Kim Kash's Blog, page 6

Author Discovery: The Fiddler's Talisman by Izolda Trakhtenberg

Welcome to Author Discovery Day 3. This is my favorite day of the series, I must say, because I am welcoming my friend Izolda and the snarky, modern fairy godmother Evie Songbottom. Here's a quick introduction to The Fiddler's Talisman, and also links to Izolda's web page and to her Smashwords page: 

Enter the New York of smart-ass Fairy Godmothers, thrilling classical music, and the "Jumping Cow."

Audacious modern-day Fairy Godmother Evie Songbottom prefers whiskey to glitter, being a smart-ass to being proper and movies to anything else. But, she'll need more than a bottle of Jameson and a bad attitude to handle … Joanna Brennan, a violin prodigy with a magical edge. Joanna caught her boyfriend playing hide-the-salami with her Juilliard roommate. Will her heartbreak end—well—everything?

Print Version Only Available Here. 
Find the eBook at Smashwords.

 

Author Discovery: Eden's Black Rose by Jaclyn Tracey

Welcome to day 2 of Author Discovery, a ten-day book tour including myself and nine other writers. I hope you discover some new favorite authors here! Today Jaclyn Tracey talks about Eden's Black Rose:

 

What doesn't kill you, Serina Spencer can usually cure.

A little snippet to tantalize your palate.

Serina Spencer flung open the carriage door and peered inside. The smell coming from the carriage impaled her. It was the morgue all over again, only sickeningly sweet in a repulsive-gagging-dry-heave-her-breakfast-lunch-and-supper sense. 

Serina ran for cover and expelled the contents of her stomach. She made her way back to the carriage, not sure whether she felt better or worse. She leaned toward worse.

Peering inside the carriage, Serina stepped back, her eyes wide.  Blood covered the man, the seats, and pooled around his feet, but not a single drop lay on the woman. Was she unconscious or drained dry? And did she want the answer to that? The man’s vocal cords glistened in the moonlight. How he was breathing—between—gurgles seemed nothing short of Divine Intervention. Feral eyes glared at her. As he attempted to speak, thin bubbles formed and popped, one after another from the hole in his throat.  

“Mister, you’re a bloody mess. I don’t usually chat with people once they’re as bad as you. They’re either halfway to heaven or hell by now and from the looks of you I’m guessing you weren’t allowed passage to either. Tonight your lucky star shone in my window.” 

His petrified look clearly stated otherwise. 

Moments later Serina was very busy working her magic on the one man she instinctively knew was her soul mate. Lucian St. James.

Nauseous again after giving the man and his sister blood transfusions, Serina yanked out handfuls of cloths before she chucked the bag into the street. Picking up the last bucket of water, she chugged a few swigs and then dowsed Lord St. James and the carriage, cleaning both as best she could. She didn’t want them to see a bloodbath and scare the daylights out of them when they came to. At most, she thought they’d be disoriented. She certainly was. With that last viable thought, she passed out landing face-down into Lord St. James lap. 

Lucian St. James pried open his heavy eyelids, feeling as if the weight of the world rested upon them. Confused by his surroundings, and unable to get a grasp of the evening events, he instead grasped a woman. He tried to recall what happened, but he drew blanks. His night became a jigsaw puzzle with missing bits and pieces. He was at a loss as to why there lay a scantily dressed female in the carriage with him with her face pressed precariously close to his groin. 

Doing what? He wondered. Had she fallen asleep? A curl touched his lips. “Could I have fallen asleep?” He scoffed the very idea. 

Lucian found this situation most amusing. And so it seemed, the more amused he got, the more aroused he got. On the opposite seat his sister lay quiet. Completely out of her character. Chatting with no one conscious he said, “Please let Raven be asleep. Don’t wake up now. Good God, how much champagne did I consume? And who is this little slip of a thing?”

Lucian ran his fingers through Serina’s wavy, auburn locks trying to rouse her. With a gentle touch, he traced the outline of her body, over her back, her ribs and moving lower to her hips. He slid his hand over her bottom, and enjoyed the soft, supple firmness. For a split second, he envisioned her naked, lying across him while he gently spanked her. He laughed aloud. 

