Happy November!

Welcome to November and colder days and early nights, curling up in a comfy chair, with a good book or two or three!  November is also the month of writing craziness, National Novel Writing Month in which participants try to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  I discovered NaNoWriMo back in 2007 and have been doing it ever since.  James joined in last year and thoroughly enjoyed himself.  So he will be doing so again this year writing a fan fiction story combining several characters from different video games and movies. 


I'm being a rebel this year and totally reworking Eyes in the Ashes which I started three years ago. I've been working on it off and on, more off, than on,  for the past year and haven't gotten too far. Lots of notes though.   Layla, a minor character, turned into a major character and it became her story. I had multiple points of view and plot holes the size of Wyoming.   So, I decided to rewrite the whole thing and even gave it a new title - Silver Shadows.  Seems I have a color theme going with all my draft titles.  *grin*   I'm combining or eliminating other characters altogether.   I've been in a writing slump for quite a while, so hoping the challenge will get me back in the habit of writing everyday.

  
I'm also declaring November to be Nonfiction November.  I don't read a lot of nonfiction and have all these books sitting on the shelf feeling neglected.  Plus I created the C.S. Lewis and Inspiration Mini challenges for the 52 Books challenge at the beginning of the year and failing miserably at those. Decided now would be the perfect time to plunge into those books.  I'm going to keep it simple and not bite off more than I can chew, like I usually do. I'm committing to one a week.  Waiting in the wings are Lewis's Mere Christianity, St. Theresa's A Life of Prayer and  George Orwell's Why I Write.  For hubby, since he's already read the book and driving me crazy about reading it -  Yes, Your Teen is Crazy: Loving your kid without losing your mind by Michael J. Bradley.    

Wish us luck and see you on the other side in December!

Daylight Saving time ends tonight so don't forget to set your clocks back an hour if your state observes Daylight Saving Time. 

October Spooktacular Reading Month

Hello, yes we are still alive and kicking.  Life is still kicking us in the butt and just haven't had much time to blog.  Over on 52 Books, October Spooktacular reading month has begun. 

If you haven't read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or Bram Stoker's Dracula, now would be a perfect time to do so.  Wait, come back. Not right this minute, but this month.  *grin*    I've read them already, and thoroughly enjoyed them, although was really quite surprised because neither was quite what I expected.  Which is actually a good thing, because it keeps one from getting bored.  The mantra this month is expect the unexpected.  

Spooky doesn't have to necessarily mean horror.  I'm definitely not into the blood and guts type of books, but do love a great nail biting, give me goose bumps, don't turn off the lights read.  And there are plenty of scary, spooky, chilling, thrilling books that are psychological fiction, paranormal or just plain old thrillers. 

In that vein, I have a few spooky books on the shelves I will be reading and essentially still continuing with a Frankenstein and Dracula theme. 

I've fallen in love with Dean Koontz and his Odd Thomas series so I am happy to say he wrote a series in which he reworked the Frankenstein theme.  I'll be tackling the first book Frankenstein: Prodigal Son. I'll let you know what I think or if I manage to make it through the whole book.

 Every city has secrets. But none as terrible as this. His name is Deucalion, a tattooed man of mysterious origin, a sleight-of-reality artist who’s traveled the centuries with a secret worse than death. He arrives as a serial killer stalks the streets, a killer who carefully selects his victims for the humanity that is missing in himself. Detective Carson O’Connor is cool, cynical, and every bit as tough as she looks. Her partner Michael Maddison would back her up all the way to Hell itself–and that just may be where this case ends up. For the no-nonsense O’Connor is suddenly talking about an ages-old conspiracy, a near immortal race of beings, and killers that are more—and less—than human. Soon it will be clear that as crazy as she sounds, the truth is even more ominous. For their quarry isn’t merely a homicidal maniac—but his deranged maker.

Next up is Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series.  I read the first one a couple years back and it was quite imaginative, so I'm going to dive into The Bloody Red Baron

It is 1918 and Dracula is commander-in-chief of the armies of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The war of the great powers in Europe is also a war between the living and the dead. As ever the Diogenes Club is at the heart of British Intelligence and Charles Beauregard and his protegé Edwin Winthrop go head-to-head with the lethal vampire flying machine that is the Bloody Red Baron…

From new to me author C.C. Humprey's is his historical thriller - Vlad: The Last Confession which according to Booklist: 
 

An unapologetic tale about a man who endured great losses and was driven by intense passion for his country and religion...the novel is aimed much more at readers interested in the historical origins of the Dracula stories than at those looking for another vampire story. As such, it succeeds admirably.

Neither do I think I could go wrong with Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and  Jules Verne's An Antarctic Mystery which was inspired by Poe's story and supposedly completes the mystery.  Plus H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountain of Madness which was also inspired by Pym and takes place in the Antarctic.


What spooktacular books will you be reading this month?

April Wrap up - Spring makes its own statement

I'm so happy to bid adieu to April.  It's been a month of stress with taxes, lessons, fixing cars and cats, standardized and developmental testing which is why it's been so quiet here on the blog.  I'm optimistic May is going to be a lot less stressful since have four more weeks of lessons left and we are winding down 7th grade. Plans are in the works for a fun family gold mining trip and my sister and I going to Texas for my nephew's graduation while the guys have their own fun time at home. 

