Author: Michelle Kubitz

I am a 40-something fiction writer living in the Midwest with my husband and two kids. A former journalist, I like to write mysteries - sometimes with a paranormal bent. A 2017 runner up for Killer Nashville's Claymore Award, I'm a member of Sisters in Crime (National and Twin Cities) and Mystery Writers of America (MWA-Midwest).
Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Hallelujah

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

Wow – apparently my life has been all about memes lately.  (And following political stories … bor-rrring.  Although it beats reading about the Kardashians.)

I had to dig hard for this article that I had posted on my Facebook wall last week.  Neil Gaiman on why our futures depend on libraries, daydreaming, and reading.

Otherwise, the only articles that I forwarded and actually read this week was this piece from the Huffington Post asking the question that’s on everyone’s mind:  “What’s A Skoliosexual?”  (I emailed my BFF and asked him if he was my “zucchini.”  Yeah … that was a weird message to send to someone, I admit.)

And then, let’s file this under “I can’t make this shit up”:  There was a woman in Champlin, Minnesota that was pissed off at her neighbors and their children, so she wrote them anonymous notes that said her children looked “delicious” and sent them magazines that were addressed to “Your Tasty Children.”  I emailed one of my other BFFs and told her I was glad that she moved out of that particular ‘burb, she responded that her husband gave the woman props for creativity.

Yes folks, the truth is usually stranger than fiction.

***

Listening to:  In honor of today’s post title, Rufus Wainwright’s take on Hallelujah.  It may be heresy, but this one is my favorite version.

Reading:  My cousin Cheryl invited me to be part of a Facebook society that is devoted to L.M. Montgomery and I found out about this book: “L.M. Montgomery’s Rainbow Valleys.”  I’m not going to lie, when I found out about these essays that chronicle Ms. Montgomery’s Ontario years, I was having a shit-tacular day and had to fight the mighty urge to Click.  Buy.  Devour.  Truthfully, the only thing that really stopped me was the realization that there are a TON of books that are devoted to the “Anne of Green Gables” author’s life, inspiration, etc.  I’m thankful that my local library has a robust interlibrary loan system.  I have a feeling that I’m going to be doing some academic reading this winter about one of my favorite authors.

Fiction Update: I’m making good progress on outlining “Dragonfly” and noodling on the mushy middle parts that need to coalesce into something that resembles a story and not the end result that looks like my toddlers had a field day on my laptop’s keyboard.

Happy Friday, friends!  I am wishing you a blissful day and weekend. Today I am heading north to St. Paul to eat some borscht with a beloved college friend. I’m looking forward to not checking work emails and soaking in some good conversation.  It will be good for my soul.  Do something good for yourselves today!

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Monday Mayhem …

Michelle Kubitz

Monday Mayhem… Because Friday apparently didn’t happen in my world. 🙂

Also – this gave me an excuse to play around with Canva.com for a new blog graphic.  It wasn’t the woman’s head buried in the crook of her arm with a forgotten cup of coffee somewhere beyond her reach, but I think it gets the point across.

Hope you are all having a wonderful start of the week! While I don’t have a treasure trove of random articles to share with you, I do have this nugget of goodness to illuminate your mind.

Happy Monday, indeed!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: What’s new and what’s random

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

Today’s post is where Kenny Rogers and mysteries meet!  OK – not really, but that might give you an idea where my mind has been this week.

My writers group (we call ourselves the Rochester Literary Guild or “Guilders”) has been having a HOT debate about this current ad from IBM Watson.  It features a conversation between Watson and Bob Dylan.  (To say that Bob Dylan is something of a patron saint to the Guilders might be conjecture, but I’m not too far from the truth.)  The main question that we’re kicking around?  Why would Bob do this?  But man … I love to hear The Man speak.  I love his facial expressions as Watson poses his questions and opinions to him.

Kenny Rogers!  Mr. Rogers’ recent retirement announcement prompted me to “Like” him on Facebook.  Considering that my brother and I used to stand on my parents’ fireplace bench and pretend that we were Kenny Rogers and Dottie West (this was at the tender ages of 15 and 17 … no, wait!  We were only toddlers.  I swear.), I’m surprised that I hadn’t liked Kenny’s FB page before.  I’m not sure what I was waiting for – I don’t know if Kenny runs his own social media (I’m sure not), but whoever is posting on this page links to the most RANDOM articles and memes on the Internet.  It’s like reading this particular type of blog post.  Seemingly every 20 minutes.  Love it.

