Muse on Fire

Don't Litter the Stage with Bodies

2010-09-20T01:59:00.000-07:00

I have a new blog entry at Muse on Fire

Follow Your Bliss: Strong Women, Strong Men

2010-09-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

This blog has moved to: corafoerstner.com. Sept. 9, 2010: New bog post up. Follow Your Bliss: Strong Women, Strong men. Click here.

Millennium Trilogy: Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

2010-08-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

My new blog entry about Stieg Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Like the trilogy? Check out the blog at corafoerstner.com/

Moved

2010-07-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

I've redesigned my website and moved everything. You can find me at Muse On Fire or at corafoerstner.com

Stop by and say hello.

Feeling Accomplished

2010-05-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

For what seems like ages and ages, I have been trying to record a podcast with a friend in the UK. We started planning this a couple of months ago and thought we could throw a podcast together in a week or so, two at the most. Now, here we are months later.

We have had a series of mishaps and weird kinks that have been challenging and helped us develop perseverance. Our first major problem was that we couldn't keep a connection with Skype. The first few times we tried four minutes was our longest connection. After a few trial-and-error attempts, we fixed the problem. Our second issue was that our recording was corrupted with static. When I say static, I mean the kind that made me rip off my headphones. We had to re-record. We scheduled for yesterday and the static was still with us. We were feeling the deflation that comes with defeat, when Victoria's teenage son came to our rescue and told her how to adjust the Skype settings. So, after the initial defeat, we tried again.

Victory! We did it.

I am happy to report that we combined our audio files, added an intro and a wrap up. Now, I have a lovely mp3 file sitting on my desktop. Yesterday, I listened to it one final time, and sent it off. Mission accomplished.

I decided last December that I wanted to start podcasting. I want to add podcasts to my blog, and perhaps read some of my short stories and essays and add them to my website. Back then it sounded like an easy task. A little research told me that all I needed was a mic, headphones, a recording program, and a podcast would be as easy as making pie. Well, if you have ever made pie from scratch, you'll know that there is nothing easy about making a pie. It requires skill. Podcasting requires skill and a lot of patience.

I'm celebrating—a good movie and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon are coming my way.

Non-fiction and the Proposal

2009-06-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

I’m in the middle of writing a proposal. So, I thought I’d throw out a few random thoughts about non-fiction.

First, most non-fiction is sold from a proposal. An exception would be a memoir, which, like fiction, should be completed before you try to sell it. Of course, there are always exceptions to the exception. If you are a famous person or someone who is “hot” news, you could possibly sell a memoir with a proposal. For the rest of us ordinary folks, we have to write the memoir first.

Leaving memoir and returning to non-fiction, the good news is that you can sell your non-fiction book with a proposal, which is much shorter. This saves tons of time and energy.

If you didn't know this and have a completed manuscript, great. The hardest part of your writing is done. But . . . you still have to write a proposal.

Proposals are submitted to agents and to publishers. If you don’t have an agent and want to sell to a major publisher, you need an agent. Big publishing houses only accept proposals and manuscripts submitted by an agent. However, if your aim is to submit to smaller publishers, most will accept direct submissions. You have to decide which way you want to go.

You’ve made your decision. You’ve written your proposal. Now what? Send it out, right? No. Once you have your proposal, you write a query letter and send it to an agent or publisher. A query letter explains your book in a few short paragraphs. I’ll writing more about this in another blog.

Okay. You’ve written a fantastic query letter. Send it to several agents/publishers at once (4 or 5 is a good number). It might take awhile to get a response. You might hit the jackpot right away, but don’t expect it. Expect to wait. Have a list of agents/publishers ready, and when you get a rejection, send out another query letter. A word on rejection letters, almost everyone gets them, even famous authors receives them. Rejections are the rule rather than the exception. Be tenacious, keep sending out your query, but be wise. If you are only getting rejections, you may want to revisit your query letter and revise it.

Q: If you are thinking, “Well, why don’t I write the query letter first and then write the proposal?”

Good question.

A: Because when an agent or editor asks to see your proposal, you want to send it immediately. As a matter of fact, have your proposal ready to send. Some agents and editors ask that query letters be sent via email. So, it’s possible to get an email response in hours or days. You want to be ready. A word of caution, it’s more likely that you’ll play a waiting game for weeks or even months. So, while you wait, write something else.

