Marijane Meaker (born May 27, 1927) is an American novelist and short story writer, who has used multiple pseudonyms for different genres. From 1952 to 1969 she wrote twenty mystery and crime novels under the name Vin Packer including the immensely popular Spring Fire, that is credited with launching the genre of lesbian "pulp" fiction, although the majority of Packer's books didn't address homosexuality or gay characters. Using her own observations of lesbians in the 1950s and 1960s, she wrote a series of nonfiction books under the name Ann Aldrich from 1955 to 1972. In 1972 she switched genres and pen names once more to begin writing for young adults, and became quite successful as M.E. Kerr, producing over 20 novels and winning multiple awards. She was described by The New York Times Book Review as "one of the grand masters of young adult fiction." As Mary James, she has written four books for a younger children's audience.

Irrespective of genre or pen name, Meaker's books have in common complex characters that have difficult relationships and complicated problems, who rail against conformity. Meaker said of this approach, "I was a bookworm and a poetry lover. When I think of myself and what I would have liked to have found in books those many years ago, I remember being depressed by all the neatly tied-up, happy-ending stories, the abundance of winners, the themes of winning, solving, finding --- when around me it didn't seem that easy. So I write with a different feeling when I write for young adults. I guess I write for myself at that age."

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijane_Meaker

The fabric of my nighttime twin is made of desire, of music, from the ash of the books that mattered most. That fabric is stressed and frayed when I am in-between books, when a suitable suitor isn’t lined up for immediate consumption after finishing a satisfying book, I’ll rip through back issues of the New Yorker and pull out all of the amazing but just-not-right-now books I’ve hoarded for years. I’ll visit the Strand and hunt online and never ask for recommendations as this is my problem, not yours. It’s as personally crushing as an engagement deferred. Often I’ll fortify myself with four or five pending titles so that when I finish a book there are ample choices, always a healthy mixture of fiction and nonfiction, representing different cultures and time periods (I favor all things Japanese, the later Roman Empire, and Twentieth Century author biographies and in keeping with my tradition of reading one author biography a year and breaking my own rules, I’ve read five so far this year and can strongly recommend Marijane Meaker’s memoir of her relationship with Patricia Highsmith). --Tom Cardamone

( Marijane Meaker, 2000, by Robert Giard )

( Further Readings )

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2012/05/waiting-at-finish-line.html

I always have at least one reward waiting for me at the novel finish line, and this time around it's Lucidity, our blogpal Raine Weaver's latest release, which is available in most e-book formats at all the major online retailers (also currently on sale at Samhain for $3.15.)

Here's the official copy:

He’s found the woman of his dreams—in the midst of his worst nightmare.

Carlotta Phelps never considered herself special, except for a peculiar ability to control the course of her dreams. Other than being a handy cure for nightmares, it’s a pretty worthless talent. Until she’s recruited for the One Hundred, a team of lucid dreamers whose combined visualizations have been proven to affect reality.

With a giant asteroid hurtling straight toward Earth and the scientific technology to avert it uncertain, the dreamers are the fallback—the last line of defense. And the man who’s been assigned as her bodyguard is messing with her focus, big time.

Ex-Special Ops soldier Parker Munroe has no idea why he’s been assigned to protect the luscious, gentle-eyed Carly. She’s a frustrating temptation, but he’s a hard-core realist. The only power he believes in is brute force.

Then he learns that his charge, who practically lives in lacy negligees, wields an awesome power—and an even bigger responsibility. She and her kind are being hunted by an enemy he can’t even identify, against which all his skill with weaponry is useless. If he can’t find a way to protect her, the world is as doomed as the heart he’s already lost.

This one had me at Hello. I mean, come on -- a lucid dreamer, an ex-spec ops bodyguard, and a planet-killer asteroid hurtling toward Earth? I am so reading this.

Also, I don't know who is doing Samhain's art lately, but whoever is responsible for putting together this gorgeous, classy cover should be given a raise. A very large one.

URL: http://alchemypress.blogspot.com/p/pulp-heroes.html

Genres: Focused on pulp heroes and villains
Does Not Accept/Want:


Fiction: 2,000-6,000 words
Essays/Articles:
Poetry:

Reprints: yes
Simultaneous/Multiple Subs: no / no

Deadlines/Reading Period: May 30th 2012
Est. Response Time: 6-8 weeks after deadline

Payment: £10.00 advance against royalties and contributor's copy on publication


Submissions:
pulpheroes@saladoth.com

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/26/musical-synchronicity-of-a-certain-miserable-sort/

http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=18704

It may just be me, but I think the lead characters of these respective and currently popular songs deserve each other. Listening to the lyrics will help to explain why.

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/26/dont-go-into-the-basement/

http://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=18701

If you’re a vegetarian, that is, because the standing freezer down there is now full with roughly 250 pounds of beef. Krissy went in with a co-worker on half of a locally bred and butchered steer, and her quarter of a steer is now taking up several shelves in the freezer. Athena, who is our resident vegetarian, registers her (entirely posed) horror.

