Books about Librarians

When was the last time you visited a library?  How long has it been since you asked a librarian a reference question?   These days, it seems like the only people who go to the library are those wanting to use the Internet or check out DVDs.  It's a favorite hang-out for the homeless or those seeking either an air-conditioned or heated place to camp out all day and night until closing.  The times they are a changin' as Bob Dylan says.

I started working in a law library in 1983.  It was the heyday of libraries. It was interesting work and we had a lot of lawyers as patrons, before Lexis/Nexis came along.  The library was in the civic center where all the county business took place.  Our library was between the Federal and the State building, so there was always a lot of buzz and never a boring day.  When the governor visited our library, his body guards were stationed atop the State Building with their rifles drawn and ready. Before Bill Clinton was nominated for a second term, he came to the old county courthouse to give a speech.  My friends and I walked over to see him and passed  through security that was similar to what you'd find at an airport.

The people I worked with were all college educated and three were former lawyers.  We used to have enjoyable conversations about politics, TV, movies, and each other (there was a lot of office politics that I did my best to steer clear of). I was one of the writers of the library's newsletter so it was fun coming up with ideas for my articles.  I got to go to other libraries on field trips on work time.  One of my favorite's was the National Archives in Laguna Niguel where I saw how and where all the boxes of data were stored.  I'll never forget the time when the library's electronic compact shelving malfunctioned and almost crushed to death one of my coworkers.

I used that background for the first novel I wrote that takes place in a library.  It is called "Death Among the Stacks: The Body in the Law Library".  I had Agatha Christie's detective, Hercule Poirot, in mind when I wrote this book with my husband.  We wanted it to be a story with multiple suspects who, in the last chapter, are summoned by the detective, who then grills them in front of everyone, saying why he suspected each one until he finally reveals whodunit.

Death Among the Stacks:

The Body in the Law Library

by Louise Hathaway

The second book about libraries I wrote is a romantic comedy.  It's about a librarian who goes to a performance at a mystery dinner theater where someone is actually killed--definitely not part of the act.  A handsome detective comes to investigate and she falls madly in love with him.  This one is a little racy: her fantasies about him are quite graphic (and very funny).

Watchin' the Detective:

A Mystery Dinner Romance

by Louise Hathaway

These books are available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo Books, Smashwords and Oyster

Available in paperback at Amazon

Travel to New Orleans

Have you always wanted to go to New Orleans?  If so, come along with fictional characters Don and Isabella as they discover the wonders of New Orleans on their honeymoon. Learn about their favorite romantic spots, best places to eat, and favorite places to visit. This travelogue also includes helpful websites to consider before planning your next vacation.

Honeymoon in New Orleans

By Louise Hathaway

$1.99

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Punctuation Can Be Fun

Many times when I’ve told people that I was an English Major, I am answered by a groan and someone saying, “I hated that class in school.”  Why?  They often answer, “Too much memorization of stupid rules.”  I’d like to stick up for those “stupid rules”: I think that they are important because misuse of punctuation marks can lead to confusion; and isn’t writing ultimately about communicating, not confusing?  Here’s the best description of the importance of these rules: “Punctuation marks are the traffic signals of language: they tell us to slow down, take notice, or stop.”  This quote is taken from Lynne Truss’s book, “Eats, Shoots and Leaves.”   She provides several funny examples of misused punctuation.  Consider her title.  It was taken from a sentence she read that was presumably was about the eating habits of pandas; but the way it’s written, it makes you think that the panda had a gun: he ate his food, shot his gun, and then walked away.  Obviously, that’s not what the writer intended and there shouldn’t be a comma in his description.  Frank McCourt, the noted writer and humorist, said that Lynne Truss should be nominated for sainthood; and he should know about the need for rules about punctuation: he taught English and most likely saw several examples of bad writing over the years.

Here’s a funny example from her book about the misuse of apostrophes: she had seen a sign about a large play area for kids that said: “Giant Kid’s Playground.”  Would you want your child playing with the kid of a giant?  I sure wouldn’t.

