Just Reviewed Mario Livio’s “Brilliant Blunders” at SBR

Folks, I’m a bit behindhand on letting you all know what I’ve been doing over at SBR lately.  This is partly because I’ve been dealing with the sinus infection from Hell (TM), and partly because I’ve been trying to get everything caught up by the end of the year.  (Yes, I’m still playing catch-up from that bronchitis I suffered in the spring.)

Anyway, today’s review over at SBR is for Mario Livio’s excellent BRILLIANT BLUNDERS, a scientific history that deals with the five biggest mistakes of five eminent scientists — Charles Darwin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin to thee and me), Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein — and discusses these mistakes in the context of both the history of science and the particular scientist’s career.  Livio’s writing is clear and concise, and is accessible to the layman without being shallow or stupid, a neat trick.

I also interviewed novelist and rocket scientist Stephanie Osborn for SBR a few weeks ago.  This was a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred interview where Ms. Osborn discussed literacy and panic attacks right along with her own work, and talked a great deal about how she comes up with her plots for good measure.  Do go take a gander at that, then read her books as soon as you can, too.**

Aside from that, my plans for this Black Friday are to stay far, afar away from any store (except maybe for the grocery store, as that should be safe) as I’m not interested in fighting with anyone over a toaster.  Or a TV.  Or even something I would really like to have, like a book card . . . no, life is just too short for such silliness.

(Besides, I can always go get the book card tomorrow, and the lines will be far shorter, too!)

Stay safe, everyone.

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**BTW, I’d meant to get up something about the interview a few weeks ago, but this sinus infection from Hell (TM) is just not allowing me to do much, as I haven’t had the energy to do it with.  I figured actually finishing the interview, then posting it was much more important than me coming over here to my own blog and discussing it — but as I always had intended to discuss it, today seems to be the day.

So if you haven’t already read the interview with Ms. Osborn, please go ahead and do so at your earliest convenience.  You may learn something . . . or better yet, you may both learn something and find a new favorite author.  (Stranger things have happened.)

 

Hanging on to a Dream

Folks, this last several weeks has been incredibly difficult.  The difficulties haven’t been anything new — my health has not been the world’s best all year long, though I continue to fight for better health as best I can — but sometimes, life can be frustrating.

To put it mildly.

When your body doesn’t work right, when you’ve been ill for five weeks straight with no end in sight, when many of the people who’ve mattered the most are already on the Other Side doing whatever it is people who’ve outlived their mortal bodies do, it can be hard to get up in the morning.

What gets me up and moving?  Some days, I’m not sure, other than an unshakeable belief that I must keep trying.

I look at it this way.  I have talent for more than one thing — actually, like many human beings, I have talents for several things, but the major things I’m good at are music, writing and editing — and I want to keep using my talents.  Further, I want to develop them all I possibly can, and keep going as long as I can.

None of these things are earth shattering revelations, of course.  If you’ve read even one of my blogs (at least, any of the personal updates, or when I’ve talked writing, publishing, editing, or most especially about my wonderful late husband, Michael), you almost certainly already know this.

But I say all this because it’s rare that I see something on television that actually gives me hope.  Most of the TV programs I watch lately are downbeat (yes, even including Once Upon a Time, which has been focusing lately on rescuing Henry, who seems to be related to every other character through blood, marriage or adoption), and while the acting on some of these shows is phenomenal (James Spader has to be the frontrunner for an Emmy based off his work on The Blacklist, and Toni Collette would be my frontrunner for an Emmy for her work on Hostages), they are not exactly life-affirming in the traditional sense.

So it’s surprising when, while watching one of my favorite TV shows, Dancing with the Stars — something I’ve blogged about before, but not terribly often — I actually see something that is life-affirming.  More to the point, something that’s actually inspirational.

And the person who’s actually inspired me enough to write this blog is none other than former “wild child” turned respectable husband and father Jack Osbourne.  Osbourne’s dancing on DWTS has been very good to excellent all season long, but continuing to do his best despite his struggles with Multiple Sclerosis (by his own admission on DWTS last week, Osbourne had a nasty MS flare-up) and persevering to get to the finals is what got me to write this blog.