I’ll continue this in the next blog. I’m getting back to my proposal.

Critique Groups

2009-06-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

I was talking with a friend yesterday. I first met her in the writers critique group I attend. Our conversation turned from business to her writing to my novel to the group.

That conversation got me thinking about critique groups. Do I recommend attending a group? Well, it depends on your needs, but to generalize, I'd say yes.

Here are some benefits:

1. You meet other writers, who want to talk about writing.
2. You develop friends and create a community.
3. You get a response to your writing. Feedback! When I taught writing, I always had my students break into "workshop groups" to get and receive feedback. I did this as a pedagogical strategy. If you are open to listening to how a reader responds to your words and willing to rethink your writing, this is a great way to get feedback.
4. You put your writing out there for others to read and hear.
5. It helps you produce. People are waiting to hear or read the next chapter or short story or article. They ask you about your work. You feel compelled to write, something, anything!

Speaking of work, I'm getting back to my chapter. More on this later.

The Tale of Despereaux

2009-06-07T17:02:00.000-07:00

The Tale of Despereaux: I love this book. I bought it, not because it was a Newbery winner, but because of the cover art. A mouse with incredibly big ears, running across the floor with red thread and a needle tied around his neck. Timothy B. Ering is the illustrator. He doesn’t have a website that I could find, but if you click here you’ll find out a little about him.

I began reading the book, thinking that I was going to love the illustrations, which I did and do, but I quickly discovered a beguiling story that I couldn't put down. I read the book in one sitting. This sweet tale of hardship, love, desire, and courage twists and turns, capturing the reader’s heart.

When it comes to fantasy books, one of the things that I look for is the overarching metaphor. In Despereaux, it is light (love/good) and dark (hate/evil). Despereaux wants to hear the music and be a courageous knight; he loves Princess Pea. Against the wishes of his family and community, he seeks the light of the castle and the music; he reads stories of courageous knights; those closest to him betray him. Roscuro, a.k.a. Chiaroscuro, is a rat, who is supposed to love the dark but loves, longs for, and dreams of the light. Mig, an abandoned, abused child, wants to be loved and to be like the pretty princess. Her journey into the dark dungeon helps to bring her into the light. Each character follows their heart's desires, going against cultural norms and expectations to follow their dreams and aspirations. They risk everything for the light. It’s a magical tale.

Warning: there is a book called The Tale of Despereaux that is patterned after the movie but is NOT Kate Dicamillo’s tale and pales in comparison. Don’t accidentally pick up the movie version. You will not be so enchanted. Hollywood always believes it can tell a better story—they cannot! Get the real thing.

Waves of Trouble

2009-06-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

Writing seems to come in waves of trouble. My novel morphs into something different every few weeks. It’s morphing now. When this happens, it's difficult to write. So, here I am writing a blog instead of a chapter. I’m not certain where my story is going. I throw out pages and chapters when one of these waves of trouble descends. My first draft reinvents itself over and over. The characters, like Puck, play tricks on me. They pop in and out of the story, arrive unannounced, refuse to go away, and inform me under no terms will they say or do that. They will say and do what want.

Often a character changes or evolves in some seemingly random way that eventually makes sense. Just when I think I know who a set of characters are, I discover that they aren't who I thought they were. Joan is really John. Or I thought they were cousins, but no, they are attracted to each other and will eventually "get it on." Or they are sneaking around planning mischief. They have even been known to invite someone into the story who doesn't belong in my masterpiece.

Yes, there is a certain amount of “crazy” in writing about imaginary people. They come to live in my mind and become real, so real that sometimes I don’t want to end the story. What I forget is that there is another group of equally fascinating characters waiting backstage to perform.

Sometimes my characters make me cry. Just last week, one of them died unexpectedly. He was murdered. I didn't see it coming. I felt blindsided. I kept trying to write him back into the story, get rid of the murder. This is after all a young adult book. It should be happy, right? Well, no, not really. No matter how many times I re-wrote it, he died. He had to die. He knew he had to die. I just didn’t know it. And, he was so nice!

I admit that they talk to me. If I talk back and say something ridiculous like, “Well that’s not the way it is. I’ve plotted out this book, and it’s going to be my way . . .” the battle is on. I never win.

