#5Books. And that time Stephen King and John Grisham had a chat

So. Stephen King and John Grisham had a chat over Zoom this week, and it was the strangest best thing. Here’s the link to the chat — it’s up on King’s Youtube channel right now. 

Here’s a rundown of a couple of things that made me smile, and brought up a lot of questions too. The chat was done to raise money for an organisation that supports independent bookstores, but they fanboyed bookstores in general.

There was talk about their inspirations and their work generally.

They peppered in some writing questions to each other: JG called SK longwinded, but fond of writing a lot of short stories. He was also impressed SK has managed so many 1000 page books or so! He on the other hand doesn’t quite get short stories.

SK kind of sounded like he fell into writing horror a bit, and now wants to write a crime novel about an assassin, and I will be right at the front of the line. He’s not sure when it will get done though. He used to have a goal of writing 2000 words a day, and now that is 1000 – JG calls that a good day for him.

JG believes in outlining: don’t write the first scene if you don’t know the last scene — which shocked SK. He said something to the effect of: do you open your Christmas presents before Christmas?

That’s an interesting difference between them:: JG writes to outlines, so doesn’t usually hit dead ends.

SK is a panster, I think – has incidents in mind, but he doesn’t have a firm outline, but ideas instead and books rarely turn out the way he thinks. SK still gets mail about the ending to Cujo, but he always replies, he didn’t know a certain boy was going to die in it until he wrote it.

SK is such a luddite about tech, it’s adorable! They went into a long conversation about the different — and OLD — tech they used over their career AND, did you know JG wrote A time to kill and The Firm on legal pads?!?!

JG and SK send each other their books — no one asked or anything, one of them just started it and *dies laughing* JG put all SK’s work on one shelf, and then the shelf broke. He definitely has a thing for all the 1000 page books SK tends to write!

There was a bit about headshots for their books, and SK fondly recalls an old JG headshot, where he had a lot of scruff because it was taken after a big night, and calls him ruggedly handsome.

SK is utterly in <3  with his wife and cannot go past a moment to mention how wonderful she is.

SK credits his movie success and resurgence to the Clown, Pennywise and the reception for the first movie. And me on the other hand, wants to know when another of JG’s work is going to get turned into a movie!

Check it out at the link above, I missed a whole heap of interesting stuff, but it’s really like being a fly on the wall of a conversation between two old friends!

Don’t forget they both have books out this past week: If it Bleeds and Camino Winds #2 in the Camino Islands series. 

In other news, here is what I am looking forward to this week:

Recipe for Persuasion

From the author of Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors comes another , clever, deeply layered, and heartwarming romantic comedy that follows in the Jane Austen tradition—this time, with a twist on Persuasion.

Chef Ashna Raje desperately needs a new strategy. How else can she save her beloved restaurant and prove to her estranged, overachieving mother that she isn’t a complete screw up? When she’s asked to join the cast of Cooking with the Stars, the latest hit reality show teaming chefs with celebrities, it seems like just the leap of faith she needs to put her restaurant back on the map. She’s a chef, what’s the worst that could happen?

Rico Silva, that’s what.

Being paired with a celebrity who was her first love, the man who ghosted her at the worst possible time in her life, only proves what Ashna has always believed: leaps of faith are a recipe for disaster.

FIFA winning soccer star Rico Silva isn’t too happy to be paired up with Ashna either. Losing Ashna years ago almost destroyed him. The only silver lining to this bizarre situation is that he can finally prove to Ashna that he’s definitely over her.

But when their catastrophic first meeting goes viral, social media becomes obsessed with their chemistry. The competition on the show is fierce…and so is the simmering desire between Ashna and Rico.  Every minute they spend together rekindles feelings that pull them toward their disastrous past. Will letting go again be another recipe for heartbreak—or a recipe for persuasion…?

In Recipe for Persuasion, Sonali Dev once again takes readers on an unforgettable adventure in this fresh, fun, and enchanting romantic comedy.

