Pat in the hot seat: Color me addle-pated. I knew I had a blog coming up at the end of the month. Apparently I don’t recognize the 25th as the end of the month. Or didn’t realize that the month of September has disappeared so amazingly fast!
So after all the nicely researched blogs from the other wenches, I’m throwing a fast ball at you. If you aren’t on Facebook, you probably haven’t seen my lovely marketing guy’s posts about my newest release from the Family Genius Mystery series—Cyber Genius. It’s on pre-order now but will be released next week. Excerpts and pretty pics and order buttons on my website. If you haven’t read any of the series, the earlier books are marked free or on sale, so give them a look (the website won’t show sale prices, sorry but here’s Evil Genius for free on Amazon!)
The only thing historical about these is that they were conceived after 9/11, and I set them in 2011 with an imaginary presidential election approaching. Let me tell you a secret about writers—we cheat. I chose 2011 instead of the years after 9/11/01 because the technology changed so drastically in the ten years between. Try to remember a time before everyone carried a smart phone, when a thumb drive was brand new and fascinating tech… Do you have any idea what computer hackers could do then? I haven’t a clue.
The first book was originally drafted with the old tech, but when it came time to write the whole series, I cracked. The idea of researching when every new piece of technology came along and when my family of poor but very savvy characters would have acquired them was just a hurdle I couldn’t face. The political situations I wanted my heroine to handle were almost the same then as now, so it didn’t hurt the story to bring it forward. And who remembers history from almost fifteen years ago anyway? I don’t think kids study it in school, which is a shame.
So I guess I can claim the Family Genius Mysteries are current history. Does that work? As usual for me, the books are more about the characters than anything else, so if you enjoy character-driven novels with a touch of romance, try one free. Or do you have a to-be-read stack as huge as mine? E-books make it so easy to accumulate new novels to test—some day. Go ahead, tell me how big your stack is!
It is WAY too easy to download a sale book by an author I want to try--and then forget to read it, or even to remember WHY I wanted to read it!
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Friday, September 25, 2015 at 08:02 AM
The thing about being retired and old is that you finally have more time to read. The thing about being a former proof-reader/copy-editor is that you can read more quickly than any tachistoscopic training would ever lead you. So, no, I don't have a back-list; the only unread books in my reading list are the ones I have never gotten back to for some reason on other. I can read more than one book a day — none of you can write that quickly! And if you did, the books would be horrible. So I do lots of re-reading. Right now I'm rereading Jennifer Asheley's "Highland Pleasures" series, because her new book will also come out Tuesday. There is still time to reread the Genius books before Tuesday. Re-read in that order because the Genius books are more complex. Great fun!
Posted by: Sue W. McCormick | Friday, September 25, 2015 at 08:23 AM
Amen, although it's very handy to have all those strange books available when bored with everything else!
Posted by: Patricia Rice | Friday, September 25, 2015 at 11:29 AM
oh, that's brilliant, Sue! I've often wished I could re-read series books I've enjoyed when a new one comes out. Instead, I struggle with my missing brain cells to remember what's already happened and who all the characters are. Have fun!
Posted by: Patricia Rice | Friday, September 25, 2015 at 11:30 AM
I've got a huge number of books to read. I keep finding new authors I love, and it's so easy when you can download free samples! I'm guessing there are at least 100 in my box of "TBR" books, and maybe a couple dozen more on Kindle. And more on my wishlists. I read 2 or 3 books a week, and the reason the pile gets so big is when I find a new author, I want to read everything on her backlist.
Posted by: Karin | Friday, September 25, 2015 at 02:58 PM
which makes you our favorite kind of reader!
Posted by: Patricia Rice | Friday, September 25, 2015 at 03:08 PM
One publisher is accepting "vintage romances" at the moment, which is basically anything from around September 11 or before. I remember that particular time very clearly, because it was around when I moved to London (I was on the Continent when it happened, and the whole travel industry shut down overnight - we had no hotel room the next day), and thinking back on it, EVERYTHING was different!
