Writing: Similes

I’ve learned a good deal from Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series. The man’s similes pull me right into his setting/tone. For example, this from his cynical 11 year old protagonist in A HERRING WITHOUT MUSTARD: “Perhaps more cheerful was the thought that the purplish-black elderberries which took their place would soon be hanging in perfectly arranged clusters, like a picture gallery of dark bruises.” Oooh. Love it.