Laurien Berenson's Blog
August 16, 2022
Reviewing Books and Why I'm Back
I love books and I read a lot of them. Probably a hundred a year.
Fiction, non-fiction, history, biography? It doesn’t matter, I’m in. So Goodreads immediately felt like my kind of place: a comfortable, informative community that I definitely wanted to be a member of. And reviewing books is a big part of that.
When I first joined years ago, I felt as though in order to be truthful, I needed to review every book I read. Both the good and the not-so-good. And I kind of hated doing that. I know better than most just how difficult it is to write a book. The long hours, the draconian effort, and the inevitable insecurities. I really didn’t want to be the person who wrote a review saying, “This one just didn’t work for me.”
So I stopped doing that and went away. I took several years off. But I missed this wonderful group of readers and writers. And I really wanted to be part of it again. Happily for me, I’m back. I’m writing, conversing, and reviewing again. This time a little differently.
I won’t review everything I read. Some books I’ll never mention at all. But if a book knocks my socks off—as many do—Goodreads will be the first place I come to talk about it, and hopefully to give its author a small boost, at least in confidence if not sales.
Thank you for allowing me the time to figure that out, and for not forgetting about my books while I was gone. I hope to have a lot of fun getting to know everyone again.
Laurien
Fiction, non-fiction, history, biography? It doesn’t matter, I’m in. So Goodreads immediately felt like my kind of place: a comfortable, informative community that I definitely wanted to be a member of. And reviewing books is a big part of that.
When I first joined years ago, I felt as though in order to be truthful, I needed to review every book I read. Both the good and the not-so-good. And I kind of hated doing that. I know better than most just how difficult it is to write a book. The long hours, the draconian effort, and the inevitable insecurities. I really didn’t want to be the person who wrote a review saying, “This one just didn’t work for me.”
So I stopped doing that and went away. I took several years off. But I missed this wonderful group of readers and writers. And I really wanted to be part of it again. Happily for me, I’m back. I’m writing, conversing, and reviewing again. This time a little differently.
I won’t review everything I read. Some books I’ll never mention at all. But if a book knocks my socks off—as many do—Goodreads will be the first place I come to talk about it, and hopefully to give its author a small boost, at least in confidence if not sales.
Thank you for allowing me the time to figure that out, and for not forgetting about my books while I was gone. I hope to have a lot of fun getting to know everyone again.
Laurien
August 3, 2022
Confessions of an Out of Control Author
I can’t control my characters. There, I’ve said it. I feel much better now. I have no idea how this happened. Maybe it was when they began to seem more real to me than some members of my own family? Or perhaps when I began to wonder what they were doing when I put the book aside to do other things?
I write a cozy mystery series about a woman named Melanie Travis. I began the books with a small cast of continuing characters: Melanie, her young son, Davey, and her formidable Aunt Peg, the dog show doyenne whose missing champion stud dog was the focus of the first title. Nearly thirty books later, I sometimes wonder if I’m still the person in charge. Especially since one of the books’ main characters has now spun herself off in her own series. Of course that would be Aunt Peg. How could there be any doubt? That woman runs everything.
In my new book, PEG AND ROSE SOLVE A MURDER, Peg gets together with another longtime series character, Rose Donovan. Sisters-in-law, they’ve hated each other for years. Now that’s about to change. Whose idea was that? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t mine—and this isn’t the first time that’s happened. In other books, characters have gotten pregnant, quit jobs, and broken up relationships, all without my prior permission. And don’t even get me started on their penchant for road trips! These are all life—and series—changing events. So how is it that I never see them coming? And why can’t I do anything to rein those people in?
I’m well aware that a writer should start with a plan. An outline or synopsis would be great, but even the most disorganized among us can come up with a general idea of where the plot might reasonably be expected to go. And yet somehow, I’m always finding myself taking unanticipated detours. I’ve been writing these characters for years and the longer I know them, the less they feel inclined to listen to me.
Sometimes I find my lack of control a bit alarming. Especially on those occasions when my characters reveal unexpected tidbits of information that send the plot spinning in a whole different direction. How do they do that? How do they know what to say? I’d like to believe that it’s my subconscious mind at work but, sadly, I’m afraid that’s not the case.
My characters are beginning to think for themselves.
