Audio Books

Brennan Novels

Devil Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan) by Kathy Reichs $1.50

If I Should Die: A Novel of Suspense by Allison Brennan $14.99

Monday Mourning – A Temperance Brennan Novel,GOOD Book $4.43

Bones to Ashes: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels), Kathy Reichs, Very Good $12.48

Bones to Ashes: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels), Kathy Reichs, Good Book $4.99

Cross Bones (Temperance Brennan Novels) Kathy Reichs $4.99

Fatal Voyage (Temperance Brennan Novels) Kathy Reichs $4.99

206 Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan), Kathy Reichs, Good Book $6.49

The Kill: A Novel, Allison Brennan, Acceptable Book $6.98

If I Should Die: A Novel of Suspense, Allison Brennan, $4.99

MYSTERY NOVELS WRITTEN BY ALLISON BRENNAN $24.00

Bare Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $0.99

Death du Jour (Temperance Brennan Novels) $4.93

Fear No Evil: A Novel, Allison Brennan, Good Book $4.99

Death du Jour (Temperance Brennan Novels) $9.87

Fatal Voyage (Temperance Brennan Novels) $9.87

Break No Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels), Kathy Reichs, Good Book $4.99

Cutting Edge: A Novel of Suspense, Allison Brennan, Good Book $1.00

Sudden Death: A Novel of Suspense by Allison Brennan (2009, Paperback) $0.99

See No Evil: A Novel, Allison Brennan, Good Condition, Book $3.85

Cross Bones (Temperance Brennan Novels), Kathy Reichs $4.32

Monday Mourning: A Tempe Brennan Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) Kathy Reichs $4.99

Break No Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels), Kathy Reichs, Good, Book $1.00

Bones to Ashes: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $4.17

Monday Mourning: A Tempe Brennan Novel Kathy Reichs $9.09

Cross Bones (Temperance Brennan Novels (Paperback)) Kathy Reichs $11.41

NEW – Bare Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $10.43

Deja Dead (Temperance Brennan Novels) ~ Kathy Reichs ~ Acceptable Condition $4.48

Lot 2 PB Novels Tempting Evil + Playing Dead by Allison Brennan (See Details…) $2.69

Deja Dead (Temperance Brennan Novels) Kathy Reichs $4.99

Break No Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $2.91

NEW – 206 Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan) $3.45

“FEAR NO EVIL” a paperback novel by Allison Brennan. $1.50

Bones to Ashes: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels), Kathy Reichs, New Book $9.19

206 Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan) Kathy Reichs $4.99

Break No Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $31.22

NEW – Monday Mourning: A Tempe Brennan Novel $10.43

Bare Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels), Kathy Reichs, Good, Book $1.00

NEW – The Kill: A Novel by Allison Brennan $9.71

NEW – Cross Bones (Temperance Brennan Novels) $11.85

NEW – Fatal Voyage (Temperance Brennan Novels) $10.43

NEW – Deja Dead (Temperance Brennan Novels) $10.43

Bare Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $1.00

206 Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan), Kathy Reichs, Very Good Book $6.49

NEW – Speak No Evil: A Novel by Allison Brennan $10.43

See No Evil: A Novel by Allison Brennan $9.17

Bare Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $1.49

Fear No Evil: A Novel by Allison Brennan $9.87

Break No Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) , Kathy Reichs $2.99

Death du Jour (Temperance Brennan Novels) $1.00

Break No Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $14.74

If I Should Die: A Novel of Suspense by Allison Brennan (2011, Paperback,… $3.25

Bones to Ashes: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $10.43

NEW – Devil Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan) $10.43

Sudden Death: A Novel of Suspense, Allison Brennan, Good, Book $1.00

NEW – 206 Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan) $10.43

Fear No Evil: A Novel, Allison Brennan, Good, Book $1.00

Cross Bones (Temperance Brennan Novels), Kathy Reichs $1.56

Monday Mourning: The new tempe brennan novel $3.24

Bones to Ashes (Temperance Brennan Novels) [Abridged].. $17.19

206 Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan) Kathy Reichs $4.99

Fatal Voyage (Temperance Brennan Novels), Kathy Reichs, Good, Mass Market Paperb $5.98

