Cornelia Rocks!

From Paul--

I'm bored.

I'm reading galley proofs of my next book, KILL ALL THE LAWYERS, due out in September. I don't know about my fellow bloggers, but by this point in the process, I'm bored silly. I've written and re-written, and re-written some more. I've polished the prose and sharpened the plot, and now it's time to move on before I start to hate my characters so much I kill all of them.

But reading gallley proofs is required. And sure enough, there are the usual typos. "Neiman Marcus" is misspelled. A few pronouns dangle out in space like lost astronauts, unsure of who they are or where they're going. Dialogue that seemed so perceptive and witty months ago needs tweaking. A few lines should be taken out, blindfolded, and shot.

So yesterday I put down my pages and picked up Cornelia Read's A FIELD OF DARKNESS.

Terrific! What an astounding first novel. Vivid characters, a fresh plot, and startling wordplay. That's all I'm going to say. Read it! Cornelia, you pulled me from the swamp of my own making.

And now, back to the mundane task of pouring over my own damn pages. Excuse me. "Poring" over. At this point, the only thing that might "pour" over these words is Blase Azul tequila.

Paul Levine