One of my book clubs met last Friday. In our book club we read an author, not just one book. Members pick any book by a chosen author and we discuss the pros and cons of the writing style and how an author’s style often changes over years of writing.

This last author we reviewed was James Herriot. I read his novel ‘All Creatures Great and Small’. Way too much medical detail for me and a couple other readers in the books we read. But, the people in the group with a medical background loved the detail. His grammar and technique was good and the pacing of his stories moved his stories along nicely. He did have some well developed, interesting characters that kept this readers interest. At the end of our meetings we vote on whether we would read him again. He got a fifty-fifty rating as half would read another one of his books and half would not.

Next month we are reading books by Brandt Legg, a mystery and crime author. From his background in real life, he sounds exciting.

Still working on my ‘Malie’ novel. This week it has required a lot of research into electricity in the Yukon. I was surprised at how far back in time that distant area did have electricity. The plot is really intriguing and I look forward to moving the characters along each day.

Let me leave you with a quote from mystery writer, Brad Meltzer. “Here’s a secret. As a writer you can only be as good as the readers you share your first drafts with.” One of the book club members, Jean, found this and shared it with the book club. It is so true.