RIP: P.D. James

I was sorry to read that celebrated mystery author P.D. James died a few days ago. Since she was 94, one can hardly call her death untimely, but it's still a loss to the literary community. I wasn't a rabid fan but over the years read a number of her novels and truly enjoyed them for their subtlety and craft. Her scifi/dystopian mystery The Children of Men is particularly good.

There's a fascinating article about her at the link below. Remarkably accomplished woman. One quote that really resonated with me:

She told The Paris Review in 1995 that she “thought writing a detective story would be a wonderful apprenticeship for a ‘serious’ novelist, because a detective story is very easy to write badly but difficult to write well.”

I think one could say the same thing about erotica.

I've written a couple of books that might qualify as mysteries (Exposure and Bangkok Noir). It's very tough. Every detail counts.

Anyway, here's the link. Worth reading, imho.

http://nyti.ms/1FwmH2v