Finally – the other article I read this week recapped Ernest Hemingway’s life as a young man in Michigan.  The author’s premise for this piece was the notion that when most people think of Hemingway, the Paris years and his time in Havana automatically spring to mind.  The New York Times’ author went back to Hemingway’s Michigan haunts – the places that deeply inspired “The Nick Adams Stories.”  It’s a quietly moving piece about a larger than life author.

***

Listening to:  Nothing that is too notable.  If anyone has good listening suggestions, hit me up on Twitter @shelleybakes or leave a comment! (Jerry Johnson … I’m looking at you … 🙂 And bird call recordings do not count.)

Reading:  I DEVOURED Jenny Milchman’s first book “Cover of Snow.”  There were a couple bumpy patches at the beginning of the book, but as soon as I realized that it had more to do with the fact that I was reading on my Kindle versus an author error, I powered through.  I’m still thinking of a couple of the herrings that she buried.  Thankful that I have a mystery loving mother-in-law who has this book on hold at the library and will email me her thoughts as well.  Ms. Milchman has been featured on any number of mystery genre blogs because of how she toured to support her debut novel.  In summary, as a debut novelist, her publishing house wasn’t pouring advertising dollars towards her book.  So Ms. Milchman and her husband loaded up their kids and drove cross-country to support her book.  Her account of the “world’s longest book tour” can be found here.

Fiction Update: Toasted Graham Latte – here I come!  (See last week’s post for this random shout out to Starbucks.)  I’m on page 112 of 122 for “Dragonfly.”  I should be able to knock the rest of these pages out today / this weekend.  There will be a post next week that discusses my next steps and some of the … well, I’ll be honest – anxiety that I’m feeling about what needs to happen next.  (OK – maybe anxiety is too strong of a word, but I’m the mama of two toddlers.  I don’t have a lot of time on my hands and I want to make sure that the time I have is used as efficiently as possible.)

Happy Friday, friends!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Random, random musings

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

William Kent Krueger wrote an eloquent blog post a while ago regarding his decision to temporarily shelve the sequel to his New York Times bestseller “Ordinary Grace.”  The Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote a piece that included him and some of Krueger’s thoughts on that decision.  Very interesting.

This has nothing to do with writing, but I loved/hated this piece on Ina Garten.  I thought it was one of the most insightful pieces on her, but the writer has a serious problem with Martha Stewart and barely concealed their snark.

And finally – I would be remiss if I closed this “Friday Fare” without being cognizant of current events.  It’s been an ugly week.  Another school shooting.  This time in Oregon.  I haven’t read a lot of the coverage of the issue for many reasons.  But I did read this:  The Daily Beast article that urges people to forget the zero who pulled the trigger, but to honor Chris Mintz, the Army vet that charged the shooter.

***

Listening to:  For some reason, Ashlee Simpson’s “Pieces of Me” was in my head this morning.  So I pulled it up on YouTube.  Yeah – I won’t link to that.  That guilty pleasure is all my own.

Reading:  Almost done with Ann Rule’s “Stranger Beside Me.”  This book is lauded as the ultimate true crime novel, partly because of the late author’s relationship with the subject of this book – notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.  This book is incredible.  I’ve literally had some trouble sleeping because of it.

Fiction Update: Progress on outlining / reviewing “Dragonfly” has been a little slow, but I’ve made myself a deal … I cannot have another Starbucks Toasted Graham Latte until I’m done with a read-through.  And seriously – the TGL is one of the tastiest things I’ve ever drank, I will try to finish my read-through by middle of next week.

Happy Friday, friends!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Belated!

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

In a week where few things could keep my attention, I devoured this article about wartime photographer Lee Miller.  Ms. Miller shot photos for Vogue during World War II.  She had an amazing perspective of the chaos that was unraveling around her.  I look forward to reading Hilary Roberts’ book about her life and art.

And honestly – that’s about all that I read this week.  The rest of the articles that look interesting are bookmarked and unread in my browser … oh well.  Onward!

***

Listening to: Bonnie Raitt and John Prine’s duet of “Angel of Montgomery.”

Reading: Perhaps more appropriately, what I picked up but couldn’t finish this week.  Lena Dunham’s “Not That Kind of Girl” started out pretty funny, but honestly – I couldn’t keep up with it.  Not a reproach on her writing style, but I’m in my late 30s and have a child.  I do not spend a lot of time ruminating about my childhood and I’d rather not think about the toads I kissed before I married my husband.  I also tried J.D. Robb’s first “Naked” book in that particular series.  Eh … it was set as a futuristic novel.  Couldn’t stick with it.