Waves of trouble? Yeah, baby. Fun, interesting, and sometimes intoxicating waves of trouble

Archetypes Applied to Characters

2009-06-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt is one of my favorite books, and it’s a reference book I pull off the bookshelf again and again. For years, I’ve been a fan of Joseph Campbell and his work on archetypes. I have discovered that using archetypes in fiction can make characters powerful, appealing, and memorable.

Schmidt takes Campbell’s ideas and applies them to character. I came to this book with some apprehension. I worried about formulaic writing and using archetypes like cookie cutters. What I discovered is that characters I created before I read the book fit into the archetypes. On my first reading of 45 Master Characters, I realized that Schmidt’s approach gave me a deeper understanding of my characters.

In the novel I’m currently writing, a new character waltzed into my story. She was demanding, unexpected, uninvited, and refused to leave. I had no choice. I stopped and wrote a character sketch. This character appeared in my imagination almost fully developed, but I found that certain traits in her personality were in conflict. I turned to 45 Master Characters and found that the disparity in her personality fit her archetype. As I began to connect her personality to other characters similar to her in books I loved, I began to see her in a deeper way. I immediately understood why she forced her way into the book.

I use Schmidt’s book more as a reference than as sustained reading material. Except for a few introductory chapters, the first section of the book devotes a chapter to each major archetype. Schmidt connects the archetype to mythology. Then she explains the character in more detail and explores the variations on the archetype: their fears, positive, and the negative traits, their strengths, weaknesses and more. She lists characters as examples of each archetype.

The book does focus on film and exploring the archetypes in film rather than books, but I didn’t find this distracting as I could easily think of characters from books that fit into the archetype.

The last section of the book is devoted to character journey. Those of you who have read Joseph Campbell will likely remember the hero’s journey. Schmidt explores Campbell’s hero’s journey and adds to it. She shows how the male journey is different from the female journey. This section alone is worth the price of the book. In this section, using film as examples works well because the examples clearly define the distinctions she makes between the male and female journeys.

With all this praise, I’ll add a word of caution. I write character driven stories and find that 45 Master Characters often helps me to see deeper into character. I’m intimately connected with all my characters, even the minor ones. I use this text as a way to take a psychological journey into my characters’ hearts and minds. I’m not sure how effective this book would be for someone who used it as a formulaic way of constructing character. Doing that would likely produce flat dull characters.

Muse

2009-06-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Writers and other creative people talk about the Muse. Most people think the Muse is a mythological character. Nice story, let's move on. But if you are a believer, it's not so simple. I believe that the Muse is real. For me, it's that creative force within which guides my writing and sometimes me. Inspiration might be another name for it.

So, how do we nurture or, better yet, ignite the Muse? Reading books, listening to other writers and artists, interacting with a group of like minded creators--getting in touch with creative others somehow, someway. Just do it.

Kate Dicamillo: Storyteller Extraordinaire

2009-06-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

Kate Dicamillo is a children’s book author extraordinaire. If you haven’t read her books, you should. I discovered her and her magical storytelling when I read The Tale of Despereaux. I sat down to read a chapter or two; I read the book in one sitting. Her children’s books include two contemporary, realistic books—Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tiger Rising— and two fantasy books – Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. On her website she describes herself: “I am short. And loud. I hate to cook and love to eat. I am single and childless, but I have lots of friends and I am an aunt to three lovely children (Luke, Roxanne, and Max) and one not so lovely dog (Henry).”

Why am I recommending Kate Dicamillo? Because I believe she is one of the most talented children’s book authors of our time. She is young and still at the beginning of her career. I’m looking forward to reading anything that she writes. I taught children’s literature to future teachers for 15 years, and her books stand out among the best of today’s authors. She writes from her heart about basic human needs and emotions.

Children love her books. Not long ago, my niece was visiting me. The Rising Tiger sat next to my computer. I’d planned to read it that night. My niece saw the book, grabbed it, and hugged it to her chest. With an exclamation of delight, she asked, “Is this for me? I love her books.” What higher praise could a children’s author receive?

When I teach literature, I always begin a term by saying, “Great literature tells us what it means to be human. We read Shakespeare because his writing reflects back to us what it means to be human. When we watch or read Macbeth, we see how a good man is corrupted and transformed into a ruthless, cold-blooded murderer, a monster. We learn all this from the safety of a theater seat or from our reading space. And, perhaps, we understand something more about ourselves.”