Do you overuse exclamation points in your writing?  Truss quotes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s description of them.  He says, “An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own joke.”  She says that they are “like a big attention-deficit brother who gets over-excited, breaks things, and laughs too loudly.”  This is definitely something we should keep in mind in our writing.  I do not want to over-use them.

I write books with my husband and he’s asked me for help in knowing where he should use commas.  I tell him to imagine saying a sentence aloud, and whenever you pause, you probably will need a comma or some other punctuation mark.  Like Lynne Truss says, “they tell us when to slow down.”

Have you ever wondered where to use a colon in your writing?  Here’s her rule: “they deliver the goods that have been invoiced by the preceding words.”  I use colons a lot in my writing and I love this rule. Here’s an example of the correct way to use a colon: in “The Hound of Baskerville”, Sherlock Holmes says, “This much is clear Watson: it was the baying of an enormous hound.”  The writer should imagine saying a delighted and satisfying, “Yes”, where the colon comes.  Colons are nearly always preceded by a complete sentence and are used to precede lists.  When should you use semi-colons?  They are used to combine two related complete sentences when there is no conjunction (and, or, nor, but).

I wonder if someday soon, because of text messaging and Twitter, things like good grammar, spelling, and punctuation will be seen as a dying art; like using a fountain pen and going to the post office to buy commemorative stamps to mail your correspondence and cards.  In my own fiction writing, I use a lot of sentence fragments because I think they make the paragraph more dramatic; so, there is a time and place to bend the rules; but I liked to think that when I read articles from Time Magazine or Smithsonian, the writers will continue to use sentences that deliver the goods and tell me when to slow down, take notice, or stop.  I have to admit, though, that misuse of punctuation marks can lead to some hilarious and unintended meanings which are always fun to catch.

What is your favorite Jane Austen novel?

I had never read Jane Austen until the semester before I received my Master's Degree in English. Isn't that odd?  What took so long?  I think Jane was a bit looked down upon in the "serious" literature department: I remember how my classmates dismissed Pride and Prejudice as "a story about a bunch of girls wanting to get married."  That's what they said to me when I announced that I wanted to write my research paper on it.

Needless to say, I loved Jane from the very first page of Pride and Prejudice.  I'm from a family of a lot of girls, so the characters and their concerns seem very real to me.  Add to that attraction, I loved everything British:"Masterpiece Theatre," The Rollings Stones, Twiggy, Yardley lipstick--I could go on and on.

Looking back, from where I am in my life right now, I would choose "Sense and Sensibility" as my favorite Jane Austen novel.  To me, it echoed my relationship with my sisters; especially between my younger sister and myself.  She and I would often say about the novel that she was the "Sense" to my "Sensibility": she was the one who went for the bad boys; for the roller coaster ride; while I played it safe in my world of prudence and sensibility.

My younger sister died six years ago.  I often think about Jane Austen's novel as it pertains to her: I remember discussing it with my sister and saying that the scene in the novel where Marianne almost dies is how I would feel towards her if anything ever happened to her.

Unfortunately, my fears came true when my sister, like Marianne in the novel, had a life-threatening illness.  Marianne survived; but my sister did not.  I loved her with my heart and soul and I dedicate my book to her:

Nonsense and Sensibility: 

A Modern Austen Variation

By Louise Hathaway

Available for $1.99 at iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo Books, Smashword, and Oyster.

Jane Austen and Sense and Sensibility

30% Off.  Only $1.99

Nonsense and Sensibility:

A Modern Austen Variation

by: Louise Hathaway

$1.99 at Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Google Play, Kobo and Smashwords

This romantic comedy is a modern version of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. It’s the story of two American sisters and the men who love them. Elinor, the older of the two, is the sensible one who is prudent and dependable. In contrast, Marianne is the passionate one guided by her emotions who tends to get carried away, especially when it comes to love. Will she choose bad boy Willoughby who comes to her rescue on his mighty steed, or Colonel Brandon, an older man who could offer her a lifetime of safe and dependable love? Will Elinor and her true love, Edward, ever be free to marry? Will Lucy ever let him go? Find out in this story, told with deep and abiding love for the inimitable Jane Austen.