Of course, Osbourne is not the type of guy who thinks of himself as an inspiration.  He seems to be the sort of guy who gets up every day, goes to work (right now, that’s DWTS), puts in all the hours he needs to be good, then puts in the extra hours to be great, and then goes home to his wife and child without any undue fuss.

I think that’s why I like him, or at any rate, have liked what I’ve seen of him.  (Granted, I really enjoyed his sister Kelly, too, when she was on DWTS several seasons ago.)  I can relate to his work ethic and his refusal to give in to his illness, even though I can’t relate to his famous family, all the paparazzi he’s undoubtedly dealt with in his life, reality TV show fame, or anything of that nature whatsoever.

Still.  There’s something in what Jack Osbourne is doing with his pro partner Cheryl Burke that’s truly worth watching.  Jack’s become a very strong dancer, which came as a surprise to him and his partner, and because he’s fighting a long-term illness along with learning a new skill that’s way out of his comfort zone, he’s actually kind of endearing to watch.

In many ways, watching reality TV can be cathartic, especially if you see aspects of someone’s best self playing out on TV.  It can also be uncomfortable, as even the most admirable person doing the most admirable things can do and say things we, ourselves, would not say or do — but then again, if we were meant to be alone in our skulls, unable to learn anything new from observation or life experiences, what would be the point of living?

Anyway, we all have our own journey to make in this life.  Some of my journey hasn’t at all been what I’ve expected.  I lost my husband way too early, and every day, it’s a struggle to keep going — I’m not going to lie.

But on the other hand, because I keep going, keep fighting, keep writing as best I can, keep editing, keep playing my music whenever my health allows — well, folks, that’s a victory.

I take my victories where I see ’em, and I’ve had a few this year despite the illnesses and the arthritis and the carpal tunnel syndrome and all the other crapola I deal with on a daily basis.  I sold two stories (granted, still can’t talk much about the second sale, but just as soon as I’m cleared, I will).  The first half of my novel, ELFY, will appear during 2014 through Twilight Times Books — if all goes well, it’ll finally be out in April — which will complete a nearly eleven year odyssey (yes, ELFY has been in existence, more or less in its current form, since the end of 2003).  And it will vindicate my husband’s belief in me, which is no bad thing . . . though my husband would tell me, if he could, that I vindicated his belief in me long ago just by being myself.

I’ve hung on to my dream, and I’m still hanging on.  I think my dream of being a highly competent writer, editor and musician is achievable, and I continue to work at it in some way, shape or form every day.  And the reason I’ve hung on to my dream is because I believe in the power of persistence — and I believe in taking victories where I find them.

So let this all be a lesson to you, folks — keep hanging on to your dreams, whatever they are.  And do take your victories, whatever they are, however they manifest, as you find them.

If so, you’ve already won — whether you know it or not.

Major League Baseball End-of-the-Year Wrap-up

Folks, my health has delayed this blog significantly, but as I promised an end-of-the-year wrap-up talking about the World Series, the Milwaukee Brewers’ Carlos Gomez and his Gold Glove, and any significant trades, I figured I’d better get down to business and write one.  Because of the rather lengthy wait, I’ve even thrown in a Corey Hart update in the bargain . . . so let’s get started.

First, the World Series did not go the way I expected it to whatsoever.  I’d expected that the St. Louis Cardinals, which had been the best team in baseball over the latter two-thirds of the season, to waltz away with the Series.  But instead, the Boston Red Sox played much better than the Cardinals, even though neither team was anything close to error-free.

In fact, Boston’s pitching was better; its hitting was better; even its defense was better, which was extremely surprising as the Cardinals had been among the best defensive teams in the majors all year long.

And, of course, David Ortiz had a monster World Series, hitting .688 (no misprint) to carry the Red Sox to victory in six games.

After that shocker of a Series, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Carloz Gomez of the Brewers won a well-deserved Gold Glove for his play in center field during 2013.  Gomez was most definitely the best defensive center fielder in baseball, but it wasn’t a lead-pipe cinch that he’d win the Gold Glove as Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates is also a very good center fielder and had a much better offensive year than Gomez.  Fortunately, McCutchen won the Most Valuable Player Award, a well-deserved honor, but did not win the Gold Glove due to an increased focus on defensive metrics.

