Revisitations

It was nice to sit down and read Dead Body In A Small Room with some distance from it, knowing it's a finalist in a competition. I like it, though it has a couple slow spots in the middle, and I especially like the somewhat unorthodox ending. I'm glad it stands alone -- no series here. That was a mad idea, although probably what attracted the agent to it. I could never crank those out. Interestingly enough, this one seemed pretty personal, what with the narrator a screenwriter with a lot of my own childhood experiences. So I enjoyed it but it's not a "great mystery" and if it wins a prize, I'll be surprised. It's cool enough to be a finalist. It would make a good movie in the Chinatown tradition, and my new agent is going to pitch it as such.

I'm going to crash and listen to the Portland State basketball game on the radio. Not much progress today, I'm sorry to say. But not much worse either.