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A silence descended over the room. Cynthia, because she was the only English teacher in the room and largely because she hadn't any sense at all, felt compelled to lighten the mood. "So...how's the new novel coming along...?"

Great. Thanks for asking.

My complaint is addressed to the typical grammarian's lack of perspective. What a lousy book Huck Finn would be if it were "correct."

That's true, but I guess I'd suggest that the grammarian you mention is typically not an English major, but an English major wannabe, the sort of individual who likes to demonstrate superior intellect and refinement by nitpicking other people's grammar and conventions. These are small people, bereft of creativity or any other redeeming social value. I like to believe--anyway, I hope--that a bona fide English major would have a deeper, more mature understanding of narrative voice....

That’s said, I do understand that it would be frustrating to read the comments of these nitwits. I would respectfully suggest, however, that it pales in comparison to the frustration I and others experience when we try to actually teach and illuminate the value of novels like Huck Finn and The Sound and the Fury to these pinheads while they are still in their fulminating adolescence. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard variations on the following when teaching something complex: Why do we have to read this? It’s stupid! or This is boring! or I can’t read this anymore. There’s no dialogue! and the piece de resistance from just 10 days ago, I think Shakespeare overdoes it with the irony. He uses it too much, like a crutch. And that’s why I probably drink too much wine. Perhaps you should consider taking up a spirited beverage to ease your pain.

Yep. Getting blasted is the best response. Tomorrow is my night for that.

Well, then I'll raise a pint of philosophy in your honor.

A NEW FAN!
Mr. Pearson, I recommended your book Warwolf to a coworker. He bought it and enjoyed it immensely. He is now working his way through your books starting with the Ray Tatum novels. You will now have a few more royalties coming in. He said your powers of description were a welcome relief from much of the cookie cutter descriptions found in mainstream publications available today. Hopefully he will recommend your books to others.

I hope your new novel is coming along well. I'm looking forward to its release next year.

Thank you, Mark. I'm always happy to add a new reader to the club.

The new novel is coming along well. It's deeply creepy, for some reason, and will probably be longer than usual for me. But I'm plugging away.

It's deeply creepy, for some reason, and will probably be longer than usual for me.

Deeply creepy? Good. Longer than usual? Better.

Can't wait. Double plus not ungood.

Let's hope they don't cancel each other out. As a reader, I'm happiest with a 300-page book, so I'm fighting with myself.

Who needs creepy company any longer than that?

I can think of quite a few people who would love to have that creepy company for a while longer.

I've downloaded The Broken Shore and should get started on it soon. Thanks for the recommendation.

I hope you enjoy Peter Temple. I think my favorite so far is Truth. Generic title but a fine novel.

Grammarians should keep their hands off your novels. The voices of your best books are alive and breathing. Your characters are people I am related to in rural WV's southern coalfields; I have sat with them around the dinner table after supper trading stories and I was happier for it, in part because the way they talk, proper grammar be damned, is part of my heritage and my history. Sometimes I may talk that way myself, if I am lucky. To see it done so well in print is a rare and wonderful thing. I have sworn more than once that I could hear your characters talking.

This, of course is as opposed to true, unintentional grammar errors that suck you out of the story, and suddenly you are off thinking, "Did he just use the wrong form, wrong word, wrong structure, on purpose? Nope, he did not mean say that..." Never did that in one of your stories - I always knew that your sentences were crafted to be exactly what they are, voices telling a story.

Thanks for the vote of support and the kind words. I'm all for being correct when correct matters. I know better than to care the rest of the time.

Happy reading.

I consider myself a member of the Grammar!Police, but *you* know how to use grammar for good and not for evil, which is the most important thing of all. It's vital to know how grammar works. And even more important to be able to use it creatively so readers are sucked right into a story and not being bumped painfully along outside it.

Thanks, and I agree. I have to wonder about people who feel the urge to correct, no matter what.

Just finished Jerusalem Gap last night and I enjoyed it immensely. I'll be using it to prepare a model for an "It's in the Bag" book report my sixth graders will be doing. Would you please send along a word to my charges concerning the writing process? Thanks in advance!