He thought about undressing her due to her feverish state. All right, he agreed feverish was a lame reason, but if she came around that’s what he was sticking with. Then better judgment kicked in and he decided to keep her clothed… for now. What if she woke up naked and began screaming? Glancing at his soggy predicament of tattered trousers, a black shawl draped oddly across him, his shirt shredded, frustration set in. He squinted, while his fingers puttered with his five o’clock shadow and his free hand slapped her lush little behind. 

Lucian went back to his puzzle. Who was this woman with soft sensuous curves he would love to skim with his fingers and memorize with his heart? Why was she face down buried within his groin… asleep no less? 

Why was his sister snoring to the high heavens in the carriage? He’d seen her at the party with a shandy in hand and he knew all too well it only took one to get her glassy-eyed and giggly. There in lay his answer.

Where the dickens did Duncan disappear to? He rubbed his jaw in thought. Oh wait, the last time he saw Duncan he’d been playing craps with a few friends with a nice mountain of winnings in front of him. Probably enough to buy London Bridge, not that England would ever sell her.

And more importantly was this little woman going to finish what he hoped she’d started? She’d obviously attempted to rip off his clothing in a heated passion. Wish I remembered it. 

“Excuse me, Miss.” Lucian gave her a gentle shake. “Would you be so kind as to remove yourself so as I may try to regain my composure? Mind you, you were a tad bit rough with my attire. These did have buttons on them at one point.” 

Serina stirred. 

                                                 ****

Dizzy and disoriented, Serina couldn’t quite figure out where she was. Blinking, she tried to see past some large, silky, dark object blocking her view. 

Serina froze. Slowly, she rolled her eyes, upward at the tumescent erection still blanketed in silk. She couldn’t move a muscle to save herself, but then obviously, she couldn’t stay there with her face buried in the man’s loins either. 

What do I do to get out of this sticky situation with my dignity intact? 

Nothing came to mind… well, that wasn’t exactly true. One thing came to mind. Her eyebrow lifted in a non-prim, non-proper fashion.

Serina licked her lips.

Eden's Black Rose takes Serina and Lucian on one scintillating ride. First comes love, then comes marriage then comes the honeymoon from Hell. Serina's darkest hour comes with the realization that when she said her vows, "In good times and bad, in sickness and health, and till death we do part," they'd have covered them all in less than twenty-four hours.

Guess it's to be expected when you marry into royalty. Musical chairs with thrones never goes as it should. 

In the end, Serina and Lucian find their happily ever after but in their wake they leave Lucian's identical twin Andre and his twin sister Raven to forge their own paths.

Eden’s Sins, by Jaclyn Tracey is a paranormal romance that has a lil enchantress with amnesia and a royal heir to the throne trying to save his damsel in distress.

Jovan Hause made a date with destiny after she cast one impetuous love spell asking for a man to make her forget everything but their love. A moment later she encountered a steamy vision of what her future held and by the gods she believed she’d been sent one. Oh, the things the man did to her body with his tongue alone. Unfortunately she had no idea of the man’s name or what he looked like, but she did know he would arrive with the next train. Blazing a trail to the station she plowed one gent down in the street and never looked back, unfortunately all the passengers were gone when she arrived. Humiliation steering her home, Jovan slammed into the same man a second time only this time she saw stars.

On his way back to Paris after chasing one ghoul in a city of walking cadavers André St. James got knocked on his royal rump by what could only be called a goddess. What to do with a beautiful woman he’d just butt heads with? Nothing gentlemanly came to mind until she regained consciousness. Drawn to her, he planted his nose in the crook of her neck and by the gods now understands why cats go insane with catnip. This woman has intoxicated him with her scent alone. Deciding he only knows one way to wake the woman, he tries for true love’s kiss. The silly tale worked, just not like the charm he’d hoped for.

After three days of amnesia, Jovan is no closer to finding her past, but she realizes her future looks royally smashing. When a man on the street calls her name her world comes crashing down. Finding out she’s a witch a lynch mob awaits her and just when she didn’t think it could get any worse, André gets on the train without her.  

