Maureen McQuerry's The Peculiars, A Review by Jeff Bailey

Lena Mattacascar is different. Her feet are too big. Her hands are too long. She is, well, Peculiar. She is also on a quest, searching for the truth and her past. Lena is a stranger traveling a strange land. She finds more that she bargained for.

I just finished reading Maureen McQuerry’s fantasy novel, The Peculiars and I’m disappointed that it’s over. I came to know and empathize with the characters. They are so well developed. I found myself being concerned that they find their individual truths. I like this type of book. It naturally leads into a series. I want to know where the peculiar one goes next. I want to know what happens to her and her traveling troop. One thing that I discovered while reading The Peculiars, was that I wasn’t able to second-guess the story. The story always seemed to travel an unexpected path. I find the literary unexpected path immensely entertaining. While fantasy is not my favorite genre of books, I have always enjoyed any story that is well done and The Peculiars was exceptionally well done.

I had an opportunity meet Maureen McQuerry at a book signing, recently. All I can say is, ‘What a character.’ I discovered that Maureen and her husband are active in local theater, as well the publishing world. They seemed to be a cross between Shakespearian drama and Steam Punk whimsy. I can easily see where Mrs. McQuerry gets her inspiration for some of her minor story lines, delightful. I understand why she is a favorite in the Young Adult book genre.

 

Maureen Doyle McQuerry is now on my list of favorite authors and I can’t wait for the next book. I know why The Peculiars received thee YASLA Best Fiction for Young Adults Award and the Bank Street Best Book Recommendation. Of Course, I rate Maureen Doyle McQuerry and The Peculiars an easy five stars.

Other books by Maureen Doyle McQuerry: Time out of Time: Book Two: The Telling Stone, a Washington State Book Award finalist and Time out of Time: Book One: Beyond the Door, a Booklist Top Ten SF-Fantasy.

Deer Hawk Publications released my novel, The Defect,  in June of 2016. The Defect is a fictionalized account of what really happened during the accident at Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Station and the reasons for the government coverup that followed.  I’m a Marine is scheduled for release in May of 2017 and is based on my granddaughters service in the U.S. Marines. The Chilcoat Project  is scheduled for release the next year. Jeff’s current project is Wine Country. Wine Country is based, in part, on the true story of the ‘Radioactive Boy Scout.’

Welcome to my World. 

My Search For New Authors

I’m a published author. I’m also an avid reader. I’ll read just about anything that is well done. Of course, I have my favorite authors; about thirty of them. However, some of the most surprising books that I’ve read lately are from authors that I’ve never heard of. Some of these books are new, or first time, authors and some are veterans that I had never encountered. The common thread is that most of them are good. I am, and have always been, on the lookout for interesting new authors as some of my trusty favorites retire, fade away or go too commercial.

My favorite way to search for a new book is to browse the stacks of a bookstore or a scan the archives of a leading bookish website. However, I have a couple of problems with most of the places and sites. One, they tend to present the most popular, fastest selling books: profit is everything. Or, two, they give the most attention to whoever pays the highest fees. I’m not looking for the most profitable books or the one promoted by the richest publisher. One type of site that I never disappoints is library sites where librarians recommend their favorite books. In short, I’m looking unbiased sources for emerging writers.

And I found a site that I particularly like, GoodReads.com and their [book] ‘giveaways’ department. The Goodreads giveaway site is free to member authors. The only expense is that the author (or the author’s agent) has to provide the giveaway prize, usually a copy of the book. Many of these giveaways are posted by struggling authors just like me. I read down through 10 pages of potential giveaways and found a couple of dozen books in genres that I like, by authors that I didn’t know. I like the covers. There was usually a synopsis and/or a profile for the author. I liked that none of the entries were there because the host paid a higher fee to be higher on the giveaway list.

I even entered many of the giveaway contests. Sure, I might not ever be the one person in 1,200 who wins an autographed copy of an interesting book, but the exercise was entertaining. I also, noted the names of several of the books and several of the authors. I’m pretty sure that I will buy some of them.

So, if you want a potential literary diamond in the rough, I recommend the GoodReads.com ‘Giveaways’ page. Happy hunting.

Deer Hawk Publications released my novel, The Defect,  in June of 2016. The Defect is a fictionalized account of what really happened during the accident at Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Station and the reasons for the government coverup that followed.  I’m a Marine is scheduled for release in May of 2017 and is based on my granddaughters service in the U.S. Marines. The Chilcoat Project  is scheduled for release the next year. Jeff’s current project is Wine Country. Wine Country is based, in part, on the true story of the ‘Radioactive Boy Scout.’

Editing Overused Words by Jeff Bailey

When I submitted my first book to my new publisher, I was certain that she would find nothing to edit except a few minor misspellings. I was so naive. My publisher was considerate when she demonstrated her opinion. My most glaring violation of basic writing style was my overuse of the most hackneyed word in writing history, the word VERY. I have to smile on the inside every time I think about my use of the word VERY 258 times in one book. It was by far the most used word in the book.

I only used that word four times in my last book, and all four were in the colloquial speech of one of my characters. I learned to replace ‘very’ with a description of ‘why’ very. I can normally write a sentence or two (sometimes a paragraph or two, or three, or four) to paint the picture of ‘why’ very. Like one of the members of my writers guild said, “Write as though you are using brail to describe a movie to a blind man.” ‘Very pretty’ just doesn’t cut it.

For me, the best example of how not to use ‘very’ in writing was in the novel Lost And Found by E.L. Irwin. An impressionable young lady notices the hands of the male leading man for the first time.

Irwin didn’t say, ‘He had very interesting hands.’ Irwin said that, ‘He had interesting hands.’ Then she spent three paragraphs describing why they interesting to the leading woman. She wrote three paragraphs telling of every callous, stain and blemish that spoke of strength, character and honor. The passage was perfect.

Needless to say, I took notice.

I now have a new habit. Once a month, or so, as I’m writing, I take a day and I ‘search’ for a list of undesirable words in my work. I always start with the word ‘very.’ I must not recognize the word when I’m writing because it always seems to be able to sneak in somewhere. Sometimes I replace the word from a list of synonyms. Sometimes I write more in the section to ‘paint’ the word in prose. As an obsession, I eliminate the word.

I have a list of words that I try to eliminate or paint over, so to speak. Most of them can be found on these web sites. Since I’ve been cleansing my writing, I’ve been told that my writing seems tighter, more concise. I like that. Apply these sites and word changes to your work and see what you think

Very

18 Common Words

Amazing

6 Overused Words

16 Boring Words

Great

Good

Said

Look

I, personally, was very gratified with the results.

My name is Jeff Bailey. I am the author of The Defect. I based the story line for The Defect on my years of experience building, testing, starting up, and operating nuclear power plants for the U.S. Army, private utilities, and in research. I also derived elements of the story from the true events surrounding the meltdown of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Station in Pennsylvania and the assault by a hooded gunman on the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Station in Tennessee. Deer Hawk Publications released The Defect in June of 2016. I have three more books in the publishing loop and five story-boarded.

Welcome to my World.