Fiction Update:  I had some wonderful meetings / conversations with my beta readers for “After Life.”  I’m getting some really good feedback and I’m cautiously excited to let my mind wander back into the world of my protagonist Kate, her father Simon, and the folks she encounters.  Still have some work that I need to do with “Dragonfly” first …

Happy weekend, friends!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Hello Gorgeous

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

If anyone asks me whether I am going to go down the self-publishing or traditional publishing route, I am honest.  I do not know.  Hence, I am grateful for articles like this one that give an in-depth look at some of the pros and cons of self-publishing.

I’ve found another late bandwagon in which to jump upon.  Mindy Kaling.  My God … I’ve only seen a handful of episodes of the US version of “The Office” and I’ve totally missed “The Mindy Project,” but I need to read her autobiography.  This Atlantic article has convinced me of it.  Why?  Because I work my ass off and am hoping to someday reap the success of my efforts.  And Ms. Kaling seems to eloquently capture that: “‘There is a certain type of greasy hair that you get only when you are writing with no breaks,’ Kaling confides, telling the story of her creation of The Mindy Project. ‘And I had it, big-time. If I breathed in deeply, I could smell my unwashed scent, and it was intoxicating. It smelled like hard work.'”  (As the author of the Atlantic piece said “gross” – but you know what?  Totally get it. [Although I think I probably smell more like “lazy-mom-who-works-from-home-and-forgets-to-shower” versus a hard worker.  Sorry peeps!])

Not sure if this is a “fun” read, but I like any time when the conundrums of the world can be plotted via chart.

***

Listening to: Monday found me driving to a 7 AM breakfast with a local politician.  Since I didn’t want to take myself too seriously, I kept the CD in my mom-mobile playing.  Politics + Muppets Most Wanted “Sequel” song = Reasonable.  Tuesday found me the victim of a craptacular pot of coffee, so I soothed my morning by listening to some Don Williams.  The rest of the week was a crapshoot of whatever my computer told me to listen to (Bruce Hornsby! Bob Seger!  Avett Brothers!).

Reading: I’ve checked out an interesting mix of eBooks from the library lately – “Pastrix” by Nadia Bolz-Weber, “I am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai, and Lena Dunham’s “Not That Kind of Girl.”  I think my mind will explode from the various perspectives my brain is about to digest.  And that sounds marvvy.

Fiction Update:  Outlining, outlining, outlining.  I sent my BFF a list of goals that I’ve made for the month of September.  And finishing the outline for “Dragonfly” will likely be the only one I accomplish (since I’ve already biffed it on unpacking one box a day in the new house.)  Priorities, right?

Happy Friday, friends!

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Recent book reviews

Michelle Kubitz

I reviewed a couple of books on Goodreads / Amazon lately and figured I’d share them here.

First off is a review of a fellow Twin Cities Sisters in Crime (TCSinC) member’s book:

Strength to Stand by Sheyna Galyan

strengthtostandWhen Sheyna Galyan writes her novels she tries to answer “big questions.” When I’m reading fiction, my basic quest is to be entertained – but if I end up learning something because of what I’ve read or if it spins my mind in different directions where I want to research something that the author mentions or if I come away having learned something different about culture or religion … that’s time well spent.
Ms. Galyan’s books do not disappoint.  “Strength to Stand” is the second book in her Rabbi David Cohen series and starts six months after the conclusion of “Destined to Choose.”  In Ms. Galyan’s words: “When Rabbi Batya Zahav first suspects she’s the victim of an anti-Jewish stalker, she enlists the help of her colleague, Rabbi David Cohen. Soon her husband Arik, an Israeli-born Minneapolis cop, is also on the case. As the stalker’s anonymous persecution increases in violent intensity, it falls to David to identify the stalker before someone gets hurt, and before the stalker carries out the latest chilling threat.”
“Strength” follows characters that were featured and introduced in Ms. Galyan’s first book.  For a reader, this is like settling in for a conversation with an old friend.  In this case, catching up on this conversation is full of tension and suspense.  Again, time well spent.
Galyan writes strong characters and offers insight on Jewish culture. As a reader and writer, it was interesting to see how Galyan’s skills as an author strengthened from her debut novel to Rabbi Cohen’s second outing.  I am happy to hear that she’s penning a third that will prominently feature Arik.
My review is based on an ARC.  “Strength to Stand” was released on September 1st.