André saw her swinging from the gallows, blue eyes bulging. Then she wasn’t. Then he saw her waltzing off with a skeletal man without even a ‘kiss my royal arse good bye.

Three years later fate’s hand deals Jovan and André a second chance, but first they must defeat their past including the perverse undead trying to steal the throne from under them, not caring who gets crowned in the process. 

Eden's Charms is the 3rd book in the series coming out just as soon as the Wild Rose Press gets me a release date :) cover in the works :)

This book takes Savanah St. James and Ethan Kitt along the eastern seaboard from Saratoga Springs, NY to New Orleans, LA finding love and fighting Draq and a few other snaggled toothed vamps. 

 

Author Discovery Day 2: Eden's Black Rose by Jaclyn Tracey

Welcome to day 2 of Author Discovery, a ten-day book tour including myself and nine other writers. I hope you discover some new favorite authors here! Today Jaclyn Tracey talks about Eden's Black Rose:

 

What doesn't kill you, Serina Spencer can usually cure.

A little snippet to tantalize your palate.

Serina Spencer flung open the carriage door and peered inside. The smell coming from the carriage impaled her. It was the morgue all over again, only sickeningly sweet in a repulsive-gagging-dry-heave-her-breakfast-lunch-and-supper sense. 

Serina ran for cover and expelled the contents of her stomach. She made her way back to the carriage, not sure whether she felt better or worse. She leaned toward worse.

Peering inside the carriage, Serina stepped back, her eyes wide.  Blood covered the man, the seats, and pooled around his feet, but not a single drop lay on the woman. Was she unconscious or drained dry? And did she want the answer to that? The man’s vocal cords glistened in the moonlight. How he was breathing—between—gurgles seemed nothing short of Divine Intervention. Feral eyes glared at her. As he attempted to speak, thin bubbles formed and popped, one after another from the hole in his throat.  

“Mister, you’re a bloody mess. I don’t usually chat with people once they’re as bad as you. They’re either halfway to heaven or hell by now and from the looks of you I’m guessing you weren’t allowed passage to either. Tonight your lucky star shone in my window.” 

His petrified look clearly stated otherwise. 

Moments later Serina was very busy working her magic on the one man she instinctively knew was her soul mate. Lucian St. James.

Nauseous again after giving the man and his sister blood transfusions, Serina yanked out handfuls of cloths before she chucked the bag into the street. Picking up the last bucket of water, she chugged a few swigs and then dowsed Lord St. James and the carriage, cleaning both as best she could. She didn’t want them to see a bloodbath and scare the daylights out of them when they came to. At most, she thought they’d be disoriented. She certainly was. With that last viable thought, she passed out landing face-down into Lord St. James lap. 

Lucian St. James pried open his heavy eyelids, feeling as if the weight of the world rested upon them. Confused by his surroundings, and unable to get a grasp of the evening events, he instead grasped a woman. He tried to recall what happened, but he drew blanks. His night became a jigsaw puzzle with missing bits and pieces. He was at a loss as to why there lay a scantily dressed female in the carriage with him with her face pressed precariously close to his groin. 

Doing what? He wondered. Had she fallen asleep? A curl touched his lips. “Could I have fallen asleep?” He scoffed the very idea. 

Lucian found this situation most amusing. And so it seemed, the more amused he got, the more aroused he got. On the opposite seat his sister lay quiet. Completely out of her character. Chatting with no one conscious he said, “Please let Raven be asleep. Don’t wake up now. Good God, how much champagne did I consume? And who is this little slip of a thing?”

Lucian ran his fingers through Serina’s wavy, auburn locks trying to rouse her. With a gentle touch, he traced the outline of her body, over her back, her ribs and moving lower to her hips. He slid his hand over her bottom, and enjoyed the soft, supple firmness. For a split second, he envisioned her naked, lying across him while he gently spanked her. He laughed aloud. 

He thought about undressing her due to her feverish state. All right, he agreed feverish was a lame reason, but if she came around that’s what he was sticking with. Then better judgment kicked in and he decided to keep her clothed… for now. What if she woke up naked and began screaming? Glancing at his soggy predicament of tattered trousers, a black shawl draped oddly across him, his shirt shredded, frustration set in. He squinted, while his fingers puttered with his five o’clock shadow and his free hand slapped her lush little behind. 

