Shirley Redwine
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Book Review, Reading List 0 comments

Summer Mystery Success

August 17, 2016

Good as Gone. Mystery fans: grab the debut novel from Austin writer Amy Gentry asap because everyone will be talking about this one. The title invites comparison with that best selling phenomenon, Gone Girl, and sure enough, the mystery opens with the horrifying premise that a stranger has abducted the victim, this time a thirteen-year-old girl, […]

etymology, Word of the Week 0 comments

Word of the Week – dialect

August 8, 2016

The official language of the U.S Virgin Islands is American English. British Virgin Islands uses the Queen’s English. But that’s not what you’ll hear on the street. Native born citizens of the islands speak Virgin Islands Creole, known locally as “dialect,” incomprehensible to you and me. To linguists, it’s not really an English dialect, it’s […]

recipes, Uncategorized 2 comments

The Fictional Chef Serves Susanna’s Bananas

August 1, 2016

Susanna, my protagonist, has spent some time in de Islands, where dinner is served on the veranda with a balmy breeze and a dessert that makes the guests want to lick the bowl. You can make this recipe for any number of diners. Ingredients per customer: ½ banana, sliced lengthwise, then in half (in the […]

etymology, Word of the Week 0 comments

Word of the Week – spinmeister

August 1, 2016

The term spinmeister, also known as the spin doctor, arose in the 1990s, meaning the one who provides a favorable slant to an item of news or a potentially unpopular policy. Meister is a suffix suggesting expertise, frequently ironic, derived from the German for master. Different origins are given for of this use of spin. Wikipedia […]

Reading List, Uncategorized 1 comment

On the Mystery Bookshelf – Good as Gone

July 26, 2016

Another mystery set in Houston, recommended by Sally Woods at Murder by the Book. This one is Amy Gentry’s debut novel. She’s a Houston native, now living in Austin, returning to sign her book at Murder by the Book on Friday, July 29, 2016 at 7:30 PM. I’ve already got my copy.

etymology, Word of the Week 2 comments

Word of the Week – doolally

July 25, 2016

In this political season there’s plenty of rhetoric on all sides claiming the patriotic high ground. The suffix, “-ism” is used to form nouns that refer to a set of political, or religious beliefs, studies, or ways of behaving: patriotism, feminism, globalism, and jingoism.  Referring to another person’s “isms” frequently introduces a criticism. For example, […]

etymology 0 comments

Word of the Week – The F-bomb

July 18, 2016

Let’s talk about dirty words. A euphemism is a mild or indirect expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt. It’s derived from the Greek term meaning “use of words of good omen.” Any place for that in modern fiction? Some colleagues in my critique group objected when I allowed my protagonist, […]

Reading List 1 comment

A Poignant Love Story from a Distinguished Author

July 16, 2016

Houston writer Babette Hale’s new story, Motes, appears in the new Southwest Review, vol. 101, no.2.(http://www.smu.edu/SouthwestReview/CurrentBackIssues) Her fans will be delighted to see the landscape and people of Central Texas, where Hale lives part time, come alive in her vivid imagery and telling details. One of her previous stories, Drouth, set in the same countryside […]

etymology 0 comments

Word of the Week – fraffly

July 11, 2016

Recently I wrote about how Americans give away their backgrounds with a word choice. (Word of the Week – doodlebug.) At the grocery store, do you put your food in a bag (East)? Or a sack (everyone else except the South)? In the South you might carry groceries in a “poke.” Think of buying “a […]

Uncategorized 0 comments

Bookstores

July 5, 2016

Another great thing about a university town: downtown Santa Cruz, CA has not one, but two fantastic bookstores within a block of each other. Take a look at  www.bookshopsantacruz.com and www.logosbooksrecords.com.

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About Shirley

For years I balanced the work/life tightrope, and now I’m celebrating the freedom – madly writing mysteries. My husband Bill and I both worked demanding schedules, and we moved to six different cities before landing back in Houston. Lucky for me, it wasn’t all work all the time.

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