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Archive for the ‘book review’ Category


Writing Challenge – Somehow I lost several days of the writing challenge emails. I’m short a couple of day and then I didn’t like today’s challenge which was to write a letter of encouragement to the person I was on the first day of the challenge. Instead I decided to repeat the last challenge to write a crappy first chapter. I’m really good at writing crappy beginning.

How could everything have gone so wrong? Our first mission ending in an inquisition. The first called in three hundred years. I glanced on either side of me and saw the worn tired faces of my team members, my younger sisters. Was it my imagination or did they look broken?

The empty seat of our necromancer, cousin Sarh, caught my eye.

I remembered when my Aunt and Uncle had realized their precious little darling was born to raise the dead. Sarh had barely been four. Her parents were hosting the mid-summers celebration. Everyone had been there. Imagine her parents’ shock when the family cat, dead two weeks came romping through the house. Their golden haired four year old following after. I was only six and still remembered my horror. I was always a little repulsed by her after that.

“Why did you not call for assistance?” The voice of the inquisitor brought me back.

My hand trembled, my eyes stung. I blinked. I couldn’t cry during the inquisition. I would win their sympathy perhaps, but they would never let me off world again. Let alone lead my team.

“We have no elders. The rest of my family are younger than us, still in school. We couldn’t risk their lifes. I wasn’t sure we would even make it.”

The old men magicked our family history. The shimmering outline of the text was in front of them.

“Surely there was someone,” the old man said, as he flipped through the text. “Ah, here.”

I closed my eyes and began counting to myself, trying to block out the memory of the mid-summer’s celebration that took the rest of my family.

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That’s why my sweaters have cat hair on the inside.

Today, the challenge states to write whatever comes to mind. Wow, that’s dangerous.

I made the mistake of leaving my office door open last night. This morning, I found a state of disarray, chewed bits of paper, pens, pencils, containers, notebooks, paper, and books littered the floor. Kitties gone wild and wasn’t even spring break.

I left a jar, empty of olives, but still containing juice on my desk. My cats decided olive juice was the next best thing to catnip. They dumped the jar over so that it leaked a bit, then chewed up any paper that had juice on it. They must have rolled around with the jar, trying to get it open and knocked everything off of my desk.

I found the two of them trying to gnaw their way through the lid. There aren’t any pictures, because they scattered and have been hiding ever since. I’m going to need a trash bag.

Today must be a two for one day.

I’ve been meaning to write a post about one of my favorite books, Ann B. Ross’s Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind

Miss Julia is a southern widow who lives in a small town. Her husband, a miserly man has left her a small fortune and everyone wants a piece of it. He also left his mistress a small child. The mistress, trashy Hazel Marie Pucket shows up on Miss Julia’s doorstep and dumps her nine-year-old son with Miss Julia. Now in addition to fighting off money grubbing frien-emies, her orderly world is turned upside-down when she has to contend with her husband’s misdeed.

One of my favorite subplots is when Miss Julia’s minister convinces her she’s a nymphomaniac.  I laughed so hard I snorted when someone suggested a “cure”. If you’re looking for something funny to read Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind is for you.

 

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I’m spending the day writing or in this case writing about writing. I started the day at a word count of 16,800 words for my book Who Stole the Corporate Sausage. To give some perspective my target word count is 50,000 words, so I’m about 30% through. I’m hoping to finish the first and second draft by the end of the month. Ambitious, I know.

I’m finishing the formatting for a vegetarian cookbook I’ve also been working on. It includes a few alcoholic beverages. It turns out alcohol is vegan. Who knew? Perhaps this vegetarian thing won’t be so bad after all. Maybe I’ll change the title to The Drunk Vegetarian.

Since today is Friday, the day can only get better with each passing hour, so here’s to the best hour of all, happy hour. Cheers.

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Taking Fake Book Covers by Comedian Scott Rogowsky

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Check out his videos on YouTube.

Here’s one to get you started

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I was quite ill several years ago. The results from my standard physical with blood, needles, band-aids you know the one, weren’t good. The results showed I have an antibiotic resistant infection and my kidneys are functioning at 55%. I’m going through a course of antibiotics and will be retested in a few months. Some illnesses never let go of you.

On a lighter note, I’ve become an Amazon Associate. So instead of paying Amazon 100% of what you spend there, if you click one of my links and buy ANYTHING within the next 24 hours, I’ll get a little of the money and Amazon will get most of the money. If you’re going to shop there anyway, I would really appreciate it if you used one of my links.

Here’s some great deals on books I love and Amazon Unlimited (my favorite way to grab books at close to free.) If you haven’t checked out Amazon Unlimited, you should. I read 10+ fiction and non-fiction books a month. I get many of them free or at a good discount with the subscription.

Category: Chick Lit

Perfect on Paper (The (Mis)Adventures of Waverly Bryson)

By Maria Murnane  (Goodreads rating: 3.6 – ‎3,374 votes)

“You know you’re a real grown-up when nothing but Oreos is black and white.”

“Meet the new Bridget Jones” (PopSugar Daily). When her fiancé calls off their wedding, Waverly Bryson — armed with cynical wit and self-deprecating wisdom — jumps back into the dating scene, with hilarious results.

$2.00 $3.99

Category: Fantasy

The Black Guard (The Long War)

By A. J. Smith

An epic fantasy with over 150 five-star ratings on Goodreads: Bromvy joins forces with the outcasts of the Darkwald forest to save the burning city of Ro Canarn. And meanwhile, armies amass for a war that will tear the world apart…

$0.99 $7.28

Category: Paranormal Romance

Fate of the Alpha: The Complete Bundle (Episodes 1-3)

By Tasha Black

“Her name is Lilliana Atwater. Mid-twenties, dyed red hair, was last seen in a yellow raincoat. Any reports or injuries or anything in your neck of the woods?”

“Nope,” Joy said, “can’t say that it rings a bell. Have you tried Springton?”

“Gee, no, I didn’t try the town NEXT to Tarker’s Hollow.”

Ainsley Connor is adjusting to pack life in Tarker’s Hollow. With her mate by her side, she feels unbeatable. But warnings of dark magic and signs of a rival wolf make it clear that Ainsley will need all the help she can get.

$0.99 $4.99

Category: Historical Romance

A Dangerous Man

By Janmarie Anello

“You will marry me, Miss Jamison…in two days.”

Leah Jamison is too practical to expect a romantic proposal from a man she only just met, but even she is shocked by the bold command issued by the darkly handsome Richard Wexton, Duke of St. Austin. Why the nobleman wishes to wed her and how her father brought about the match, Leah cannot imagine ……

$0.99 $4.49

Emily
By Juliet James

Emily is alone in the world after the death of her father — but her destiny is forever altered when she meets a mail-order bride. Emily changes places with the hapless young woman, and is soon on her way to be married to an unknown Montana man…

Free! $2.99

Categories: Best Sellers, Thrillers

The Faithful Spy (John Wells, No. 1)

By Alex Berenson

Rating: 4 – ‎9,092 votes

“Everything depends which side of the shotgun you’re on,”

When a CIA agent returns home after years undercover, he becomes the only one who can stop a lethal terrorist conspiracy. “A well-crafted page turner… Will keep you reading well into the night” (New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn).

$1.99 $7.99

 

 

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