A couple of mysteries...

Several years back, Esther gave me A Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks. I very much enjoyed her writing style--she has the ability to place the reader in the setting and surround him with the plot. So when Lisa passed along People of the Book to me recently--I knew this would be a story that I'd enjoy. Lisa's review of it was, "I couldn't put it down!" This story combines science and history in a unique plot (with a few love stories thrown in for good measure) based on a true story. To quote from the author's website: (It) traces the journey of a rare illuminated Hebrew manuscript from convivencia Spain to the ruins of Sarajevo, from the Silver Age of Venice to the sunburned rock faces of northern Australia.

The "finds" by rare book expert, Hanna Heath, reveal the story and journey of the book--the fragment of an insect wing, a wine stain, a salt crystal, and a white hair. You can find out more about the book and the real story at Brooks' website: http://www.geraldinebrooks.com/people.html Very interesting story---highly recommend it. On a sidenote here, Brooks was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2006 for her book, March, the absent father character from Alcott's Little Women. I haven't read it, but as a fan of Little Women, I'll be looking for it.

Charles Finch is a newly published British author and The September Society is his 2nd book in his Charles Lenox Mysteries series. I make it a habit to never read books out of order, but I wasn't aware this was the 2nd book until after I'd started it. There hasn't been a sense of having missed anything crucial to the characters, so I've continued on, but I will look for the first one in the series.

Anyone who enjoys the Victorian period set in England and Sherlock Holmes will probably enjoy this book. It's fast paced with an intriguing plot surrounding a missing Oxford student, a murdered cat, and a group called The September Society. There is a sweet love story as part of a side-plot--you'll find yourself rooting for Lenox to work up the courage to propose. For anyone who likes this genre, I recommend it--it's light, enjoyable, escapist reading.

Ester, Kim, Kari... I got Q's!

My fellow literary gals,
I have a question in regards to the first steps in publishing. The love of my life is a children's musical writer, and has 12 completed scripts, all performed at least once on the Casa Manana stage (an equity/union house), with complete musical scores and tracks attached.

What are your suggestions in getting published? Do you forsee large differences in publishing a childrens' theatre script as opposed to a children's book?

Once royalties and rights are established he could make a fortune with these scripts! Everyone is looking for great children's musicals, and with the music/tracks part of the packaged deal, I can't imagine that theatres wouldn't be fighting for this material like Kari Lynn at a designer shoe sale!

So, I want to encourage him to start the process...
and, well, I have no idea how to start this process!

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Links or resourses I can begin researching in order to get these scripts out there???

(You're the best... thanks.)

Three Cups of Tea

I'm about half way through this book (I'm reading the Young Reader's Edition)...and I just had to comment about how inspiring this story is to me personally.

Chapter 13 is a lesson in itself...actually, several lessons--about community togetherness, about listening, about understanding your place in the world, and about forgiveness. The last chapter does such a terrific job of portraying and giving voice to the Muslims and their beliefs. So many kids in the U.S. have not been taught to respect the beliefs and cultures of others within our own society much less in other parts of the world. What a shame--what a disservice we do by not doing a better of teaching inclusion in our world.

If you get a chance to read this, do---I so respect and admire this man's dedication and service to educating others, to reaching across cultures, and his ability to convey his passion to others.

An Irish Country...

Don't be an eejit, nip on over to Ballybucklebo, so and meet the new doctor.

Reading these books are akin to having your favorite comfort food. Very entertaining, warm, and humorous--one might learn a thing or two about medicine, about small-town/rural life, and about the nature of people in general.

Taylor is a terrific storyteller! One can only hope that he writes a dozen in the series! [There is a fourth one scheduled for next year.]

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I so enjoyed this epistolary tale (and I like the word "epistolary" very much, too!) set on the Island of Guernsey off the coast of France shortly after the end of WWII.

Juliet is a writer/newspaper columnist who is searching for ideas for her next book. Her research connects her with a group of individuals (some a little quirky) from Guernsey who formed a literary society while under occupation by the Germans. It is through this connection that Juliet discovers a variety of stories from and about the members--stories of survival, of compassion, and of love.

The collection of letters and telegrams are filled with humor, interesting observations, and a few oddballs. I couldn't put it down.