to be doing both but the vampire's story is entrenched in my head and he won't some bugging me until I get it finished. Hopefully that will be done by the first of the year.
 
 
Extra:  What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
 
            There's something uniquely self-satisfying about writing a story. Whether you're looking at a blank sheet of paper or a blank document on a computer screen, the act of creating a new universe, a country setting or a single character on that flat surface and making that place, person or thing become real and three dimensional, is just so frigging cool! 
            Corralling all those words is like rounding up wild colts, who insist on bucking and jumping about. Then I strap on a saddle and allow the characters to take me for a ride as I figure out where the story goes. Maybe it's a commentary on the way my mind works (or perhaps doesn't) but I find it absorbing, fulfilling and invigorating at the same time. 
            If what I write makes someone laugh or cry or think, then all the better. I've done my job. Giddy Up.
 
Learn more about P.S. Meraux at https://psmeraux.blogspot.com/

With Richard Powers’ meaningful quote in mind, “The best arguments in the world won’t change a person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story,” meet writer and storyteller Larry Darter.
 
Darter is the author of two successful mystery-suspense-thriller series. First is the Los Angeles private investigator Ben Malone series with five books so far, and second, the T.J. O’Sullivan series in which T.J., a New Zealand expat, works as a private investigator in Hawaii. Darter is a retired police officer and veteran of U.S. Navy and Army Reserves. His background gives deep credibility to his fictional works.
 
Let’s take a look at his upcoming Live Long Day in the Ben Malone series which is an exploration of child sex trafficking. Larry says in his blog post about Live the Long Day, “During my career as a street cop, child prostitution was something I rarely encountered. While I did encounter prostitutes regularly, they were typically adult women, most of whom it seemed had turned to prostitution to support a drug habit.”
 
Sadly in recent years, child prostitution problem has grown dramatically. Darter says in his blog, “I learned that the child prostitution in cities like Los Angeles, the setting of the Malone Novels, is a real and growing problem. Los Angeles County law enforcement officials and the social services agencies who deal with the problem on a daily basis describe the child prostitution problem in Los Angeles as part of a growing nationwide epidemic. Young girls, some as young as 11-years-old are coerced into a life that will forever leave them emotionally scarred.” Read more at Darter’s blog about Live Long Day. 

Although Darter is writing about Los Angeles, child prostitution and sex trafficking is a problem in southern Arizona as well.  Here are two sources from Tucson.com and KGUN 9 TV to inform you of our local problem.  Tucson.com    KGUN9 TV

​In his blog, Darter introduces us to the work of Dr. Lois Lee, a leading expert in rescuing child sex trafficking victims. She is founder and president of Children of the Night, a nonprofit dedicated to “rescuing children and young people from prostitution worldwide.”

Darter wrote Live Long Day with the express intention of raising awareness of this serious criminal problem affecting our children. He is dedicating a portion of royalties earned on Live Long Day as a donation to Children of the Night.  Darter says, “My intent is not to foster a sense of hopelessness–I want us to get angry about a problem that strips hope from our most vulnerable citizens. Children are the future of our nation.”
 
That’s a sentiment we can all support. And we get to read a terrific mystery book in the process! 

Larry Darter's blog: http://www.larrydarter.com/child-prostitution-and-the-live-long-day-novel/

To pre-order Live Long Day, go to: 
LiveLongDay@Amazon

Originally posted 2018-02-15
Recently one of America’s greatest writers died, Ursula K. Le Guin. Note that I said “greatest writers,” not “greatest science fiction writers” or “greatest fantasy writers.”  Le Guin won numerous awards during her career, and sold millions of copies. Many of us believe that her books have become part of the canon of American literature. She was both wildly inventive and deeply thoughtful in how she approached her work. You leave her books both entertained and provoked to do some serious thinking of your own.
 
I’ve always thought the fact Le Guin’s parents were both cultural anthropologists was a significant factor in the imaginative worlds she created in her books. Rather than the showy heroic stories of conflict and triumph we so often see, Le Guin created characters and societies with complexity and ambiguity. (photo left: NerdPatrol, Flickr)
 
Take for example, her classic The Left Hand of Darkness. This compelling story follows a Terran (earthling) to the planet of Gethen where all the inhabitants are ambisexual most of the time. But once a month they come into “kemming” for a few days and become either male or female for purposes of reproduction. Which sex the Gethenians transform into depends on conditions they find when the state of kemmering begins. Although Le Guin refers to them as “he,” sometimes they are “she.”  The Terran, Genly Ai, finds this more than disconcerting because he comes from a place where everyone is either a he or a she, and he treats them according to this permanent state. Ai is himself always a male. Needless to say, this book, first published in 1969, had a deep influence on the Second Wave feminists of the day, and that includes me.
 
Another highly influential book was The Dispossessed. Here she creates two twin worlds. One world is rather like ours is these days. Cut throat capitalism rules, and anyone unlucky enough to not be part of the elite are doomed to suffer – homelessness and hunger abound in the shadow of extreme wealth. The other world is socialistic and authoritarian, but no one goes hungry. Le Guin called this world “an ambiguous utopia.”
 
Le Guin considered herself a feminist. She was also an advocate of non-violence and expressed a deep interest in ecology and a concern for our environment. She was influenced by Daoist philosophy, and that shows up in her writing, too.
 
Not only was she a terrific writer, Le Guin also had a wicked sense of humor. Regarding her advice for women writers, she said:  If you want your writing to be taken seriously, don’t marry and have kids, and above all, don’t die. But if you have to die, commit suicide. They approve of that.” For the record, Le Guin married, had three children, and did not commit suicide.
 
Perhaps her most famous quote is from The Left Hand of Darkness, a quote that is unfortunately often attributed to Hemingway, “It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
 
In December 2017, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published her book, No Time to Spare:  Thinking About What Matters in which she ruminates on old age.  Le Guin died in January, 2018.