This reminded me of my long, happy stint reviewing crime fiction at the Detroit Free Press, including books by James Lee Burke and Joe Landsdale. I still have my ABA Collector'sl Edition of Cadillac Jukebox!
I am not that comfortable with English also the term "fever pitch" left me puzzled: Is it anything to do with Nick Hornby's novel that all soccer fan enjoy?
I'm not familiar with Hornby's novel. I used the expression "fever pitch" as a story title for a double word play. It means "extreme state of excitement" (which is what the intruder displays, he's definitely very worked up!) and there's also the real "fever", in the medical sense. The illness that he carries inside and will make him "pitch" to the floor. Sometimes, titles just fit just right. Merci d'avoir pris le temps de lire, Yves! Et j'apprecie le commentaire.
Thanks for this nice read about “place.” We writers are responsible for building a credible setting and atmosphere in which our characters can take root and thrive. Our readers can fall in love with it too!
Beautifully written post, Martine. I’m jealous of your writerly travels. The Lansdale’s you mention are some of my favourites. And of course I’d love to traipse Robicheaux country.
Sense of place is very Important to me, both in what I read and in my own writing.
I often think of the atmosphere created by these writers when I’m developing the places in my work... almost making the setting a character.
It's the sensory layers... very hard to do. Get that organic feeling without sounding overwrought or stupidly elegiac. It's a delicate balance. You have to dare go overboard somewhat, poetic. I can't sustain half a page of it like Burke, lol. Two sentences max before I get self conscious....
I've read or listened to almost all of the Robicheaux books. The last few, I realized I was about done with the villainous darkness. Even so, I love James Lee Burke for the sense of place he evokes, in whatever he writes.
I wish more writers would write about place the way James Lee Burke does. It seems like any books set in the English-speaking world gravitate toward California, New York, London, Paris.
We need more Lenexa, Kansas or Omaha. Heck even Denver. Place is powerful. I’m jealous of your road trip. I love the work of James Lee Burke and I’d love to see the places he wrote about.
When I was in grad school I used to make the occasional trip down to Lolo Montana where he lived at the time, and I would fantasize about running into him randomly.
He still lives in Montana, from what the bookseller in town told me. Sold his place in New Iberia a few years ago. I love authors who bring you the smells and sounds of a particular location, and then, when you go there, it's just like you pictured. Or almost. Like Stephen King and Bangor (Derry). You feel something when you walk along the banks of the Kenduskeag Stream...
This reminded me of my long, happy stint reviewing crime fiction at the Detroit Free Press, including books by James Lee Burke and Joe Landsdale. I still have my ABA Collector'sl Edition of Cadillac Jukebox!
I am not that comfortable with English also the term "fever pitch" left me puzzled: Is it anything to do with Nick Hornby's novel that all soccer fan enjoy?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fever_Pitch
I'm not familiar with Hornby's novel. I used the expression "fever pitch" as a story title for a double word play. It means "extreme state of excitement" (which is what the intruder displays, he's definitely very worked up!) and there's also the real "fever", in the medical sense. The illness that he carries inside and will make him "pitch" to the floor. Sometimes, titles just fit just right. Merci d'avoir pris le temps de lire, Yves! Et j'apprecie le commentaire.
Thanks for this nice read about “place.” We writers are responsible for building a credible setting and atmosphere in which our characters can take root and thrive. Our readers can fall in love with it too!
Beautifully written post, Martine. I’m jealous of your writerly travels. The Lansdale’s you mention are some of my favourites. And of course I’d love to traipse Robicheaux country.
Sense of place is very Important to me, both in what I read and in my own writing.
I often think of the atmosphere created by these writers when I’m developing the places in my work... almost making the setting a character.
It's the sensory layers... very hard to do. Get that organic feeling without sounding overwrought or stupidly elegiac. It's a delicate balance. You have to dare go overboard somewhat, poetic. I can't sustain half a page of it like Burke, lol. Two sentences max before I get self conscious....
I've read or listened to almost all of the Robicheaux books. The last few, I realized I was about done with the villainous darkness. Even so, I love James Lee Burke for the sense of place he evokes, in whatever he writes.
I wish more writers would write about place the way James Lee Burke does. It seems like any books set in the English-speaking world gravitate toward California, New York, London, Paris.
We need more Lenexa, Kansas or Omaha. Heck even Denver. Place is powerful. I’m jealous of your road trip. I love the work of James Lee Burke and I’d love to see the places he wrote about.
When I was in grad school I used to make the occasional trip down to Lolo Montana where he lived at the time, and I would fantasize about running into him randomly.
He still lives in Montana, from what the bookseller in town told me. Sold his place in New Iberia a few years ago. I love authors who bring you the smells and sounds of a particular location, and then, when you go there, it's just like you pictured. Or almost. Like Stephen King and Bangor (Derry). You feel something when you walk along the banks of the Kenduskeag Stream...