A new favourite Author!

So, I have a brand new favourite author now, and I’m anxiously waiting for her next wonderful instalment in her series. Well, actually I’m not really waiting anxiously, but I’m going to whiz through her new book, which I borrowed from the library today, and THEN I’ll be waiting anxiously for her next book.

The author is Maggie Groff, who has moved from writing amusing non-fiction ‘Mothers Behaving Badly was published by Random House in 1999 and her second book Hoax Cuisine published in 2001 by Simon & Schuster’, to writing crime fiction.

Her first novel in this genre was ‘Mad Men, Bad Girls and the Guerilla Knitters Institute’. 

Ms Groff has created an interesting character and given her interesting adventures. This character, Scout Davis, is a freelance reporter, with enough spare time to solve crimes, as well as work her way through the niceties of modern romantic issues. She has a good looking hardly ever there partner, as well as a super sexy often there new love interest.

In Ms Groff’s second book in her series, of which I hope there will be many more books, Scout is wrestling with who is/could/should be her man. I’ve only just begun reading this second book, and I’m keen to find out which of the lovely lads Scout will choose.

I’m not sure these books will appeal to male readers, but they’re sure appealing to this female reader! Mystery with a solid and totally buff hunk of love interest, yes, that appeals to me, big time (in a book I’m talking here, of course.)

These books remind me of Sue Grafton’s crime fiction – Grafton has a strong sense of her characters and settings, and Groff has the same. Groff’s action takes place mostly in Byron Bay NSW, where she lives, and other Australian places. I’ve never been to Byron Bay, but I feel like I’d be able to find my way around there, if I ever went.

At the moment in the book I’m reading, Scout has a mystery to solve, and a love life to put into order too, and I’m keen to get back into the action in her second book, published this year, ‘Good News, Bad News‘!

Will there be another Scout Davis book in 2014? Oh, I sure hope so!

Short Stories and Poems

I’ve been writing short stories lately. Up until a month ago, I would honestly say I was concentrating on writing poetry rather than short stories. But the new writing group I’m a member of if aimed at larger pieces of writing, rather than only poetry. I’ve been doing my best to have a go at writing something to meet whatever the group decides we’re going to do.

This has meant short stories. And I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the writing of these short stories! In the past, I’ve written some short stories I’ve been quite proud of, but I haven’t taken my short story writing seriously. If asked, I usually say I’m a poet first, rather than a short story writer.

Now though, hmm, I’m not so sure. Inventing new people and situations is so much fun! I love making my new people do whatever I want them to do – the power is seductive! When I write a poem, it’s usually about me, in some way, and often it’s me looking at something that’s happening in my life. Not much that’s wildly interesting actually happens in my life. Consequently, my poems tend not to be wildly exciting. When I write a short story though, the brakes are off, and I can write about any amazing thing happening. I can murder people and maybe even get away with it, I can tell people anything I want and only suffer the consequences I want to suffer, or I can glory in the results with no consequences at all!

Short stories can be written in just one day, as poems can, but short stories let you create wonderful and fascinating people. You can play God with your creations, make super villains and super heroes. Who wouldn’t want to write short stories. Of course, if you want to get those short stories published, that’s a different story. Publishing means you have to have a story that makes some kind of sense, no flying off without plotting a world where such flying off makes some kind of sense.

I’m going to type up some of my recent short stories and see if I can get them published online, somewhere. I had one short story published recently, on Alfie Dog website. That story was originally written at my writing group Adelaide Plains Chapter and Verse. I was extremely happy with the story, it has a dog in it, and in my opinion, any story with a dog in it, is a good story. If you’d like to read that story, it’s here.