I’ve been doing a lot of reading this winter. That’s not too unusual, but I have varied tastes in literature. It’s been proven that I will read anything, even a cereal box. But the fact that I read lots of genres is probably part of why I write several genres.

I received a copy of Fairy Tale by Stephen King for Christmas, and I consumed every word of that 600-page tome, and I loved it. I loved the way he took fairytales that we read as children and added them to the story—along with some monsters of his own. As a kid, I thought some of those stories were scary. But a lot of fairytales were meant to scare children into staying home and not wandering off. There were monsters in the woods!

I just finished The Sentence by Louise Erdrich which starts off as a comedy and then tells the story of Minneapolis during 2019-2020 with the pandemic, police brutality, and a resident ghost in the bookstore where Tookie worked. Prior to that I read her Pulitzer Prize winner, The Night Watchman. Erdrich a Native American writes in the style that shows the trials and tribulations of her people in today’s world.

I am currently into Lightening Strike by William Kent Krueger. I borrowed The Sentence and Lightning Strike from my daughter-in-law and when I started reading Lightening Strike, I realized I had started this book in the past but never finished it. I don’t know why because Krueger is always gut wrenchingly beautiful. I’ll finish it this time. It is another novel set in the Minneapolis area involving Native Americans today and their culture. I have learned a lot about the culture from these novels. I’ve never been to the area, but I have a friend who lives there and maybe I should go visit!

I’ve also been writing in this cold weather. I have things to finish. And more projects waiting on my time. My mind is always churning with new ideas. Now if I can get them on paper.

Another story, another time. What are you reading/writing this week?