Words by Webb

at the Muffin to talk about expanding your writing career to include writing classes and workshops.

at the Muffin to talk about how Kevin Bacon and Six Degrees of Separation can help your writing. No, really!

at WOW-Women on Writing with an article “Mystery, Mayhem, Murder: The Rules of Mystery Writing” .

What a fabulous article to write! I got to interview some of my favorite female writers in the mystery genre: Betty Webb, Cara Black, Gayle Trent, Jassy Mackenzie, and Lisa Jackson.

And I discovered a new series. I had always known Betty Webb for her Lena Jones series which takes place in the southwest [and if you're wondering...no, Betty and I aren't related. But I did have an Aunt Betty!]. Preparing for this article I read the first of her second series: the Gunn Zoo series. First, I loved the title The Anteater of Death. Which seems weird because think about anteaters for a minute…shuffling along, eating ants…they don’t seem too scary, do they? Well, apparently they are pretty tough and have 4 inch long claws that they aren’t afraid to use! Who knew?

Anyway…back to why I loved this book so much. The first and last chapters are told from the point of view of the anteater Lucy. Not only is her pregnancy making Lucy grumpy but she just found an uninvited human in her enclosure. Lucy starts out nicely trying to get the human out of her place but, when he just won’t listen…

At the end of the book you end up seeing the world through Lucy’s eyes again. If you’re a mystery lover you absolutely, positively have to read this book. And can I just say I now love anteaters!

Congratulations!

There’s still time to enter the Midsummer’s Eve Blog Hop and the Treasures in the Attic giveaway.

Had some fun at one of my favorite spots…San Francisco Book Review where I wrote about an unlikely book review partner I found. Check it out at The Critical Eye. My partner and I reviewed Mr. Duck Means Business, Monkey and Elephant’s Worst Fight Ever, and Dizzy Dinosaurs.

Ever notice how we fall into reading ruts? Whether it be “I don’t get science fiction” or “I love chick lit” or “I’m tired of cozy mysteries”. I think we’re too quick to pass over books based on random decisions we made instead of giving each individual book a chance. I was one of those “No vampire books” readers until I quick accidentally ended up with a vampire book…The Radleys. Which I loved! Vampires and all.

Reading with a partner is a way to open yourself up to books you would never select. The other person(in my case my college aged daughter) says, “Hey, let’s read this.” Initially, you find yourself whining, “F-i-n-e” but who knows, you may enjoy it, if you just let yourself!