***

The other book that I just finished was Angelica Huston’s second autobiography “Watch Me.”  It only got three stars because there were moments where I was asking myself “why am I interested in this?” and then the other lingering question – if anyone but Angelica Huston wrote this, would it really have been published and would Graydon Carter/Vanity Fair really have fawned over it?  But I really couldn’t put the book down.  (Because I really like Angelica Huston as an actress … if you tell me she’s going to be in a movie, I know that she has a presence that I cannot look away from … and her father voiced Gandalf in Rankin and Bass’s version of “The Hobbit.”  I effing love that movie.)

Watch Me: A Memoir by Angelica Huston

21412240So, the reason I picked up this book was that Mindy Kaling mentioned it when the New York Times profiled her for their “By the Book” column. Specifically, Ms. Kaling noted that she loved Angelica Huston’s autobiography, but she couldn’t believe that Jack Nicholson let Ms. Huston publish what she did about their tumultuous relationship. Ms. Huston’s autobiography that covered this relationship and spanned the majority of her movie career, along with beautiful chapters that talked about the death of her father, John Huston, and her subsequent relationship and marriage with sculptor Bob Graham.

Ms. Huston’s book would be a perfect beach read. It’s gossipy without being cruel (although, her reaction to Jack Nicholson’s eventual relationship with Rebecca Broussard borders on being a little bitchy), it encapsulates living experiences that most people will not have in their lives, and it’s an interesting behind the scenes look at her perspective on some incredible movies made in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. (Although I wish she would have wrote more about her experience on ‘Mists of Avalon’ beyond citing that she saved her wardrobe from that.)

If you’re a fan of Angelica Huston’s work, this is a good read.

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Sweet, sweet Friday

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

I’ve run up against the 2,000 Twitter “ceiling” and have been researching ways to get around it.  Social media can be great, but man … there are limitations to it’s usefulness.

This New Yorker article was a fascinating look at the Salem Witch Trials.  This line has stayed with me since I read the piece:  “The seventeenth-century sky was crow black, pitch-black, Bible black, so black that it could be difficult at night to keep to the path, so black that a line of trees might freely migrate to another location, or that you might find yourself pursued by a rabid black hog, leaving you to crawl home on all fours, bloody and disoriented.”

I read this article in the Wall Street Journal about the new Lisbeth Salander book that’s coming out this fall and the background question of whether Steig Larsson’s “Millenium” series should go on after his death.  The irony is not lost on me that I have no desire to read Harper Lee’s “Go Set A Watchman” because I seriously question if she’s being taken advantage of by her caretakers, but I will probably check out “The Girl in the Spider’s Web.”

***

Listening to:  I was having a rotten day on Wednesday, but after I put on some Neil Diamond (in a sparkly jacket no less!), my frown turned upside down.  Thank you Neil!

Reading:  “Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Bibliography” by Laura Ingalls Wilder had been on my bedside stand for the past couple of weeks making my first-grade self wonder when I became really boring and didn’t have time to read.  But I finally finished it.  And now I want to read more biographies about Ms. Wilder – beyond the dozens of books I’ve read about her in my lifetime.  (First-grade self approves.)

Fiction Update: Eh … I wish I had more to say about this than I did last week.  I’m still bitchy and twitchy about the lack of time that I’ve had to write lately.  However, I did do some good writerly things this week:  On Tuesday, my friend Emily and I went to the Twin Cities Sisters in Crime meeting.  It was good to reconnect with members of the writing community and listen to the talk by Kenyon Police Chief Lee Sjolander.  (Although Chief Sjolander’s talk also made me a little homesick for the small town that I grew up in.)  I started my work as a beta reader for my friend Emily’s novel. Good things are happening.  But I need to get ass in chair and some words on paper.

Happy Friday, friends!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Random Brain Stuff

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

I originally was going to start this post by saying “I don’t have a lot to share this week” and I really don’t, but then when I went through my bookmarks and random things I’ve emailed to myself this week, I realize that I’ve kept my mind decently occupied.  However, I found myself in one hell of a funk this week upon the shootings of the two TV journalists in Virginia – Alison Parker and Adam Ward.  One of my former news colleagues nailed it when she wrote the following post on Facebook:  “Print and TV journalists are sometimes opponents. Not today. Today I am grieving with the WDBJ7 employees and the loved ones of Alison Parker and Adam Ward. I’m also praying for my friends who still go out and cover the news every day. Be safe, be aware and know that one (former) print journalist wishes she could give you an in-person hug today.”

I had plenty of angst for the television reporters that I came across during my tenure as a print reporter, but at the end of the day – we were all doing our jobs.  And for this to happen?  The thing I kept thinking as I read the coverage of their murders was that these guys were just kids. Their deaths made my heart hurt.  A lot.

