Writing and Reading

Sort of a literary review. Sort of a ‘preview’ of a literary review. Maybe I’ll call it a…. a literary repreviewiew. Unforgivable ranting? Yes. Deal with it.

Okay, Sarah, I’ll get to the point here. I got the goods here. Ya heard it here first, people. I’ve got the inside scoop on a new Work In Progress from our lovable Sarah Jensen, fellow colleague of mine, friend, headbanger and just all-around weirdo. See her blog. It’s a lot of fun. I promise.

Her new Work In Progress is entitled IN THE DARK. Very alluring, isn’t it?

Now, bear in mind, what I have here is just a taste…a sniff…a brush of the hair, a WHISPER…. So alluring, so enticing, so making me want to reach into the computer and pull her through and threaten her with a plastic spoon and some HiC fruit punch to give me the rest of the damn novel. But I wouldn’t do that. No, I wouldn’t. Scout’s honor.

But I can’t help THINKING IT. *eyes Sarah very seriously*

Okay, let me just say–from the small excerpt she gave me, I already have an idea of the kind of genre I might be dealing with. There’s power in words if, with only a few paragraphs, you can already grasp a certain kind of premise. Knowing the title helps a bit, too.

As always with our wonderful Mrs. Jensen, dialogue screams at you with the voices of angels and demons put together–and yet, somehow, just somehow, she can make those extremes mesh. It is her uncompromising strength. I swear, we should all hire her to write sequences of dialogue. She’s that good. Not to embarrass her much, but she also carries a bit of passion with her. I’m okay with that. I’m sure we all are. There’s NOTHING wrong with a lady like her carrying a bit of passion around. I salute you, female romance writers. (Specifically paranormal or mystery or thriller or urban fantasy, though, I’d have to say. But I will be reading a historical romance shortly by another wonderful friend and writer as well. More to come on that.)

Aaaaaaaaaaaanyway. What I also found interesting…and it makes me want to read more…is unlike some stories concerning gender, it seemed to me that Sarah, of course, pertaining to her style, used a male 1st person as her narrator. Not completely sure, though. For all I know, it could be a lesbian narrator. Some of her word choices still somewhat led me to believe that the narrator is male.

I find that remarkably gutsy, I think. Adventurous. I should talk, though, as my main character in THE CAIN LETTERS is female. So the gender switch really isn’t a surprise for me. But as far as the literary industry goes, I don’t think I really see much of a writer/narrator gender switch often. Call me crazy. But that’s unique. And I like it.

After reading the excerpt, to sum up, I’d have to say I am coerced to read more. And not simply because of the content (eyes Sarah seriously). Although the content is always…interesting.

What I’m talking about is her fast-paced style. She slows down some where it’s needed, but generally, her writing moves at a tight pace. It grabs hold of you. It pushes you forward.

That’s just me, though. I generally like that style of writing. That’s the beauty of being an author. Everyone has a unique voice and style. Sarah Jensen definitely has hers.

And, of course, no spoilers here. I’m not giving anything away, people. Sorry. You can threaten me all you want! I stand…FIRM. IN THE DARK will remain, well…’in the dark’ until our Mrs. Jensen is ready to shine a light for all of us to see.

Besides, the excerpt I received from her was tiny at best. Even if I wanted to spoil any sign of an actual premise, I probably couldn’t say much to you about it. Sarah hath spilt NOTHING for me. NADA. She’s a tough lady to crack. She keeps things under wraps. She’s…secretive.

(looks around, paranoid)

So, Sarah, this post is for you, my friend. I enjoy reading your work. Send me the rest when you finish. And then this prereviewiew will actually turn into simply a…review. Yeah.