Cord Literature

by Leighton Gage

If you come to visit us in Brazil, you’ll occasionally see a stand where the offerings look like this:

Literatura de Cordel (lit. “cord literature”) derives its name from the way the wares are often displayed, i.e. hung by a cord, usually with the aid of clothespins.

Such stands are less common in the southern part of the country, but are a feature in many of the fairs and markets of the northeast, principally in the States of Pernambuco, Paraiba and Ceará.

These little booklets are the last survivors of a form of popular literature with which an inhabitant of eighteenth-century Madrid, or nineteenth-century England, would have been quite familiar, but that you’d be hard-put to find elsewhere in the modern world. They contain stories and ballads and are generally produced in black-and-white, illustrated with woodcuts.

Down through the years, the content has taken-on a distinctly Brazilian flavor.

Many of the books deal with the folklore, legends and history of the northeast, subjects like Lampião and his band.

I've previously written about him under the title The Bandit King. And, if you like, you can read that post by going here:

http://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.com/2010/01/bandit-king.html

One of the classics of cord literature, The Arrival of Lampião in Hell, by José Pacheco, is much-prized by collectors.

And a satire on the Brazil’s former president, The Arrival of Lula in Hell has enjoyed a good deal of success.

As to the art, two of the more talented woodcutters are Adir Botelho and José Francisco Borges.

This is Botelho:

And this is a work from Borges, who has had expositions at both the Louvre and the Smithsonian:

Determining Time of Death

by Jean Henry Mead

The rule of thumb in determining when a person dies is that the body begins to stiffen and rigor mortis sets in about two hours following death, according to Lee Lofland in his book, Police Procedurals & Investigations. The facial muscles move downward first, then the lower muscles of the body.

As rigor mortis sets in the body becomes stiffer until it’s completely rigid, which happens within eight to twelve hours. As soon as the heart stops pumping, gravity takes over and pulls the blood supply to the lowest parts of the body where the tissue takes on a purplish tint with the appearance of bruising. Laymen who find bodies often think the victim has been badly beaten, particularly if it’s found face down. The face will have also taken on the purplish hue.

Blood pooling reaches its peak within eight to twelve hours and deteriorating blood vessels cause blood to leak into surrounding tissue. Lividity, or discoloration of the skin, is set within six to eight hours and can shift from one area of the body to another if the body is moved, which indicates to investigators that the victim died in another location.

Body temperature is also an indication of time of death. The normal body temperature is about 98.6. When a person dies the body temperature drops 1.5 degrees per hour until it is the same as its surroundings. Therefore, if the victim is found in a room with a temperature of 75 degrees and the body registers 86.6, death occurred approximately eight hours earlier.

Variables occur if the victim is found in the snow or on ice. The body cools much quicker under those circumstances just as it would cool slower in a hot tub or on the desert. Investigators take careful note of the surroundings so that pathologists can factor in the circumstances when determining the time of death.

Keep Titles Short. Really?

By Chester Campbell

When it comes to rules, I'm like my PI protagonists. I don't particularly care for them. Greg McKenzie, the main man in my first mystery series, got his Air Force career stalled out at lieutenant colonel after some of his superiors didn't like the way he played the game. He declined to be a clone of the good old boy, let's get along model investigator.

My second series features Sidney Lanier Chance, better known as Sid, who refused a desk job after a marijuana grower's gunshots interrupted his career as a National Park ranger. He took a job as a small town police chief but refused to kowtow to the local sheriff. This resulted in his being setup for a charge of bribing a drug dealer. Following a period of isolation at his hillside cabin, Sid hung out his shingle as a private investigator in Nashville's Madison suburb.

The second Sid Chance book is titled The Good, The Bad and The Murderous. Okay, it's somewhat longer than the conventional wisdom would dictate. But I've never been one to slavishly follow the conventional wisdom. I chose this title because...well, because it fit.

The "good" is a young black man named Djuan just out of prison at age twenty-five, where he had been since shooting a man during a drug deal when he was twelve. He moved in with his grandmother who vowed to help him follow his determination to make something of himself.