I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed JG and am delighted to know you're using it in class. I wrote the novel in hopes it would appeal to a young adult audience, so it's good news to me that you think your sixth graders might like it.

My writing process is pretty simple: I treat writing like I job. I park myself at my desk for five hours a day, and I write. Sometimes I write a lot, sometimes a little, but I always show up ready to work. That's the key to being a productive writer. Don't wait for your muse. Sit down and write, especially when you don't feel like it.

In the words of Woody Allen, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." So if you think you've got a novel or a collection of stories in you, show up and do something about it.

Happy reading to you and your class.

TRP

PS: Amazon reviews are always welcome and they do matter. If your students read a book that pleases or provokes them, they should comment. Sometimes dissecting a book is the best way to come to understand how to write one.

Thanks so much for your response!
I wanted to let you know that I was able to connect with JG in a special way because I have a mom suffering from dementia. So, I shed more than one tear at Nova's find, and, of course, the end of the book, too.
Keep sharing your gift!
Marjie =o)

T.R. wrote: "I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed JG and am delighted to know you're using it in class. I wrote the novel in hopes it would appeal to a young adult audience, so it's good news to me that you think y..."

TRP, that was a nice post! Just when I had you pegged as a journeyman curmudgeon.

R.L. wrote: "T.R. wrote: "I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed JG and am delighted to know you're using it in class. I wrote the novel in hopes it would appeal to a young adult audience, so it's good news to me tha..."

Like I'm going to kick 6th graders around. 7th? Maybe.

I've taught 7th, too. They need it.

T.R.P. wrote: On a happier note, please read PETER TEMPLE. Read him now and read everything he has published. Start with The Broken Shore and work your way through the rest. Temple has the best ear for dialogue I've come across in a great while and a real talent for putting characters on a page and setting them in motion.

I'm about half-way through Broken Shore, and I'm really enjoying it. The Aussie slang (despite the glossary in the back) does throw me for a loop occasionally, but I love the spare, economical quality of the dialogue. There's really good dialogue that approximates closely the stuff of real life, and there's, apparently, great dialogue that feels truly authentic, even implicit. I find myself at times rereading some of the dialogue aloud (softly) so I can get a better handle on the cadence/tone.

Cynthia wrote: "

I'm about half-way through Broken Shore, and I'm really enjoying it. The Aussie slang (despite the glossary in the back) does throw me for a loop occasionally, but I love the spare, economical q..."

I'm pleased to hear you're enjoying The Broken Shore. Think of it as preparation for Truth, which I think is Temple's best novel. Some of the same characters appear, but it's a much more ambitious book. I've read it twice and may well go back to it.

I think Temple's dialogue is definitely in the "authentic" category. His characters say just enough and quit.

T.R.P. writes: "His characters say just enough and quit."

Yes, perfectly said. Writers so often depend upon speech/dialogue to inform their characters, as if readers are dumbshits who can't fill in the blanks. I have to admit that the "say just enough and quit" quality of your characters and Temple's is so appealing and inviting. I like the quiet.

I am a new fan, having recently found one of your books, Devil Up, by complete accident at a thrift store. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered the rest of the trilogy and have started my way through your other books. I now have a TR Pearson section to fill on my bookcase!

Just today I finished Jerusalem Gap. It's a wonderful read which filled my heart, and then broke it, too. I fell in love with Nova, and could relate to the herding because we once had a border collie mix. It was so hard losing him. Early on, I could feel what would be at the end of Nova's story. When it came, I cried for her, and that led me to cry for all the dogs we have loved and lost over the years.

Thank you for writing Jerusalem Gap. I have read that you are taking a break from writing. I'll keep reading your books that are out there, until no more are left. I hope you will change your mind one day and give your fans more to read.

Hi Peggy,

Glad you found me, and you've got plenty to read until I can figure out what I'm doing next. Many thanks for your kind words.

That Nova still gets to me.

cheers.