National Library Week!

In celebration of National Library Week (April 13-19), Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett, aka Lorna Barrett, has posted an item on the blog Writers Plot about her early library experiences and the crucial role libraries have played in developing a readership for her books.

I'll never forget the library where I grew up in Queens, NY. Old and wooden, with a ceiling that seemed as high as the sky and a second-level tier of stacks that ran above the first floor stacks around the central reading area, I felt like I was entering a cathedral every time I went inside. I fell in love with the place and wanted to read every book I could get my hands on.

By the time I got to high school, I could get so lost in a book, I'd completely tune out my surroundings. One time, I was reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn while waiting to see my guidance counselor. I was so absorbed in the story by the time he called me, he had to repeat my name several times and was almost shouting before I heard him.

I still think of libraries as wondrous places--repositories of knowledge, as well as a place where you can escape to a variety of fictional worlds created by a multitude of authors--for free. And they are a great place for new and mid-list authors to have their books, given the difficulty most of us have getting them into stores. Libraries help attract readers. And to paraphrase the line from Field of Dreams, if you build a readership, perhaps one day the stores will come.

So let us all celebrate and support our local libraries. We would all be the poorer without them.

"Just give me Peace" she said, Singleton, Hippie Art

"Just Give Me Peace" she said....(c) Singleton 2008Over and over again,a mantra,a record grooving, grindinggrating,on the same old wordsmakin' musicoutavinyl dreams.She dances in the dark,in the early mornin'peace,makin' love to thenew day,gifted,free.....scribblin' love letters to the past,stone washed,torn,and raveled.....but,it's all the same....a mantra,a record,grooving, grinding, gratingon

J.K. Rowling, Now Appearing--In Court

Today, author J.K. Rowling was supposed to testify in the trial of her suit against a small press, RDR Books, that was planning to publish a book based on a popular fan Web site called "The Harry Potter Lexicon".

Rowling and Warner Brothers, the studio that's adapted her books to film, argue against the book's issuance because they claim it repackages Rowling's work in order to make money for the publisher, while the fan site is done for free.

Roger Rapoport, publisher of RDR Books, says he thinks the print and Web versions of the lexicon can co-exist without harming Rowling. "We don't think we're a threat to J. K. Rowling," Rapoport said in an interview, adding that the book's author received a "tiny advance" last August and that the publisher planned to print about 10,000 copies.

Review: 'Songs of Innocence' Hits the Right Notes

Richard Aleas' latest book, SONGS OF INNOCENCE (Hard Case Crime, 2007), is a great hardboiled crime novel with a basic good-guy protagonist, John Blake. Retreating from the tough world of private investigation to the realm of academia, after suffering some traumatic events in connection with a case (which I presume was the subject of the preceding novel, LITTLE GIRL LOST), Blake nonetheless gets drawn back into danger when a vulnerable young girl he's befriended is found dead in her bathtub of an apparent suicide.

Convinced that she didn't kill herself, Blake starts investigating her death, and in doing so, attracts the attention of a dangerous criminal element and, eventually, the police. Richard Aleas (the nom de plume of Charles Ardai, founder of Hard Case Crime) ratchets up the pace and suspense in this dark, disturbing tale that ends on a noir twist that will leave readers gasping with surprise.

Review: Faust's 'Money Shot' Hits the Spot

Christa Faust wastes no time getting into her story in MONEY SHOT (Hard Case Crime, 2008), another stellar bit of pulp fiction from the folks at Hard Case Crime. When we meet porn star-turned-adult modeling agent Angel Dare, she's tied up in the trunk of a car after being beaten and raped. How she gets that way and what happens afterward make for riveting reading. Angel finds herself on the run, being chased by thugs who think she knows more than she does and hunted by police who think she killed one of her friends. With help from her agency's security man, ex-cop Lalo Malloy, Angel must stay hidden, while investigating how she ended up in her predicament and trying to clear her name.

Faust gives Angel a sharp, no-nonsense, and wise-cracking 'tude, yet manages to reveal her vulnerabilities without making her look weak. Written in the terse but vivid style of the genre, MONEY SHOT is a fast-paced ride through the dark side of the porn industry, and Christa Faust is a wonderful new addition to the growing sorority of female noir writers.

Amazon Gears Up For the Digital Revolution

Amazon is making serious moves toward promoting the digital revolution in entertainment. ZDNet reports that the online sales giant, which has been so successful in moving physical copies of books, music and movies, is taking serious steps toward selling digital entertainment products.

In the realm of books, Amazon has already released the Kindle electronic book reader. Since the device hit the market last December, demand for the Kindle has outstripped the company's supply. And with sales across the book publishing industry flat, Amazon no doubt hopes that e-books will enjoy the same growth in popularity as digital music and movies. (Interestingly, Amazon is also trying to corner the print-on-demand market by making publishers use its BookSurge division if they want the sell their titles on Amazon, a move that has raised some author hackles.)

A lot of it, I think, will depend on how user-friendly the Kindle ends up being. I've never used it, but I've heard good buzz about it. It's supposed to be a convenient size, and the view screen is reputed to be easy on the eyes. So who knows? Maybe even an old fogey like me can be weaned off paper books someday.

But not today.

Pixies for Peace, Singleton Hippie Art

Pixies for Peace(c) Singleton 2008Featured here nowI twirl my hair...fingertips twyning,macrame'ingbraidingtwistinga cobweb ofyellow,golden,peace ~love for free,castingshadows on your dashboard...christmas tinselscattered everywhere...the tell-tale signs I've been here....I fold tin foil,roll it,coil itinto sudden snakes,1000 peace signs,and suspend theminmid~air flight,on broken branches,