Jamie DeBree's Blog, page 21

Talkin' Books: Witch/Demon Romance & Unmentionables...

Books Finished: 
Free Fall by Carolyn Jewel


Books In Progress: 
Rough Country by John Sanford
Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes Yardley


Short Fiction: 
None 


Comics Read:
None


Last week was a weird, disjointed week with my husband gone and me
struggling with...stuff, to be politely vague. I didn't get much reading
done - or anything else for that matter, and a couple of the things I
did read aren't books I'd mention here (though if I get my butt in gear,
I'll mention them on my alter-ego's blog eventually). And so far this
week, my reading time has been next to null with deadlines to meet and
more revision hell. But if I can just get everything done that needs to
be done this week, I'll be looking at an easier schedule again for
awhile.


Free Fall was good - I enjoyed it, which
surprised me. I think I mentioned that I'm not really one for the
witch/mage/demon trope in romance, but this was very well done, and the
characters were extremely well developed, even in the short space of a
novella. I wouldn't mind continuing on with this series, if there are
more. I might check into that next payday...


The other two books I read were erotic romance on the extreme end
of the spectrum, and were also very good, if extremely intense.
Certainly not for everyone, but I'll try to make a point to get the
titles/links posted on my alter-ego's blog later this week.


Yesterday I downloaded a new novella by Shiloh Walker that I'm
really looking forward to, and I've got my eye on another Vivian Arend
book as well, so hopefully my reading list will look a little better
next week. I also have a new stack of comics to read, including the new
Grimm series, and the first issue of The Black Bat, a re-telling of an
older pulp comic that I'm excited to check out. So lots of stuff waiting
to carry me away from the stuff in my head and out to more adventurous
worlds for awhile, if I can make some time soon!


What are you reading? Anything fun/interesting/surreal? I'm always open to suggestions for the list!
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On Shopping, Productivity & Writing Plans...

As you may have guessed from the title, I went shopping this weekend. 


I hate shopping. 


I've been revamping my aging work wardrobe recently - partly
because I've lost quite a bit of weight over the last couple of years
and some  things just don't fit anymore, and partly because clothes wear
out after 8 years or so (I know - it's ridiculous, really). Actually,
my black pants tend to fade within a couple years, and I wear shoes out
every 6 months to a year just due to daily wear. Things just aren't made
like they used to be (cue "get off my lawn!")...


I ordered pants, belts & shoes, but had to actually go shopping
for shirts (I'm picky about fabrics and styles). It took me around 4
hours on Saturday (with a break) to find four shirts. I really should
have bought the fifth one I was considering, but I already felt like I
was spending too much money (and everything was on sale, thankfully).
What else could I have done with my time on Saturday? Let's see:


- Design a book cover (with time left over)
- Crocheted 2-3 more squares on a current project
- Revised half of a novel
- Completely clean the bathroom, complete with swapping out the shower curtain and washing rugs
- Three loads of laundry
- Banish the rest of the weeds from our gardens
- Read two full-length novels
- Completely catch up my business bookkeeping


Do you see why I hate to shop? It's a total waste of time, and
honestly, I would have preferred doing any of the above items to
traipsing around department stores trying to find shirts that will look
decent and wear comfortably at an affordable price. Ugh.


But, it's over now, and I should be set for several more years
before I have to do it again. Thank goodness. If I can teach myself how
to knit this winter, there's a high likely hood I won't have to shop for
shirts for a *long* time, as I'll be able to make what I need. We'll
see.


Last week sucked in terms of getting things done. It was just bad
all around, and the hubby was gone, which didn't help either. I'm glad
to get a fresh start this week, since I'm now way behind where I should
be on just about everything (except the day job - last week was good for
that, ironically). Here's hoping I can get caught up, or at least make a
good effort this week. I've got a good feeling, anyways.


I'm hoping that I'll have another story done soon that I can
serialize while it's being edited and prepared for publication. That way
I can post it in bigger chunks at a time, which would be good. I've
been really focusing on revisions lately, but I really can't go for so
long without writing anything new - I'm getting twitchy to start a new
draft. So I'm going to start working on the next tea story (Jasmine
Betrayal - thanks to Ardee-ann for helping me decide!) this week, and hopefully I'll have it finished in two weeks,
after which I'll serialize it here while it's being edited. Best of both
worlds, I think.


What's on tap for this week? Lots of stuff, as usual:


- Another scene for the remaining serial story
- More *@#$ revisions for THD (finish 'em maybe?)
- Start the draft of Jasmine Betrayal
- Cover art for two books
- BSB monthly newsletter
- VP newsletter
- 3-4 more squares crocheted for afghan in progress
- Catch up laundry
- Add push-ups/sit-ups to morning workout routine (tired of being wimpy - need muscles!)