I've spent most of my free time with my head buried in a book and have been on a urban fantasy / paranormal kick. I discovered several new to me authors and read through all of Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series.  Checked out Kelly Meding's Three Days to Dead, and Illona Andrews' On the Edge and delved into the 2nd book in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series One Foot in the Grave.   Finally got around to finishing the Larisa Ione Deliverance series about the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypses. 

Immersed myself in Christa Faust's hard to classify paranormal noir pulp fiction detective story Money Shot.  Went back and listened to Patricia Brigg's Mercedes Thomas series books 1 through 6 (awesome in audio) before reading her newest book Frost Burned.   Nora Roberts hits it out of the park as always with her latest Whiskey Beach.  I feel in love with Menna Van Praag's magical story The House at the End of Hope Street and discovered a new magical England through Alex Verus story in Benedict Jacka's Fated. 

I started a readalong of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami with my 52 Books group and unfortunately I got sidelined when discovered my copy had missing pages.  Presently waiting for my replacement copy which should be here any day now.   

What's on the nightstand for May?

A few are calling my name including Stephen King's The Dark Tower IV Wizard and Glass, Joe Hill's NOS4A2, Dean Koontz's Odd Apocalypse plus Cold Fire,  Graham Moore's The Sherlockian, as well as Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits and Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.  A rather eclectic mix with a few more paranormals thrown in here and there.

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."  ~John Quincy Adams

Cheers to a happy, less stress, more carefree May.

TLC Book Tour: Untold Damage by Robert K. Lewis

 
Synopsis:  Estranged from his wife and daughter, former undercover cop Mark Mallen has spent the last four years in a haze of heroin.  When his best friend from the academy, Eric Russ, is murdered, all the evidence points to Mallen as the primer suspect.  Now Mallen's former colleagues on the force are turning up the heat and Russ's survivors are asking him to come up with some answers. But if he wants to serve justice to the real killer, Mallen knows he'll have to get clean.  Turning a life around is hard work for a junkie, especially when a gang of low-life thugs wants him dead.  Bruised, battered, and written off by nearly everyone, can Mallen keep clean and catch a killer?



Untold Damage is a dark and gritty murder mystery and once I started reading it, didn't want to stop, even though it had me cringing at times with the graphic descriptions of heroin use.  The main character, Mark Mallen was an undercover cop, and after getting addicted to heroin, is released from the force.  He has hit rock bottom and his only thought is his next hit.  Reality comes crashing down on him when Eric is killed and he is framed for the murder.  Plus two enforcers from the drug gang he's infiltrated have discovered his identity and they are out to get him.  The story is fast paced, action packed and will leave you reeling as you root for Mark to redeem himself. 

Thank you to TLC book tours for asking me to be part of the tour and Robert K. Lewis for creating the story of Mark Mallen.  Find out more about Robert by visiting his  website or follow him on his blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

Be sure to check out the previous stops on the tour.

Pages:  288
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Released:  April 8, 2013
Setting: San Francisco 
Rating: 4

There Was an old Woman - Hallie Ephron

Synopsis: When Evie Ferrante learns that her mother has been hospitalized, she finds her mother’s house in chaos. Sorting through her mother’s belongings, Evie discovers objects that don’t quite belong there, and begins to raise questions. Evie renews a friendship with Mina, an elderly neighbor who might know more about her mother’s recent activities, but Mina is having her own set of problems: Her nephew Brian is trying to persuade her to move to a senior care community. As Evie investigates her mother’s actions, a darker story of deception and madness involving Mina emerges.


I love psychological thrillers and happened to stumble across Hallie Ephron's Never Tell a Lie and after reading it, wanted to read more, so was thrilled I received an email with William Morrow's offerings for the month and There Was an Old Woman was on the list.  It is one of those unputdownable books that'll make you want to read it over again to see if you can pick up the clues that you missed the first time.  The characters are very three dimensional and they will draw you into their world.   Ephron has a way of ramping up the tension, throwing in unexpected twists and turns that will hit you right in gut and getting the reader emotionally involved with the story.  Be prepared, because once you start reading it, you won't want to put it down.  

Pages:  304
Publisher: William Morrow
Released: April 2, 2013
Setting:  New York
Rating: 5

The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna Van Praag

The House at the End of Hope Street

Synopsis: Knocked off kilter by the Worst Event of Her LIfe, Alba Ashby finds herself in front of a house in Cambridge, England, that she's never seen before. There, a beautiful older woman invites her to say on the house's usual conditions--she'll have ninety nine nights, and no more, to turn her life around. With nothing left to lose, Alba takes a chance and moves in. She soon discovers that 11 Hope Street is no ordinary House. Past residents have included Virginia Woolf and Dorothy Parker, how have hung around to help newcomers---literally, in talking portraits on the wall. Here Alba begins a journey that will heal her wounds---maybe even save her life.