Social media, reality tv and two total opposites who used to be in love? I’m all over this. But I do have a confession to make: I have no idea what Persuasion is about, and given my love for classics (not) I was never inclined it check it out *shrugs* And yes, I might be watching Masterchef Australia right now.

One to Watch

Real love…as seen on TV

Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers–and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television?

Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition–under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She’s in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That’s it.

But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She’s in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful, razor-sharp debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men–and herself–for a chance to live happily ever after.

So, I don’t like The Bachelor and all it’s incarnations, but I will admit to keeping track of a couple of seasons where the Bachelor or Bachelorette were just normal, down-to-earth not glossy people, I guess. Which is part of why I want to read this, and the other part: because Bea who is never going to be one of those uber glossy people is out to use the system to get what she wants: to supercharge her career, get people to think differently and get her hot balloon ride. And if she falls in love, all the better (but I kind hope she doesn’t; I’d be much happier with her with her learning to trust herself.

Safe

A kidnapped girl survived twelve nightmarish years.
Now she’s safely back home . . . or is she?

Jenny Kristal was six years old when she was snatched off the sidewalk from her quiet suburban neighborhood. Twelve years later, she’s miraculously returned home after escaping her kidnappers—but as her parents and older brother welcome her back, the questions begin to mount. Where has she been all these years? Why is she back now? And is home really the safest place for her . . . or for any of them

So when I see a book about a kidnap victim miraculously returning home, I expect questions about where the victim has been. I don’t expect one of those questions to be whether home is safest place for her. This is the kind of effective last line that sells a book for me.

Derailed

A dying wish. A secret world.
Can this grieving investigator stay on the right track?

PI Kelly Pruett is determined to make it on her own. And juggling clients at her late father’s detective agency, a controlling ex, and caring for a deaf daughter was never going to be easy. So she takes it as a good sign when a letter left by her dad ties into an unsolved case of a young woman struck by a train.

Hunting down the one person who can prove the mysterious death was not just a drunken accident, Kelly discovers this witness is in no condition to talk. And the closer she gets to the truth the longer her list of sleazy suspects with murderous motives grows. Each clue exposes another layer of the victim’s steamy double life.

On a crash course with a killer, she must piece together the puzzle of what really happened to the victim that rainy night, before her own fate is sealed and she loses everything near and dear, including her life.

That Kelly is already dealing with a shitload of relatable stuff, on top of this case is what made me pick this for this week. To be honest, I would like to know more of what she’s going through in her personal life, but I’m willing to assume it’ll come out by the end of this book. Either way, I feel like Kelly is going to make for an interesting MC. (also, she seems to have a dog next to her, so there’s a plus right there)

An Inconvenient Woman

Claire Fontaine is convinced that her ex-husband killed their teenage daughter all those years back and believes he’s capable of killing again. When she sees him move in with another woman, to play step-father for a girl the same age as the one she lost, Claire tries desperately to warn the new bride of the danger her family is in. But when the woman dismisses her admonishments, she feels she must take matters into her own hands and stop the crime she failed to stop before.

Sloane Wilson left the LAPD to work as a “sin eater,” a contractor for hire who specializes in cleaning up inconvenient situations—situations which, for whatever reason, are better handled outside the law. Like, for example, an ex-wife who stalks her former husband, throws paint on his door, and makes vague, violent threats to his new wife. A domestic dispute like that can get messy when the cops are called; plus, there is a risk that their presence will aggravate the woman in question.

As Sloane investigates her newest mission, however, she finds that there is more to it than meets the eye, uncovering a history of trauma that casts aspersions on the stories of both Claire and Sloane’s client. In a case where objective truth is increasingly muddled by passions, suspicions, and fears, she soon loses the ability to distinguish fact from fiction. But Sloane knows one thing for certain: sometimes the only way to prevent a crime is by committing one.

Colour me interested: a woman looking to protect her ex’s new wife and kid, and a contractor who is called to put her in her place, only to find she’s telling the truth… and her client may actually be a killer. Which of course makes me wonder: what crime does Sloane commit, and does it involve Claire’s ex?!