Words: I learn something new every day

A few years ago a friend signed me up for Wordsmith.org’s A Word a Day. Every morning Wordsmith emails a new word, with its definition, usage, and etymology.

Often the words are simply fun. Sometimes they intrigue a thriller writer. From July 23:

minatory (MIN-uh-tor-ee, MYN-) adjective

Threatening or menacing.

[From Latin minari (to threaten), from minae (threats). Ultimately from
the Indo-European root men- (project) that is also the source of menace,
mountain, eminent, promenade, demean, amenable, and mouth.]

And then there’s today’s word:

cacography (kuh-KOG-ruh-fee) noun

1. Bad handwriting.

2. Incorrect spelling.

[From caco- (bad), from Greek kakos (bad) + -graphy (writing). Caco is
ultimately from the Indo-European root kakka-/kaka- (to defecate) which
also gave us poppycock, cacophony, and cucking stool… Opposites of today’s word are calligraphy (beautiful handwriting) and orthography (correct spelling).

The origins of the word are enough to provoke me to improve my handwriting.

The silly season approaches: Yearbook yourself

So I was going to explain today’s excursion into frivolity as a way to re-imagine oneself. Or as a technique by which a writer can put herself in somebody else’s shoes, and visualize life in other times. That it’s research, in other words. But who am I kidding?

Yearbook Yourself poses you in a variety of guises and many, many hideous hairstyles from 1950 to 2000. You can go from Rebel Without a Cause to The Breakfast Club without taking a breath. See how you would have looked sitting next to your mother in chemistry class. Shudder at the knowledge that at least a few of these photos may have been lifted straight from your high school yearbook.

Yes, I am currently writing 2,000 words a day of the new novel. And I am the High Priestess of Procrastination. But August starts this weekend, and I like to get a head start on the silly season.

USA Today reviews The Memory Collector

USA Today says good things about The Memory Collector in its mystery/thriller roundup:

“Meg Gardiner got attention in 2007 when Stephen King dubbed her ‘the next suspense superstar.’ In her sixth novel, The Memory Collector, Gardiner stokes her reputation with the second to star forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett, whom we met in last year’s The Dirty Secrets Club. Her job investigating whether dead people are the victims of murder, suicide, accident or natural causes changes when she’s hired to analyze a man who’s unable to form new memories. Great story construction and a unique premise keep this story moving.”

And that’s my book pimpery for the day. Now back to our regular blogging.

First, thong bandits. Now, bikini-jackers

Bikini-clad woman accused of carjacking in Mississippi.

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – Police in Mississippi say a woman was carjacked by a bikini-clad suspect, who they say later tried to rob an RV dealership. Southaven Police Chief Tom Long said the 24-year-old suspect approached another woman in her driveway and demanded the car… the suspect then drove the car to the business, where she told employees she had a gun and demanded money.

“The employees did not believe the claim and restrained her until officers arrived.”

Robbers, take note: Shouting “I’ve got a gun” while dressed in a bikini raises the “Hey, doofus, where?” question.

Third blogiversary, and coming attractions

Today is lying for a living’s third birthday. To everybody who reads the blog, and who comments here: thank you for making this project worthwhile. I enjoy writing posts because I look forward to all your responses, which turn my ramblings into an actual conversation. That’s what makes it fun.

Coming up in the next month:

• A new contest. The winner will have a character in my next novel named after him or her.
• Quizzes.
• My annual panic over the looming book deadline. Perhaps with photos this time.
• A death match pitting fans against each other in this blog’s own version of Ultimate Warrior. But only if I can get the steel cage set up, and lure gullible readers avid “Fight Club” fans into the basement.

Details to follow.

Forget the dogs, I’m betting on the nuns

“School nuns fight pit bull kennel.”

It sounds like the wildest matchup yet for Ultimate Warrior.

God’s wrath, greased lightning… you decide

Lightning strikes ground next to couple having sex outside.

A couple’s tryst in the bushes along the German countryside ended in a flash when a bolt of lightning struck the ground next to them as they were making love.

“Afterward, they ran for cover in the torrential downpour, but lost their way among the foliage in the undergrowth. A passing motorist called police after spotting the naked pair blundering along the highway.”

I’m shocked. Shocked! “Among the foliage” — that can’t possibly be correct usage.

Die Strafe

Die Strafe, the German edition of The Memory Collector, has just been published. Yesterday I got my copy in the mail from the excellent folks at Heyne in Munich. Kirsten, Friedrich, Markus, Gabi, and everybody else: Vielen dank!

Change will do you good, unless you steal the cash register

Florida cops catch man running with cash register.

GREENACRES, Fla. – Authorities caught a Lake Worth man running down the street with a stolen cash register. Greenacres police reported that a 32-year-old man entered a restaurant Thursday afternoon and asked for change for a $10 bill. When the cashier asked to see the bill, the man reportedly began screaming, “I want change!”

“Police said the man then grabbed about $40 from a tip box, picked up the cash register containing nearly $300 and ran out.”

This guy’s going to get more change in his life than he probably wanted.

Salt Lake County Reader’s Choice nomination

The Salt Lake County Library System has nominated The Dirty Secrets Club for its semi-annual Reader’s Choice Award.

It’s a kick to be nominated with a bunch of other wonderful novels, including The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and City of Thieves.

Libraries: Oh, how I love them. And if you’re in the Salt Lake area, feel free to read and vote for my book.

Matrix ping pong

Because it’s Friday.

There is no spoon. But there are contestants on Japanese game shows who can make me laugh.

(Via Robert Wright, blogging at Andrew Sullivan.)

Today’s headlines: Rampaging toilets, goat kings, vegetarian killer robots

I read the news so you don’t have to.

Rampaging toilet terrorizes children. Okay, so it was a man in a toilet costume, taking part in a water conservation campaign, but still.

Goat’s crowning as King of Ireland in doubt. Travel problems, apparently.

Company denies its robots feed on the dead. Contrary to reports on Fox News, the robots will be vegetarian. Sure, that’s what they say now.

“Something’s going right if there’s a banjo in the White House.”

Alison Krauss plays for a country music celebration at the White House, along with Union Station, Charley Pride, and Brad Paisley.

Mr. Paisley and Ms. Krauss sang their hit duet, “Whiskey Lullaby,” a ballad about heartbreak and alcoholism.

Oh, my dear sweet Lord. “Whiskey Lullaby” is one of the saddest country songs ever. It’s a beautiful duet. But on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is sad, ten is dead dogs and prison, “Whiskey Lullaby” rates about 479. The opening line goes, “She put him out like the burning end of a midnight cigarette.” The first time I heard it I nearly drove into a ditch, and that was after my daughter had warned me it was a tearjerker.

And it was performed at the White House. After which, I imagine, Malia and Sasha had to be led sobbing from the room by the First Lady.

UPDATE: I just listened to the song again, and nearly drove my computer into a ditch. Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley, your music is dangerous to me.

Bodies in the Bookshop

Had a great time, signed lots of books, got to talk to readers and dozens of other crime writers, and had the chance to walk around Cambridge, where the university buildings are only about 800 years old.

With novelist NJ Cooper.

I told her she’d better have written 4,000 words by six p.m., or else — but would she listen?

I spotted this miscreant wandering the cobbled streets in search of food, and posed him in front of the university buildings on Trinity Street for perspective. Fortunately, soon afterward he did find grub. Bruschetta and a nice penne, plus a strong espresso for the long drive home.