     Imagine a magical house that only becomes visible when you most need it and provides you with the things you need most to figure out what to do with your life. Little notes full of words of wisdom fall from the ceiling, living portraits of past occupants more than ready to give advice, gifts such as a room full of books or a grand piano. And Peggy, the guardian of the home who wisely helps guide the women who stay at the home. The story follows Alba whose academic career has been ruined and has never lived up to the expectations of her family plus two other woman - Greer, a failed actress and Carmen, a Portuguese singer. The House at the End of Hope Street is a charming and enchanting read about truth, hope, trust and faith in oneself. 


    Menna van Praag, also the author of Men, Money and Chocolate, lives in Cambridge, England, with her husband and son.  For more information please visit    http://www.mennavanpraag.com, and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.

     Thank you to Leyane from FSB Associates for providing me with a courtesy copy of the book and to Menna Van Praag for writing such a unique story.  

Pages:  304
Publisher:  Pamela Dorn Books/Viking
Released: April 4, 2013
Setting: England
Rating:  4

Sand Castle Bay by Sherryl Woods

Synopsis:  In a trade-off she’s lived to regret, Emily Castle left home years ago to become an interior designer. The youngest of three sisters, Emily desperately wanted to prove herself. Success, though, came at the cost of leaving behind the man she loved. 

For Boone Dorsett, losing Emily left his heart shattered, but another woman was waiting in the wings. Now a widower with a young son, Boone has a second chance with Emily when a storm brings her home. But with his former in-laws threatening a custody suit, the stakes of loving her are higher than ever. 

Will fate once again separate them—or is the time finally right for these two star-crossed lovers? 

I read very few contemporary romances, but when I do, one of my go to authors is Sherryl Woods. Her stories are relationship driven with characters who are interesting with complicated lives, yet far from perfect.  She has released a new trilogy Ocean Breezes about 3 sisters set in a small harbor town along the North Carolina coast.  

The first book Sand Castle Bay is all about Emily and Boone but also provides an introduction to her two sisters and their feisty grandmother, Cora Jane.    Emily broke Boone's heart when she chose her career over him and disappeared from his life.  She returns 10 years later, along with her sisters, to help out her grandmother whose restaurant was damaged by the most recent hurricane.   Both she and Boone have to figure out a way to work out hurt feelings and past betrayals and learn to trust each other again since Boone is a fixture in her grandmother's life, lives close by and owns his own successful restaurant.  She just can't run away again but must face the past and deal with the attraction they both still feel for each other. 

I enjoyed the first story and quickly fell in like with all the characters and look forward to reading the rest of the series - Wind Chime Point will be released April 30th and Sea Glass Island will be released May 28th.  

Released:  March 26, 2013
Pages:  384
Setting: North Carolina
Rating: 3.5

Sunday Salon: Happy Easter

Happy Easter! We have had a wonderful spring break and I've enjoyed being extremely lazy, reading and just hanging out.   All those things on my to do list -- are still there waiting to be done and I'm not going to feel the least bit guilty about any of it.  We have nine more weeks and 7th grade will be done.   It was a bit more stressful this year since we joined  Visions, our public home school charter, and followed their schedule which meant fewer breaks. The past few years we did 4 weeks on, 1 week off and usually ended mid June.  I discovered those breaks are absolutely necessary for all involved or we get extremely grumpy with each other and mom has less patience.  So we are going to allow for more breaks come 8th grade.  

Reading wise, I should be reading Manuscript Found in Accra which is being released April 2, but I got sidetracked with Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock Series and read Skinwalker.  Finished it, liked it enough to start the 2nd - Blood Cross. What can I say, I'm a sucker for paranormal fantasy series.  This month my reading was eclectic ranging from suspense, psychological thrillers, romance, science fiction,  paranormal and urban fantasies.

Calculated in Death - J.D. Robb (New York - 400) 
Never Let You Go - Erin Healy  (U.S. - 352)
Kitty Steals the Show (KN#10) - Carrie Vaughn (eb)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip Dick (futuristic S.F. - 256)
There was an Old Woman - Hallie Ephron (New York - 293)
Odd Hours - Dean Koontz (California -413)  
The Likeness - Tana French (Ireland - 466)
Hopscotch - Julio Cortazar (Paris/Argentina - 564)
Touch of a Demon (#5 Kara Gillian) - Diana Rowland (448)
Relentless - Cherry Adair (Egypt - 368)  
Angelopolis - Danielle Trussoni (New York/Paris/Siberia - 302)
Odd Interlude - Dean Koontz (eb)
Sand Castle Bay - Sherryl Woods (North Carolina - 384)
The Wanderer - Robyn Carr (Oregon - eb)
Deadly Sting (Elemental Assassin #8) - Jennifer Estep (eb) 
Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock#1) - Faith Hunter (New Orleans - eb) 

I also had the 'eyes are bigger than my stomach' syndrome lately when it comes to book offers and will have quite a few reviews coming up in the next couple months.  This week is the release of the first book in Sherryl Woods new Ocean Breeze comtemporary romance series Sand Castle Bay and Paulo Coehlo's latest Manuscript Found in Accra. 