Since the Gold Gloves and MVP Awards were announced, there have been two trades that caught my attention.  The first of these was the trade of Detroit Tigers first baseman (and former Brewer) Prince Fielder to Texas for the Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler.  At first, I was extremely surprised at this trade because of Fielder’s offensive value to Detroit, but after reflection I thought I understood it.  Detroit needed better defense, which Kinsler will provide at second, and by trading Fielder it’s possible for the Tigers to move Miguel Cabrera back to first base.

But I really think Fielder would still be a Tiger today if not for his really awful postseason.  Fielder looked bad defensively throughout the postseason, but worse than that, he looked as if his bat speed was not there — extremely distressing when your primary value as a player is due to your offense.  Even so, he might’ve rode out all of that if not for his infamous “belly-flop slide” into third in game six of the American League Championship Series that may have cost his team the ALCS, then some ill-advised comments afterward (which I’ll get to in a bit).

Since Fielder’s been traded, it’s now common knowledge that Fielder is in the process of getting a divorce.  I don’t normally comment on player divorces, but I’m going to make an exception in Fielder’s case because he and his wife were so prominent in Milwaukee.

I don’t know when Fielder was served with divorce papers, but it’s quite possible that Fielder’s “indifferent season” (where he “only” hit .275 with 25 home runs and 106 RBIs and again backed up AL MVP Miguel Cabrera nicely) was made far less meaningful to him once he found out his wife wanted out.  This seems like a very trite statement — and perhaps it is — but Fielder is very well known in Milwaukee as a family man, and he took great pride in his wife and two young sons while he was here.  So it’s very possible that getting a divorce, for him, is much more difficult than it might be with someone else . . . not that divorce is ever easy.

In addition, Fielder wanted economic stability for his family.  This was the main reason he turned down the Brewers’ offers of roughly $20 Million a season for five or six years (there were several offers, but that is the last one I remember) to go to Detroit in the first place.  (Not that Fielder didn’t have any other offers; I’m sure he did.  But he liked Milwaukee, found it a stable and safe place for his family, and enjoyed the family friendly Brewers clubhouse, and was known as someone who was interested in more than just the greenbacks.)

Finally, my guess is that Fielder’s psyche is a bit more fragile than it appeared.  He’s a big, strong, tough man, sure — and he plays a great game of baseball.  But his own father, Cecil, was not a model father — this is well-known — or a model husband.  Prince took great pride in being both, and to find out that his wife didn’t want to be married to him anymore must have been devastating.

I said all this because without that context, Fielder’s comments after the ALCS was over (he said, roughly, that he wasn’t going to lose any sleep over his performance because he still had two young sons to take care of) make no sense.  And fans excoriated him over it, because it sounded like Fielder just did not care what happened.

As Jeff Deacon of Detroit Sports Nation (part of the Yardbarker sports blog network) put it:

After going 9 for 40 with 0 HR, and 0 RBI in 12 playoff games this postseason, it’s understandable that Prince would be upset. But many believe his comments are crossing a line. We all know he’s going through a now very public divorce, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for yet another awful postseason.

It wasn’t so much what he said to the media post-game, but how he said them. To me, it was evident his head was elsewhere this season. Almost as if he didn’t care.

I’m not saying Prince should ignore his family issues and focus solely on baseball, but when you’re making $25 million a year, you have to be able to cope with them. And if you can’t, take yourself off the field because you’re hurting your name and your teammates. Many people go through tough times in their life, especially over the past few years in Detroit. Yet, we still go to work and get our jobs done. Why should Prince Fielder be any different?

There’s a lot of truth in what Deacon said, and I completely understand and agree with the frustration in Detroit over Fielder’s comments.  But Fielder made many similar types of comments in Milwaukee long before his divorce, and we didn’t get upset with him over it.

Maybe this is because Brewers fans understood Fielder  a little better, or maybe it’s just that Fielder was not going through his divorce when he was with Milwaukee.

At any rate, my view of what Fielder said is simple — as bad as it sounded, Fielder pointed out that the season was over.  He didn’t want it to be over, for sure, and he assuredly wanted to play better in the ALCS.  (No one, most of all a prideful professional baseball player, wants to look bad in the national spotlight.)  But he has to look at the big picture, which is how he takes care of his two sons from here on out and how he rebuilds his personal life after his divorce is finalized (probably sometime late next year if Mrs. Fielder filed in Michigan and my understanding of Michigan divorce law is correct — which, admittedly, it may not be).

