Sunday Salon: Hush Hush; The Writer's Mentor

I've been absent from Sunday Salon - and from this blog in general - for a long time.

I'm back.

Hush Hush


That has to be one of the most amazing book covers I've ever seen. However, it is also the cause of the major problem I had with the book. First things first - I liked this story. It was extremely easy to read, Nora is a generally likable character, Patch is a classic bad-boy-come-good-but-still-oh-so-bad-where-it-counts, and there are some good moments of tension between the two main characters.

The Major Problem: The cover gives it all away - Patch is a fallen angel. We can SEE that before we even start reading and yet nothing is actually said about fallen angels until about two thirds into the book. That's a very looooong time to wait for a pay off.

There are some minor problems too - Nora is obsessed with Patch in an almost Bella-Edward kind of way. The parallels between Hush Hush and Twilight are easy to see - *spoiler* Patch wants to kill Nora for most of the book because the only way for him to become human is to sacrifice her. He changes his mind when he falls in love with her, of course, but not before he's almost killed her on a roller coaster and thought about stabbing her with a kitchen knife. *end spoiler* Readers of Twilight might like that sort of obsession and love/hate kill/live stuff but grown up feminists like myself find it all sits a bit awkwardly to say the least.

There is a sequel - Crescendo - due out in November 2010. I'll probably read it but like the copy of Hush Hush I read, it is strictly borrowing from the library material. With all of the above in mind though, I'd recommend it.


I borrowed this book from the local library. These days I tend to request books on my To Be Read list more than I browse around looking for likely suspects to fall off the shelves and into my hands. But that's exactly what The Writer's Mentor did. I was looking for a different book (which wasn't there) and found this one. I'm really enjoying it, hence my last two blog posts being quotes from this book. I've read a lot of books about writing in the last few years - some are excellent, some are okay and some are not so great. I burned out on hearing advice about writing six months or so ago and just got stuck into the writing. Now I'm coming out of that phase and moving into editing I'm looking for some guidance.

Ian Jackman is providing that guidance. This isn't a deep book on how to plot or build character or edit. It is a book of advice from authors intended for other authors on a wide range of topics such as inspiration, style, time and space, audience and form. I'm almost half way through and I've found some great quotes that have really helped me with my edits!

Finally, I've just started Frostbitten, the fourth book in Kelley Armstrong's Elena Michaels series. I have to be done with it by Thursday so I can start on my Clear Away the Clutter Read-a-Thon, so we'll see how it goes.

Happy Sunday!

The Writer's Mentor - Ann Douglas, Caroline Joy Adams, Elizabeth Bowen

"[Hemingway] understood...that what the writer knows but omits will show up in what he writes as a sense of unstated depth that is more powerful than any attempt to describe the indescribable can be. Good prose, Hemingway insisted again and again, must be like an iceberg, seven-eighths submerged; like dynamite packed under a bridge..."

- Ann Douglas

This idea speaks to me as I struggle to express my character's thoughts. My mind screams SHOW, DON'T TELL but perhaps equally powerful is that which I do not tell or show, that which hovers in the background. I should also give Hemingway another go - I've only ever read The Old Man and the Sea and that was a long time ago.

"Sensory details are critical to powerful writing because they can set a mood; evoke a huge array of feelings; trigger memories for both your character or your readers; and draw them into believing that they are right there, in that scene, in that moment, inside your character's mind."

- Caroline Joy Adams

I want so much for people to be inside October's mind, to feel what she feels and see what she sees. It is my greatest hope for my work.

"One cannot 'make' characters, only marionettes. The manipulated movement of the marionette is not the 'action' necessary for plot. Characterless action is not action at all, in the plot sense. It is the indivisibility of the act from the actor, and the inevitability of that act on the part of that actor, that gives action verisimilitude*. Without that, action is without force or reason. Forceless, reasonless action disrupts plot. The term 'creation of character' is misleading. Characters pre-exist. They are found. They reveal themselves slowly to the novelists perception - as might fellow traveler's seated opposite one in a very dimply-lit railway carriage."

- Elizabeth Bowen

*Verisimilitude means giving something the appearance of being true or real. I had to look that one up!

I identify with the comments here about characters and it applies to my setting too. People ask me why I set my novel in Arizona. I didn't - the novel set itself there. It say down and said "here" and I said "Okay, I can work with that."


All quotes are from Ian Jackman's The Writer's Mentor. I'm really enjoying the short pithy chapters with their delicate drops of wisdom. I highly recommend it to anyone in the editing process.

The Writer's Mentor - Peter Straub

"I don't read much horror, though I like the idea of horror, the idea of a nasty, subversive genre, the purpose of which is to upend conventional ideas of good taste, and to speak truths otherwise ignored or suppressed. I think that's really worthy."

- Peter Straub quoted in Ian Jackman's The Writer's Mentor: Secrets of success from the world's greatest writers. I totally agree with him. It's like the idea of a dirty thought hanging out in a clean mind - deliciously recalcitrant.

Clear Away The Clutter Read-a-Thon

I've joined the Clear Away the Clutter Read-a-Thon hosted by The Neverending Shelf. I'm excited because it is my first read-a-thon and my first challenge really. I read about these challenges on other people's blogs and think "I'd love to do that!" but for some reason I've never actually committed to taking part. Still, the important thing is I'm here now, ready to join in.

The read-a-thon begins 7am April 5 and ends 11pm April 11. I'm guessing those aren't my local times, but near enough is good enough. Thankfully this is one of the weeks I have a break from work so I fully intend to read, read, read without pesty work getting in the way.

Here is my list of books to be read (so far):

The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (I'm halfway through and have stalled)
Swan by Frances Hayes (Again, I'm halfway through and have stalled)
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (I own all of the James Bond books and haven't read any)
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (read about a quarter of this a while back but couldn't get into it)
Fallen by Lauren Kate (really excited about this one)
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mean (a re-read to get up to date for the three following books in the series that I own but haven't read)
The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman (bought on impulse a few weeks ago)

I have no idea if this is too many books or not enough. I'll be happy with any progress though and I know I can power through books easily when I focus. I've taken the advice of The Neverending Shelf and chosen a combination of longer books with a few shorter ones thrown in.

Can't wait to get started!