This morning is gloomy, but I shall persevere. I'm walking to lunch with a friend, and maybe going to a movie. I will see how the day unfolds. Tomorrow is super busy, so I could take it easy, but I got myself a little bored last night so perhaps I will feel better getting out more. I finished two really good books in the last couple of days. One was "Zulu", a South African mystery that is beautifully written. The other was Lisa Unger's new mystery. Now I am reading a book recommended by a friend, "Room" by an Irish writer, Donohue. It was short listed for the Booker. So far, so good.
I like the way mysteries pull me in and keep me focused, and the dark world they portray reminds me of my own dark side, which I am usually uncomfortable acknowledging. But some of the best writing today truly is in this genre, and with mysteries set in other countries, I get an easy to swallow dose of history and culture. I'm most attached to Irish writing, as I have relatives there. But Zulu was an eye opener about South Africa today. It was heartbreaking, but important to read.
I once tried to write a mystery myself, but I need another rewrite, I think. I almost got it taken by the Ellen Levine Agency, and I should have pursued it further. I think I see how to fix it. It was about a single woman with a house painting business, who decides to answer an ad for a nanny for three little girls. They live in a glass house in the mountains above Boulder, Colorado, and strange things begin to happen. It was great fun to write. I don't have enough perseverance, that's my problem. Well, that, and that I have no great skill as a writer. Oh, dear.
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