I’ve just finished reading my very first book on my new Kindle, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience in every respect. The Kindle is really neat, but soon I forgot all about it as I dove into the third book of Caleath’s Chronicles. All the characters have become good friends by now, except of course for those I love to hate.
The Legacy of Lathraine’s Pledge is beautifully and vividly written. Rosalie Skinner comes up with amazing descriptions, unique metaphors and comparisons that make you smile or send a shiver down your back. The ebb and flow of intense, moving moments lightened by humorous encounters or witty dialogues carried me away on a wonderful journey in an intriguing world where fantasy meets science fiction. Highly recommended, but you better start from the beginning so as not to miss anything! The first book is Exiled: Autumn’s Peril.
So far this series is only available as ebook in many formats. One of the reasons why I bought that Kindle. 
Now if only MuseItUp Publishing would hurry up with the release of book four. Sigh. All right, I’ll be patient.
For several months I’ve been ogling the Kindle every time I visited the amazon website. I finally broke down and ordered one. Today it arrived and so far I’m loving it. Even the text to speech function works quite well for when I need my eyes to fix on something else, like the knife with which I might be chopping vegetables. Today I started Rosalie Skinner’s third book in the Chronicles of Caleath and already have breezed through the first half. Once again a great read.
January 17th,2012
Reading |
No Comments
Since I spend most of my time with fictional people, I’m happy to have Meghan Shelby visiting today. She’s the main character of Roseanne Dowell’s novel Secrets, Lies, & Love releasing today from Books We Love Publishing.
A dilapidated Queen Anne Victorian, a dead body, and an ex boyfriend complicate life for Meghan Shelby when she returns to her hometown after a ten year absence. Read what she has to say about that.
|
Hi, I’m Meghan Shelby. My parents moved away from Littleton when I was seventeen, but now, here it is ten years later, I’m back.
I inherited the family home, a Queen Anne Victorian from my Aunt Beth. I always loved that house, so needless to say I was excited when I received the letter from my aunt’s attorney. Not that my aunt passed away, I was very sad about that, but coming back to Littleton after all this time was exciting.
I’m not sure why we moved away in the first place. It was all kind of sudden and we never came back. Not once in all those years, not even when Gran passed away. I never knew why. Every time I asked, the question went ignored. Eventually, I quit asking.
|
Anyway, here I was back in the town I loved, standing in front of a dilapidated, rundown home that used to be one of the most elegant in town. Shutters hung by one hinge, windows broken, the porch floor rotted and the back door lock didn’t work.
How had Aunt Beth allowed this to happen? I was half afraid to go inside, but curiosity got the best of me and I ventured in. What a mess. It was going to take a lot of money to get this place back to its glory days. And the stench was almost unbearable. Well, no wonder, I discovered a dead body in the living room.
Who he was, or why he was there in my house, I had no idea. For some reason, the sheriff wasn’t convinced. To top it all off, he caught me in the arms of my new boss, the principal of the elementary school and the guy I had a crush on all those years ago. Oh, I was hired as school secretary, guess you need to know that.
Needless to say, I was the main topic of conversation around town the next day. Gossipmongers in Littleton were having a ball at my expense.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the next day several eighth grade boys caught the principal kissing me in his office. I’d never live it down. Not that I minded being kissed, especially by Patrick. I just didn’t need it spread all over town.
Once I hired a handyman to fix the windows and change the locks, I rolled up my sleeves and got busy scrubbing the place inside so we could paint. I hired high school kids for that job. There was only so much I could do with working full time. But at least I was able to move in.
That’s when more trouble started. Someone broke in and I received phone calls warning me to leave. Obviously, someone didn’t want me here. If you want to know more, you’re going to have to read the book.
Read below an excerpt from Secrets, Lies, & Love.
With the author’s permission, I’m posting an excerpt from Roseanne Dowell’s brand new novel Secrets, Lies & Love releasing today from Books We Love Publishing. Congratulations, Roseanne!