I read children’s literature because when it is honest and well written, it can be some of the most honest literature we will encounter. Kate Dicamillo is such an author.

Inspiration

2009-04-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

This weekend I attended Literary Orange, an all day conference. I carpooled with a couple friends and spent the day listening to authors talk about writing. What could be better? In my world, not much.

Stephen Cannell, Ron Carlson, and Sandra Tsing Loh were the keynote speakers. Cannell, the dyslectic underdog, shared his success in Hollywood. Carlson, the down to earth university professor, spoke and managed to balance the lofty with the majesty of the ordinary. Sandra Tsing Loh, a bi-racial woman with a gift for storytelling, brought high energy, laughter, and common sense to the lectern.

In between keynote speakers, we went to breakout secessions and heard two or three other authors talk about their craft.

Although each speaker created his or her own slant, spoke with a unique voice, and challenged the audience in different ways, several themes emerged to inspire and challenge me: be honest in your writing, write for yourself, learn your craft, stay true to yourself, and never give up.

Doesn't all that sound inspirational? It was.

Writing is a solitary profession. Occasionally, we venture out, meet other people, talk to other writers, and go back to our computers to write. Every once in a while, a shot of inspiration keeps us moving and motivated. Saturday was such a day.

Okay, I'm Back.

2009-03-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

In the last month, I've had five people write and tell me that I'm not posting. So, I'm back. Originally, I intended this blog as a review of YA and children's books. However, I've decided to change the focus. I'll write about BOOKS. All kinds of books. The reason? I'm not reading as many children and YA books as I once did.

Life and Change

2009-03-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

Most people want things to stay the same. I like change. Well, not always. Some things should stay the same. I love my children and they love me. The sun come up and goes down--that's a cliche. I know that the sun doesn't literally come up and go down. There's another thing that stays the same: Cora is a smart-ass.

But in general, I've come to expect and embrace change. Sometimes I cause the change. Which is what's happening now.

After years of teaching writing, I've decided to change hats. I'll still help people with their writing, which is what I love to do. I've completed a certificate in ghostwriting with Claudia Suzanne, who has ghosted over 100 books and has a fantastic course. Check out her web site.

My big change is: I'm hanging out my shingle.

Cora L. Foerstner
Ghostwriter

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

Inkheart

2007-12-31T11:21:00.000-08:00

I've just finished reading the young adult novel Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Funke is a Germany author, whose books are translated into many languages. A couple of years ago, I read The Thief Lord, which is another book that I would recommend.

I was wondering how to talk about the story without giving away some of the fun parts of the book. This problem was solved for me when I went to see a movie and saw the preview for the new film Inkheart, and they gave away the part I wanted to talk about.

I liked this book because it explores books, characters in books, and the results of violence. There's even a look at the responsibility authors have for their creations. Because I love books, I identified with it easily. The unusual happening in the book is that one of the characters can read characters from books into reality. There is a price to pay for this ability, and that I won't give away. Bringing characters to life causes many problems and explores what happens when very evil characters from a fiction world are brought into our world. Not all the characters from the book world are evil, but there are plenty of "bad guys."

I think that everyone has read a book and come to know and love the characters. Often I've come to the end of a book and feel that I'll miss the characters. This books explores those characters coming to life in our world. Perhaps it's a good thing to close a book and have the characters stay in their world.

The book is fun. The characters are engaging. It's a fun read.

I'd rate the book a 3 on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best.

The Compass in Review

2007-12-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I saw The Golden Compass yesterday. I was prepared to HATE it. I’d read so many bad reviews and known that the ending was changed, so my expectations were low. What happened is the opposite of when you hear a movie is great and are told that you have to see it. You go and are disappointed because it didn’t meet your expectations. You expected the greatest movie ever made, and it fell flat for you.

I expected awful, terrible, horrible, and surprisingly, I liked it. Yes, it is different from the book. There were some changes that I’m not certain I agree with, and of course a lot is left out or compressed. I expect compression and cutting in a film because it’s impossible to fit a book into a two-hour time slot.

Even though Chris Weitz, the director/writer, was too chicken to leave the “church” in the film, the Magisterium is a thinly veiled substitute for the church and has many trappings that scream: this is really the CHURCH.

