Read Online Bell, Book, and Scandal by Jill Churchill - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jill Churchill
Ads: Link
the mind of the perpetrator without giving away the solution? Or didn’t you ever go into the perp’s viewpoint? If so, wasn’t that a sure sign that he or she was the murderer? Ms. Witherspoon fielded these questions with explanations.
When Ms. Ellis was questioned about the main character speculating on the other characters’ traits without the problems Ms. Witherspoon had listed, she said, “I let the characters speak and act for themselves. The reader usually draws the same conclusion as the sleuth does. I have no problem with writing, for example, ‘Porky replied shyly,’ or ‘Violet became angry’
“That’s what my first-person sleuth thinks,“ she went on. “Sometimes the sleuth later finds out it was the wrong impression. And so does the reader.“
Everyone had so many questions that when the allotted time ran out, they straggled out of the room still asking the speakers and each other questions.
Jane thought it had been a very enjoyable and well-prepared argument between friends and philosophies. She was glad she’d attended. And worried that Shelley’s seminar must have been boring compared to her choice.
Jane was right. Shelley said dramatically, “You have no idea how deadly that was. I’m so glad I was at the back of the room and could slip out.“
“You didn’t learn anything interesting?“
“No, not really. Just what you said. The rules of punctuation change with the times, and various publishing houses have their own rule books they follow. Some are out of date, some don’t care as long as the writer is consistent to his or her own rules, some don’t care at all. They handed out lists of style sheets and recommended asking your publisher in advance which grammar and punctuation book you should follow. Imagine someone who’s never published yet, asking a question like that.“
“I’m so sorry I stuck you with that,“ Jane said. “The one I went to was wonderful. By the way, I haven’t seen anything of the cowgirl Wonder Woman all morning, have you?“
“I heard that Vernetta crashed one of the other seminars in the middle of the second speech and made a fool of herself,“ Shelley said. “So she’s still kicking. Didn’t Felicity say Sophie Smith never appeared at conferences very much unless she was the single speaker?“
“Yes, I think she did. What did Vernetta do, specifically?“
Shelley said, “I didn’t care to hang around the people who were ranting against her long enough to find out. But she and her hubby were in new costumes.“
“Oh, what now?“
“Hawaiian,“ Shelley said. “I saw them when they left the room where it was held.“
“Grass skirt?“ Jane asked.
“In silver tinsel instead of grass. With paper flowers around her neck. Gaylord in the ugliest floral shirt I’ve ever seen, shorts, and sandals, and beat-up straw hats on both. Gaylord’s legs are white and skinny. They looked like raw chicken legs. Vernetta’s legs are dimpled lard.“
“You’re making this up, right?“
“I am not.“
“Are we going to the luncheon?“ Jane asked. “I’ve heard rumors that the guest speaker is boring.“
“We’ve paid for it in our fee. We might as well try it out. If it’s good, we can eat it. If not, we can find our own lunch. I wonder if Felicity is free?“
“She’s probably required to show up and mingle with fans,“ Shelley said. “It’s in her best interest even if she doesn’t have to attend. We can sit near the door and slip out before the speech. Pretending we’re taking a potty break, if anyone at our table asks.“
The luncheon, as it turned out, was extremely tasty and came to the table hot. “We should have guessed it would be good,“ Jane said, “considering how terrific those desserts were last night. We are sticking around for dessert this time, too, aren’t we?“
“Of course we are. We can bolt it down and run away.“
“And go shopping,“ Jane said.
Ten
Shelley found the pin she’d
When Ms. Ellis was questioned about the main character speculating on the other characters’ traits without the problems Ms. Witherspoon had listed, she said, “I let the characters speak and act for themselves. The reader usually draws the same conclusion as the sleuth does. I have no problem with writing, for example, ‘Porky replied shyly,’ or ‘Violet became angry’
“That’s what my first-person sleuth thinks,“ she went on. “Sometimes the sleuth later finds out it was the wrong impression. And so does the reader.“
Everyone had so many questions that when the allotted time ran out, they straggled out of the room still asking the speakers and each other questions.
Jane thought it had been a very enjoyable and well-prepared argument between friends and philosophies. She was glad she’d attended. And worried that Shelley’s seminar must have been boring compared to her choice.
Jane was right. Shelley said dramatically, “You have no idea how deadly that was. I’m so glad I was at the back of the room and could slip out.“
“You didn’t learn anything interesting?“
“No, not really. Just what you said. The rules of punctuation change with the times, and various publishing houses have their own rule books they follow. Some are out of date, some don’t care as long as the writer is consistent to his or her own rules, some don’t care at all. They handed out lists of style sheets and recommended asking your publisher in advance which grammar and punctuation book you should follow. Imagine someone who’s never published yet, asking a question like that.“
“I’m so sorry I stuck you with that,“ Jane said. “The one I went to was wonderful. By the way, I haven’t seen anything of the cowgirl Wonder Woman all morning, have you?“
“I heard that Vernetta crashed one of the other seminars in the middle of the second speech and made a fool of herself,“ Shelley said. “So she’s still kicking. Didn’t Felicity say Sophie Smith never appeared at conferences very much unless she was the single speaker?“
“Yes, I think she did. What did Vernetta do, specifically?“
Shelley said, “I didn’t care to hang around the people who were ranting against her long enough to find out. But she and her hubby were in new costumes.“
“Oh, what now?“
“Hawaiian,“ Shelley said. “I saw them when they left the room where it was held.“
“Grass skirt?“ Jane asked.
“In silver tinsel instead of grass. With paper flowers around her neck. Gaylord in the ugliest floral shirt I’ve ever seen, shorts, and sandals, and beat-up straw hats on both. Gaylord’s legs are white and skinny. They looked like raw chicken legs. Vernetta’s legs are dimpled lard.“
“You’re making this up, right?“
“I am not.“
“Are we going to the luncheon?“ Jane asked. “I’ve heard rumors that the guest speaker is boring.“
“We’ve paid for it in our fee. We might as well try it out. If it’s good, we can eat it. If not, we can find our own lunch. I wonder if Felicity is free?“
“She’s probably required to show up and mingle with fans,“ Shelley said. “It’s in her best interest even if she doesn’t have to attend. We can sit near the door and slip out before the speech. Pretending we’re taking a potty break, if anyone at our table asks.“
The luncheon, as it turned out, was extremely tasty and came to the table hot. “We should have guessed it would be good,“ Jane said, “considering how terrific those desserts were last night. We are sticking around for dessert this time, too, aren’t we?“
“Of course we are. We can bolt it down and run away.“
“And go shopping,“ Jane said.
Ten
Shelley found the pin she’d
Similar Books
