Monday and Tuesday…
Sorry, missed my Monday:what am I reading post. The day was spent with trying to pick the new paint colors for our house. Sounds easy--until you pick up the 2000+ color palette.!!!. Thought I made the right choices. Boy was I wrong. Ick. Going back to a trio of colors similiar to ones the old owners had picked. Misted lilac sounded so pretty, with dove white, and red earth. Misted lilac was supposed to look like a slightly purple tinged gray--not pink! I did read a good book last week called Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. Margo has a magical way of writing, and the ideas are so original. It took a bit of time for me to get into the swing of the phrasing. She's from Australia, but the dialogue sounds(to me) like perhaps England or Whales in the 1600's (I'm no expert and could be totally off). I fell in love with the writing, and will read it again at some point. Tuesday: Writing challenge. My writing challenge is to finish the first two chapters of my book before Monday. I try to make weekly challenges for myself, if not, time has a habit of slipping away. Guess it keeps me on task. Had my first interview! I'll post it when it is online. Coll
Monday, what am I reading…
Lately, I've been reading articles on the internet. Saturday night I read Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison. It was a little heavy on the fantasy, but not too much to turn me off (and it was interesting enough for me to stay up until 2am to get to "the end". Now back to research. New project brewing. Holocaust story may be on the backburner for a bit. coll
Monday: What am I reading…
This weekend I read another memoir of a Holocaust survivor. The book is called Rena's Promise--Rena Kornreich Gelissen's story written by Heather Dune Macadam. This is a powerful book and much of the information is pertinent to my project. I suppose I will be adding this book to my "must purchase" list. I also read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. The book is told through the innocent eyes of the Auschwitz Commandant's son. Full of symbols. I don't want to give away too much. After seeing the movie and reading the book, I have to say that the movie version ending was much more emotional. I'm trying to get through another book called In the Lion's Den: The Life of Oswald Rufeisen by Nechama Tec. The story is about a Jewish boy who is able to pass himself off as a German/Pole. He eventually ends up working for the German Police. He takes the job to survive, and passes on as much information to the Jewish underground as possible. Very interesting but also very text-book like. **Now, I'm at the "what if" stage of my project. I have some parameters because I've written the rough of a book that could be a sequel. Certain elements from that book will be worked into this project but... I have a tiny nugget of information about a job that was done in Auschwitz by two woman. There are no names, ages, etc. associated with them so I pretty much have free reign in the story. I had an idea but I'm wondering if, even now, it might be too offensive. I was thinking of the Patty Hearst Syndrome. These two girls lived for some time in the villa of the Commandant. What if one of the girls falls in love with her captor? He of course, would feed her lies. Would that cross a line? What do you think? Coll
What am I reading?
It's Monday and the topic for today is "what am I reading".
I'll start with the backstory. At the Princeton conference I registered for a one-on-one with the super sweet agent, Emily van Beek from Pippin Properties. She read the first fifteen pages of my WIP about a reincarnated teen. She liked my idea. We discussed a problem with the pacing. I knew it went too fast -- in my first draft I tend to write like a race horse approaching the finish line.
She was fascinated by a little nugget of information I had found regarding two victims of the holocaust. She surprised me by suggesting I write a novel on that subject and save the reincarnation bit for another book.
I couldn't stop thinking about this new idea. The characters immediately started talking to me -- I had to really try to quell their voices and keep my attention on the workshops.
Now, I am in research reading mode. This weekend I read two memoirs of people who had survived the Auschwitz camp. The first book was called Roman's Journey by Roman Halter. The second -- Because of Romek by David Faber. Both told of shocking events, but what really got to me were the photographs included in the books. Looking into the eyes of the people before the war, happy, not knowing the horrors that awaited them and their families. I wished I could have gone back in time and warned them.
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