Lucian went back to his puzzle. Who was this woman with soft sensuous curves he would love to skim with his fingers and memorize with his heart? Why was she face down buried within his groin… asleep no less? 

Why was his sister snoring to the high heavens in the carriage? He’d seen her at the party with a shandy in hand and he knew all too well it only took one to get her glassy-eyed and giggly. There in lay his answer.

Where the dickens did Duncan disappear to? He rubbed his jaw in thought. Oh wait, the last time he saw Duncan he’d been playing craps with a few friends with a nice mountain of winnings in front of him. Probably enough to buy London Bridge, not that England would ever sell her.

And more importantly was this little woman going to finish what he hoped she’d started? She’d obviously attempted to rip off his clothing in a heated passion. Wish I remembered it. 

“Excuse me, Miss.” Lucian gave her a gentle shake. “Would you be so kind as to remove yourself so as I may try to regain my composure? Mind you, you were a tad bit rough with my attire. These did have buttons on them at one point.” 

Serina stirred. 

                                                 ****

Dizzy and disoriented, Serina couldn’t quite figure out where she was. Blinking, she tried to see past some large, silky, dark object blocking her view. 

Serina froze. Slowly, she rolled her eyes, upward at the tumescent erection still blanketed in silk. She couldn’t move a muscle to save herself, but then obviously, she couldn’t stay there with her face buried in the man’s loins either. 

What do I do to get out of this sticky situation with my dignity intact? 

Nothing came to mind… well, that wasn’t exactly true. One thing came to mind. Her eyebrow lifted in a non-prim, non-proper fashion.

Serina licked her lips.

Eden's Black Rose takes Serina and Lucian on one scintillating ride. First comes love, then comes marriage then comes the honeymoon from Hell. Serina's darkest hour comes with the realization that when she said her vows, "In good times and bad, in sickness and health, and till death we do part," they'd have covered them all in less than twenty-four hours.

Guess it's to be expected when you marry into royalty. Musical chairs with thrones never goes as it should. 

In the end, Serina and Lucian find their happily ever after but in their wake they leave Lucian's identical twin Andre and his twin sister Raven to forge their own paths.

Eden’s Sins, by Jaclyn Tracey is a paranormal romance that has a lil enchantress with amnesia and a royal heir to the throne trying to save his damsel in distress.

Jovan Hause made a date with destiny after she cast one impetuous love spell asking for a man to make her forget everything but their love. A moment later she encountered a steamy vision of what her future held and by the gods she believed she’d been sent one. Oh, the things the man did to her body with his tongue alone. Unfortunately she had no idea of the man’s name or what he looked like, but she did know he would arrive with the next train. Blazing a trail to the station she plowed one gent down in the street and never looked back, unfortunately all the passengers were gone when she arrived. Humiliation steering her home, Jovan slammed into the same man a second time only this time she saw stars.

On his way back to Paris after chasing one ghoul in a city of walking cadavers André St. James got knocked on his royal rump by what could only be called a goddess. What to do with a beautiful woman he’d just butt heads with? Nothing gentlemanly came to mind until she regained consciousness. Drawn to her, he planted his nose in the crook of her neck and by the gods now understands why cats go insane with catnip. This woman has intoxicated him with her scent alone. Deciding he only knows one way to wake the woman, he tries for true love’s kiss. The silly tale worked, just not like the charm he’d hoped for.

After three days of amnesia, Jovan is no closer to finding her past, but she realizes her future looks royally smashing. When a man on the street calls her name her world comes crashing down. Finding out she’s a witch a lynch mob awaits her and just when she didn’t think it could get any worse, André gets on the train without her.  

André saw her swinging from the gallows, blue eyes bulging. Then she wasn’t. Then he saw her waltzing off with a skeletal man without even a ‘kiss my royal arse good bye.

Three years later fate’s hand deals Jovan and André a second chance, but first they must defeat their past including the perverse undead trying to steal the throne from under them, not caring who gets crowned in the process. 

