Mary Ellen Lives

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The Unkindness of Strangers:

May 7, 2018 By Mel 1 Comment

Dear literary agents and publishers,

I have a question.

These days most of you want queries and sample pages of our writing to be included in emails; attachments will not be opened. This is stressed not only on your websites but when we see you at conferences and workshops. Also stressed — that our work be perfect before even thinking of sending it to you. Perfect not just in grammar, punctuation, character consistency, non-cliché language, plot curve, and all the other mandates of a good book, but also in FORMAT.

Here is where the trouble rests. We authors spend months, nay years, perfecting our written work only to see it undone by copy and paste. Email programs don’t seem to place the same importance on format as you, or I. Once pasted the original format is forgotten.

Some paragraphs are indented, some are not.

Some of the indented graphs are ten spaces in, some are only one, or three, or any other number.

Some paragraphs are in the original font, some have been mysteriously transformed.

To quote the Kind of Siam, “Is a puzzlement.”

Internet solutions all lean on the “rich text” formatting in the email options. These do not work.

There is still no consistency.
So, we authors must deal with each paragraph in the email indenting or
not indenting as the choice may be, changing each one individually.

When emailing a query plus fifty pages it becomes a frustrating experience, not to mention the amount of time it requires. Then there is the nagging suspicion that the email, once sent in the correct format, will arrive completely jumbled again.

So, here is my question for you, overworked literary agents and publishers: How kind are you? When reading an email that deviates in its paragraphing, haphazardly changes its font, do you sigh and delete? Do you wonder as you shred those pages your assistant printed out, shredding the author’s dreams as well, if you are turning the next great novel into confetti?

Or do you take pity and read on?

Sincerely,
Tortured by Email

Book Review: The River of Kings

March 27, 2018 By Mel Leave a Comment

I loved Mr. Brown’s debut novel Fallen Land and had recommended it to a friend who then recommended Taylor Brown’s second novel, The River of Kings, to me. The second book is set in a very different time period then the first, is actually set in three different time periods. The narratives are held together by the setting of the novel, Georgia’s Altamaha River. Indeed, the setting is a character onto itself, so beautifully and powerfully described in Taylor Brown’s wonderful language. The story lines held me with their poignant and horrifying details of human desires and follies. In short – I loved this book! I can’t wait to see what tales Taylor Brown has in store next.

Book Review: The Lightkeeper’s Daughters

December 17, 2017 By Mel Leave a Comment

The Lightkeeper’s Daughters is a tale of an old woman and a girl united by secrets from the past. The narrative shifts between modern day and a period from the mid-twenties to the forties. It also shifts between Morgan, a sixteen year-old foster child on the road to delinquency, Elizabeth, a blind elderly woman in a nursing home, and the rediscovered journals of Elizabeth’s father – the lightkeeper of the title. Coincidence and fate are interwoven in the plot, which keeps the reader in a calm state of suspense throughout the book. The mysteries uncovered at the end of the story may be predictable to some but are no less thrilling. Ms. Pendziwol’s writing is evocative and sensitive, her characters fully realized. A great read!

The Last Ballad – A Must read

October 15, 2017 By Mel Leave a Comment

Wiley Cash’s latest historical novel, The Last Ballad, ranks as one of the best books I have read this year. Centered on a little known textile mill strike in Gastonia, North Carolina, it focuses on the life of Ella May Wiggins as she becomes involved in unionizing and integrating the Southern mills – an ultimately tragic effort. Point of view shifts between various characters as their paths cross and recross, their fates intertwine. Mr. Cash’s writing is spare yet evocative, the exact opposite of William Faulkner; yet, in his concentration on the impoverished and the disenfranchised seeking dignity, in his beautiful description of the Southern landscape and emotional life, I find a strong comparison. Ella May and the strike she sang for were forgotten by the world she fought to improve. Thank you Wiley Cash for bringing her back to us.

Book Review: A Piece of the World

July 9, 2017 By Mel Leave a Comment


I loved Christina Baker Kline’s novel Orphan Train. This book puts her permanently in my favorite authors file. An insightful and poignant historical novel, A Piece of the World take Andrew Wyeth’s painting “Christina’s World” and imagines the woman behind the tempera. Crippled as a child from an, at that time, unknown disease Christina Olson tells us her story with both pride and humility. She breathes in our faces. She is not the only one. This book is not full of characters – it is peopled. They live in a beautifully realized landscape as moody and distinct at Wyeth’s painting. I will miss them now that I’m done with the book. But then, like “Christina’s World” I can always visit them again. Thank goodness!

