Race Writing...

Tess Gerritsen, MD and author of too many books to count has posted a very nice and painfully honest column over at Muderati about race, writing, and readers. In essence, the question is asked whether a non-white protag will do worse in sales than a white protag.

My experience, so far, is that anything I try to write (as a non-white) is bound for financial failure... That could just be me. Certainly, some have made this work for them - Walter Moseley comes to mind. Alexander McCall Smith, too. Tony Hillerman. Still, I do have some questions that I'll repeat from my comment on Tess's blog:

There might be a difference also between people of color among their own kind as opposed to out and about in the white world. Also, people of color who don't raise a fist - Mma. Ramotswe, for instance. A black detective in Harlem? No problem. A black detective raising a gun at whites in Westchester County? Maybe not so good. Again. I don't know. I wouldn't doubt you if you said there is a successful, serious series with a black detective in Beverly Hills. Eddie Murphy already did the comic side of things.

What thinkst thou?

Now That I Have the Kindle App...

I just downloaded the free Kindle app for my PC, and it certainly is pretty. Can't take my desktop to the beach or anything, and I don't think I'd take a real kindle there either. Rogue waves you know... But I don't mind reading some things on the computer screen - short story collections sound especially tempting. So far, I've added three titles to my "to be bought" (tbb*) list: Iain Rowan's Nowhere to Go, IJ Parker's The Masuda Affair and Steve Hockensmith's Dear Mr. Holmes.

Two collections and a novel. Cannot wait for Parker to get her short stories on Kindle. Those stories are absolutely fabulous. I've reviewed all three authors before and thoroughly enjoyed their work.

Learn more about Rowan here. More about Parker here. And if you don't know about Hockensmith yet, try looking here. Hockensmith's blog is particularly funny, so if you're looking for a smile, it's not a bad place to go.


* tbb - I think I've coined a new acronym - I call dibs - registered trademark... Patent pending...

Osama's Dead?

The President announced that Osama Bin Laden's been killed. Hard to believe. Apparently the US Army has the body? Good news since nobody would believe Osama was dead without a body. Maybe not even with one.

Unbelieveable. Hard to say what I feel now. I've known so many people who've done their tour in Afghanistan - we all do. And sure, the war on terror may have helped keep terror from our shores. Wonderful. No sarcasm. But now it seems like a long held goal has been achieved, and I can't help but hope the world is a better place now. Now it feels like so much sacrifice by so many good people has been rewarded with a tangible reward.

I'll have a joke or two tomorrow. Tonight I go to sleep in an Osama-less world, and, strangely, I thank God for it.