Friday, October 26, 2007

CALIFORNIA BURNING

Six days of hell for so many residents, but the end is in sight. Thankfully, my family and friends in San Diego County have survived with their lives, pets and homes intact. It's a sad day for some.

Where I live, the air is filthy with whatever toxins the flames and ash from the mountains above us have discarded in what we breathe. I saw a jogger out in this earlier, and I thought him incredibly foolish. He has no idea what he might be breathing into his lungs. The sun is a brilliant orange, and the air looks like light fog.

Our school district is closed; football and Halloween carnivals will be rescheduled. Cheers for administrators thinking of the health of their students and staff!

May all be well with each of you,

Dee Ann

heists2683@mypacks.net
http://www.deeannpalmer.com
http://www.myspace.com/deeannpalmerwriter

Posted by Dee Ann Palmer 10:08 PM 0 Comments:

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Saturday, October 20, 2007

Robert Crais answers my question

Have you ever wondered, as I did, why THE LAST DETECTIVE begins with Joe Pike hunting a killer bear in Alaska? Eight months after he'd been shot twice in the back, and the bullets had shattered his shoulder blade, "spraying bone fragments like shrapnel through his left lung and the surrounding muscles and nerves," Joe is after this eleven hundred pound, rabid, rogue bear.

And when he finds him, and knows the bear may soon discover him, the strength in his shoulder and arm holding the rifle fail. Despite a philosphy of always meeting the charge, Pike admits defeat and leaves.

These pages are beautifully written. You're right there in Alaska, hearing the snapping jaws of the bear as it prepares to charge. I loved these pages, but I couldn't understand why the book opened this way. It had little to do with the book, which is Cole's story, not Pike's.

I had my answer recently. Crais spoke at my Romance Writers meeting, and as he was signing my copy of THE WATCHMAN, I asked.

His answer was he'd shown a dangerous, primordial wilderness in Alaska. And he was showing that Los Angeles is also dangerous, primordial wilderness. He smiled. "I think too much."

I said I'd thought it was Joe coming to terms with the severity of his injuries.

"That too."

So, there you have it.

Dee Ann
heists2683@mypacks.net
http://www.deeannpalmer.com
http://www.myspace.com/deeannpalmerwriter

Posted by Dee Ann Palmer 2:41 PM 0 Comments:

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