Book Event
(If you have a book event with pictures, send them to me and I’ll post them on Thursdays.)
Two and Twenty Dark Tales made a darkly interesting appearance at Kepler’s Bookstore the day before Halloween. Each story is a “dark” retelling of a Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme. Here’s some of the authors who have stories in that anthology and some who appeared with their own books.
L to R: Me, Heidi R. Kling, Ingrid Paulson, Pamela van Hylckama Vlieg, Corrine Jackson & Tamara Ireland Stone |
Bookalicious Pam signs her story, A Pocket Full of Posey. (Ring Around the Roses) |
Heidi R. Kling signs her story, Life in a Shoe. (The Old Woman Who Live in a Shoe) |
New Books
(If you have a new book out, send me a link & I’ll be glad to post on Thursdays.)
Curse of the Double Digits by Lynn Kelley
Two and Twenty Dark Tales, an anthology
Her Grammarness
I’ve been trying to stay out of the grammar issues ever since I started to blog, but I’ve decided to put my Prescriptive Hat back on (Look left.) I’m reading a lot of books that are driving me crazy with common grammar errors. Maybe it’s me, but seeing a book published with poor English grammar rattles this linguistic heart something fierce . . . and I’ve always leaned to describing rather than prescribing. That’s changed. The “usage is king” has to move over and let the queen have her say. William Safire once wrote that as a linguistic activist he was “willing to struggle to conserve the clarity and color in the language.” Me too! And let’s start with that old lie/lay verb that means to recline or to put/place something.
In the past month I’ve tried to read two books whose authors can’t get those straight. What’s so hard about them and where were their editors–lying down on the job?
People lie down to rest.
Hen lay eggs in their nests.
If you or the hen is putting or placing something, you use lay. If you or the hen are tired and want to take a nap, you use lie.
That’s the simplest way to lay it out. Now I’m going to lie down.
Next week: rise/raise
Trisha says
The pics make it look like it was a great time!
Grammar errors in novels make me twitch too – and I also wonder where the editors are!
Beverly Stowe McClure says
Neat pictures. Looks like a lot of fun.
Also, thanks for the grammar reminder. Words can be so confusing.
Have a great week.
Old Kitty says
Oh my goodness – love your Prescriptive Hat!!! And I am taking down notes!!! Yay!
Take care
x
Stephen Tremp says
A good editor is worth the cost. I could never go it alone. Formatting can be a crazy issue with Kindle that can drive anyone crazy, but that's another story for another day.
Medeia Sharif says
I used to have issues with lie and lay years ago until I learned the difference. Now it irks me when I see mistakes with them.
Fun pictures. What a great group signing.
Leslie S. Rose says
What a Halloween blast. Much better activity than handing candy out to trick-or- treaters who should have hung up their pillowcases a few years ago.
Marcia says
Her Grammarness? I love it! Yay, Lee!
Hilary Melton-Butcher says
Hi Lee .. preserving good grammar in this day and age is going to be challenging … on the other hand someone sometime has to write the rules and regulations of life – and if they are not right, nor thought through properly we're in for a rough road ahead. Texting doesn't help .. is it texting – or????
Love the Halloween stories and those photos … looks a fun event .. cheers Hilary
Cecilia Robert says
Yay,for Two & Twenty Dark Tales. Looks like you had fun. Awesome witchy hat, Lee 🙂
Tyrean Martinson says
oooh, I hope I didn't even use lay and lie . . .I know I mess them up, so I try not to use them.
C. Lee McKenzie says
The truth is I try to avoid these verbs in YA or MG books. Most kids don't use them correctly in speech, so they don't sound kid-like in stories about them.
Laura Eno says
Lie/lay/laid/lain…drives me nuts! I change the sentence sometimes when I dither. 🙂
Lynda R Young says
yeah, I confess, I mess those up a lot.
DMS says
The book event looks like SO much fun! I wish I could have gone.
Thanks for the grammar tip! I love to be reminded of grammar rules- so I will be looking forward to your tips each week.
~Jess
Empty Nest Insider says
Glad you had a good time at the book event! Cute photos too! Now I'm afraid to go back and check any of my stories that have lay or lie in them! I won't lie, as I do enjoy to lie down. Does that make me a layabout? The answer lay ahead?! Thanks for making learning fun Lee, and welcome back! Julie
Christine says
Haha! Love this website! It made me smile before I even found your blog!
Yep, I'm all for keeping it simple as far as language is concerned. It's all about word choice. Which can be tricky when your heroine's name is Rose. Hmm….
Joylene Nowell Butler says
Thank God for editors! I'm one of the guilty. It's because of this line: Lay me down to sleep. I think that and get all confused. So it's not my fault, right!
Romance Reader - Nas says
Loved the Halloween event photos. The event sounds intriguing with all the creepy readings!
All the best!
LynNerdKelley says
Those book events look like great fun. I like your new hair color, Lee! Looks great. No bad hair days with the color change – yay! Thanks so much for the shout out!
Scribbles From Jenn says
My critique group and I just had the lay vs lie conversation on Tuesday. We used the hen example also. Beautiful blog. New follower.
Emily R. King says
I'm all for quick grammar tips! Keep them coming! 🙂
C. Lee McKenzie says
Understand that, Christine because. That's what I meant about "usage being king." We hear "Lay down." all the time. Can't whip out my red pen and circle conversation, can I? 🙂
Christine Rains says
Great photos! Sometimes I have trouble with lie and lay because when you say it out loud, the wrong one always sounds better!
Cynthia Chapman Willis says
Fun bookstore photos! And now I'm intrigued by Two and Twenty Dark Tales. ; )
Lynn Proctor says
these words always confuse me!
Nancy Thompson says
Haha! Every time I go to write lie/lay, I check the Internet first just to make sure I have it right. There are some great rules out there to help you remember. Two of my pet peeve words are farther/further. no one seems to know the difference. Farther is for actual distance and further is for everything else.
Peaches Ledwidge says
I like the pictures.
Elizabeth Seckman says
I'm nervous now too. I don't want to be a grammar felon! But thanks for the post, I always appreciate a refresher!
Libby says
I wish I had been there. That sounds like so much fun. I like dark tales.
Kelly Polark says
The author of Missed Periods and other Grammar Scares did a funny post about the misuse of lie/lay on my blog once. It is so commonly misused!
Love the Halloween photos! I love creepy retellings. Sounds like a great book! I read a wip of mine to my son's second grade class of Halloween nursery rhymes. They loved it!
Alex J. Cavanaugh says
Crap, hope I didn't mess up those words!
The Halloween event looks like it was fun.