Writing wise, don't ask.  It's been rather sparse lately, including here on the blog and I'm working on improving.  Speaking of blogs, March marks my 6th year blogging on My Two Blessings and my 4th year hosting Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.  We'll find a way to celebrate in April, perhaps with a giveaway or two.   

This week on 52 books it is book week 14 and highlighting Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald,  The Drunken Botanist: The Plants that create the World's Great Drinks by Amy Stewart which lead me to Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother.  James and I have had many a conversation about Lincoln's mother and how she died from milk sickness so of course I had to buy it.  We'll also be doing a readalong starting April 7th of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami.  1Q84 originally was published in three volumes in Japan in 2009-2010 and released as one book in North American in 2011. It is according to Murakami,  a mind bending ode to George Orwell's 1984. 


Have a Happy Easter and a wonderful Week! 




 

Angelopolis by Danielle Trussoni

Book Flap Synopsis : A New York Times bestseller and global sensation, Angelology unfurled a brilliant tapestry of myth and biblical lore on our present-day world and plunged two star-crossed heroes into an ancient battle against mankind's greatest enemy: the fatally attractive angel-human hybrids known as the Nephilim. With Angelopolis, the conflict deepens into an inferno of danger and passion unbound.

A decade has passed since Verlaine saw Evangeline alight from the Brooklyn Bridge, the sight of her new wings a betrayal that haunts him still. Now an elite angel hunter for the Society of Angelology, he pursues his mission with single-minded devotion: to capture, imprison, and eliminate her kind.

But when Evangeline suddenly appears on a twilit Paris street, Verlaine finds her nature to be unlike any of the other creatures he so mercilessly pursues, casting him into a spiral of doubt and confusion that only grows when she is abducted before his eyes by a creature who has topped the society's most-wanted list for more than a century. The ensuing chase drives Verlaine and his fellow angelologists from the shadows of the Eiffel Tower to the palaces of St. Petersburg and deep into the provinces of Siberia and the Black Sea coast, where the truth of Evangeline's origins—as well as forces that could restore or annihilate them all—lie in wait.

Conceived against an astonishing fresh tableau of history and science, Angelopolis plumbs Russia's imperial past, modern genetics, and ancient depictions of that most potent angelic appearance—the Annunciation of Gabriel—in a high-octane tale of abduction, treasure seeking, and divine warfare as the fate of humanity once again hangs in the balance.

Back in 2011 when I read Angelology, I was completely blown away and the rich, complex story enthralled me so much I couldn't wait for the sequel to come out.  Perhaps I should have read the book again before reading Angelopolis to refresh my memory but didn't want to wait and dove into the story.  Maybe my anticipation of the story was too high because although it was just as richly written, the visceral connection I felt in the first book just wasn't there.  In most fantasy stories, I can usually suspend disbelief but there were too many instances in which I couldn't.  There were continuity issues which left me wondering what just happened when things suddenly changed in a scene and the characters weren't following through or how they could have possibility 'ignored the elephant in the room.'  And, as in the first book, there is more to the story which will be answered in the 3rd installment.   Which I'm looking forward to reading because I do want to know 'the rest of the story'. You'll have to decide for yourself, but definitely read Angelology first, then Angelopolis. Both will be on my shelves for a reread later on.

Thank you to Jane from Viking, a division of Penguin publishing for providing me with a courtesy copy of the book and Danielle Trussoni for her vivid imagination. 


Released:  March 26, 2013
Pages:  302
Setting: New York/Paris/Siberia
Rating: 3.5

Sunday Salon: Happy St. Patrick's

         Dia duit ar maidin! Happy St. Patrick's day.  It is a beautiful day and spring is approaching.  I'm looking forward to hanging out on the patio, pondering and enjoying nature again.  

         I just finished a book that really made you ponder -  Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar.   One of those book in which the characters discuss the meaning of life to death in a stream of consciousness fashion.  Plus one in which I needed the dictionary/encyclopedia several times to look up words and people.  Which made me realize I wouldn't have liked or finished the book at all 20 to 30 years ago because I wouldn't have appreciated or understood it.  I totally disliked the main character, Horacio Oliveira, and there were times I simply wanted to throw the book across the room in disgust. He had no redeeming qualities and I felt the same way about him as I did about Gatsby in The Great Gatsby.   But like a train wreck waiting to happen, had to finish the book. There were two ways to read the book - straight forward or in a Hopscotch manner jumping into 'expendable' chapters the author had written which were suppose to add to or explain some of what was going on.  I hopscotched around, letting the number at the end of each chapter tell me what to read next.  Which if you weren't paying attention, wouldn't realize you were in an endless loop at the end.  

         My brain was saturated upon finishing the book and needed time to rest. Couldn't even think of reading anything else.  James and I went to the comic book store and Barnes and Noble Friday afternoon and I was quite happy to discover the next book Touch of the Demon in Diana Rowland's urban fantasy Demon series.  Perfect book to dive into and escape for a while.  I also picked up a few next in the series books such as Patricia Brigg's Frost Burned, Laurel K. Hamilton's Hit List and Keri Arthur's Moon Sworn. So happy my son dragged me out to the store.