The "bad" is a  pair of tainted cops who accuse Djuan of committing a new murder on flimsy evidence. Sid reluctantly takes an assignment from Djuan's grandmother to try and prove he isn't guilty.

The "murderous" is a deadly hit man we don't see until the latter part of the book. But when we do, he has Sid in his sights.

I initially came  up with the title "Good, Bad and Murderous," but my colleague Beth Terrell, now  known as Jaden, said since it was obviously a parody on "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," I might as well add the rest. Which I did. And I think it's quite effective.

Today, tomorrow and Friday (Jan. 29-31) The Good, The Bad and The Murderous will be free to download as an ebook in the Kindle Store.

My Latest Life of Crime

Not only do I write crime novels, but I participate in committing crimes (wink, wink) to help train police officers. Some number of years ago, I attended a citizens’ police academy, and now I’m part of an alumni group that meets monthly but also participates in role playing exercises for police training. Today I got handcuffed twice, first for domestic violence and second for trespassing.  In the domestic violence scenario, another citizens' police academy alumni member and I were shouting at each other when the police trainees arrived. They had to sort out what was happening (we accused each other of assaulting the other, while both of us had fake blood on us). The police separated us, cuffed us and took our statements. Picture below. All in a day’s work.

Mike Befeler

HOW DO YOU MAKE CHOICES FOR YOUR TIME?

by June Shaw

How do you get to choose which activity you'll take part in? I must make a firm decision soon this morning.

As writers, we need to write. We also need to live. We've got to have those exciting ideas coming to us, see nature, watch people and listen to them, and just relax. That's when ideas often flow most.

Today I need to work on the galley for my latest book. Changes are due by Tuesday. I also want to write more on the next book. I've reached an intense scene and need to decide what will happen next. I'm the published author laision for RWA's south Louiaian chapter, and our board has its annual meeting at 11 in New Orleans. That's an hour and a half away. If there are no Mardi Gras parades along my route.

Also during the luncheon hours today my Red Hat group has a get-together. I joined this society to have fun -- its main purpose -- and meet other people. My group is having a covered dish, bring any Red Hat items you want to sell or swap, and let's do it. And then board games. Fun.

The latest invitation came fom my 9-year-old granddaughter. She'll be a royal page on a king's float for a Mardi Gras parade here in two weeks. From ten till noon today all six pages are hosting a skating party.

And now how do I choose what I'll do this morning? (Oh, and when I woke up today, I realized I hadn't written a post for this blog. I'm doing that first.) Then -- although my family always comes first, I see my granddaughter often and know she'll have tons of kids at the party. I'll send her a gift and know she'll be happy. I know my Red Hat friends will have lots of fun, but I had other commitments; I'll join them next time. I've gotten a lot of work done already on my galley, so that can wait till later today or tomorrow. A few weeks ago I and other board members agreed that we could meet today in N.O., so....... while I'm driving there, I can work on what happens next in my current book. Then later today when I'm home I can add more to that scene. And/or work on my galley. Or maybe I'll just go out to relax with Bob.

How do you make choices for using your time?

http://www.juneshaw.com

FEEDING MY INNER CHILD

By Jackie King

 

In Julia Cameron’s book AN ARTIST’S WAY, she speaks of feeding your inner child. My problem is, I’m so busy taking care of my old-girl self, that there’s little time left for outings with some brat that lurks in my psyche. However, yesterday I had to return a purchase to the mall, and after I walked in the sizzling Tulsa heat into life reviving air conditioning, I decided that both me and my inner-child could use a respite. I had just picked up a shirt when this inner-brat whined,

“Why don’t you get something different? I’m sick of beige.”

What? Inner Brat didn’t like beige?

Somewhat unnerved, I put back the Tee and wandered on through the store. Maybe Inner-Child would prefer a nice navy blue? I strolled from sportswear into blouses and stepped within arm’s length of a dressy print top in shades of orange, yellow and brown. The effect was a bit like viewing an abstract painting and I paused a minute.

That one, Brat said.

