The Writer's Life 10/30 - Crackerjacks

Born in 1938, raised in the Bronx, Nicolasa Mohr, is a highly respected pioneer of Hispanic-American literature. I was fortunate to have come across and am privileged to have read her 1988 short story collection, In Nueva York. Set on a block on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the eight pieces, all but one lengthy, are graced by recurring characters, including a nasty orange cat. The slices of life ring with authenticity and are enhanced by the liberal use of Spanish terms. I particularly enjoyed The Operation, which perfectly captures a mother's anguish when her seven-year-old daughter goes missing, and The Robbery, which has a neutral tone that allows the reader to come to his/her own conclusion. The writing is solid, smooth and unpretentious, the characterizations have depth. The 192 pages of the large paperback edition read like considerably less. My only quibble is that the dialogue did not always ring true. Then again, who am I to say that. She has won many awards. I haven't won any. Mohr was first published in 1973. It's difficult to determine how many books she has in print, as many have been reissued. Only one customer at Amazon has rated In Nueva York, giving it five stars on a scale of five. I will ad my opinion, giving it four.

The first indictment has come down from the special counsel investigating Trump-Russia collusion, and so far it appears there is nothing there. I suspect the aim is to exert pressure on Paul Manafort to get him to sing, to reveal something damaging to the president. There is greater evidence that Hillary & company colluded with Russia, but it is being ignored by the mainstream media.

Last night Movies!, 113 on Cablevision in NYC, continued its Sunday Night Noir series, airing Dressed to Kill (1941), starring Lloyd Nolan as PI Michael Shayne, a role he played at least six times in his long career. Actually, it would be a stretch to classify the flick as noir. It is light, breezy, comedic. Still, I enjoyed it, particularly the snappy dialogue. It featured one of the smartest lines I've ever heard. When Shayne gives his showgirl fiance her ring, she quips: "What'd you do with the crackerjacks?" IMDb attributes four names to the screenplay: Stanley Rauh, Manning O'Connor, Brett Halliday & Richard Burke. The woman was played by the late Mary Beth Hughes, who has 101 titles under her name. She also sang in night clubs. Here's a pic:

I've begun the second of what I hope will be only three sweeps of the novel I plan to self-publish in January. I've been working on a cover for about a week. Here's what I've done so far:

I've noticed more speed bumps on side streets, which reflects the Mayor's obsession with slowing down all traffic except that of the limousines that chauffeur him. What's odd about it is that I hardly see kids playing in the street any more. Maybe they're too busy with electronic gadgets.

My thanks to the kind folks who made purchases today. Three of the four sales were of books in Russian. The other was Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story Collection:http:// tinyurl.com/lh2tepa 
Vic's 2nd Novel Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

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