Friday Musings

Coming down from yesterday's high after a great interview with Brett Battles, I found my newest writer friend Sandra Ruttan's Blogthings Quiz a nice distraction. The Quiz of the day is "What Color Should Your Blog Be?" Here's my result:

Your Blog Should Be Green

Your blog is smart and thoughtful - not a lot of fluff. You enjoy a good discussion, especially if it involves picking apart ideas. However, you tend to get easily annoyed by any thoughtless comments in your blog.

Not sure if "annoyed" is quite the right word there, but so far I haven't had to deal with any "thoughtless" comments. Most of you are very thoughtful. ;) And does this mean I need to change the appearance of my blog? 'Cause I kinda like it the way it is. I grew up near Indianapolis, and the Indy 500 is a big deal round those parts. Used to be that green on a race car was a bad luck omen. S'pose that works for blogs too?

Yesterday I finished reading the ARC (advanced reading copy, for you non-writers out there) of Judy Clemens' third book, To Thine Own Self Be True. I posted my review on DorothyL, but for those of you who aren't subscribers, here it is:

To Thine Own Self Be True is the third entry in the Stella Crown series, following Three Can Keep a Secret and the Agatha and Anthony Award-nominated Till the Cows Come Home. The first two books in this series left me wanting more, and Clemens does not disappoint.

Stella Crown rarely takes a break from managing her Pennsylvania dairy farm, but in the midst of the Christmas season she treats herself to a new tattoo. Halfway through the sitting at Wolf Ink, her tattoo artist and his wife, Mandy, disappear into the back room. Stella, whipped (and comfortable in her chair), dozes off and, when she awakes, annoyed to realize they've not come back, drives home. Before long, the police arrive to inform her that Mandy has been discovered dead - knocked out and left to freeze - behind the tattoo parlor, while Wolf is nowhere to be found.

Angry and guilt-stricken that she hasn't protected her friends, Stella sets out to assist the cops and rescue the missing Wolf. With the help of an old flame who's arrived at the farm, Stella dives into the world of tattooing, where she finds not only a close-knit and knowledgeable community, but also an underworld of back-alley hacks, stolen designs, and violent patrons, plus some looming and controversial state legislation.

Stella, stymied by more suspects than answers, knows that to be true to herself, she must first do everything in her power to get Wolf back where he belongs.

Stella Crown's world is so easy to get lost in, I found myself racing through the pages until I'd reached the end without realizing how fast I'd arrived there. Stella is an endearing if quirky character, one tough cookie with a heart of gold and a fierce loyalty to her friends and her farm. Clemens surrounds her protagonist with equally captivating characters, from Stella's stalwart farmhand Lucy to Tess, Lucy's energetic eight-year-old daughter, and Stella's biker buddy Lenny, Lucy's boyfriend. Similarly intriguing are the characters Clemens creates in the world of body modification (Stella herself sports several tattoos, including one of a cow's skull on the back of her neck) - the teenager with the orange hair and tongue stud, the tattoo artist with a map of the globe inked into his scalp - as well as the determined female police detective working to find Wolf and solve Mandy's murder. And then there's the "old flame", whose reappearance plunges Stella into an emotional maelstrom and forces her to face some tough decisions - ones she's not sure she's ready to make. Clemens does an outstanding job of intertwining the characters' personal relationships with moving the mystery along at a fairly good clip, so that you won't want to put this book down until you've finished it.

To Thine Own Self Be True is the best of the series so far, with a completely satisfying conclusion. Let's hope this will be the next in a long line of delightful books from Judy Clemens.

I have it on good authority that there will be a fourth book in this series - yay! If you haven't met Stella Crown yet, you should. She's a treasure.

With all the excitement of my little twin sister J.T. Ellison getting her book deal, I have a renewed sense of purpose in my quest to find an agent. I have the CD player cranking, the coffee pot is heating up my water (since I burned up my copper kettle), and I'm settling in to knock out a few more queries. There is an agent out there for me, somewhere, and I'm not going to give up until I find her/him. To quote my great friend the Georgia Peach, y'all pray.

Music of the Moment: Respighi, Pines of Rome: Pines of the Appian Way

Read a book. It's good for you!

=) JB