Mysteries and Time Travel Novel Half-Off at Smashwords

This month, I am offering five books for 50% off at Smashwords.com.  They are also available at the regular price at other online bookstores such as Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Oyster, and Scribd

Do you like murder mysteries that have strong female characters?  If so, check out the first book in a series about Homicide Detective Clarissa Santy.  In "The Tustin Chronicles," we meet her when she is a little girl and her father is murdered.  When she turns 18, she digs deeper into the mystery of his death and ultimately discovers that there are some questions best left unanswered.  Normally $2.99, it's now half-off this month at Smashwords if you use code SSW50 at checkout.  This sale applies exclusively at Smashwords and will continue until July 31, 2015.  The links below take you to the book's Smashword's page.

The Tustin Chronicles: A Detective Santy Mystery

When I was a girl, I loved reading Nancy Drew Mysteries; and about 3 years ago I inherited some of the books originally published in the 1930s.  I read them again and rediscovered the world of my childhood hero.  I decided to write a PG-Rated, humourous series called The Nancy Keene Mysteries that would appeal to babyboomers like myself who remember the perfect and precocious teenage sleuth.  The following titles below are half-off this month:  that's only 99 cents.
Once again use coupon code SSW50 at checkout exclusively at Smashwords.com  This promotion expires at the end of the month also.

The eBooks in The Nancy Keene Mystery Series are:

"The Missing Bachelor Farmer" finds Nancy traveling to Lake Wobegon with her father on a sight-seeing trip and a chance to see the towns that Garrison Keillor bases his fictional town upon.  While there, a bachelor farmer goes missing and Nancy becomes part of the search party. She and her father also run into Garrison Keillor as he is leaving a bookstore in St. Paul--which really happened to my husband and I when we were there; which was quite a thrill!

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

"The Buried Treasure on Route 66" finds Nancy at her French-themed, 18th birthday party.  Her doting father doesn't like overhearing her boyfriend say that she looks hot in her French maid's outfit.  Her Dad also doesn't like the fact the his little girl is going off to college in another state. How will he handle letting her go?  Find out as she, her father, and her boyfriend go on a roadtrip on Route 66; accompanied by a little old lady who Nancy is trying to help find a buried will.

The Buried Treasure On Route 66

"The Stolen Mask" finds Nancy accompaning her father to London on one of his business trips.  The hotel where they stay has a guest who is a movie star: Daniel Craig.  Nancy loves James Bond and experiences her first teenage crush when she sees the actor who plays him walks out his hotel room door, first thing in the morning, and dressed only in a towel around his waist.  When someone steals his BAFTA award from his hotel room, Nancy tries to impress him by figuring out who did it.

The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery

Here's another book that's 99 cents this month at Smashwords with code SSW50 at checkout, "The Summer of Love: A Trip Back to 1968."  When I was 13 and my pregnant sister was 18, she and I went to an outdoor rock festival that was later compared to Woodstock.  I include our Newport Pop Festival experience in this time travel novel where the two of us find ourselves back at the concert, at the house where we grew up, and talking to loved-ones who have long since died.

The Summer of Love: A Trip Back to 1968

Agatha Christie Whodunit

Why did an Inspector from the Government Printing Office get crushed between two rows of electronic compact shelving? Find out in this murder/mystery, an Agatha Christie-type whodunit with multiple suspects whom, in the last chapter, the book's detective assembles in one room for "the big reveal." Death-by-compact-shelving may seem like a stretch, but it almost happened at a library where this book's author worked. You will never look at librarians and library shelving the same after reading it.

Death Among the Stacks: The Body in the Law Library

By Louise Hathaway

Only $2.99 at most online bookstores

Paperback version available at Amazon

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