So had Prince Fielder still been in Milwaukee and said something like this, it’s unlikely there would’ve been as much of a furor.  Instead, fans would’ve been likely to forgive him, because Brewers fans always saw Prince as one of their own and would be likely to empathize with him over his impending divorce.

Anyway, let’s get to the second trade that sparked my interest, which was of Brewers relief pitcher Burke Badenhop to Boston for low minor league pitcher Luis Ortega.  Ortega is only twenty years of age, pitched in the rookie league last year, and is in no way, shape or form an equal talent to Badenhop.

Look.  Badenhop did a fine job for the Brewers this year, appearing in 63 games, pitching 62 1/3 innings with a 2-3 record and a 3.47 ERA, but he was due to make more next year in arbitration than this year’s $1.55 million.  The Brewers have to know that Ortega may or may not develop into a major league pitcher of any sort, as Ortega is just too young and raw to make any judgments, but they may have seen something in him that caused them to make this trade (giving them the benefit of the doubt).

My view, though, is very simple: the Milwaukee Brewers are again in “salary-dump mode” if they’re willing to jettison a proven major league reliever like Badenhop for someone like Ortega.  I’m so tired of the Brewers doing things like this, especially considering Badenhop’s more than adequate year as a middle reliever — he’d only been with the team a year, did a great job keeping the Brewers in games during an exceptionally difficult season and  seemed to truly enjoy playing baseball in Milwaukee despite all the ups and downs of the 2013 Brewers season.  Which is why I’m sad to see Badenhop go.

One final thought — it looks like the Brewers are going to make a serious run at Corey Hart once Hart is medically cleared for baseball activities on December 3, 2013.  This is very good to hear.

But I’m worried, again, that the Brewers will make Hart a low-ball offer due to Hart’s stated wish to stay in Milwaukee, especially after the Brewers jettisoned Badenhop for next to nothing.  The fans need our favorites after the dreadful 2013 season, and Hart’s one of the most fan-friendly players around . . . here’s hoping the Brewers will offer Hart enough money to stay in Milwaukee, where he’s comfortable and wants to continue playing.

Bad Weather, Bad Health

Folks, I haven’t had much to report in the past week-plus that’s any good, which is the main reason I haven’t blogged. My health is still terrible, I’m still trying to get better, and almost all of my energy is going toward my paying work (that, of course, being editing).

During this time, I’ve had to withdraw from participation in the December UW-Parkside Community Band concert due to my health continuing to act up, and I’ve hardly left the house except for doctor appointments and a few shopping trips (as despite it all, I still need food).

Today, though, there was a new threat: inclement weather.

We had at least five tornado warnings in Racine County this morning, it seemed like, and while all these didn’t pan out, they’re scary while they’re happening.  We’ve also had high winds, flash flooding, and many other problems we rarely see in November in Wisconsin, which has made Sunday enormously challenging all the way around.

Granted, we’ve been spared the devastation Illinois has suffered in a few places.  We’ve mostly been spared anything except for some cows dying, a few roofs blowing off, and of course traffic issues due to streets flooding out in various low-lying areas all over Wisconsin.

For my friends who live in Southeastern Wisconsin, I hope you all will be cautious and safe during this time.

Me, I plan to stay home.  (What a surprise, eh?) And if the winds stop blowing so hard, I’ll try to do some work later on, once I’ve caught up on a wee bit more rest.  (As it’s far from restful to hear siren after siren, though I’m very glad the sirens worked and were able to warn everyone, no lie.)

And it probably goes without saying, but here goes: May the week ahead be far, far better than this for us all.

Just Reviewed “The Ways of Winter” at SBR

Folks, tonight I wrote a review over at Shiny Book Review (SBR for short, as always) for Karen Myers’ THE WAYS OF WINTER, book two in her Hounds of Annwn series.  And because of the very nature of this review — where I called the book both “interesting” and “problematic,” something I don’t think I’ve ever done before — I needed to come right over here and give you all an after-action report even though I’m way under the weather (still) and obviously haven’t blogged all week until now.

