Indulging in a little "just wow"...

[alexpgp]

Although the OTC stuff I took to address recent allergy symptoms did alleviate some of what was going on, yesterday was spent mostly sleeping, "supervising" installation of new counter-tops in the kitchen ("Hey, guys, how're things going?"), and reading Killing the Blues, which I bought from the bargain pile at Barnes & Noble.

The font size of the book's title is only slightly larger than that of the author's name (Michael Brandman), and both are dwarfed by the name of the late Robert B. Parker, which is positioned at the top of the dust jacket. The book is, after all, a Jesse Stone novel and while Parker's name is certainly a draw (it caught my attention), I wonder just how long that particular cow can be milked, even if—as seemed to me to be the case with this book—it had a solid Parker-like heft to it.

A translation item originally requested for tomorrow morning and then moved up to "before the end of the day today" was completed and sent by mid-afternoon and served as an interesting warm-up for someone who hasn't seriously tickled a keyboard for several days, much less done any translation.

The first thing to be done tomorrow is to compile the to-do list from Hades, as there are both a number of housekeeping items and a number of vital issues that may well reach critical mass before too much of the week passes. In the meantime, another night of sound sleep will, I think, do me a world of good.

Comments

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

I have read one of the Spencer novels that was instead written by Brandman, and it wasn't bad. Surprising, really-- it's like really good fanfic, in that he captures the characterization and the author's voice very well.

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Characterizing this sort of phenomenon as 'fanfic' is probably one of more clever things I've read!

Of course, given the level of support extended to such authors by the estates of the deceased, nothing less could be expected!

Cheers...

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

I think that actually describes it best!

I've written a lot of fanfic (this is where I lose any shred of respect you might once have had for me). The goal of writing stories in someone else's universe that seem as if they could be "canon" (situations/adventures, characterization, and "voice") is always in the background. This really is no different, except that the author is being given professional license and encouragement to do so.

I'd love to be able to use the term "ghostwriting" for this particular case, but that already means something else. ;)

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

I think the great extent to which any piece of writing is almost certainly inspired by something else —one could argue that Philip Marlowe was just another version of Hammett's "Continental Op"—makes 'fanfic' a form of 'constrained writing' that imposes some pretty heavy limitations on the result, particularly so if it's done well (because then the lawyers get involved).

In more traditional publishing circles it is not unknown for collections of stories to be published based on a "universe" established by some book or other. (In fact, one of the most emotionally moving stories I've ever read came out of one such collection, but I'll be dipped if I can recall the title of the story or the "universe" it's from.)

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

but I'll be dipped if I can recall the title of the story or the "universe" it's from.
Well, darn. Do you remember the topic/gist of the story?

When Ray Bradbury passed away last year, I was mortified to discover that one of my favorites "Bradbury" stories was not actually his. It had the unexpected combination of being both disturbing and offering genuine pathos that Bradbury did so well, but it was a "one-hit wonder" by another author instead. //coincidence, but your comment made me think of this.

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

New counter tops? We did that job ( had it done) over the summer. Fun times. The improvement is unbelievable. AW

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

So says my wife, too!

There was nothing really wrong with the ones that have been in the house since it was built, but she swears that selling a house without granite in the kitchen these days is well-nigh a handicap, so we figured we'd (finally) do an improvement before circumstances force our hand!

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

I used to sell real estate. Improving on a kitchen and or a bathroom(s) always ups the value of your home. Hard to go wrong there. We were in a similar boat. Too much old and in need of repairs and replacements.
AW