And that's it for the week...here's hoping it goes better than the last one!
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Serial Break & Story Choices

With the draft of English Breakfast done and me in the
middle of revisions for a couple different books, I kind of forgot about
a Friday post this week. I have a crazy number of drafts just waiting
to be written, several of which are prime candidates for serializing
here, but at the same time, I'm doing a little experiment to see if
maybe I can write faster if I don't serialize right away, but rather
focus hard on just one or two drafts at a time (for those who don't
follow my other pen names, I normally have at least three, sometimes
four or five drafts in progress at once). 


I could certainly handle serializing whichever draft I happen to be
focusing on, of course. But for the next couple weeks, I'm focusing on
revisions and finishing up all of the stories for the Holiday series I'm
writing this year, so I won't be starting a new romantic suspense draft
for at least a few weeks.


In the interim, I think I'll just go ahead and post excerpts from
previously published books on Fridays, and perhaps a few from future
holiday stories as I work on them as well. Then once I have another rom.
suspense draft going, I'll either serialize it, or post excerpts as I'm
writing. We'll see when I get to that point.


Incidentally, if you like a little horror/psychological suspense on occasion, my latest Alex Westhaven story is out today. Details here...


So what's up next after I finish writing the holiday series? Maybe
you can help me decide. Which of these would you be most excited about
reading next (if you can't decide, I don't blame you - how do you think I feel)?



Jasmine Betrayal (Book 3, BeauTEAful Summer series)
Live With Me (Book 2, Be With Me series)
The Artist's Attorney (Book 4, Fantasy Ranch series)
Untitled Book 1 of the Gothic Guardians series (paranormal romantic suspense)


No need to comment here if the captcha security thing frustrates
you - you can also comment on Facebook, Twitter or G+. I'd love to hear
from you, wherever you feel most comfortable.


And that's it for this Friday...here's to a sunny, relaxing weekend for us all!
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Talkin' Books: Unfinished Stories, Sample Fails & Witchy Romance

Books Finished: 
Play Hard (collection by V.K. Sykes, Juliana Stone & Jennifer Lyon)


Books In Progress: 
Free Fall by Carolyn Jewel
Rough Country by John Sanford
Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes Yardley


Short Fiction: 
None 


Comics Read:
None


Fair warning: my reading attitude runs pessimistic this week
(partly why I'm writing this on my lunch break instead of having it done
last night). And while I hate to complain about other author's books
(because inevitably they think you're jealous instead of having a valid
opinion as a reader - and sometimes it results in backlash reviews for
my own books), I have a negative comment to get off my chest this week.
And I think it needs to be mentioned so others know what they're getting
into should they make the same purchase.


So we'll get that over with first, shall we?


I finished the Play Hard collection a few days ago - well, the two books I was reading from it (I've already read Offside,
noted earlier). I enjoyed the V.K Sykes story quite a bit...it was
rather angsty, but the whole thing worked and the end was very
satisfying. Baseball still not really being my "thing", I probably won't
go looking for others, but I'd certainly read the author again.


The Proposition , however, made me wish I
was reading a physical book when I got to the "end" of the book, and
found that there was no HEA, no wrap up, no "ending" whatsoever. The
story just simply cut off at the end of a scene with a cheery note from
the author that the story continued in book two. Yes, I wanted to throw
the damn thing against the wall. Why? Because I *loved* the story to
that point. It's about a fighter and his quest to help a woman who needs
the specific kind of help he can provide her. But the description of
this anthology says very clearly that it contains three full-length
novels...and while this may be a specific length, it's not a novel if it
doesn't have an ending. It's a serial section, and had I known that, I
wouldn't have even started it - though I might have gone looking for the
final book containing all parts of the serial. And I write serial
installments, so really, I have nothing against that model, but I won't
pay for them separately (and I don't charge for them separately either).



If it's a romance, it *must* end with a happily ever after. There
are no exceptions to that rule for that genre, and Lyons broke that rule
in a rather spectacular way. I won't be looking for the next books in
the "series" (which is actually not a series at all - a series is a
collection of complete books, not incomplete installments). I'm insanely
disappointed because I feel like I spent all that time with those
characters only to be forced to go buy another book if I want to
continue their story. In fantasy, that's acceptable (note, I don't read
much fantasy because I prefer a story be finished at the end of a book,
even if the series continues later on with a new story). In romance,
that's blackmail. And it will make me avoid the rest of that author's
work like the plague.


