Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Followers or Leaders? You decide.

Davy and I would like to pay belated tribute to three loyal Followers who have been following his adventures for quite some time. These three women are long-suffering members of critique groups he and I have infested for years. Yes, believe it or not, Davy sometimes turns up in my writing, and they know the old boy well. Good critique groups are hard to find, and I’ve been lucky enough to land in two. These stalwarts have helped with all aspects of storytelling, but each also has a specialty. Ann keeps me honest in plant and animal matters, Marilyn reminds me I need a setting to go with the dialogue, and Kassandra always wants more emotional punch. My everlasting thanks to them all.

Marilyn McFarlane (aka “gardener”) has traveled the globe to write innumerable travel books, a cookbook and an illustrated book on sacred myths. (Yes, that's the Eiffel Tower behind her.) She’ll soon be making her mark in the mystery field too. She has a novel about wiccans in Oregon just about ready to market, and has just started something new and completely different. Visit her sophisticated website here.

Ann Littlewood is already a star. Her zoo mystery Night Kill was published last year by Poisoned Pen, and has garnered dozens of rave reviews. The group is now following her progress on book 2 in the series, and we’ve had the privilege of already reading book 3. Ann’s an ex-zookeeper, so when she talks animals it’s the real deal. Drop by her website for a sample chapter of Night Kill, and her blog for more zoo musings.

Kassandra Kelly refuses to be put in a genre box. When our group started she was writing a mystery, but it had aliens in it (maybe). In the years since she’s done straight sf, fantasy, horror, western, and cutting edge YA. Her current project has elements of all those genres. She’s been experimenting with the story and sharing large portions of it on her blog, Madison, After. You’ll find her fiction at various places online. Read The Moon Dreams of Water or Nine- or Ten-Foot Angels, or listen to The Cat, the Desert and Lucky .003. For a mere $2.50 (a steal, believe me) you can even download a complete novel, intriguingly titled Girl on Girl.

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