Eden's Charms is the 3rd book in the series coming out just as soon as the Wild Rose Press gets me a release date :) cover in the works :)

This book takes Savanah St. James and Ethan Kitt along the eastern seaboard from Saratoga Springs, NY to New Orleans, LA finding love and fighting Draq and a few other snaggled toothed vamps. 

 

Author Discovery: Prince of Alasia by Annie Douglass Lima

Welcome to the first day of Author Discovery, which is a ten-day book tour (including myself and nine other writers.) I hope you discover some new favorite authors here! Here's Annie Douglass Lima to talk about her Prince of Alasia:

       Prince Jaymin, heir to the throne of Alasia, barely escapes with his life when invaders from neighboring Malorn attack.  Accompanied by his young bodyguard, Jaymin flees to a nearby town to live in hiding.  There, surrounded by the enemy soldiers searching for him, his life depends on his ability to maintain his disguise.

       As the danger intensifies and the Malornians’ suspicions grow, Jaymin seeks desperately for a way to save his kingdom and himself.  Then he stumbles upon a startling discovery that will challenge his assumptions and forever change his view of Malorn and the events that altered his life. 

Click here to see a map of Alasia and Malorn!

Read the first chapter for free!
 

Click here to buy Prince of Alasia (Kindle version)

Click here to buy Prince of Alasia (paperback) 

Confused about some of the vocabulary?  Click on the links below to access free PowerPoint presentations explaining the key vocabulary from each chapter with pictures and definitions.  Especially recommended for younger readers or English language learners.  Also an excellent resource for classroom use!

Zip File with Vocabulary PowerPoints for Chapters 1-18 

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 1 
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 2 
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 3 
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 4
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 5

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 6

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 7

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 8

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 9

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 10
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 11
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 12
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 13
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 14
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 15
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter

 16 

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 17
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 18

See my page about In the Enemy's Service, the second book in the Annals of Alasia, here.

"Like" Annie Douglass Lima's author page on Facebook.

"Like" Prince of Alasia on Facebook. 

Send Prince Jaymin a message or add him as a friend on Facebook!

 

Author Discovery Day 1: Prince of Alasia by Annie Douglass Lima

Welcome to the first day of Author Discovery, which is a ten-day book tour (including myself and nine other writers.) I hope you discover some new favorite authors here! Here's Annie Douglass Lima to talk about her Prince of Alasia:

       Prince Jaymin, heir to the throne of Alasia, barely escapes with his life when invaders from neighboring Malorn attack.  Accompanied by his young bodyguard, Jaymin flees to a nearby town to live in hiding.  There, surrounded by the enemy soldiers searching for him, his life depends on his ability to maintain his disguise.

       As the danger intensifies and the Malornians’ suspicions grow, Jaymin seeks desperately for a way to save his kingdom and himself.  Then he stumbles upon a startling discovery that will challenge his assumptions and forever change his view of Malorn and the events that altered his life. 

Click here to see a map of Alasia and Malorn!

Read the first chapter for free!
 

Click here to buy Prince of Alasia (Kindle version)

Click here to buy Prince of Alasia (paperback) 

Confused about some of the vocabulary?  Click on the links below to access free PowerPoint presentations explaining the key vocabulary from each chapter with pictures and definitions.  Especially recommended for younger readers or English language learners.  Also an excellent resource for classroom use!

Zip File with Vocabulary PowerPoints for Chapters 1-18 

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 1 
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 2 
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 3 
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 4
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 5

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 6

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 7

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 8

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 9

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 10
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 11
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 12
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 13
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 14
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 15
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter

 16 

Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 17
Vocabulary PowerPoint for Chapter 18

See my page about In the Enemy's Service, the second book in the Annals of Alasia, here.

"Like" Annie Douglass Lima's author page on Facebook.

"Like" Prince of Alasia on Facebook. 

Send Prince Jaymin a message or add him as a friend on Facebook!

 

Ocean City Lowdown: Giving it Away

Ocean City Lowdown introduces Eastern Shore Maryland reporter Jamie August, who has a talent for unearthing more than her editor wants and a weakness for Ravens jerseys and sparkly underwear. Jamie's tenacity, smarts, and sheer recklessness—plus some smokin’ striptease dance moves—can get her out of some tight spots, but are they enough to save her from a psychopathic arsonist and two generations of corrupt real estate tycoons? 

