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Here's Jack's question. Give yourself extra credit if you can get the answer. Good one, Jack.

I'll post the authors' names of all these books when I give the answers. Let's see--in about a week.  JP

Hi, Cobber!

Number three wins. You really should make two sentences here. They may not actually belong together, because they discuss two different topics.

1) Thinking it a prank, she and her husband decide to ignore the message. (should this be "decided?")

2) Her husband, Zeke Katz, struggled as a hedge fund manager.

Think of your poor reader, trying to wade his/her way through!

Yikes! And I thought writing a book was all about writing. After watching Janet's endeavors for a couple of years, I don't see how she has time to write. Yet she keeps turning them out! Yay, Janet!
I've taken advantage of every free opportunity for promotion I could find, yet my literary "children" have not found a niche. They languish in the Amazon Orphanage. Guess I'll have to take a different approach to promotion in the new year.
Thanks for the info, Janet and Jack. Happy Holidays!  JP

You're so right about the movies. They work in visuals, and I suppose they would rather please the eye than portray real life.

I write a lot of stories set in the mid-twentieth century (1940s, 1950s and 1960s) I do remember some things, like they way people spoke and dressed, but most things I have to research. Try finding the dating hotspots in postwar Detroit!
My favorite sources are the books written during these times. The language, the recollections of events, the police procedures of the day (we would consider them nonexistent), medical treatment, etc., etc., etc.. Whether they're professionals writing in their fields or novelists writing fiction, they all contribute to a realistic picture of the day.
The best source ever of information about pioneer Texans was a journal written by a woman. The title was Days of Sunshine, Days of Rain. It's not available now--I found it languishing in a corner in a small-town public library.
That's how you do the research that enables you to write a realistic story.
Lucky for me I enjoy the hunt.  JP

Yes, we have discussed this topic before. I was satisfied that posting on tnbw didn't come under the description of open publication, but recently a magazine (both print and online) to which I have contributed changed the wording of their submission requirement. They now require the work be
• original, so previously unpublished online or in print (so that includes authors’ websites and blogs)
This is a direct quote.
So I guess things are changing. Has anybody else noticed this?

I did have occasion to use this knowledge once in a review. I suppose I overdid it, since it appears to be acceptable to use the two interchangeably. I enjoyed reading the article, until I go to the ending and read the quote.

Hector: I am unarm’d; forgoe this vantage, Greek.
Achilles: Strike, fellows, strike; this is the man I seek.

Damn! I hate that Achilles. I always rooted for Hector. He was the one who was wronged. Stupid, impulsive, arrogant brother, and stupid, hot-headed, vengeful opponent. He didn't have a chance.

Yes, I'm saying that people are using past perfect in place of simple past. For example: My mother had gone to the store instead of my mother went to the store.
In my opinion, it's safer to use the simple past. We should remember to KISS, not over-complicate.
(I hate to admit it, but I got two wrong, myself. I have a tendency to answer questions too quickly. In my defense, I don't understand number 10 at all. It didn't make a bit of sense to me. I guess whoever wrote the test didn't use a proofreader.)

Harsh, Dill. We all know language is a living, dynamic entity. A good portion of your (and my) word choice is a function of age. When I was in school, "snuck" was just wrong, and that's reflected in the way I write. But things change, no matter how we drag our feet.