If you love the book, which I do, go see the movie expecting it to be changed. The film does not follow the order of events as they unfold in the book. Several events are reverse, especially near the end. These changes didn’t bother me because I could see the cinematic reasoning. Expect it and go with the flow. Although there many changes, very few of them annoyed me, and I got over it pretty quickly. My daughter hadn’t read the book, and she loved the film, said she would buy it. She did borrow the book from me.

The biggest change was the ending. I knew it was different and so expected it. If they are planning a sequel, which they probably are, they have set the ending up perfectly. I know. I know. That sounds like heresy. My guess is that the next film will begin with the ending of the book and move into the second book. So, although the ending is changed, I can see why. Lyra is going to bring Lord Asriel what he wants, and as we know, it’s not the golden compass! The film gives a little closure to the audience, and I can live with that.

Visually the film is beautiful. I love the way the alternate universe is portrayed. The daemons are well done. It was fun to see the daemons with their humans, and it looked very much as I had imagined it. The actor playing Lrya, Dakota Blue Richards, was excellent. Nicole Kidman was a perfect Mrs. Coulter. In some ways she was more sinister and evil and in other ways not as evil as in the book. In the book, her character is more subtle and thus more chilling than in the film. Ian McKellen as the voice of Iorek Byrnison–our most beloved Gandolff–was excellent. Iorek is my favorite character, and I liked the way he came to life in the film.

Without stating it, the film shows that dust runs the alethiometer, and I enjoyed the way the film used the graphics to show Lyra’s interaction with the alethiometer.

Here are the negatives and where the film falls short for me:

The characters and their relationships weren’t as developed as I would have liked, not nearly as developed as in the book. I wanted to see the relationship between Lyra and Iorek developed, but it wasn’t; it happened too quickly. In the book, the reader shifts between like and dislike for Lord Asriel; that is missing from the film. In the book, he’s a live, vibrant shadow and the reader hopes that he is the father Lyra wants and needs; in the film, he is merely a shadow. Unlike the Harry Potter movies that did a better job of developing character, this one fails. In some ways the film felt rushed, and I think short changing character development accounts for much of that problem. I would have preferred that a longer film that took time to develop the characters and the relationships. The Gyptians weren't developed, not just in character development, but in substance and time. This was compressed and although they are some of my favorite characters, and I longed to see them in the film, I can see why it was done. On the one hand, Lyra’s time at Bolvangar was cut short and the evil, sinisterness of the place gets short changed a little. On the other hand, the film manages to create an evil feel, often using minor characters effectively to create a spooky, evil, suspense and atmosphere.

On a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being fantastic and 1 being poor, I’d rate the book a 4 and the film a 3.3. I think it’s a fun film and worth seeing. So, go see it and have fun. Try to put the book out of your mind. Take the kids. I was worried about the fight scene between Iorek and Iofur (whose name is changed to Ragnar Sturlusson–probably a good move since the names are so similar). I wasn’t sure how ripping the heart out and eating it would play out on screen, but they wisely cut that part out. I’d think even with computer-generated graphics that would be R rated and disturbing for kids. I know, it’s in the book, but it’s different reading it than it is seeing it, at least for me.

No News Isn't Necessarily Good News

2007-12-08T17:04:00.000-08:00

I haven't seen The Golden Compass yet. My intention was to see it Friday, but things got shifted around, and I'm seeing it on Tuesday. However, with that said, see the comments on my last blog entry. Kyle, a former student and insightful commentator on books, wrote a brief review of the film. If you take his advice, you won't pay money to see it. I am going to see it because I have to see what they have done to a beloved book. If anyone else has seen it, feel free to comment. At this point you can't spoil it for me. If there's anything good to say, please tell me.

The Golden Compass: Hope Sagging

2007-12-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

Well, The Golden Compass comes out in a couple of days, and the reviews aren't promising. I'll go see it because it's my favorite children's book, but it seems unlikely to meet my expectations. Apparently they have changed the end and given it a sappy Hollywood ending. So much for the second book being made into a movie: if they've changed the ending, I see no way to make the second book into movie. It looks as if there were bad choices and apparently VERY bad directing. It always amazes me that film takes a perfectly delightful book and turns it into crap!!