Break No Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $11.85

Sudden Death: A Novel of Suspense by Allison Brennan (2009, Paperback) $0.99

Grave Secrets: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) – Paperback $9.19

Monday Mourning: A Tempe Brennan Novel (Temperance Bre $4.00

Break No Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels), Kathy Reichs, Good, Paperba $5.98

Spider Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $4.87

Monday Mourning: A Tempe Brennan Novel Temperance Brennan Novels by 0743453018 $4.97

Bones to Ashes: A Novel Temperance Brennan Novels by Kathy Reichs 1416525653 $4.97

Devil Bones: A Novel Temperance Brennan by Kathy Reichs 1416525661 $4.97

Spider Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) by K $4.01

The Hunt: A Novel by Allison Brennan 0345480244 $4.97

206 Bones: A Novel Temperance Brennan by Kathy Reichs 141652567X $4.97

Bones to Ashes: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) $9.87

Brennan Novels

The WAS reduction team

The clean version of this article is here:

Hi there peeps – consider the verb was; quite an innocuous little member of the verb ‘to be’ don’t you think? Past tense, and almost invisible in both reading and writing – so it’s a good idea to check you haven’t got a swarm of them hiding in some of your paragraphs, especially if you write in past tense. And take note that the plural, were, is also over-used.

Now, I can hear you thinking – why should I remove something that’s invisible? Here are two reasons:

• Agents and editors will spot the little blighters straight away – they know that over use of this verb weakens the writing because …
• There is often a more appropriate passive or active verb and sometimes even a power-verb.

I suppose you’d like an example of a power-verb:

Here is a weak was construction: The boy was sad when he learned that his dog was dead. (Weak verb to be + adjectives: sad, dead).

And now the power-verb: The boy wept when he learned that his dog had died. (Strong verbs: wept, died).

I know … it’s not exactly killer prose – but you can see that it is more active.

About was and -ing constructions:

You can sometimes lose the was -ing construction by changing to an -ed verb (was staring = stared) or change the likes of was looking to something more active like: busied himself inspecting.

The good news is – it’s easy to empower your weaker sentences: with your document open, press the Ctrl key and the F key on your keyboard at the same time.

• A dialogue box pops up – type was (or were) into the ‘Find what:’ field.
• Click the Reading Highlight button and select ‘Highlight All’

Hey Presto! Every was gets a yellow background; then if you scan through the document and it looks as if someone has been kicking a wasps’ nest in some of your paragraphs – you know where to start weeding; but checking each was in turn, even when they are sporadic, is a good way to identify, and then strengthen, any weak prose in your baby …

Oh, and don’t overdo the pruning; a lot of the time was works better – use your intuition.

And when your writing is flowing – pay no heed as you type was – wait until you edit.

On the next page you can see how, by finding alternatives to was, even the dullest prose can be given a wee sparkle.

 

Yikes! … Just look at this little lot, hiding in a first-draft scene that I wrote:

 

“… The endorphin-buzz kicked in about half way back.  Vic breathed deep of the icy November mist to cool his heaving lungs.  He slowed his steady dog-trot to a walk when the lights of the Lochailort Hotel came into view in the distance. The annual reunion was the high point of the year for Vic and his old section, but the rigours of time had relentlessly pared them down to a mere handful. Maybe even less than that: Mickey Brennan failed to book in yesterday and his telephone number was no longer in service. Not like Mickey to miss a gig – one could only assume the worst.

The Hotel was teeming with merry-makers from near and far, arrived to celebrate Saint Andrew’s day. Bunting festooned every wall, every doorway, with the blue and white saltire of the Scottish flag. It sounded like everyone was talking at once in the bar, or laughing even louder. Vic went to the small reception desk to collect his key and wallet from the safe. In front of him was a young American couple; the man was well made, and had a hint of New York in his accent.”

