Sunday, January 20, 2013

I wonder if it's in our DNA?

...the love of hockey, that is. The Canucks had their first game of the 'season' last night and I watched, like the hockey-starved Canadian that I am. Another one tonight, so the cravings should lessen a bit by the end of that game.
  We Canadians like to say that hockey is our game. Not so true any more with fantastic players coming from south of the border, not to mention across the pond. Look at the Canucks - the Sedins from Sweden, Kesler from the US, Schneider from the US. Diversity is good for the game, and that's what counts.
  My parents loved to tell me how they would go to the old Maple Leaf Gardens and stand through entire games. Back in the 30s, they couldn't afford to sit in the stands, but that didn't dilute their pleasure one iota. Maybe it is in my DNA!
  Ah, hockey. Good to see you back!

Saturday, January 12, 2013

As writers go...

...Maeve Binchy is one of the best. I have most of her books; started reading her many years ago.
  I finished writing my latest romance a couple of days ago. At this stage I always give myself a little treat. This time it was two physical books - Michael Connelly's The Black Box, and Maeve Binchy's A Week in Winter.
  I started reading A Week in Winter this morning and was immediately hooked. Maeve Binchy is one of those authors whose prose is so effortless you feel like you're sitting in her living room, sharing a pot of tea while she tells you a story.
  If you're a Maeve Binchy fan, this one won't disappoint. If not, give it a try and discover a truly gifted author.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Best of Luck to Searching for Sugarman

   Every once in a while a story comes along that captures our imagination. I first heard about Sixto Rodriguez on the highly regarded programme 'Q' on CBC radio. Jian Gomeshi interviewed Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul, who had been down to his last dollar on the project.
   What is it about stories like this? Stories where good things come to people who've been wronged? It's amazing to see Sixto Rodriguez being interviewed about how he became one of the voices of change in South Africa. He isn't resentful or angry, and yet his music had become wildly popular without his knowledge.
   What impresses me the most is that when his songs didn't 'catch on' - in my opinion he was ahead of his time - he put his head down and did tough, physical work in demolition to support his family in Detroit. And - wait for it - he gained a degree in philosophy from Wayne State.
   I had to take a short car trip this morning and guess which CD I played? You've got it - Searching For Sugarman. I know which documentary I'll be cheering for on awards night!

Saturday, January 5, 2013

The List is Growing...

I've added a couple of books to my "So Many Books..." page today. Anna's entire Coulson series is on my TBR list, and I've read two of Nick's Big Lake series and enjoyed them immensely!

If you’re in the mood for a contemporary romance that goes deeper, one reviewer described Anna J. McIntyre’s Lessons as “a deep, rich story of love, family and friendship.”
also:
Big Lake, by Nick Russell.
One reviewer has referred to the Big Lake mystery series as “Mayberry Meets Twin Peaks." It’s a combination of humor and intrigue that launched author Nick Russell’s first Big Lake book into Amazon’s 100 Top Paid Kindle books for over 78 days!

Day Soldiers by Brandon Hale.  Here’s the description:
    A legion of vampires and werewolves has declared war on the human race.
   For ten years now, humanity has been at war with the creatures of darkness. The war has changed the world. The day now belongs to humanity and the night belongs to things once thought to exist only in myths and legends... but there is hope. This new enemy has united humanity and an army has stepped forward to protect the light from the darkness. An army of heroes.


Department of Magic by Brian Dockins.  Here’s the description:
   Cadan Johnson lived a seemingly ordinary life. He was on the soccer and cross country teams and had a loving family. But one thing about the Johnsons made them very unordinary- they could perform magic.
   When a mysterious spell on his school counselor backfires, Cadan is faced with the realization that everything he thought he knew about his family has been a lie. He leaves his home to search out the identities of his real parents, but before he can discover the truth, he is tracked down by another group of magic-wielders, this time sent by the government.


Covert Dreams by Michael Meyer
   Imagine waking up remembering intimate details about a country in which you have never traveled and fluently speaking a language that you have never spoken. B.J. is living the ideal life. He has a great wife, a wonderful job. And yet he is experiencing life-like vivid dreams of Munich, a city he has never visited.
   Stan Halsey is a professor in Saudi Arabia, who sends for his wife to join him. She arrives, and, in the blink of an eye, she vanishes, leaving no trace of ever being alive in either the United States or in Saudi Arabia.
   COVERT DREAMS is a fast-paced international suspense thriller that moves from Munich to the burning sands of Saudi Arabia. What is real, and who is responsible for the terrifying nightmare?

Prior Earth, by Scott Langrel

  Part one of a serialized novel. 13,000 words. 
  What if everything you thought you knew about your home, your friends, your family--even yourself--was a lie?

  A storm of change is coming to the planet Earth, and no one will escape it. Many will perish, unable to accept the total reshaping of reality as we know it. In the aftermath that follows, a handful of ragtag heroes must adapt to this strange, new world and begin a quest to save the Earth's remaining inhabitants from total annihilation.

  Combining elements of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, PriorEarth takes the reader on a roller coaster ride through a world that is alien yet familiar at the same time
Jake was just a normal kid who enjoyed hearing his mother's bedtime stories. The stories became shockingly real when he discovered that he was a descendant of Dr. Jekyll and that he had his own Mr. Hyde living inside him. Driven by a desire to do good, he attempts to hunt down and kill the remaining Hyde monsters. Can he finish off the onslaught of Hyde monsters and keep the girl he loves safe from their retaliation?