At the end of this Discover Authors tour, one lucky guy or girl will walk away with a free copy of Ocean City Lowdown! For real. How? It's so easy. Just email me at kimkash@kimkash.com to let me know you're interested, and keep your fingers crossed! 

Meanwhile, here's a teeny free sample to whet your appetite: 

Donald leaned forward earnestly. “Bayview
Preserve is the biggest and most high-end of all the Ivory projects. It will
have its own main street, with a Reynauld’s Steakhouse, a sushi bar, a
Starbucks and some retail gallery space with artists’ lofts above them. This
establishes Ocean City as an upscale place for people from Washington, Baltimore,
Philadelphia, and even New York, to own a beach home,” he said. “It’s going to
change the way the world looks at Ocean City! Coastal Life magazine is going to be featuring Bayview Preserve in
an upcoming issue, and of course, the opening is going to be front-page news in
the Weekly Breeze.”

I envisioned a pod of plywood houses sprouting
out of the reeds of Assawoman Bay, within earshot of a dinosaur-themed
mini-golf course and a teen nightclub in a metal agricultural warehouse. I
examined Donald’s face, and didn’t see any hint of sarcasm. Hmm.

“Okay, so what kind of coverage do you want?
Should I look at the history of the company? Market trends for bayside
development? I could talk to the engineers who figured out how to fill in the
marshland…”

“We’re going to devote most of Lifestyles to Bayview Preserve, and
you’ll actually need to do a couple of stories,” Donald said. “So, sure, talk
about the real estate trends and maybe a little about the engineering if
there’s a story there, but we are not doing an expose on the big, bad
developers, okay? Forget it. This is a Beach’n’Bay
Lifestyles feature.”

“Got it.”

“I’m serious, Jamie. There is nothing to
investigate here.”

“Okay. No investigating. I promise.” I held up my
hand, Girl Scout style.

Indie Authors House Party!

Join the party here over the next week and a half as I welcome nine other authors to talk about their recently published books. This is a little push to get the word out about all of us. They'll say a little something on my page, and I'll stop in to say hello on each of their pages. You'll get to see a crazy mix of genres: fantasy, mystery, sci-fi, erotica (don't get too excited--it'll be a G-rated preview), paranormal romance (is there any other kind?), motivational, and more. We'll kick it off tomorrow with another plug for my own Ocean City Lowdown, so that my fellow authors can pick it up and share it with their readers.

As a newcomer to the Indie market (my 2009 travel guide to Ocean City was traditionally published), my learning curve as a self-publisher is just about vertical. I'm learning about marketing as I go--social, personal, viral. Sounds like a conversation about sexually transmitted diseases, actually. I am hearing lots of encouragement, getting positive feedback from actual readers who paid for my book and are not even related to me. I'm on a new author high! 

That's why I want to share some of my excitement about this newly discovered DIY literary world by doing this Indie Author House Party. I hope you'll enjoy reading a little something from my fellow authors, who are working it as hard as I am to sell their wares. I only know one other author in the bunch, and frankly I'm not really into some of the genres that you'll be seeing on these pages in the next several days. But that's cool. Think of it as a post-modern used bookstore: you really don't know what you'll find, but it's fun to poke around and read the dust jackets.  

The thing we all have in common is a published book and a desire to find our readers. I hope you'll find something to pique your interest, and that you will give my guests a warm welcome. 

 

International German Game Night

Our modest game collection

Recently we've been playing German games with a group of Saudi, German, and American friends. German games (also called Euro-style games) are strategy board games like Carcassonne, Puerto Rico, and Settlers of Catan. Many are created by German game designers, but this category of German games refers to any of these complex strategy board games, whether or not they are actually German.

A couple of times, I've been to the apartment of our Saudi friends--the first "real" Saudi home I've visited. There are two front doors! One enters onto the main area of the apartment, just like a western flat. The other enters directly into a formal sitting room, which can be closed off from the rest of the apartment. I guess this allows traditional Muslim households to receive male visitors without all the women having to cover up. 

Fearsome Floors!

