Ten Things ...

[snarkywench_64]

... That Make It a SnarkyWench Story.

I saw this going around on the fantasy writers communities a couple of months ago. Several fan fic writers have done it, as well, and since bambu345 said she'd be able to do one for me (since she's my beta) I thought I'd do it and see if my ten things agree with her ten things.

Comments

[ozratbag2]

Christmas takes a hell of a toll out of parents. All of my friends with children all do as much overtime as they can before and after to pay for things. I just play the indulgent 'aunt' and am known for buying odd things - like books. :p

When we're quiet we can surf as well (once we frisk one of the Drs for the passwords), but LJ is already blocked, which is a bugger. I took my laptop in one night, ostensibly to study for my advanced drug test, but had an entertaining night...with no study.

Sometimes it's days and days between LJ visits, and I only get caught up on the most recent posts.

*nods*

Same here, and night duty leaves me wanting sleep rather than anything else. I am going to consciously try and make time, though it will probably be sporadic, because I miss the friendships here too much.

Have any recommendations?

I've got 2 for you, but the first one is definitely the best.

The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon by Richard Zilmer, is superb and I think you'd enjoy it, because not only is it historical fiction, but it's a fantastic murder-mystery at the same time. It centres around the expulsion of the Jewish population from Portugal in the 16th century. It's only in first person, though from memory there is a little bit of dialogue. I can't find my copy, which means my brother has been 'shopping' again. The link is to Amazon.

The second story is again only written in first person, and is about the purging of the heretical Cathars in 13th century France.
The Treasure of Montsegur: A Novel of the Cathars by Sophy Burnham. It's certainly not as good as the first pick, but it's still an interesting read, because Burnham has all of the dialogue in first person from Jeanne's perspective as well. Some of the reviews on Amazon are a bit iffy, but I think what they've forgotten is that Burnham, (who is better known for a book on Angels which is very twee), tends to go off on a specific tangent, thus ignoring some of the history. Basically, she has her own agenda, which is always going to be at odds with history.

If people only look at this only from the point of view of the history, then they're going to be disappointed. It's very well written in some places, and bogs down in others, but I think that's mainly because Burnham is trying (and it shows in places) to be a 13th century woman struggling to basically survive.

I tend to use it as a study aid, reading bits and pieces of it if I find my 'voice' is wavering, in either fanfic or the never ending original story.

I've got a few others, but I haven't had time to read them yet, and 2 of them look like I'll get about halfway through, and then get frustrated once they run off the rails.

Take care, my dear - and look after yourself. :D