 

And after I called in  The Was Reduction Team:

“… The endorphin-buzz kicked in about half way back. Vic breathed deep of the icy November mist to cool his heaving lungs. He slowed his steady dog-trot to a walk when the lights of the Lochailort Hotel came into view in the distance. The annual reunion marked the high point of the year for Vic and his old section, but the rigours of time had pared their number down to a mere handful. Maybe even less than that: Mickey Brennan failed to book in yesterday and his telephone number didn’t seem to be in service. Not like Mickey to miss a gig – one could only assume the worst.

The hotel was teeming with merry-makers from near and far, arrived to celebrate Saint Andrew’s day. Bunting festooned every wall, every doorway, with the blue and white saltire of the Scottish flag. It sounded like everyone was talking at once in the bar, or laughing even louder. Vic went to the small reception desk to collect his key and wallet from the safe. In front of him [stood] a young American couple; the man [looked] well made, and had a hint of New York in his accent.”

Key:   was neutral alternative [active verb]    power-verb

Note: although was teeming could have been changed to teemed, my intuition told me that teeming has a more continuous feel to it.

 

 

Happy weeding … and do read the following article by author Rebecca Hamilton on the subject of The Was Demon for further inspiration.

 

©   Stef Mcdaid   2010

To catch it in a sort of special picture: The Was Demon – by author Rebecca Hamilton        http://rebecca-hamilton.com/

 

“Was” is one my “flag words”. When it pops up, I’m always exploring why. Can it be removed? Sometimes, was indicated a passive construction, such as: The hat was worn by the lady. To make the sentence active (and fix the subject of the sentence) we’d say “The lady wore a hat.”
Sometimes, it’s a matter of sentence subject. In this case, the woman was the subject of the sentence. What if it were the hat? Then the was wouldn’t be so bad, right? Well, perhaps more can be done to improve though. Which is why I say was is a flag word for me.
Maybe I’d say, “The hat on the lady’s head flopped to one side.” Surely, if the hat is important enough to be the subject, we could pay it a little more mind.

Let’s look at more examples.
“She was sad.”
“She felt sad.”
Both are weak. The subject of the sentence is correct, but we are still distanced from the character. Step inside her shoes. How does “sad” effect her?
“She cried.”
It’s simple, but it could work. Usually with emotion we want more though.
“Tears slipped from her eyes, trickled down her cheek, and plunged from her chin onto her jeans.”
Do we really need all that? Can’t say, it’s out of context. Maybe you just need she cried. Maybe you need something in between. Maybe you need more. But this shows you how to bring the story life on the page by finding ways to cut “was”.

Here’s another example:
“The vase was on the table.”
“The vase sat on the table.”
Both are weak. I often see words like sat and felt being used to fix “was”. If only it were that easy! You can make descriptions active. Not that you need to every time, of course.
Consider this:
“The flowers in the vase on the table drooped from lack of water and too much sunlight.”
Not only is the vase on the table now, it has drooping flowers. We have characterization (the character isn’t watering her flowers) and ambiance (the room is often full of a lot of natural light) So much better than: “There was a vase on the table with flowers. Mary wasn’t the flower-watering type of person. The room had a lot of natural sunlight.” (wouldn’t you say?)

Add the word “was” to your word find list. Open your creative eye in your mind and see how you can bring your prose to life by getting rid of was .

 

About the Author

Affordable writing and editing service – add a professional sparkle to your story, article or web content.
Full proofread, grammar check and copy edit service available; with remarks and suggestions provided, when required, to help you improve your writing skills.
Ideal for aspiring novelists, short story writers and web content writers. We can also provide a brief overview of your writing style. Send us your work in a ‘word’ document – and find out how much more effective your writing can become.

Typical rates for proofreading, paragraph formatting and obvious word choice fixes; including enlivening flat prose, where required:

up to 500 words: £6; 1,000 words: £10; 3,000 words: £25 proofreading only: £5 per thousand words

Spider Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) ebook (pdf, mobi, epub)