Check back in a little while when her main character Meghan Shelby will drop by and have her say.
|
|
Meghan loved this time of year, though a little too hot to start school in her opinion. Why they felt the need to go back in August was beyond her. She remembered her mother complaining about it years ago. “What was wrong with starting after Labor Day like they did in my day?” Her mother used to rant and rave for weeks before school started. Even got on the School Board. Not that it changed anything. School still started the last week in August. Meghan smiled at the memory.
Now that she thought about it, it was silly. Like they took the last week of vacation away from the kids. Bet the teachers didn’t like it either.
Meghan pulled into the school parking lot. Not much had changed here either. New landscaping, new windows, but that was about it. The old building looked pretty much the same.
Her footsteps echoed in the empty hall. She’d never been in the school when it was empty before. The strong odor of wax and other cleaning products prickled her nostrils. The clean smell lingered through the first few days of school.
|
It had been a long time since she’d been to the principal’s office and she stopped outside, took a deep breath and held it. Here goes nothing. Mr. Duncan said look for Mr. Mac. He must be new in town. It wasn’t a name she remembered. So what was the worse he could say? Letting out her breath, she hurried inside, before her nerve left her. A man stood with his back to her, unpacking a box of books.
“Excuse me. I’m looking for Mr. Mac.”
“I’m Mr. Mac.” He turned toward her.
Meghan’s breath caught in her throat. “Patrick!” The word slipped out of her mouth, before she could stop it. The love of her life stood in front of her, even better looking and sexier than she remembered. Her heart skipped a beat, her legs turned to jelly, and she grabbed the edge of the desk to steady herself.
Patrick smiled at her. That easy smile she remembered from long ago. The smile she used to love. It lit up his eyes. “Little Meghan Shelby. Not so little anymore I see.”
Heat burned her cheeks as Patrick looked her up and down, apparently taking in every inch of her. He remembered her. After all this time he knew who she was. Would wonders never cease?
“Uh, um…” Oh crap. Now wasn’t the time to get tongue tied. “You’re the principal here?” Lord, could she work for him. See him every day?
“Yes, I am. I heard you were back in town. Are you staying then? Do you want to register your child?”
“Huh?” Her child, was he nuts? “Uh no I’m here about the secretarial position. Mr. Duncan was supposed to call you.”
“Really? You want the job?”
“Yes, didn’t Mr. Duncan call? He told me to come right over.”
“If he did I didn’t hear the phone. I’ve been in and out of the office.” He nodded toward the stack of books. “Too busy around here this time of year.” Patrick grinned and motioned her into his office. “So tell me about yourself. What qualifies you for the job?”
Qualifications? Think damn it. What was the matter with her? She’d lost all train of thought. “Well, I’m computer proficient. I’m good with math. And I love children.” What more could he want?
“I see. So why do you want the position? Tell me about your education.”
His deep voice sent shivers down her spine. Meghan couldn’t take her gaze from him. All sense of reason flew out the window. She had the most God awful urge to reach up and push his dark hair out of his eyes. “I’m a former Math major, have two years of college. I’m a quick learner.” Finally, she looked away.
January 4th,2012
Excerpts |
2 Comments
A few days ago, I read Wendy Laharnar’s SciFi short story Happiness Guaranteed and absolutely loved it. Wendy had me intrigued from the start then I felt more and more unsettled. Great tension and what a brilliant ending. Another Laharnar story that makes me question my convictions. Thankfully, her last para set my head straight again. I love Wendy’s writing style. It’s beautiful and atmospheric. I feel like I’m right there with her characters, no matter how strange her fictional worlds may be. She’s certainly motivating me to work harder on my own writing. Always a good thing.
The story has been released this month from MuseItUp Publishing as ebook and is available at your preferred online bookstore.
