February 18, 2005

Language And Phrasing

I am reading Jodi Picoult's book VANISHING ACTS, which is coming out March 1st. I love love love Jodi's use of language. I keep making notes on the pages of lines that I like. It's the kind of book where I wish there were someone in the room that I could read all the poignant phrasing to. This story involves a woman who learns that her father kidnapped her as a child and gave her a new name --- and a new life. She learns this as he is arrested for kidnapping her. This is the topline plot. There is so much more there. The pages are turning whoosh whoosh whoosh and then they flip back the same way as I note what I really enjoyed reading.

Language. Phrasing. They make a book great. Too often authors think about plots, action and pacing and forget about language and phrasing. It's about the words and the feelings that they emote. Want to read more about this? Read my blog posting about the Soundtracks and Outtakes that have punctuated my life.

This week we share reader comments about MOST WANTED by Michele Martinez and THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore. Read to see what your fellow readers had to say.

Tomorrow I am taking my sons into the city to see The Gates in Central Park. They have ambitions of walking all 23 miles to view them. I think they are overly ambitious! I am looking forward to this though I do hope the weather warms up. Winter flew back in here with a vengance. Saturday night we are heading to DC to try to see both of the Air & Space Museums; my younger son LOVES everything to do with flying.

Best part about long car trips? Reading in the car. How much CAN I read in four hours? Let me see! Funny aside here. My new car has a DVD player. My younger son told the salesman it probably would not be necessary as he and his brother read in the car. I loved that moment. BTW...have a child you need to entertain this long weekend? May I recommend BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE?

Have a great week...
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Bookreporter.com Talks to Michele Martinez, Author of MOST WANTED

Bookreporter.com's Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight Team (Carol Fitzgerald, Joe Hartlaub and Wiley Saichek) interviewed Michele Martinez, author of MOST WANTED. Martinez discusses her transition from prosecutor to crime fiction writer, the significance of her protagonist's Hispanic roots, and the challenging and rewarding aspects of writing her first novel.

MOST WANTED by Michele Martinez (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Melanie Vargas is a federal prosecutor in New York City who learns one evening that a wealthy former prosecutor has been tortured and murdered. She wants to be a part of this high-profile case, but what she doesn't realize is that her involvement may place herself and her loved ones in terrible danger.

Read our interview with Michele Martinez and a review of MOST WANTED here.

Debut Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Kevin Guilfoile, Author of CAST OF SHADOWS

Debut Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Pam Lewis, Author of SPEAK SOFTLY, SHE CAN HEAR

Another featured Debut Suspense/Thriller author we are spotlighting is Pam Lewis, whose SPEAK SOFTLY, SHE CAN HEAR will be in stores on March 1st.

Read more about Pam Lewis and SPEAK SOFTLY, SHE CAN HEAR here.

Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Iris Johansen, Author of BLIND ALLEY

Our new featured Suspense/Thriller author is Iris Johansen, whose novel BLIND ALLEY will be available in paperback March 29th.

We have 20 copies of BLIND ALLEY to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment about it. A description can be found below. If you are interested, please send your name and mailing address to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, February 25, 2005.

Read more about Iris Johansen.
Read more about BLIND ALLEY.
Go to Iris Johansen's Website.

Here's more about BLIND ALLEY:

The New York Times bestselling author of FIRESTORM, Iris Johansen, returns with a psychological thriller so terrifying, so relentlessly paced, it won't leave you time to catch your breath before the next shock comes. A forensic sculptor is locked in a deadly duel with a serial killer determined to destroy her --- one life at a time.

Read more about Iris Johansen and BLIND ALLEY here.

Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Jodi Compton, Author of SYMPATHY BETWEEN HUMANS

Read more about Jodi Compton and SYMPATHY BETWEEN HUMANS here.

One to Watch: Elizabeth Flock, Author of ME & EMMA

Our latest One to Watch author is Elizabeth Flock, Author of ME & EMMA, which will be in stores on Tuesday, February 22nd.

New This Week:
-Read a second excerpt.

Here's more about ME & EMMA:

In many ways, Carrie Parker is like any other eight-year-old-playing make-believe, dreading school, dreaming of faraway places. But even her imaginative mind can't shut out the realities of her impoverished North Carolina home or help her protect her younger sister, Emma.

By turns achingly naive and utterly pragmatic, Carrie has been shaped by the loss of her beloved daddy, and mired by a drunken stepfather and emotionally absent mother. Charting an astonishing course of survival for herself and Emma, she hopes to transform their life into one more closely resembling the story books she treasures.

But after the sisters' plan to run away from home unravels, their world takes a shocking turn-and one shattering moment ultimately reveals a truth that leaves everyone reeling.

Click here to read more about Elizabeth Flock and ME & EMMA.