I want to reiterate that I find Karen Myers’ work quite interesting.  She has a nice way of plotting that for the most part works for me.  I like her characterization.  I thought the inventiveness of getting a rock-wight into the plot — much less the rock-wight’s child in the bargain — was stellar.  And I truly believe she has a ton of potential.

However, when I see a book that’s not up to standard editorially — one that’s very far away from professional standard, to be blunt, in quite a number of respects — I have to say that.

It doesn’t give me any pleasure whatsoever to do so, mind you.  I know that Karen Myers is a relatively new writer with a handful of books out (book four in her Hounds of Annwn series is due in a few months, I believe) and a number of short stories.  She’s self-published, has a nice Web site, is doing many great things as an independent author and knows how to market herself impressively — all good.

It’s much easier for me to criticize someone like Debbie Macomber (with a hundred books out, or nearly) or Mercedes Lackey (with over forty books out) or even someone like Celine Kiernan, who like Myers was a new author with a few books out but was published by Orbit — so all of Ms. Kiernan’s unevenness in her plotline should’ve been fixed by one of Orbit’s professional editors long before it ever made it to the market.

Granted, I don’t particularly enjoy doing that, either, but at least I don’t feel terrible afterward as I did in the case of Ash Krafton recently and now Karen Myers as well.

As a reviewer, I have to say when I don’t like something, or my book reviews don’t mean a whole lot.  (If every book got an A-plus from me, why would you want to read my reviews?  You’d know that no matter what I said, it’s all the same sort of nonsense, right?)  I also have to say something because it’s the only way a writer might change something down the line.

No, it’s not likely.  But it’s at least possible.

As a professional editor, I can’t refuse to say when I think a book has not been well-edited.  I’ve had to do this before with a self-published author (Cedar Sanderson and her fun YA urban fantasy, VULCAN’S KITTENS), and I’ll probably have to do it again for all I know.

But it’s harder for me, as a writer myself, to write a review that’s as mixed as the one I wrote tonight.  I tried hard to point out all of Ms. Myers’ strengths — of which there are many — while also pointing out as many of the weaknesses I saw without giving too much away by way of unintentional spoilers.

Since you’re here, reading my own blog and this “after-action report,” I’m going to be a little more explicit about my problem with the way Ms. Myers ends THE WAYS OF WINTER.  (If you do not want your reading spoiled, look away now.  This is your one and only warning.)

My main problem was that Ms. Myers set up a thoroughly hissable villain, Madog, to get his comeuppance.  She showed over and over again just how nasty this Fae was, why his loss would only improve matters, and what a terrible excuse for a sentient being he was . . . but then, rather than showing Madog getting what he deserves, Madog’s death occurs off-screen!

So you’ve set yourself up a nasty villain, who every reader is going to want to see die horribly.  But then, you don’t really show him dying and only allude to it?

I realize Ms. Myers’ main character, George, was in no shape to narrate this.  But she had another character, Seething Magma, who’d had several POV scenes of her own.  Why not use Seething Magma’s POV to show this death so the reader will be able to fully enjoy Madog’s passing?

Then, this happens a little bit too early on to suit me also.  George is grievously wounded by Madog, and his rehabilitation is important to see, I agree.  But there’s really nothing else there other than some quiet wrapping-up stuff — good character moments for George and his new foster-son and his new wife, Angharad, to be sure, and I welcomed them.

But there’s nothing truly essential there.  We don’t find out anything else about where Creiddylad is (one of the villains from book one, the sister of George’s great-grandfather Gwyn ap Nudd).  We don’t see Seething Magma and her child reunite, really, either — again, it’s alluded to, but not really shown, that reunion, though we do at least see them together and presumably happy.

So the real emotional heart of the ending is Madog getting his comeuppance, which we don’t see.  Then we get George’s rehab, which is fine, but there’s nothing to contrast it against — it’s all, “Well, we’re nearly at Xmas, and George is the best Xmas present his wife Angharad could ever receive,” but nearly all of that is in subtext, too.

If I didn’t like Ms. Myers’ writing so much, I probably would’ve thrown the very nice soft-cover review copy she so graciously sent me months ago across the room.

