The Writer's Life 3/23 - Careers

Who in his/her right mind would give up a career in medicine to become a writer? Tess Gerritsen did, and I'm sure she doesn't regret it. Her 27 thrillers have been published in 40 countries and sold more than 25 million copies. Her works inspired the popular cable show, Rizzoli & Isles. I just finished her first novel, Call After Midnight, which was published in 1987. It's one of nine romantic thrillers she did. I really enjoyed the suspense and hated the romantic aspects. There is no arguing the prose, which is first rate. It's easy to see why she's had such a long, successful career. The story involves a female scientist whose husband of two months is presumed dead under mysterious circumstances in Europe. Is the burned body her husband's? She sets out for the continent, trailed by a man in diplomatic service smitten with her. For the most part, the action is grounded. It strains credulity a bit during the climax, but not as much as many works of its type. It has a neat, sort of twist at the end. Except for the romantic parts, its 250 pages glide by. 81 readers have rated it at Amazon, forging to a consensus of four out of five stars. I rate it three, excellent for a first novel, especially from someone with no background in law enforcement or espionage. Impressive career, madam.

RIP Joe Garagiola, 90, whose career in baseball spanned decades. He grew up on the same street in St. Louis as Yogi Berra, and was considered the better catching prospect. Although he played nine seasons in the big leagues, his career was modest. The highlight came in his rookie season, when he hit .319 in the World Series for the champion St. Louis Cardinals. Overall, he hit .257, had 42 HR's and 255 RBI for four different teams. His largest impact on the game came from the broadcasting booth. For 30 years he worked on NBC's Game of the Week with Vin Scully. He also guest-hosted The Tonight Show several times during the Johnny Carson era, and was a staple on daytime TV as the host of numerous game shows. Well done, sir.

It was a quiet day at the floating book shop. My thanks to the four kind souls who bought books, and to Ol' Smoky, who donated two, Siddhartha and an abridged version of David Copperfield.

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 on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/