Donald Westlake Day

You can read reviews of some of Donald Westlake's books at Patti Abbott's place today. Patti has dedicated this Forgotten Book Friday to Westlake, in celebration of Hard Case Crime's publication of his last book, The Comedy is Finished. Westlake, who died in 2008, wrote more than 100 books. Included in Patti's roundup is an expanded version of the review I did here of Trust Me On This.

21st Century Conversation Hearts- Happy Valentine's Day!

Okay, so they've officially made conversation hearts taste different. I've had batches from a few different places, which I'm convinced all come from the same one place, like fortune cookies. Anyway, they used to be bland sugar pastels, and every color tasted the same.  Now, it seems like they're crossed with Sweet Tarts (even the non-officially S.T. kinds), are trying to have a different flavor per color. Instead of being fruity or sweet, they now taste to me like chalky orange baby aspirins or Di-Gel, if you remember that antacid.

But that's not all that's novel--now they come with modern entreaties, without the old curved letters pressed into the surface, but "computer looking" ones sprayed onto the surface to look like old, pixelated inkjet fonts.  Of course, text messaging is made-to-order for the tiny amount of printable space on candy hearts the size of my fingernail, and here's the new version of Valentine's Day sweetness:

 If you can't read them very well, here are the messages, L 2 R,  as the kids say.

U-R GR8, HOT MAIL, CRAZY 4 U, EZ 2 PLZ, HIGH 5,
U-GO GIRL, TWEET ME, PLEZ DO, U-R CUTE, E-MAIL, ME 4U
MAD4 YOU, TEXT ME, JUST 4-U
MEGA KISS, U-R SURE, CHAT ME, GR8 DATE, U-R HOT

Is your sentimental heart pitty-patting faster?
Screw sonnets--Have a GR8 V-DAY!

Ink

I've mentioned before that I write with a fountain pen. This necessitates fountain pen ink which I use in cartridge form. Most of my pens take standard European/International cartridges, though my oft-used Namiki Vanishing Point takes Pilot special cartridges, necessitated by the weird makeup that allows you to have a clickable fountain pen. Yep, push the button the nib comes out, push it again, the nib retracts.

Anyway, the other day, I was writing along with my Namiki and green ink and my hand started to hurt, so I switched to my Waterman, which has a wider barrel and allows my fingers to relax a bit. (The tradeoff is that the Waterman is heavier because of its solid brass barrel--never buy a fountain pen without seeing how it feels in your hand, because everyone will have different taste in what feels right.) When I started with the Waterman, I expected the color to change and I was intensely disappointed that I also had green ink in the Waterman. I know that sometimes I am in the mood for a certain color, but that made me wonder...

With new eReaders like the Nook Color and the Kindle Fire, what would happen if you changed the color of the text as you read? What would you think if an author wrote a book and hard-coded color changes into the text?

Talk Talk

I’ve long admired T.C. Boyle’s short stories, but hadn’t read any of his novels until I picked up Talk Talk, originally published in 2006, when I was browsing in the library a week or so ago. He hooked me with the opening:

“She was running late, always running late, a failing of hers, she knew it, but then she couldn’t find her purse and once she did manage to locate it (underneath her blue corduroy jacket on the coat tree in the front hall), she couldn’t find her keys. They should have been in her purse, but they weren’t, and so she’d made a circuit of the apartment—two circuits, three—before she thought to look through the pockets of the jeans she’d worn the day before, but where were they?”

Here’s the set up. Dana Halter, a thirty-three year old deaf teacher, late for work, sails through a stop sign and is pulled over by a cop. After running her information through the computer and learning she’s a wanted felon, he orders her out of the car, cuffs her, and takes her in. Dana can’t believe this is happening, and neither can the reader. We’re sure she’s not a criminal, and figure out before the cops do that her identity has been stolen. When she's finally released, Dana is determined to find the thief. With the help of her boyfriend, special effects designer Bridger Martin, she tracks down the man passing as Dana Halter—William “Peck” Wilson, a rage-driven narcissist who discards identities like used tissues—and pursues him across the country.

In an interview at Penguin.com, Boyle seemed to bristle when Talk Talk was described as a thriller, a designation, he thinks, that “limits the reader’s expectations.” A pompous response, maybe, but I understand his disclaimer. Character, in this book, drives the plot. When Boyle shifts points of view, as many thriller writers do, between the pursuer and the pursued, tension builds in part because we know Peck Wilson’s capacity for violence, but more because we feel so intensely Dana’s need to make him pay for what he’s put her through. Living in her skin, we’ve gotten a glimmer, at least, of what it feels like not only to have your identity stolen, but to be a deaf person in a hearing world. We feel Bridger’s conflict as well, wanting to support Dana, but wishing she could let it go so that he could resume his life. As for Wilson, we don’t empathize with him for a second, but we know him and understand what drives him.

Thriller or not, doesn’t matter. I say forget the labels and get your hands on this very suspenseful book.

Short Story Contest: Legal Fiction

If you happen to have an unpublished short story related to law school or the practice of law, this is your lucky day.

The Association of American Law Schools' Journal of Legal Education (JLE) and Southwestern Law School have announced the first JLE Legal Fiction Contest. The winning entries will be published in a future issue of the JLE.

The distinguished panel of judges will include Michael Connelly, Denise Hamilton, Marshall Goldberg, and Charles Rosenberg.

Submissions must be in prose form, previously unpublished, under 5,000 words, and submitted by March 15, 2012. The fictitious story should be in a legal setting (law school, law firm, courtroom, legislature, judge's chambers, etc.) or focusing on a law-related character (lawyer, law professor, judicial clerk, etc.).

Entries will be reviewed anonymously and judged on originality, quality of writing and depth of character. Ten winners will be announced in June 2012, and their stories will be

published in the Journal of Legal Education: The Fiction Issue in early 2013.

Additionally, the ten winners and ten runner-up entries will be posted online. Authors will retain copyright ownership. For further details, check out the submission requirements.

Do you have a legal fiction tale ready to go? One to polish and submit? Tempted to draft and work on a submission? Let us know ~ and good luck!

Come follow me on Twitter @katcop13.

Postagram

Flipping through the latest issue of Family Circle, I spotted an interesting item featured in the "Inner Circle" section ("A roundup of smart talk, hot trends and cool stuff"); a free app called "Postagram." Snap a photo with your iPhone or Android (or choose one from your library or Facebook), add a message (up to 140 characters) and a real postcard (personalized with a profile photo of the sender) will be snail-mailed to family or friends anywhere in the world for 99 cents (U.S. delivery takes 2-5 days, international delivery, a bit longer). A 3x3 inch photo even pops out of the postcard.

Postagram is one of the products available from Sincerely, Inc. They also offer: PopBooth (an app for iPhone and iPad that turns 4 photos into a photo strip); Sincerely Ink (create & mail cards from your iPhone, iPad, or Android ~ very convenient for Valentine's Day) and Dotti (a disposable camera app for iPhone and Android).

I've always been an avid postcard-sender. Before traveling, I routinely pick up postage stamps so I don't have to hunt for them after buying postcards. The use of this nifty service saves the steps of buying postcards and postage stamps ~ and talk about personalization ~ all for 99 cents! Amazing.

On the Importance of the Appropriate Comma

That is all.

[Hat tip: @Vickie_Motter]