A.M. Riley's Blog, page 13

In honor of GAME 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

I'm sitting here eating Tums. It's 0/0 in the second and there's no telling which way it's going to go, but I uploaded a tiny (4540 words) little ice hockey/vampire m/m story to Smashwords here.

Now I'm trying to figure out Wikipedia. bleh. Anything to distract me. I've already screamed myself hoarse, scared the dogs and I think my neighbor is staring at me from her bedroom window.

::waves::

Happy Memorial Day everyone! and LETS GO BLACKHAWKS!!!!

HAWKS WIN GAME ONE 6 TO 5 !!!!!!

I doubt many people are unaware of my hockey obsession. But perhaps you didn't know that I grew up in a hockey family in Chicago. The Chicago Blackhawks haven't been in a Stanley Cup playoff since 1992 (we lost), and we haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1961.

So I'm a little crazy tonight. And hoarse. I'm not taking this damned jersey off until they win.

Where in the world is AM Riley?

I've gone back to work at one of the studios. It's like picking up your lantern and going back into the cave. Limited email and cellphone. A massive, network surveyed computer system that discourages browsing (as if I had time).

I'll be checking in periodically and I should be around on weekends. Haven't got my log in working yet so blogger and I aren't compatible while at work...
Wish me luck.

linkety to Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" is 85 today. There is a good blog post on the book here. For myself, "To the Lighthouse" and "Jacob's Room" were the most moving of her works. I absolutely hate all of the movies. It's obscene to translate Woolf to film.

View all my reviews >>

Whatever Happened to the Purple Velvet Cake?

This is Buddy. He came with The-Boy-who-sleeps-on-my-sofa. He is adorable and very very tall. He is so tall that when he jumps up he can lick my face, he can jump over five foot coffee tables in one bound, and he can reach the kitchen counters.

So, before I could take a picture of the Purple Velvet Cake (which would have been the Red Velvet Cake except the birthday girl requested purple) Buddy decided to taste some of the strawberry festooned frosting.

Or at least that's the story the other ...

Not on the topic of books.

I am looking for a Red Velvet cake recipe. It is my daughter's birthday today and I want to bake a lactose-free Red Velvet cake that is NOT dry and icky. Last year the Red Velvet cake was a giant FAIL. It looked awesome but tasted bleh.

Why I Write

Rick Reed is hosting a series of authors blogging about 'Why I Write'. Today is my turn. Check it out here!

Maybe I should retire now?

I mean after this letter from Val at Obsidian Bookshelf, which honestly moved me to tears, I feel almost like I have nothing more to achieve.

Except for this book sitting in front of me right now. I just have to finish this one and then I'll stop. Maybe.

Thank you, Val. I can't express how much it means to receive fanmail like this.

A review in which I become opinionated

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is generally listed as one of the best Georgette Heyer books and it is fantastic, if you love regency romance. I gave it four stars because of a couple of specific issues which I will mention below beneath the SPOILER stars.

Her stories and language bring an era to life which, according to my history books, existed very briefly before The War. The Grand Manor period, which seems to be nostalgically longed for by everyone but me.

I...

Son of a Gun gets 4.5 stars at Literary Nymphs

A very nice review at Literary Nymphs for "Son of a Gun". She gave it 4.5 nymphs. Pretty good for a romance that is all about the action adventure with the romance and heat as a side dish. (There IS heat, though. I saw a comment somewhere that an anonymous somebody had said there were no hot scenes in the book.)