Don't Miss: BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE

To celebrate the film release of Because of Winn-Dixie, Candlewick Press has published a movie tie-in edition of Kate DiCamillo's bestselling novel that contains eight pages of full-color movie stills.

Candlewick also has made available the official movie scrapbook. Told from the point of view of Winn-Dixie himself, it allows fans to relive (or discover for the first time) the heartwarming film through dozens of full-color photos, many of which aren't available anywhere else. The book also contains tips on how to host your own Winn-Dixie party --- complete with recipes --- and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie.

Click here to read more about BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE here.

Bookreporter.com Talks to Julian Fellowes

Narrated by an actor with an aristocratic pedigree, SNOBS is a delicious social satire set in 1990s England, in which a beautiful middle-class young woman claws her way into British society by marrying a dim-witted earl. Though its setting is modern, the wry sensibility and gimlet-eyed deconstruction of social morays put SNOBS firmly in the tradition of Jane Austen, E.F. Benson (especially the "Lucia" series) and Anthony Trollope. Julian Fellowes talks with Bookreporter.com's Bella Stander about mental toughness, second chances and the tribulations of the acting life.
 

Read our interview with Julian Fellowes, Author of SNOBS here.

This Week's Reviews and Features

HONEYMOON by James Patterson & Howard Roughan (Thriller)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
In James Patterson's latest thriller, a beautiful young woman leaves a trail of dead lovers. Their wealth seems to dwindle as her offshore bank account grows, and FBI agent John O'Hara steps in to investigate.

ALL THE FLOWERS ARE DYING by Lawrence Block (Mystery)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Matthew Scudder has agreed to investigate the online lover of an acquaintance. Meanwhile, a man is put to death in a Virginia penitentiary as another man, who framed him for a series of murders, watches the execution in quiet fascination before returning to New York City. It seems that the fiend has some unfinished business with Scudder and with Scudder's love, Elaine.

FLESHMARKET ALLEY by Ian Rankin (Police Procedural)
Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
Ian Rankin transcends the ordinary police procedural to give readers a treatise that will provoke them to think beyond the fictions of everyday life. This book has heart woven into its fascinating plot and raises many questions about how the world operates today.

THE FORGOTTEN MAN by Robert Crais (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Robert Crais delivers a stunning, edge-of-your-seat suspense novel that leads private investigator Elvis Cole to the very thing he has always searched for --- the dark secrets of his own life --- as well as a brutal killer determined to stop him.

HELLO TO ALL THAT: A Memoir of War, Zoloft, and Peace by John Falk (Memoir)
Reviewed by Carole Turner
War-torn Bosnia is an unlikely place for a young man to "find" himself, but that is exactly what happened to John Falk, a would-be freelance war correspondent. Falk talks about his war experiences and his bouts of depression in this most unusual, hope-filled book.

THE BACHELORETTE PARTY by Karen McCullah Lutz (Chick Lit)
Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton
In this fun, raunchy novel, a single young woman who was left at the altar by her famous handsome fiancé has sworn off men. At the same time, her best friend (who is male) is about to marry her cousin, who she despises.

THE LOST MOTHER by Mary McGarry Morris (Historical Fiction)
Reviewed by Colleen Quinn
Brother and sister Thomas and Margaret Talcott cope with their mother's abandonment during the Great Depression in Mary McGarry Morris's subtle, moving new novel.

Click here to read this week's reviews and features.

Oscar Watch 2005

The Academy Awards presentation is always a must-watch for moviegoers --- for them it doesn't matter who the nominees are, what the stars are wearing, or how long the broadcast is. To celebrate the big event, Bookreporter.com has assembled the movies being recognized by the Academy this year that are based on critically acclaimed and bestselling books --- along with the categories in which they have been nominated.

In addition, Newmarket Press has published six books that tie-in to 19 Academy Award nominations. Five of them provide a wealth of information about the making of the movie, and one is a novel that helped inspire the film.

Click here to read our Oscars Watch 2005 feature.

Bookreporter.com Blog

Which of the following February releases are you most excited about reading?

All the Flowers Are Dying by Lawrence Block
Conviction by Richard North Patterson
Fleshmarket Alley: An Inspector Rebus Novel by Ian Rankin
The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais
The Ha-Ha by Dave King
Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan
Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock
Most Wanted by Michele Martinez
Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva
The Rosary Girls by Richard Montanari
Rosie Dunne by Cecelia Ahern
Snobs by Julian Fellowes
Strange Affair by Peter Robinson
A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
None of the above

Question: Name an author who you recently discovered --- and enjoyed.

Please note: Our next question update will be on March 4th.

Answer the Question of the Week here.

Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't.

This week we have some great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of PRINCE OF FIRE by Daniel Silva and VANISHING ACTS by Jodi Picoult. Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on March 4th.