        I finished listening to the In Death  series by J.D. Robb.  Was at a loss wandering what I was going to listen too after a year and a half of the adventures of Eve and Roark. I'm so picky about the narrators and love Susan Ericksen. Checked out Lorelie King who narrates Patricia Brigg's Mercedes Thompson series and downloaded the first book Moon Called. Already read the series, so it's fun listening to it as well.   Enjoying it so far.  

         It's book week 12 in my 52 Books in 52 Weeks reading challenge and this week I'm highlighting  Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter:  Book # 7 in the list of great fiction from SWB's Well Educated Mind. Coincidentally, this is also the anniversary of the book's publication 163 years ago on March 16, 1850.  

         James has started a new blog based on the latest fan fiction story he wrote called Sonic the Hedgehog Z. which is a mashup involving characters from Sonic, Mega Man, Star Wars and who ever else can cook up. My son has a fascinating imagination. He also wants me to pass on to everyone the news that Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man are getting together in a comic book cross over event called Worlds Collide which will be published across three comic books - Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe and Mega Man and starts April 10. 

        Hubby just finished reading Lincoln's Last Days written by Bill O'Reilly and Dwight Jon Zimmerman.  He says it's excellent and one of the first history books he's read that is suspenseful, based on reality and simple enough for a child to read, but also good enough for an adult to read without being demeaning or feeling they are being talked down to.  He is encouraging both James and I to read it as well.  

       Life beckons. My HP Printer took a dump so just ordered and received a Brothers Wireless color printer with scanner and other nifty things. I have the fun of getting it set up today along with planning lessons for the week.  One more week to Spring break - Yahoo.  Although I'll be spending it doing the taxes.  But first - 50 more chapters to go in my book, so off to read.  Happy Sunday!

Sunday Salon: Hopscotch

Happy Sunday!  It is the oddest thing....whenever the time changes I feel jetlagged?  The cats have been trying to get me up an hour earlier for the past couple weeks so they've already adjusted.  My body won't adjust until April which is when DST used to start until congress changed it in 2007.  My internal clock really is still geared to that. I know...whine, moan, complain when it's only an hour. 

Life wise, with 7th grade, comes STAR testing for James since we are now involved in  the school district's charter home school.  He's never done any of the star tests before so  we arranged to have him do the tests at home. Why?  Because of his aspergers he is easily distracted and can't concentrate in a new environment.  He also very sociable and put him in a new environment with 20 new kids and forget getting anything done. Hey! A new audience and they haven't heard any of his stories and....  He would be as much as distraction as he would be distracted.  

The writing test was this past week and our counselor/teacher is so wonderful and patient with him.   I sat in the living room while they worked in the kitchen, listening to their conversation.  He'd write for a few minutes, then stop and ask her an off topic question. She'd patiently answer, then steer him back to his work.  Next month is the 2nd part which involves the English and math testing. Meanwhile, we'll do a couple practice tests so he knows what to expect.  

Reading wise, I just finished Tana French's The Likeness.  Booklist says it best so not going to reinvent the wheel right now:  

 "French’s debut novel, In the Woods (2007), introduced Dublin Murder Squad detective Cassie Maddox and earned unanimous critical praise. Cassie is back, and French has written another winner. The body of a young woman is found in the ruins of a old stone cottage in a dying village outside of Dublin, and the dead woman and Cassie are virtual twins. Lacking suspects or leads, the victim is reported by the police to be injured but alive, leaving Cassie to step into the dead woman’s life as a Trinity College graduate student and the housemate of four other students. Despite the tensions of being undercover, Cassie quickly learns to love her quirky, insular housemates and her new life in a once-grand house, even as the Murder Squad investigation yields little. Someone stabbed her doppelganger to death, and Cassie must find the killer. The Likeness has everything: memorable characters, crisp dialogue, shrewd psychological insight, mounting tension, a palpable sense of place, and wonderfully evocative, painterly prose."

One of those unputdownable books, at least for me.  So much so, when I should have been writing the 52 Books blog post for week 11, I was reading instead.   Today is the start of the Hopscotch Readalong by Julio Cortazar which is really two books in one. You can either read in regular chapter order or follow his hopscotch order and start with chapter 73.  I'm going to follow his order and see what happens.

Life beckons. Happy Sunday!  

  

Sunday Salon: February Wrap up

The sounding refrain seems to be where did February go?  It passed far too quickly in my opinion.  Spring is approaching and hopefully with the beginning of Daylight Savings Time new week and the arrival of spring, my writing mojo will come back. I've not been feeling very inspired lately and more into reading about writing, rather than writing.  However, my guys have been at me to write and James is wanting me to get back to writing Green Cross so I can write a scene which includes my Hero talking to a bikini clad beauty on the beach who will do acrobatics for him.  Yep, he's 13. What can I say.  Plus hubby is wanting me to finish editing Eyes in the Ashes.  Will work on getting into an inspired mood this week.  