Unlike Ash Krafton’s BLOOD RUSH, which was well-edited and competently executed (I didn’t like the romance, which I said), and Cedar Sanderson’s VULCAN’S KITTENS, which needed some editing work but the main plot points were very well executed and the emotional payoff scenes were all there, THE WAYS OF WINTER had a number of things I just can’t get behind.

And that’s a shame, because I do like Ms. Myers’ writing and want her career to succeed.

So that’s it — that’s why I gave Karen Myers’ THE WAYS OF WINTER a thoroughly mixed review with a “C” grade to boot.  I hope you can understand why . . . but even if you can’t, it’s late, I still have the nasty sinus infection to deal with, and somehow I have to try to get some rest.

—————–

As far as upcoming blogs go, I still hope to write that baseball wrap-up blog I’d discussed (no longer timely, but perhaps interesting anyway?) and maybe write a blog about the Milwaukee Bucks in the bargain.

One final update: If I can ever get my late husband Michael’s two stories to format properly, I hope to have them up at Amazon within the next several weeks.  This has been delayed partially due to being under the weather, partly because I’m very, very bad at formatting, and partly because what little energy I’ve had has gone toward the final, last-round edit of my book, ELFY, along with the edits I’m doing for a number of others.

I haven’t forgotten, and will not.  I know Michael still has fans.  I want them to enjoy his work.  And I want Michael’s work to find new fans — so these stories will come back out, once I finally have clean files to upload.

Promise.

Just Reviewed Dorothy Ours’ “Battleship” at SBR

Folks, this week I had the pleasure of reviewing Dorothy Ours’ new non-fiction epic BATTLESHIP: A Daring Heiress, A Teenage Jockey, and America’s Horse over at Shiny Book Review (SBR for short, as always).  The book is about Marion du Pont Scott, a horsewoman and heiress who owned the legendary stallion Battleship — the first American-born and -bred horse to win the British Grand National at Aintree, a particularly difficult and hazardous course.  But it’s also about so many other things, including one of Ms. du Pont Scott’s other horses, Trouble Maker, a horse with such a vibrant personality that it quite comes through seventy-plus years after his final race.

As it’s late and I’m still fighting the same, nasty sinus infection I discussed in yesterday’s blog post, all I’ll say right now about BATTLESHIP is this — it’s likely to be on my Top Ten Books of 2013 list, right alongside Katharine Eliska Kimbriel’s novels (new to me in ’13, at least) and Sean B. Carroll’s BRAVE GENIUS.

So yes, I do think if you love horses — Heck, even if you don’t — you should read BATTLESHIP without delay.  Then come back and let me know if you cried, too, when the gallant Trouble Maker fell during his last race and never got up again.  (Don’t worry.  I won’t tell.)

Quick Update, November 2013 Style

Folks, I haven’t had much time to write blogs or do much of anything this week aside from a spot of editing and a teensy bit of fiction writing.

There is, of course, a reason for that. Unfortunately, it’s the usual one: I’m under the weather. (Again.)

As I continue to fight for better health, I’m also continuing my fight to get the Racine Concert Band fully funded for 2014. And I do have news in that quarter — the RCB has been funded for next year, albeit at a much lesser level.

What this means is twofold: the RCB will continue. (Yay!) But the RCB will have eight performances rather than thirteen, one being the City of Racine July 4th Parade, and will become a summer band only. (Boo!)

I’m not sure what else I can do, if anything at all, to affect the outcome. But whatever I can do, I will.

Anyway, as for what I plan for the upcoming week — over at SBR, I plan to review one non-fiction book tomorrow, BATTLESHIP (about the horse, not the game), and will have an interview with author Stephanie Osborn up by the end of next week. And here at my blog, I plan to discuss the World Series (the good, the bad, and the really odd) along with a brief bit about Carlos Gomez winning the first Gold Glove for the Milwaukee Brewers since 1982. (Mind you, had Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin kept shortstop J.J. Hardy, we would’ve had two by now, as Hardy won in both 2012 and 2013 over in the American League.)

And, as always, if there’s anything that says to me, “Write about me right now,” I promise I’ll do just that.

For now, though, it’s back to some mint tea and soup (which is simmering in the stove even as I write this), in the hopes that by taking it easy I’ll be able to work up a storm tomorrow. (Here’s hoping.)