At our last game night, we played Finstere Flure, or Fearsome Floors. Players must guide multiple characters through a dungeon, avoiding the monster that stalks through and eats people. The game includes such features as cartoon-like blood splatters, which allow players to slide from one space to another, and teleporters, which make the monster vanish from one spot on the board and reappear in another. It's a silly game and much less complicated than many German games, but there is definitely some strategy involved. It's worth at least one play if only to enjoy the over-the-top, comic-book gruesomeness of the game board design.

Now I'm in the States and my friends are in Germany. I left plenty of room in my suitcase for game boxes. Each of us is bringing back new titles for the other, so we'll have fresh games to learn in the fall. 

Scrabble brunch

In addition to these game nights, Michael and I have gotten into the habit of playing lunchtime Scrabble. I picked up a Scrabble game at a local bookstore not long ago. Despite being a writer, I never much enjoyed Scrabble before. I was so excited to see the game at Jarir Bookstore, though, that I had to have it. That was about a month or two ago, and we've been playing it ever since--always over lunch. It's still not my favorite game, and I get trounced every time by my crossword puzzle fiend husband. But I am improving, and can definitely appreciate the strategy involved in the game.

In other game news, my chess game is not improving much, though I keep beating my head against that wall! During the summer here on our compound, most club sports and activities grind to a halt because everybody goes on holiday. Everything starts up again in the fall, including the Chess Club. I'll be happy to join in their weekly games, especially since their schedule is changing to one that'll work for me, thanks to the new Friday-Saturday weekend in Saudi Arabia. (The weekend in Saudi Arabia had been Thursday-Friday. They just switched it to Friday-Saturday, which is in line with the rest of the GCC countries. Friday is, of course, still the holy day, the Sunday equivalent. But now the shopping day is Saturday rather than Thursday. So it's as if the western weekend was suddenly Sunday-Monday. Very confusing.)

Anyhow, in the meantime I've been playing with a friend on camp who is a much stronger player than I, and more important, a patient teacher. My chess-playing friend is also crazy for Risk, which is one I haven't tried yet. He loves that game so much that he built his own homemade version of it when he was living in the remote mountains of Uganda. He had to have it.

Game-playing of all kinds is something that we seem to have more time for here than in the States, and I'm grateful for that because it's one of my favorite pastimes. 

 

The Official OCEAN CITY LOWDOWN Soundtrack

The world of Jamie August has a nearly continuous
soundtrack. Not surprising, since my own memories of Ocean City are crowded with songs that might make me roll my eyes, but really, I love 'em. I should just cut the high-brow act.

Here's a big shout out to the excellent Alafair Burke, whose soundtrack for the recently released title, If You Were Here (a collection of some great 80s pop) inspired me to make this sountrack for Ocean City Lowdown. 

I'd suggest that you listen to the soundtrack as you read my liner notes. It's on Spotify, and you may have to join to listen, but it's free (as is the streaming soundtrack.)

You Give Love a Bad Name, Bon Jovi – “Bon Jovi is the best
American band since—well—since ever,” Jamie says. Her cell phone ring is “Wanted
Dead or Alive.” Bon Jovi’s sound reminds me of walking on the Boardwalk as a
teenager in the summertime, wearing a bikini and cut-offs, eating a bucket of
salty, vinegary Thrasher’s Fries, and checking everybody out.

Jamie’s Cryin’, Van Halen – Jamie’s inadvertent foray into
striptease is accompanied by Van Halen’s wry classic. Give this a new listen,
and I’ll bet you can easily imagine Jamie’s spontaneous, smokin’ hot
performance.

Little Deuce Coupe, The Beach Boys – This summertime classic
was one of the songs played by Frankie and the Whalers at the big reception at
the local Chevy dealership. It’s easy to picture this (fictitious) cover band, a
group of middle-aged gents in Hawaiian shirts, some with thermals layered
underneath, warming up their instruments next to a shiny blue Malibu on the
showroom floor. It was fun to imagine a local car dealership’s extreme
off-season marketing ploys, and to figure out how this scene would tie to the
main action of the story. Oh, but it does.