SODIUM1 - Harbinger by Stephen Arseneault
Before an invasion it is wise to gather intel on your foe. Harbinger begins the tale of the fight to save Earth as told from the perspective of an unlikely hero...
In 1957, a group of wilderness adventurers are confronted with the unexpected. They are forced to defend themselves against an unworldly enemy. Will man's first encounter with aliens force them to run or will they stand and fight? This is the first thriller in the SODIUM series. Follow along as the unwitting group determine their own fate.


CLAIMING MOON - John Peters
   People are dying in Southwest Virginia, their bodies ripped open, a vital organ missing.
   Clearwater Police Detective Frank Taliaferro has served in larger departments, advised the FBI, even worked international cases for The United Nations. Now he’s back where his career began, in the small town of Clearwater, Virginia, where he finds himself forced to participate in a charity bachelor auction.
   Cassandra Kincaid, a rising star at the Daily Dispatch who has her sights set on moving to one of the larger dailies – New York, Washington, maybe Los Angeles – is forced into participating in the auction as a bidder so she can write a feature piece on the whole process.
   That’s when things get complicated. The two find themselves drawn together in an uneasy yet passionate relationship while they both race to uncover what is behind a series of macabre murders.
A SHOT IN THE BARK - Carol Anne Newsome

Would you recognize a serial killer if you met one? Talked to one every day? Artist Lia Anderson doesn’t, and neither does anyone else who frequents the Mount Airy Dog Park. But a violent death brings Detective Peter Dourson into the close-knit group, and he is convinced someone is not who they seem. As the investigation uncovers secrets, Lia struggles to cope with warring emotions and a killer watches.


Suzie O’Connell - SUMMER ANGEL (Angel Series, Book Two)
Five years ago, Sheriff’s Deputy Ben Conner killed a man.  If that were the worst of it, he could have swallowed the guilt, but the man had a son—an eleven-year-old boy who was now no one’s son.  Ben buried himself in shroud of self-loathing and pushed away everyone, even his best friend June Montana, the one woman who might have been able to help him.
The last time Ben talked to June, she told him he could show up on her doorstep at any time.  When he returns home to Northstar in a last-ditch effort to flee his guilt and nightmares, he prays he can reconnect with June, because her friendship is the only thing that can help him find peace.  He knows it won’t be easy, but he also knows now that he can’t save himself.
Instead of the escape he hoped for, Ben is reunited with the boy he orphaned.  He will have to face the consequences of that fateful night, or risk destroying his friendship with June.
 With June’s help, and her son’s, Ben seizes the chance to finally forgive himself, but before he can begin to understand how his relationship with June has changed, an entirely new and disturbing problem arises.  Someone from June’s past wants revenge for a broken heart… and he’s willing to kill to get it.
 Set in the breathtaking mountains of Montana and spiced with a balance of humor, suspense and characters that will steal your heart, Summer Angel is a classic story of friendship and love.

Lee Hanson - Castle Cay
When her best friend is murdered, Julie O'Hara, a body language expert, packs up her suspicion and flies to Boston for his funeral. Who could have killed rising artist Marc Solomon, and what does Castle Cay, the Solomon's mysterious Caribbean island, have to do with it? Before long, Julie's sixth-sense pulls a hidden string that unravels a deadly conspiracy...and her own troubled past.
Jeannette Raleigh – Death Knell
  Nightmares of a horrific car accident haunt Amber, and the scars go deep. As she struggles to regain memories of the past few years, Amber receives a phone call from an old high school friend, a woman who has been missing for three months. The call is disconnected as her friend pleads for help.
 With her neighbor at her side, Amber digs into the disappearance, but sinister men are watching and they don't like Amber's meddling. While danger lurks, Amber discovers secrets that may unravel her life.
  Someone wants those secrets buried...

THE ROAD TO CORDIA by Jess Allison
In the country of Cancordia, on the planet D’Az,  set on the edge of the sea, is an isolated  Fisherfolk village. In this village people are dying who could have been saved. Ja'Nil (very much against her will) is sent to the Royal Court in the city of Cordia to find a healer.
  At one time the country of Cancordia was known for its safety, but now you take your life in your hands when they travel the roads. There are slavers, tricksters, dragons, and werewolves, powerful warlords, and ladies with mysterious and terrible gifts.
  One of the people Ja'Nil meets along the way is a handsome young man named Ee'Rick. They decide to travel together. Only much later does she discover Ee'Rick's secret.
At the Palace, the Queen is having troubles of her own. Before Ja'Nil and Ee'Rick reach the city, traitors put their plan into action. Suddenly the two travelers find themselves caught up in the middle of a deadly political coup.
Instead of finally being safe, the most dangerous part of their adventure has just begun. But Ja'Nil is developing a little magic of her own, and Ee'Rick is an incredibly efficient warrior. Even so, Ja'Nil’s journey to Cordia is turning into an experience she may not survive.
  The Road To Cordia is the first in a series of Cancordian Fantasy Adventures.
 









Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Coming Soon...

I'm within a few days of finishing my latest story.

This one is about a young woman who has wanted to be in the hotel business ever since she was a child. Hired by a worldwide boutique hotel company, she is thrilled by the promise of a spot in the concierge training programme. But when she arrives in Whistler, she finds that her spot has been taken by a quiet young man from Switzerland. Join Morgan and Adrian as they discover that they have more in common than their love of hotels.