Not just technology, but also things like airport security. I used to carry all my shampoo, conditioner etc. in my carry-on luggage to save weight in my suitcase. You can't do that anymore!
I have a pile of TBR books, and also a mountain of review books. I'm becoming pickier with the review books I accept. I used to just get everything, and reading started to feel like homework! I've been reading Christmas ARCs since July!
Recently I've been trying to include more books I chose for myself in my reading. I keep missing good things because I'm trying to hard so keep up with release dates!
Posted by: Sonya Heaney | Sunday, September 27, 2015 at 02:44 AM
Everything really did change after 9/11, not necessarily for the better unfortunately. And I hadnt thought about reviewers not ever having time to read books of their choice! Ive just always been jealous of all the available material and an excuse for reading it. G Definitely make time for your own choices if you can!
Patricia Rice
http://patriciarice.com
Posted by: Patricia Rice | Monday, September 28, 2015 at 08:23 AM
You are going to laugh I have over 700 on my Kindle, I just finished Evil and started undercover and ordered cyber Genius! I find books I like I keep reading them! Thank you for such colorful characters what a joy to read!
Posted by: Sharon Waldron | Monday, September 28, 2015 at 07:29 PM
I'm in love with Genius Family!
Posted by: Sharon Waldron | Monday, September 28, 2015 at 07:31 PM
Im not laughing, Im grinning all over! 700 books is my kind of person. Glad you found time to read mine!
Patricia Rice
http://patriciarice.com
Posted by: Patricia Rice | Tuesday, September 29, 2015 at 11:11 AM
Awww, thank you, maam! Im kinda fond of them too. G
Patricia Rice
http://patriciarice.com
Posted by: Patricia Rice | Tuesday, September 29, 2015 at 11:11 AM
My "stack" of unread novels (and a few non-fiction) filled a Safari van last fall, when in desperation to actually clean a few rooms, I moved them down to the driving shed (which is not weatherproof!) They reside under a tarp awaiting the installation of multiple book stacks.
WHY do I start and not finish books? 1. "I know where I'm going"... 2. The author brings in anachronisms or the proofreader misses not just spelling and grammar, but the author's malapropisms. (The most recent this week was "nap" for "nape" - "he stroked the nap of her neck"; I had visions either of a very hairy bearded lady from the circus or an alien cat-lady! )When I see these errors, I have the feeling that the whole production of the novel is slipshod. 3. More seriously, the author pulls me in so deeply that I'm afraid I won't get out - some of the Wenches do that. It can be disconcerting to use Regency slang in contemporary conversation! I have lived through WWII and the Cold War but I find this current decade unsettling, not because of terrorism or war, but because I sense a loss of some of the basic ideals which carried us through earlier times - such as tolerance, a sense of honour, the ability and duty to see the other point of view as well as a basic caring for all in the community. At any rate, I seldom finish a novel which is too "dark". From Austen through Heyer , wit and social satire are hallmarks of the Regency novel; these days, I don't find them often.
As for novels set in the 20th century and later, I find them too close to home. My parents lived through WWi, the depression and WWII. I can't separate the history I know from the novel settings. One uncle went into the trenches aged 14. A younger husband to my aunt came from a family who raised horses for the Czar's cavalry and fled Russia with only the clothes on their backs during the Revolution (with gold coins sewn into the clothes!). He was conscripted by the Nazis to the Eastern Front and only escaped the Russian slave labour camps because his sergeant marched the whole company from the east across Germany to the Western front to surrender to the British. He never located any of his family after the war.
I've rambled - but there was all that empty space!
Posted by: Mary Jane | Tuesday, September 29, 2015 at 11:39 AM
I love your rambling and you may fill our empty spaces any time! I hear you on all counts. I am in desperate search of humor in books--but honestly, sometimes its really difficult to write humorously. Im not certain why some books cry out for it and others dont. As to the shed full of books... I had to bite the bullet and give mine away. It was a tearful day, so I hope you get your shelves soon!
Patricia Rice
http://patriciarice.com
Posted by: Patricia Rice | Tuesday, September 29, 2015 at 02:26 PM