December 29th,2011
Book Reviews |
2 Comments
Maybe it’s a little early for a year end summary, but I’ve been so blessed that I just have to go ahead and blabber about it. This year I harvested:
a few hundred chilies,
a few hundred black beans,
some bell peppers,
a publishing contract for Strays of Rio,
a publishing contract for Wind over Troubled Waters.
Yay!
And I sowed more seeds: Just before the end of the year, I finished Cinderella Conspiracy, the sequel to Rapunzel Plan. For more information on my writing achievements and endeavors, check out my Writer’s Blog.
I’ve made many new friends and horribly neglected my old friends, but they are very tolerant and forgiving.
The Boys Upstairs is a touching but not sentimental Christmas story revolving around two estranged brothers and their painful attempts to come to terms with their past, each other and life’s realities of poverty, crime, war and broken families.
A priest and a cop, the two brothers couldn’t be more different, or so it seems. They both help and protect the weak and vulnerable in their own ways. While Jay, the incapacitated war veteran, made peace with God and became a priest, this brother Kevin finds it hard to believe in second chances as he encounters crime and misery every day as a police officer.
When Kevin needs to find a place to stay for three street kids, he reluctantly turns to his brother Jay who offers shelter to homeless boys. Their shared concern for these children stirs old conflicts and brings out raw emotion in both men. With Christmas approaching, can Kevin keep scorning God?
A well written, vivid story with realistic, engaging characters, The Boys Upstairs is the perfect read for the holidays, available as ebook from MuseItUp Publishing.
November 27th,2011
Book Reviews |
3 Comments
A bit late for Halloween but fitting the cold and gray day, I read a great collection of Halloween stories by Nell DuVall.
Teaching Man and Other Tales contains four stories revolving more or less around Halloween. Teaching Man was probably my favorite, but it’s hard to tell. Nell DuVall has an amazing gift to create distinct voices for each of her main characters, suiting the person and the atmosphere of the story. From Wild West romantic horror to Chick Lit punch, Nell DuVall masters it all.
Well crafted and beautifully written, her stories keep you perched on the edge of your seat. You keep guessing and wondering, pick up clues and maybe once or twice you might lean back in the end with a smile. Other times, you find yourself on a wild roller coaster ride of unexpected twist and turns and might
gasp at the ending–particularly when finishing Soul Mates.
Published by etopiapress, this collection is available for Kindle at amazon.com.
Enjoy a charming collection of spooky stories.
The second book in Caleath’s Chronicles is out now. I devoured it in no time. The story continues where Autumn’s Peril left off. Rosalie Skinner skillfully weaves in back story to fill in new readers and remind ‘old’ ones of what happened before while the new adventure unfolds–without a moment of boredom.
Her witty sense of irony brightens the dark cold atmosphere of this wintery challenge. While Caleath gets side-tracked and burdened with followers who depend on him, the danger of giant ants destroying the world he’s been stranded in keeps growing. New characters add conflict, tension, humor and charm. I’m still fascinated with the combination of of science fiction and an archaic world of mages, dragons, and semi-divine Vergöttern.
Find out more about Caleath’s Cronicles at Rosalie Skinner’s website or Wendy Laharnar’s Blog. She once again hosted the release party.
If you like witty, sardonic, clever mysteries with a unique voice, The Messenger is just what you’re looking for. Thus begins Mike Miller’s fascinating tale:
I love my wife.
Yes, it sounds corny and insipid and a weak plank to plunge off into a dime-store thriller, but it’s true and I don’t care, so there it is.
Of course, The Messenger is anything but a dime-store thriller. It effectively plays with the genre and many other things. While Mike Miller, philosophy graduate and messenger extraordinaire, tries to stay alive and out of his shady clients’ business, his wife Tuesday thrives on good causes. Naturally conflicts and entanglements are unavoidable.
The Messenger is not a book to read at night in bed. You’ll need your wits sharp and alert with this roller-coaster of twists and turns.
Find out more about the book here.
