Hiassen, Pratchett, and "not-New York"

So today I finally at long last finished Fette Fische, otherwise known as Flush, by Carl Hiassen. I liked it much better than Hoot, to tell the truth. This one was written with a kid mindset. I mean, Hoot would make a good movie, but it spent waaay too much time in the heads of minor adults. A kids' book is written from the POV of a kid. And Flush succeeded there. We were in the boy's head the whole time. Other nice things about the book:

Starts with the kid visiting his dad in jail (the Knast or Knacker, if you want to know how to say "clinker" in German), only you know immediately that this isn't a problem novel, so for this situation, it's unexpected. And the whole time, it's the dad who's kind of kidlike and irresponsible, and the kid who has to pull things together. So again, unexpected. (This only works because it's NOT a depressing problem novel, though.)

Plants a symbol of something miraculously great right at the beginning, and uses it to seal up the end.

Sets the story in a real place that isn't New York. A lot of the books I've picked up lately (and maybe I'm just reading the wrong ones) seem to be either set in a vague Nowhere, or in NYC. So those that are set in a real place that real readers live in really stand out to me. I know, the publishing world happens in New York. But there are millions of readers out there who not only don't live in NYC, but who have never been there and don't have any plans to ever change that.  It was just so REFRESHING to read a book about normal people living in Florida. Loggerhead turtles (at least, I assume that's what it translated to), crabbing, tourists getting stranded in their boats, humid summer...obviously Hiassen knows Florida, both the good and the bad. I admit it, I'm partial to real places set in books, where I can go and visit and imagine the characters walking around there.

And, to celebrate finishing a book in German, I'm now halfway through Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith, which is very funny (and in English). And as a side note, I find it sooo interesting that this book and melissa_writing's Wicked Lovely share a publisher (and an editor, am I right?) I haven't read Wicked Lovely, but from what I understand, some of the main themes are similar--Winter and Summer personified, and love triangles with mortals. I am NOT trying to say that they are somehow the same story. From what I can tell, the tone, the themes, etc. are completely different as well. It's just interesting that Harper Collins doesn't see these as competing with each other. I've heard other editors or agents say numerous times that they couldn't take on such and such a project because they already had something on the same topic that would be in direct competition. (Yes, I realize that polite brush-off could also be hiding other reasons for a rejection, but I've heard that comment NOT in association with a specific rejection as well.) Maybe these two books are aimed at slightly different audiences. Pratchett has such a wide world he's created, which is brimming over into YA; he already has a readership who will no doubt read his "YA" books without noticing much that they're aimed at a different age. Melissa's book is a YA debut, aimed specifically at new fans. Pratchett's is in an imaginary world; Melissa's is urban fantasy. I think there's sometimes a fine line between competition and offering a rich buffet of food that will appeal to the same people. Which I guess is the reason agents and editors want you to be able to explain what books your book is like (proving there is a readership for it) and how it is different (proving you're not really competing).

Alas, my few minutes to myself is over. Must make some phone calls (I am NOT a phone person) and do (ick) laundry and stuff children in bed. Happy writing, all!