Vogue, Madonna – Jamie describes a scene from her childhood: “I
remember dancing to Madonna albums in the living room back in Dundalk with my
sister Lindsey. She would close her eyes when she danced, probably attempting
to block out the presence of her bratty little sister. I would mimic her
voguing and jump out of the way as she blindly strutted across the floor,
cheeks sucked in and hips swaying wildly.” Jamie channels her sister in a
critical Ocean City Lowdown scene.

Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana – Jamie attempts to crank this
raging guitar classic when she’s driving in a Chevy loaner car that’s about the
size of a roller skate. It struck me as funny. The usually carless Jamie is
thrilled to have a set of wheels for the day, but completely nonplussed at the
cheap, tinny-sounding stereo. What sound could illustrate this better than
Nirvana?

Livin’ on Borrowed Time, Puddle of Mudd – The title is apt for
this one, another guitar rock favorite of Jamie’s. She’s got Puddle of Mudd
cranked up loud late one night while she is working on her big newspaper article. If she
had turned the stereo down a little, the story might have gone a whole lot
differently.

You Can Leave Your Hat On, Joe Cocker – This was an obvious
choice. What bikini contest would leave this one out? Plus, it really is a fun,
sexy song!

I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor – The broken-hearted woman’s
anthem. I like Cake’s version better, but when Jamie forces herself to sing
this aloud while walking home alone in a snowstorm, I’m sure she’s thinking of
the original.

You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’, Judas Priest – Another entry
in the classic beach rock soundtrack from my youth. Classic rock has always
been huge downy ocean, hon. When Jamie throws that line out, “They’ve got
another thing coming, like the Judas Priest song says,” she’s not entirely
joking.

Everybody Wants You, Billy Squier – Is it just me, or does
every Maryland girl have Boardwalk memories playing in their head with a Billy
Squier soundtrack? I can vividly remember his devilish chuckle near the end of
the song, blaring from the sound system of one of the inlet carnival rides one
hot summer night.

Summer Nights, John Travolta & Olivia Newton John – I was
thinking of Bob Marley, but the book’s principal editor suggested that this was
the song that Jamie hears drifting out of the apartment occupied by a family of
cranky vacationers. Clearly he knows the material better than I do.

Wanted Dead or Alive, Bon Jovi – Can’t have too much Bon Jovi
in the world of Jamie August. I mean, he’s seen a million faces, and he’s
rocked ‘em all.

Putting this together was a blast! I hope you enjoy listening to The Official OCEAN CITY LOWDOWN Soundtrack as much I did making it.

Pick a Language, Any Language

Six of us were seated around the table, in the thick of a good German board game (about which, more in a coming blog post). We were playing and joking and speaking in casual, conversational English. Then it hit me that everyone but me spoke at least three languages. This was no foreign language teachers' convention. No. This was just a group of expat and local friends in Saudi Arabia. 

Having the privilege to socialize with Saudis here is not one that everyone enjoys. I am fortunate that my husband and I live and work on a very international compound, so we have friends from all over the world. Still, the Saudis, while typically very friendly and welcoming to their expat work colleagues, often do not have much of a social life with us. Why would they? Family life is all-important in this culture, and their families are right here, not a 14-hour flight away, like mine is.

Therefore, I am grateful to be making friends with people who are of this culture and understand it in a way that I never will.  

But I digress. We're talking about languages! 

It's very common for Europeans to speak at least two languages, and I'm finding the same to be true--and then some--for the Middle Eastern people I've met. They speak their mother tongue (Arabic), and they speak English (because it's the language of business in the Middle East), and they also often speak a third language, depending on where they are from or where they went for their higher education. At our game table the other night, the group collectively spoke English, Arabic, Italian, German, Spanish, Hungarian, and Urdu.

Growing up Anglo in the United States, sheltered and far removed from the cacophony of world languages, it was always my impression that being bilingual is exotic. It's a fancy skill, like playing the piano. (Never mind the fact that a 2010 Census Bureau survey found that 37 million people in the U.S. use Spanish as their primary language.)

I am struggling to catch up, and can finally speak and read some Spanish. But it wasn't until I moved to an Arab-speaking country that I realized how common and how important it is to speak multiple languages--pick one, or several!--once you leave the isolation of the United States.