My civilized (beleaguered?) self, smiled and spoke in a (silent) faux-calm voice said, “Okay, we’ll try it on, but will make us look like a buffalo.” (Brat isn’t the only alter ego who can be snippy.) I looped the blouse over my arm and moved on. Four racks over I spotted a splashy flowered print. I reacted with one word: “Yuck.”

“Try on that one, too,” Brat said.

I thought my child rearing days were over!

Grown-up-lady rolled her eyes. If anything would make us look ridiculous (an important fear to me, but Brat didn’t seem to care) this garment would. But the jacket was unlined, cotton and sported three-quarter sleeves. Very comfortable for summer, and we mature ladies love our comfort. What the heck, might as well try that one on too.

The two of us, brat and woman-of-a-certain age, (not sure who was leading whom), found a dressing room and tried on both items. SHOCKEROO: My older self decided to buy both! Grown up self loved the blouse; Brat insisted on the blazing blazer.

Feeling more than a little daring, I headed toward hats. I was getting into this. If child and grownup joined forces, what might happen next?



 



My first Hat

 

Footnote: The above anecdote happened two summers earlier. Whether for better or for worse, I’ve changed my style of clothes. This picture was me wearing my first hat. I now have a dozen!

 

Has my Inner Child morphed into an Inner Wild-Child?

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,

Jackie

Now you see it, now you don’t

by Bill Kirton

A writer friend once asked me how I create visual images for readers. It’s an interesting challenge and one I hadn’t thought of before. I write DVDs and other commercial scenarios for training, safety and promotional purposes and the actual visuals there are obviously very important. But that’s not the same. There, I have to call for real images and sequences – it’s not a question of conjuring them up in the text.

I’d never read stuff about this, so I couldn’t offer theories – all I could do was stop and think of how I use visuals and what dictates the way I describe or convey them. And I think the answer to that is that I work backwards, starting from the reaction I have or a character has to what’s being seen. If it’s a beautiful scene, a sunset, the look of a lover’s hair or eyes – things like that – I try to imagine how I’d feel as I looked at it, then isolate and describe the aspects of it that provoked that particular response. In other words, the visual isn’t just a scene or setting, it has a function, it impacts on the characters or story. If I write ‘The sky was blue’ readers are justified in thinking ‘It usually is,’ ‘So what?’ and other less polite things. On the other hand, ‘The sky was a limitless, translucent dome, stretching its porcelain fragility over them, inviting them to dream’ would make the reader slam the book shut and throw it as far away as possible. So I prefer linking what’s seen with what’s experienced, as in ‘The blue of the sky was an insult, made a mockery of the darkness within him’. I’m not suggesting that’s any good, just trying to work out my approach to visuals.

I remember writing in The Darkness about the experience of being in total blackness – not just the lack of images when you close your eyes, because you still sense light through your lids, but the almost tangible absence of all light. I actually sat in a cupboard to experience it. (Am I, therefore, a Method writer?) It makes you redefine yourself, rethink just about everything. In The Figurehead, the visuals were part of my attempt to convey early 19^th century Aberdeen, with its horses, square riggers, items of tradesmen’s equipment, stalls laden with slippery fish, and the general busy-ness around the harbour. But they all had to be linked with sounds and smells to create a textured experience. I suppose I’m saying that visuals, rather than being objective elements in a context, are inseparable from the story’s or the characters’ impulses.

I’m probably remembering this wrongly, but I seem to think I read that Stendhal didn’t know the colour of Julien Sorel’s eyes in Scarlet and Black because, as he said, ‘If you see the colour it means you’re looking at them, not through them’. My sister-in-law once told me that what she missed from my books was indications of what the characters looked like. Since then, I’ve deliberately tried to include little asides about clothing or appearance, but it obviously doesn’t come naturally to me. I sort of feel that a straightforward description of something implies the thing and an observer and therefore interferes with the narrative, where there is no observer, simply the characters doing what they do.

And the more I try to examine how I use visuals, the less clear it is for me. So anyone else got any ideas about it?