The Golden Compass

2007-11-28T12:49:00.000-08:00

I started this blog with every intention of writing once a week. However, the demands of teaching always manage to crowd out my best intentions. I’m back and committed to blogging at least once a week.

I'm starting with The Golden Compass. In one week, the film version comes to theaters. I’m excited and worried. I’m excited because The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman’s first book in his Dark Material Trilogy, is one of my favorite books; I’m worried because film often mutilates books I love. My fingers are crossed.

If you haven’t read The Golden Compass, you may want to rush out and get it. I promise a wonderful read. Or perhaps the film will inspire you to read the book.

The reason this book always shows up at the top of my list of favorites is because Philip Pullman tells a great story. Lyra, the protagonist, is a free spirited little urchin, who is loyal, bold, and often, if needful, an accomplished liar. She lives in an alternate universe that in many ways is very like our own, and in many ways is very exotic and unique. Mrs Coulter is a delightful villain who is at once attractive, repulsive, and decidedly evil. She is one of the most interesting and engaging characters in the book. Iorek Byrnison, the armored bear, is one of my all time favorite characters. He is a wild beast, a noble warrior, and loyal friend.

If you read the book and get a feeling that Milton, as he penned Paradise Lost, is looking over your shoulder, your instincts are good. Pullman wrote this with Paradise Lost in mind. Don’t let that worry you or put you off because the writing is contemporary, engaging, and always entertaining.

There has been a call to boycott the film. If you have read or heard that the book is controversial, take heed. It is. The book is a harsh critique of organized religion and things that are done in the name of religion. This is where the film is likely to diverge away from the book. I do hope it doesn’t, for although the book is not didactic, the theme hinges on this critique, and watering it down could damage the overall story. I’ve read at least one critique that says the book is trying to indoctrinate children into atheism. That just silly. Give kids credit. Pullman does. He writes about complex and sometimes perplexing issues. Reading or seeing Harry Potter isn’t going to turn children into wizards; reading or seeing The Golden Compass isn’t going to create a world of atheists.

I love fantasy. Good fantasy reflects life and invites deeper thinking about complex issues. Pullman does both as he engages his readers with a look at the darker side of organized religion. Think of the world that we live in and what people do in the name of religion. This books is timely. I believe it is good to question and examine the world and our beliefs.

Or, forget about all the controversy, and read a great, entertaining book.

I haven’t seen the film, so I don’t know what we are in for. I hope it’s a delightful journey.

Books and Stories

2007-10-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

Anyone who loves children and young adult literature knows that books written for the young aren't just for kids. A good story is a good story. Often adults love children and young adult books as much as kids do. Some think that being a parent is a good excuse for reading these books because, as we all know, good parents read to their children. This is true; however, there are plenty of non-parents who wander the stacks of the children and YA sections of the library and bookstores, looking for good stories.

If you are a parent looking for good books, I hope this blog directs you to many good books that your children will love.

I have been teaching children's literature and young adult literature at the university level for about fourteen years. My goal here is to share some good books that I have found and to get responses and feedback from readers. Feel free to share what you know about the books I present and to share some of your favorite books and stories as well.

I have a system of rating books: 1=poor, 2=average, 3=good, and 4=excellent. I devised this system as a way for my students to think about the books they are reading. An excellent book is superior in character development, theme, language (including imagery and figurative language), setting, plot, and any other literary devise that applies to the text. An excellent book shines about the other books in its genre. A good book is over all better than most in these areas, but might have some weaknesses. An average book is just okay. The theme may be weak or the characters may not be fully developed, or perhaps it isn't as well written as it could be, but it's passable and enjoyable. A poor book just doesn't cut it. It's weak in most of the areas that count and there really isn't anything special about it.

Since I'm in the habit of rating books. I'll use this same system in future entries.

I'd like to add a disclaimer: sometimes, I love books that are rated a 2, not because I have no taste, but because for some reason, I find something in the book that fascinates me. On the other hand, some books that I know are great books and that I rate high, aren't my favorites. Often plot driven books aren't excellent, but they are FUN! So, if I rate something lower than you would, don't be offended. I may also rate a book higher than you might. I rate books according to their literary merit and try to divorce myself from my likes and dislikes.

Part of the fun of reading is that there are stories for everyone. What doesn't appeal to me may delight you. Thank goodness for different tastes!