February reading wise, I discovered Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series and devoured most of the series reading up through #9 Kitty's Big Trouble.   Kitty is a werewolf with a talk show and she gets into all kinds of trouble - great characters and the storyline is addictive. I've also fallen for Dean Koontz Odd Thomas series and read the next two books in series  - Forever Odd #2 and  Brother Odd #3.  Also working on Robert Jordan's  Wheel of Time series which are chunksters so reading one a month at this point and finished # 3 The Dragon Reborn.  I've had City of Ashes in Cassandra Clare's Immortal Instruments series sitting on the shelf for quite a while and finally got around to reading it.  It took me a bit of time to get back into the characters, but once I did, the story went smoothly.  Not sure if I will continue the series at some point.   

Dusty books wise finished Death and Restoration by Iain Pears in his Art History Mystery series. Have enjoyed reading all of them and think this is the last. Will have to go back and check. Also read Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop which was about a Catholic Bishop establishing a church in the new established territory of New Mexico and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Plus Deborah Crombie's Scotland yard mystery about a drowned rower in No Mark Upon Her. Lots of twists and turns in this one.   And new to me author Hallie Ephron (what took me so long) and her psychological suspense mystery Never Tell a Lie which was creepy good.  Finally read the novella Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson which wasn't much a comedy but a dark story about a dutch couple hiding a jewish man in their home during the war.  Small book but packs a wallop.


Non fiction wise I finally finished Echoing Silence: Thomas Merton on the vocation of Writing - edited by  Robert Inchausti.  It was a mixture of various essays from all of Merton's books and his correspondence with various writers and his thoughts on writing which varied depending on his mood. It was interesting and made me want to read all his other books.  Which lead to me now reading New Seeds of Contemplation which has much to comtemplate so taking it slowly. 

In my A to Z challenge have progressed through the D's and now working on the E's.  I'm currently reading another dusty book Never Let You Go by Erin Healy which is a small town christian supernatural psychological and scary good. 

And I signed up for a coursera class that just sounded really intriguing which will begin tomorrow called Know Thyself:

An investigation of the nature and limits of self-knowledge from the viewpoints of philosophy, psychoanalysis, experimental psychology, neuroscience, aesthetics, and Buddhism.  Readings are drawn from classical Western, non-Western, and contemporary sources.

For the 52 Books challenge, we are taking our armchair travels down into South America and will be doing a readalong starting March 10 of Hopscotch by Julio Cortozar which is a free wheeling, stream of consciousness book in which you can read in chapter order or follow the random pattern set out by the author, hopscotching around.  Should be interesting. 

Cheers to March and Happy Reading! 

Mini Reviews

Last year I fell in lurv with Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series about a young woman with elemental powers (she can controls the elements ice and stone) who by day runs a successful BBQ joint and by night, is an assassin. But she only takes out the bad guys.  In Widow's Web, a dangerous elemental, who was also once seriously involved with Gin's lover,  has come to town and is bound and determine to kill all who get in her way. Great series and look forward to the next book Deadly Sting which is coming out in March.










 
I am a sucker for series and once I read the first book in a series will go on to read the rest (if the first one is good) of the series in short order.  Discovered new to me author Julie Ann Walker who wrote The Black Knight Series and # 4 will be coming out in April.  The Black Knights are a black ops team for the U.S. Government and operate out of what looks like a  motorcycle design and repair shop, but that's just their cover.  Hell on Wheels introduces Nate "Ghost" Morgan and Ali wheeler; In Rides Trouble # 2 covers Frank Knight and Becky "Rebel" Reichert, and Rev It Up #3 follows Jake "the snake" Sommers and Michele Carter.  

 

Cindy Gerard, author of The Black Ops series and The Bodyguard series has a new series called the One Eyed Jacks. The first book Killing Time is excellent and features Mike Brown, once a hot shot black hawk helicopter pilot for the military, who retired to Lima Peru, after a mission goes wrong.  He's shanghaied by Eve Salinas, the widow of one of the men from the failed mission. She is on a mission of her own to find out the truth of what happened.  But someone doesn't want them to talk about it and Mike and Eve are on the run. 

Sunday Salon: January wrap up and February Reading plans

I was good during the month of January and concentrated on reading dusty books and made a small dent in my book stack but the stack had babies in February so back to where I started.  Actually clearing the stacks by reading authors and titles in alphabetical order after starting the year with a historical mystery, then a Canadian mystery for the Continental Challenge for 52 Books. 

At the end of last year I downloaded the first book in a new to me romantic action series - the Black Knights Inc by Julie Ann Walker.  And since I'm a sucker for series, had to download the other two since the first one was so good.  A small cheat on my buying ban which has now gone by the wayside with the result of a Super Bowl buying binge.  It may look like a long list but 3 or 4 books were very short and ebooks just seem to go faster.   

Started out the year thinking I would try and review every single book - not sure if that's going to work out.  We'll see. I'll have to mix it up with a few mini reviews. The links are to my reviews. 