Other than that?  My reading list was inane:

Can you filter cheap vodka and make it better?  This article tests a theory.

This piece about a retired cop and a potential UFO sighting was just well done.

And finally, performance artist Amanda Palmer asks some questions that I found myself thinking before I had my children – how do you balance children with creating art?  What changes?  What gets better?  What might get worse?

One of my favorite passages:

“So no small wonder that as I approached my mid-thirties I entered a conflicted baby conundrum. If I had kids, would I turn into a boring, irrelevant, ignorable artist? Would I suddenly start writing songs about balance and shit? Would I have a sudden, terrifying, interest in the LUTE?

Would I become that annoying person who is so enthralled with their child that it’s impossible to have an intelligent conversation with them about art because they’d rather show you iPhone photos of their kid drooling out a spoonful of mashed carrots? This all made me really afraid.”

(As for what I’d tell Amanda Palmer about the intersection of motherhood and art is that having kids has given me a sense of urgency about my writing.  And for me, it’s deepened my process, but yeah … the sleep deprivation is a real bitch.  And I haven’t found myself drawn to the lute yet.)

***

Listening to:  Still on my Ray LaMontagne kick.  Specifically, this song.  I’ve had a couple late nights recently working on a bid for my full-time job and this has helped me get through a few work days.  What slays me about this video is not only LaMontagne’s raw vocals, but just the cohesiveness in his backing band The Pariah Dogs.  Nothing flashy about them, just solid skills and a non-verbal shorthand that powers their collaboration.

Listening II:  I really adore Kacey Musgraves.  I’ve said that before, but I came across her NPR “Tiny Desk Concert” the other day and re-upped my adoration of her.

Reading:  Still reading “Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Bibliography” by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  My first-grade self is a happy camper.

Fiction Update: Nothing this week.  And trust me, I’ve been bitchy and antsy because of it.  Next week will be better.

Happy Friday, friends!

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random

Friday Fare: Woo! Friday!

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is my “best of” when it comes to Internet links that I’ve read this week.  Here are the articles that caught my attention and maybe made me a smarter person this week:

I have yet to get on the Sara Paretsky bandwagon (which is kind of pathetic … she lives in Chicago, is a member of Mystery Writers of America – Midwest chapter, and is the mother behind the Sisters in Crime organization).  But for the reasons I’ve parenthesized and because of this article, I’m looking forward to getting caught up in her backlog of V.I. Warshawski books.

I have a lot of love for Dave Grohl.  My high school gym teacher had posted this on his Facebook wall – it’s worth the eight minutes of your life.

So – who didn’t read the New York Times’ account of Amazon’s cutthroat / “bruising” work environment?  (My parents don’t count …)  Since then, I’ve read that the government is wading into the fray (that oughta be good …) and then I read this piece from Forbes where the writer says: “Journalists enjoy the right to be selective, conducting long interviews and then using only short segments in an article. They enjoy the right to interview wide ranges of people and then to build the final story around a small subset.”  That line resonated with me because of my former career as a journalist – the challenge to take all of that information and drill it down to something publishable, accurate, and palatable … it was a challenge that I relished.  But it’s also a good warning to take everything that you read in the media with a salt shaker … you never know what ends up on the cutting room floor.

Finally, I recently wrote about how much I loved the movie “Real Genius.”  This time around, we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of “The Usual Suspects.”  There are not enough words for me to accurately describe how that movie made my mind explode the first time I saw it.  Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, the late and amazing Pete Postlethwaithe … every member of that cast was just so spot on in their roles.  It is funny to hear the director’s memories of the movie and to read the reviews – some scathing – that were published 20 years ago.

***

Listening to:  John Prine and Bonnie Raitt’s duet of “Angel of Montgomery.”  Discovered a new band last weekend – Lucius.  Right now as I’m writing, I needed some Ray LaMontagne.

Reading:  I reserved “Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Bibliography” by Laura Ingalls Wilder at my local library and picked it up the other night.  I’m only through the acknowledgements and the introductory chapter, but I’m really enjoying the book.  Because I grew up in the Midwest – my entire first grade class was raised on this stuff.

Fiction Update: I made a read through the story that I call “Dragonfly.”  I’m hoping to take some time this weekend to sketch out an outline of what I have written (the story’s basically there – just need to string some lines between the tent poles.)  I have another idea that recently crawled into my head space, but I’ve just been jotting down notes on that, going to let it marinate for awhile before I commit to paper. (PS – Have I ever told you that I love this writing life?)

Happy Friday, friends!