BOOK REVIEW: THE ORPHAN MOTHER

June 17, 2017 By Mel Leave a Comment


If you read Robert Hicks’ novel Widow of the South you may recognize some familiar names, faces, and circumstances. However, it is not necessary to have read Widow of the South to appreciate Orphan Mother. It stands alone. Set during the first phase of Southern Reconstruction it is a look at the racial and societal tensions of the era – tensions that often resulted in violence. It follows the fates of Mariah the freed slave as she learns to let go off the mental and emotional chains of the past and Tole the assassin as he learns the impossibility of doing so. Well-written and insightful I read it slowly not wanting to miss a word. It was worth the time.

Book Review: Border Child by Michel Stone

May 6, 2017 By Mel Leave a Comment


Ms. Stone’s sequel to Iguana Tree picks up the migrant family of that book after their deportation back to Mexico. Hector and Lila are both experiencing the trauma of their return to their hometown as well as being haunted by the memories of the fateful trip to America. Although expecting a third child they can not let go of the tragic loss of their daughter Alejandra, stolen from Lila on the trip north. While Lila deals with a difficult pregnancy Hector goes on another quest, this time for his beloved child. Once again Ms. Stone has written a thoughtful, empathetic story that captured me on the very first page. Ms. Stone possesses a talent for exquisite descriptions and well-drawn characters. It’s not necessary to have read Iguana Tree to enjoy this book, though I would advise it anyway. They are both wonderful reads.

Book review: Fever Dream

March 7, 2017 By Mel Leave a Comment

I was told this was a “trippy” book. Understatement! Trippy, yes, but totally engrossing. A small book, it can easily be read a an hour or two, but it will stay with you for a long time after you finish. Ms Schweblin is Argentinian and this is best described as Latin literature in the vain of Marquez. It has metaphysical elements, human deformities, and an unnamed “scourge.” Written as a dialog between two people, one of whom is dying, it weaves past and present into each other as the characters stories meld and separate. At the end we are left with few answers. All we know for sure is that it is in the water – but then water has many meanings in dreams. All I can say is read it for yourself, prepare to be fascinated and haunted, find someone to discuss it with. Well worth it all.
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<a href=”https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/11681358-mary-ellen-lives”>View all my reviews</a>

Book Review – After Appomattox: Military Occupation and the Ends of War by Gregory P Downs

January 25, 2017 By Mel Leave a Comment


Mr. Downs book is a sweeping, detailed account of reconstruction from Lee’s surrender ( which did not end the war) to the 1880’s. I learned a lot and was not bogged down by either dry writing, boring statistics that added nothing to the narrative, or opinionated asides. The conclusion juxtaposes Southern reconstruction of the 19th century with contemporary uses of the military with logical and informative thinking. A must read for anyone interested in this period and subject.

View all my reviews at goodreads.com

WHAT YOU KNOW

January 15, 2017 By Mel Leave a Comment

 

Every student of writing has heard the axiom “write what you know.” It is drummed into our heads by English teachers. We interpret this to mean write about ourselves, our town, our loves, our family. But this limits our writing and, indeed, our imaginations. “Write what you know” can have a much broader scope.

After losing my brother in 1984 I went kind-of nuts from grief. So much so that I walked into a closet at the home of an acquaintance during a party while looking for the bathroom. Once in the closet I didn’t know what to do. I started crying and couldn’t stop. I had closed the door behind me and couldn’t seem to leave. I was in the dark. When finally found I was asked the very logical question, “Why were you in there?” Of course I had no reasonable, or sane, answer.

Years later, I was reminded of this incident by that same acquaintance but had no memory of it at all. I had blocked out this most embarrassing occurrence of my life. It came back to me as a whole piece when it was brought up. I was speechless in its wake, mortified all over again.

In my book Under a Gibbous Moon there is a scene where the main character is rooted to a concealed spot atop a staircase, horrified and grief stricken by what she has overheard. In the writing of this episode I was again in that closet, crying, unable to get myself out. I know what it’s like to feel trapped, to feel helpless, to feel out-of-control. So I wrote what I know.

Bingo!

Be brave and dig deep. You’ll be surprised at how much you can write about, how much you really “know.”

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