1. The Rossetti Letter - Christi Phillips (Venice, Italy - 438)
2. Neuromancer - William Gibson (Cyberspace - 288 eb)
3.Around the World with Auntie Mame - Patrick Dennis (multi - 317)
4. No #1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith (Africa - 235 eb)
5. Sick - Brett Battles (California - 296 eb)  
6. Across the Universe - Beth Revis  (Space -398)
7. Genesis - Bernard Becket  (Fictitious Academy - 150)
8. Widow's Web (Elemental Assassin # 7) - Jennifer Estep (Appalachian Mountains - 400 eb) 
9. Hell on Wheels (Black Knights Inc. #1) - Julie Ann Walker (Chicago - 384 eb)
10. The Trial of Fallen Angels - James Kimmel (Shemaya fictional purgatory - 365) 
11. In Rides Trouble (Black Knights Inc. #2) - Julie Ann Walker (Chicago - 320 eb)
12. Rev It Up (Black Knights Inc. #3) - Julie Ann Walker (Chicago - 352 eb) 
13. The Bridge - Karen Kingsbury (Tennessee - 120 eb)
14. Pirate Latitudes - Michael Crichton (Jamaica -320)
15. Birthmarked - Caragh O'Brien (dystopian world - 384 eb) 
16. Black Order - James Rollins (Nepal, Germany, Africa - 622)
17. Killing Time (One Eyed Jacks #) - Cindy Gerard (Peru/Idaho - 400 eb)


For February, I am trying to read more non fiction books (writing craft wise and for 52 books inspiration challenge), plus Lent is coming up so...

I just completed my first non fiction read for inspiration challenge: Echoing Silence: Thomas Merton and the Vocation of Writing edited by Robert Inchausti.  It was comprised of essays from many of his books and interesting to see his thoughts over the years about writing and all the authors he corresponded with. Moving on to Pope Benedict's Jesus Of Nazareth: Holy Week from the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection
and Thomas Merton's New Seeds of Contemplation

Besides the two books which are still in progress - Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey and Neubauer's Write Brain Exercise Workbook  I'll be reading James Scott Bell's The Art of War for Writers. I know it sounds like a lot, but spread out over a week's period of time, my morning study time moves rather quickly. Although James has been bugging me to get back into writing Green Cross.  I think I may have to have a couple unplugged days during the week during Lent. 

Fiction wise, I'm currently listening to the audio book of Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist in the car and reading the hardback of  Deborah Crombie's No Mark Upon Her.  As you can see, I've moved on the D's and waiting in the wings is Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop and Robert Jordan's The Dragon Reborn. 

And last but not least, delving into  Yes, Your Teen is Crazy: Loving your Kid without Losing Your Mind by Michael Bradley, which was recommended to us and is a guide to how to deal with those tumultuous teenage years.   Speaking of teenagers, we are coming up on the deadline for spending the educational monies Visions gave us for the year. James seems to be like his father and prefers non fiction over fiction. Unless it's a comic book. I was coming up with a list of things to order and asked him what he'd like to read. He asked for - biography of Obama, Hitler, Queen Elizabeth, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Plus Commodore Perry in the land of the Shogun. My son has an interesting mind.  I'll let you know which one we end up reading first.   :)  

So - What are you reading?  

Sunday Salon: Life, love and happiness

Books, Books, Books: I finished reading Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes this weekend.  Have enjoyed  many of his books over the years including the Andromeda Strain and  Congo among others. I have yet to read Micro which was published posthumously in 2011 and finished by Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone.  Coincidentally a friend recently recommended Hot Zone which is a true tale of a biological outbreak.  Considering that I read Sick last week, which was a fictional tale of biological terrorism and could very well happen, decided to add it to my wishlist.  Then I listened to NPR's Science Friday Book Club discussing The Andromeda Strain, and who was their guest speaker - Richard Preston - talking about Crichton's writing. Synchronicity wise, I think the universe is telling me to read Preston's book.  The audiocast is interesting so grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit back and listen. It's about 25 minutes long. 

Publisher's Weekly is talking about the 10 Most Anticipated Book Adaptations for 2013 which includes Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale which I have in my stacks.  The cast includes Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Colin Farrell, and Jennifer Connelly which guarantees it's going to be an extraordinary movie (I hope).  The book has been calling my name more and more lately saying read me, read me now.  

Instead of reading James Rollin's chunkster Black Order, I took a side trip and read a short novel by Karen Kingsbury called The Bridge, a poignant love story surrounding a flooded out 4 decades old bookstore that had been Charlie Barton's dream and the life blood of the community. It's been years since I've read anything by Kingsbury and this was a great reintroduction to her writing and I'll be reading more of her stories in the future.  Then I jumped into the young adult dystopian world of Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien which of course is the first is a series and ended in such a way, I just have to read the rest of the series.  

Writing, writing, writing:  Craft wise, I am enjoying the heck out of the exercises in the Write - Brain workbook which is really helping my creativity. The exercise this morning involved what four textures came to mind when you think of a slinky and four textures when you think of a scarf. Then use those words in a story that begins with ---  Late night city streets were the perfect backdrop for....    Try it and see what you come up with. I'll be polishing up my story and thinking of posting it sometime this week.  