Pretty soon they’ll hardly need me at all. I’ll simply be their scribe, the only person in the room who has fingers to hit the keys. Thank God I have the opposable thumbs. Otherwise it might just be chaos around here.
I write a cozy mystery series about a woman named Melanie Travis. I began the books with a small cast of continuing characters: Melanie, her young son, Davey, and her formidable Aunt Peg, the dog show doyenne whose missing champion stud dog was the focus of the first title. Nearly thirty books later, I sometimes wonder if I’m still the person in charge. Especially since one of the books’ main characters has now spun herself off in her own series. Of course that would be Aunt Peg. How could there be any doubt? That woman runs everything.
In my new book, PEG AND ROSE SOLVE A MURDER, Peg gets together with another longtime series character, Rose Donovan. Sisters-in-law, they’ve hated each other for years. Now that’s about to change. Whose idea was that? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t mine—and this isn’t the first time that’s happened. In other books, characters have gotten pregnant, quit jobs, and broken up relationships, all without my prior permission. And don’t even get me started on their penchant for road trips! These are all life—and series—changing events. So how is it that I never see them coming? And why can’t I do anything to rein those people in?
I’m well aware that a writer should start with a plan. An outline or synopsis would be great, but even the most disorganized among us can come up with a general idea of where the plot might reasonably be expected to go. And yet somehow, I’m always finding myself taking unanticipated detours. I’ve been writing these characters for years and the longer I know them, the less they feel inclined to listen to me.
Sometimes I find my lack of control a bit alarming. Especially on those occasions when my characters reveal unexpected tidbits of information that send the plot spinning in a whole different direction. How do they do that? How do they know what to say? I’d like to believe that it’s my subconscious mind at work but, sadly, I’m afraid that’s not the case.
My characters are beginning to think for themselves.
Pretty soon they’ll hardly need me at all. I’ll simply be their scribe, the only person in the room who has fingers to hit the keys. Thank God I have the opposable thumbs. Otherwise it might just be chaos around here.
July 3, 2022
Something New
After 28 years of writing the Melanie Travis canine mystery series, I am thrilled to debut my new Senior Sleuth series, coming in September and featuring spin-off character Peg Turnbull and her sister-in-law, Rose Donovan.
For years Melanie Travis has starred in her own mystery series, with Aunt Peg hovering--not altogether quietly--in the background. Eager to share her opinions and dispense advice, Peg has always grabbed center stage whenever she’s had the chance. Now she’ll have the opportunity to be totally in charge when she gets her own mystery to solve.
At long last, Peg will have everything her own way. Or will she?
Rose Donovan is Peg’s sister-in-law. She’s been a thorn in Peg’s side for forty years. But somehow, when Rose decides to join a local bridge club, she can’t think of anyone she’d rather have as her partner than Peg. Apart, these two women can be difficult. Together, they’re more trouble than a sack of cats. Perhaps it’s no surprise that when a member of the bridge club is murdered, Peg and Rose are named as suspects.
I had a great time writing PEG AND ROSE SOLVE A MURDER. Peg has been a voice inside my head for so long that I loved being able to finally let her out to do her own thing. I hope you’ll give her book a try. Otherwise Peg will never let you hear the end of it—and trust me, nobody wants that.
Happy reading!
Laurien
For years Melanie Travis has starred in her own mystery series, with Aunt Peg hovering--not altogether quietly--in the background. Eager to share her opinions and dispense advice, Peg has always grabbed center stage whenever she’s had the chance. Now she’ll have the opportunity to be totally in charge when she gets her own mystery to solve.
At long last, Peg will have everything her own way. Or will she?
Rose Donovan is Peg’s sister-in-law. She’s been a thorn in Peg’s side for forty years. But somehow, when Rose decides to join a local bridge club, she can’t think of anyone she’d rather have as her partner than Peg. Apart, these two women can be difficult. Together, they’re more trouble than a sack of cats. Perhaps it’s no surprise that when a member of the bridge club is murdered, Peg and Rose are named as suspects.
I had a great time writing PEG AND ROSE SOLVE A MURDER. Peg has been a voice inside my head for so long that I loved being able to finally let her out to do her own thing. I hope you’ll give her book a try. Otherwise Peg will never let you hear the end of it—and trust me, nobody wants that.
Happy reading!
Laurien