Actually, this is a fine moment to note that Athena recently passed her one year anniversary of being a vegetarian a few weeks ago. She started doing it to see what she thought of it and has kept at it ever since, with all of us doing a bit of research to make sure she’s getting all the nutrients she needs and so on. It does take some effort to keep a vegetarian lifestyle around here — Athena is one of the very few in her school who does — so I’m pretty proud of her for making the choice and sticking with it.

Massive purchase of beef notwithstanding, we’ve all cut down our consumption of meat here at the Scalzi Compound (the massive purchase will last us quite a long time), and Athena’s commitment to not eating the stuff is the major reason why. So good on my kid.

Two of my publishers are having Mermorial Day Sales.

Changeling Press: 10% off your order with the code MemorialDay2012

Torquere Press: 15% off your order with the code memday2012

Everyone have a good weekend!

Here's Club Fantasy, chapter 17

( under the cut )

http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-plus-reviews/review-unexpected-family-by-molly-okeefe/

http://dearauthor.com/?p=44637

Dear Ms. O’Keefe:

Grief stories have to be one of the more difficult stories to write. After all, grief stories can often rely on low hanging fruit using a death as the easy emotion evoker making the story seem manipulative instead of touching. However, there isn’t anything easy about the lives of Lucy Alatore or Jeremiah Stone. Lucy’s life was on the upswing, her one of a kind jewelry catching the eye of movie stars and other rich and famous people. When she makes a rookie business person mistake, Lucy’s entire career gets flushed and she runs to her family home in Northern California. She’s not sure how to remake herself and her mother is acting strange and her sister’s newly found bliss is rubbing her the wrong way.

Jeremiah Stone’s promising rodeo career was ended by an injury but his worse loss was when his sister and brother in law died and left Jeremiah the guardian of his nephews. Jeremiah doesn’t know how to parent three boys, let alone ones that are suffering their own grief. He’s so far removed from his star filled life that even Lucy doesn’t recognize him:

“Are you…” It was just so weird to think of Jeremiah Stone as the guardian of three small boys.
Jeremiah Stone was a cowboy sex symbol. He got interviewed on ESPN, and that footage of him getting trampled by a bull had been a YouTube sensation. He dated beautiful country music stars, and did not, definitely did not, fold superhero underwear.

Jeremiah and Lucy are both suffering from loss, both experiencing grief. For Jeremiah, it’s the loss of his sister, but also the loss of his independence and his dreams. He sees a counselor and at one point she asks him if he has grieved.

“For my sister? Yeah. Of course.” Cried like a baby through her funeral. Boxed up her clothes and sobbed. Had to call Cynthia to help him.

“No. Have you grieved for your old life? For the rodeo? For the life you lived before you took over caring for the boys?”

His stomach dropped and his brain felt too light. His skin painfully tight. Panicked, suddenly shaking with adrenaline, he glanced up at the clock.

“Time’s up, Dr. Gilman.”

“Jeremiah—?”

He didn’t stop. Didn’t listen. He grabbed his hat from the stand by the door and slipped out the door. But his stomach stayed in his leaden legs and his skin itched like it wanted to come off.

The realism and authenticity of the characters and their emotions permeates every page. I felt that the easy path was avoided but without making the story drag. A common romance trope would have had Jeremiah be the strong silent type that simply works out his feelings through the love of a good woman, Lucy, who comes in and bakes the most awesome meal, complete with a pie for dessert while handing out sage phrases that heal the wounded souls of each child.  This was not that book. Lucy is not instinctively great at parenting. Her presence actually makes the older child uneasy.

I liked that Jeremiah was seeking help.  It didn’t emasculate him, but portrayed the helplessness of his situation – a bachelor with three growing boys. I liked Lucy’s frank appreciation of Jeremiah and her ineptness at mothering and her missing her life in LA. I would have liked Lucy’s arc to have been less reliant on her feelings for Jeremiah. Even her newfound creativity seemed based on her attraction to Jeremiah.  Perhaps that is authentic, in and of itself, but I would have liked to have seen Lucy’s renewal be somewhat separate.

The transition from bachelor to father isn’t easy for Jeremiah and it isn’t easy for the children. They are lost, sad, and angry. Lucy doesn’t come in and magically save the day.  But as Lucy says, “who wants easy?”

Jeremiah laughed, pressing his forehead to hers. “It won’t be easy,” he said, as if warning her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on as tight as she could. The ride would be bumpy, no doubt about it. But she couldn’t imagine anything more fun, more exciting, more fulfilling, than taking this ride with Jeremiah and his boys.

“Who wants easy?”

The secondary romance between Lucy’s mother and the alcoholic father of the ranch owner where Lucy’s mother kept house was interesting but subdued but my focus was on Jeremiah and Lucy.  B+

Best regards,
Jane

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