Still working my way through Writer's Journey and reading through the Stages of the Journey.  Slowly reading Echoing Silence: Thomas Merton on the vocation of writing which is compiled of essays from a variety of his books.  It is quite dense with lots of food for thought and his philosophical meanderings so only reading a few pages a day. It's also making me want to read his other books:  New Seeds of Contemplation (which I have and is waiting in the wings), The Asian Journal,  Literary Essays, and The Way of Chuang Tzu.  This may just turn into a life long study of Thomas Merton.   

Eyes in the Ashes has been on my mind as I read Writer's Journey and had some great ideas about changes to make, but I've yet to crack the notebook and reread the draft.  I'm in more of a right brained, creative, stream of conscious mode right now and guess I'm just not quite ready to get back into a left brain mode. Soon though....  Goal wise I'm going to keep plugging away.

Nobody trips over mountains.  It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble.  Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.  ~Author Unknown

James and I have watched all the Star Wars movies (several times) and now we are going to delve into the books. He is into all things Star Wars these days and his Aunt K and Uncle G bought him the Star Wars: Prequel Trilogy written by Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore and Mathew Stover.  I thought it would be fun to read it together so diving in.  

Hubby received a wonderfully positive review of his latest micro amplifier which I was quite happy to see with all the hard work he has put into designing and building it. Nice to see him getting some kudos for a change.  

Have a great week and I hope it is filled with positive energy and lots of accomplishments, whether they are big or small.  

The Trial of Fallen Angels - James Kimmel Jr.

 Synopsis: "Brek Cuttler has it all: a husband she loves, a daughter she adores, a successful law practice. And then one day everything she has ever known disappears. Brek finds herself standing on a deserted train platform, covered in blood. As she tries to comprehend what is happening to her, a man from her past approaches and explains that she has been chosen to join the elite team of lawyers charged with prosecuting and defending souls at the Final Judgment.

As Brek struggles to find her way back to her husband and daughter, she will discover that her first client holds the shocking secret of her fate. That seemingly disparate events during her life have conspired to bring her to a single moment in time that will determine her eternity. And that every act of kindness and cruelty sets in motion things beyond our wildest imaginations."

Kimmel has created an imaginative story in The Trial of Fallen Angels.  A woman dies and ends up in a place called Shemaya which is the equivalent it seems of a fictitious court in heaven and is put in the position of representing her own murderer.  It's an interesting book going back forth in time periods covering what at first looks like individuals who all end up somehow being related activity and family wise.  It gets into philosophy, religion, good versus bad, forgiveness, Germany and Auschwitz. It is very intense. 

Released:  November 8, 2012
Pages:  372
Setting: Fictional Shemaya
Challenge: What's in a Name
Rating: 3.5
YTD: 5

Sunday Salon

I've been a part of Cherry Adair's Street Team for a few months and received a nice surprise in the mail yesterday. She sent everyone a beautiful coffee cup which I christened this morning with Earl Grey Tea.  I have enjoyed reading all her books and a couple years back won a stay at her guest house through Brenda Novak's Diabetes Auction.  Which is coming up again in May so be sure to mark it on your calendar.  It's been one of those weeks that it feels like nothing much is getting accomplished so receiving the cup made my day.

Reading wise, it's been great - I read three dusty books:  Sick by Brett Battles which was about an evil scientist unleashing a nasty virus in order to wipe out the majority of the world's population. Very scary thought and entirely possible.  Young Adult murder mystery Across the Universe by Beth Revis about a young girl frozen cryogenically with her parents and a group of people to populate a new planet and wakes 300 years later still on the ship. Plus a short but very dense fictional/  philosophical book  called Genesis by Bernard Beckett about a young woman  who wants to get into The Academy being questioned by 3 examiners.  Plus two ebooks - Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep (#7 in her Elemental Assassin paranormal romance) and the first book in the Black Knight series by Julie Walker Hell on Wheels.  No, I didn't watch any TV the past week.

What's on the nightstand for this week:  A Trial of Fallen Angels by James Kimmel and a chunkster by James Rollins - Black Order. 

I didn't get any writing or editing done and really have no excuse.  I let regular life interfere so my aim is to get up a few minutes earlier, take advantage of James study time and use it more wisely.  My goals remain the same for this week

1)  WIP: Review draft of Eyes in the Ashes, re-evaluate and detail what needs to be done. Have partial 3rd edit completed.
2)  Craft Study:  Read Chapter 2 while completing chapter 1 exercises of The Writer's Journey and apply them to main characters of Eyes.  
3)  ROW80 participants - visit all the two's.
4)  Morning pages:  continue with Jesus calling and Write Brain workbook.
5) Adding in exercise goals since my knee has recovered and aim to do the treadmill for at least 30 minutes 4 times this week.  I'll have to build back up to an hour again since taken so long a break from it. 

Over on 52 books, it's week 4 and highlighting book #5 in Susan Wise Bauer's Well Educated Mind -  Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist.  Since his birthday is February 7th, I'm declaring February Read a Dicken's month and will shoot for reading Oliver Twist again.  I failed last year and hope to be more successful this year. 

Off to plan lessons for this week.  Happy Reading!