The Alphabet Book Challenge: "P"

-

 The "P" Books


Book one: The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch

When I finish this challenge, I will read more books written by this author.

When I started the book, I was confused about voice. Who was the main character? Was it the hangman? Was it the daughter? Was it the young doctor? It took a few pages to get into. The setting was after the witch trials. The son of the former hangman is now the hangman. He didn't want the job, but he inherited it, like father, like son. Only he knows natural herbs. In a sense, the hangman knows what the villagers consider witchcraft. His daughter is a beautiful, dark-haired, free spirit who is expected to marry another hangman, but she has her eye on the young doctor who has studied abroad. The young doctor has a lot of respect for the hangman.

The village is stuck in the old ways. Its streets are muddy, the townspeople still think old-fashioned thoughts, and they are trying to compete with the wealthy neighboring city. 

Amid this, a child's body suddenly washes up. The child is one of several orphans who hang out at a midwife's house. The midwife must be a witch! With the accusation, the townspeople revert to the dark ages and drag the poor midwife to jail, where the hangman is expected to torture her. 

What really happened? I would tell you, but then you wouldn't read the book. ;) 

This was well written, and the characters were great. The setting was believable, and once I got beyond the intro pages, I was hooked. I give it 5 stars.


Book two: Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge

I have to confess, this is one of my all-time favorite books. I LOVE THIS BOOK. I read it every year. From the very first line,  the first paragraph, the first page, it captures you, transports you, and takes you on a wild ride through a town cursed with a pumpkin-headed scarecrow that comes to life on Halloween and must be hunted down by the high school senior boys before it reaches the church at midnight. 

The story is told from multiple perspectives. The narrator, who knows what's going on, Jim, the high school unpopular kid, who just wants to get the hell out of dodge, and a scarecrow, who wants to get to the church. 

The elders in the town know the truth. They know why this happens every year, and that there is no escape if they want to reap the rewards of a good corn crop. The leaders of the town make sure the rest of the men in town stay in line. 

Everything about this book is fantastic. It hooks you, draws you in, and you find yourself living and breathing the story. Its a prime example in how to hook your readers.

First line:  A midwestern town. You know its name. You were born here.

First paragraph: It's Halloween. 1963 ... and getting on toward dark. Things are the same as they've always been. There's the main street, the old brock church in the town square, the movie theater--this year with a Vincent Price double-bill. And past all that is the road that leads out of town. It's black as a licorice whip under an October sky, black as the night that's coming and the long winter nights that will follow, black as the little town it leaves behind.

Five stars. Definitely a five star win!









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Need Art

-
Image
                                                        The World Needs Art Tonight, I attended a gathering in support of Art. A building downtown has sold, and another Art Gallery is being pushed out, probably to make way for another (insert heavy, heavy sarcasm) mortgage or Real Estate office.  My mother is an artist, and my father is a wood-making artist. I have a sister who is not only a culinary artist but also a master seamstress and another who is a pianist, flutist, dancer, and performer. I also have two brothers-in-law (one a former) who are musicians. I am a writer. I come from a family of creators. We were taught young to appreciate art. I grew up in St George, Utah. I loved going downtown and checking out the shops. I won a contest in elementary school and got to paint a picture on one of the store windows. Art was appreciated and e...
Read more

The Writers Journey

-
Image
  The Writers Journey Here is how it goes. After one hour of procrastination, I pull up the manuscript and check where I left off. I read my notes about what I want to achieve. I am generally a "Pantser" when it comes to writing until I get to the middle; then, I become almost a "Plotter." Time to look at pets up for adoption. Or do the elliptical? No! It is writing time. Focus. Where did I leave off? I finish my glass of wine and make some tea.  Many people think that when you write, you simply sit down, and everything comes out perfect. This is not true. We would like it to be true, but it isn't. I can honestly say I have spent the past three weeks rewriting the chapter I am in. First, I reviewed what I had written and checked it for continuity. Were all the characters there? Was the setting correct? Whose point of view was I in? For this chapter, I changed the point of view six times. I had it in Jim's, changed it to Shelly's, changed it to Sam's,...
Read more

Hook the Reader

-
Image
The first line ... The first sentence of any story is crucial. It can make or break a novel. You need to have a hook. You want your readers to be intrigued and captured by the first line so they keep going. It doesn't matter what genre your book is, you need to hook your reader.  In the first line, paragraph, and page, you need to establish the setting, introduce your main character, and set the tone. You want to refrain from rambling on about the scenery or having the story start off with a dream or looking in the mirror. This is very important because if your reader is not interested, they will put the book down.  Here are four examples:    1) Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.  (Gone With the Wind) by Margaret Mitchell)  2) On the battered paper map that's carried the two of them across they're not sure how many American states now, this is Proofrock, Idaho, and the dark body...
Read more