Pity, because as I said, I was really loving that story and the
characters. Otherwise I wouldn't care that it was so abruptly cut off
without a proper wrap-up.


In any case, now you know, so you can make your own decision on purchasing that particular anthology...


After that, I had a rather hard time deciding what to read next.
I'd sampled a few books and bought based on the sample, only to find
that the prologue or first part was third person, but the bulk of the
book was first person - and I hate reading first person narratives, so
there's several wasted dollars right there, dang it). Apparently even
the sample won't save me from that...and it should, don't you think?
Bait and switch, though I'm quite sure that wasn't even remotely what
the authors were thinking when they wrote the books. It's just what it
feels like to me. I just need to do more research on new authors, I
guess. Figure out their writing preference before I buy. Mea culpa.


I've finally settled into Free Fall ,  a
paranormal romance novella by Carolyn Jewel. It's Witches & Demons,
so not my fave paranormal trope, but it's kept my interest for a couple
chapters now, which is more than anything else has done lately. The
characters are interesting, the hero a smouldering demon, so, you know.
It'll do.


I think all this revising I'm doing on my own work must be messing
with my reading mojo or something. Maybe once I get that done, I'll
magically find some awesome books again. Although I am still enjoying Rough Country , so there's that too.


Next week, more positive. Promise!
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On Pet Paranoia, TV Reception & a Cleaning Binge...

Welcome (?) to another week! I hope your weekend felt longer than it actually was...

I'm the first to admit that when it comes to my
pets, I'm paranoid. Late Thursday night, Lucy-dog took off after
something in the yard when I called her to come in, and ever since I've
been watching her like a hawk for any signs of mouse poisoning. Why?
Because she acted like she might have caught something, and I would have
seen her catch a bunny. She's caught mice before, and while most of my
neighbors have dogs (and thus presumably wouldn't use rat/mouse bait),
there are a few I can't be sure of. Thus, potential mouse ingestion =
worry and careful watching for a week or so in hopes that I really am
just paranoid (today will be day 4, and so far, so good, so...good). 
Today,
I'm working a half-day at the day job so I can take Mica in to get his
mercury-free rabies vaccine in the afternoon, and then watch him
carefully the rest of the day/night to make sure he doesn't have a
serious reaction. Why? Because he has a lot of allergies/gastric issues
that in some cases have been linked to the rabies vaccine, a shot of
which he also got last year at the shelter where he was living at the
time. The rest of the story is on one of my Monday blogs a couple weeks
back, but long story short, I'm afraid he'll have a reaction given all
we've been through in the months since we adopted him. 
And
yes, I worry about my goldfish too. If he's "flashing" (rubbing against
his rocks & tank decor), I know I've been way too lazy and need to
change the water ASAP. If he's not out waiting for breakfast at the
front of the tank every morning, I stress over what might be wrong with
his tank, from water temperature to algae to PH balance. 
It's
kind of annoying, actually, and I think it annoys my husband too (he
doesn't stress out about much). I'm just so terribly attached to these
critters that I can't seem to help myself. 
And
yes, I'll worry when my husband is out of town this week, but it will
be more "missing him" than actual worry for his safety. Unlike my pets,
he can take care of himself (mostly).  
What
will I be doing when not worrying about my pets and missing my husband?
The list is below, but aside from that, I'm seriously thinking about
writing our local FOX station to see what's up with our local FOX/ABC
repeater towers. For several weeks now, our reception has been spotty
from these two channels, which isn't terribly important since it's
summer, but when the fall previews come around, it will be a different
story (and I'm missing Master Chef, dang it!). I seem to remember this problem last year too. Hopefully they're
just doing maintenance and will have it all finished by the last week in
September...
The other thing I'm planning is a
*lot* of cleaning. I'm going to tackle both the hall closets upstairs,
and half of the basement this week in several whirlwind cleaning
sessions in the evenings after work. It's weird, but it's so much easier
to clean when you're alone (or for me, anyways). We'll see how far I
get, but I'm optimistic at this point. Probably because I can't start
until Tuesday. 
In any case, here's my list for the week: 
- Scene for last unfinished serial story- Revisions for third fantasy ranch story- Formatting and publishing horror short- Send EB & THD to editor- As much catch-up cleaning as possible- Cover art for one more story
And that's it! Should be a busy week that flies right by, methinks. Here goes nothing, eh?
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Serial Story: English Breakfast, Part 13

This story is presented weekly in draft format.





Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |




English Breakfast, Part 13

A week later, Karen stood on the sidewalk in the cool early-morning air and watched the wrecking crews tear down what was left of her tea bar. Heather’s story had gone to press the day after they were rescued, and Charles Industries had been raided in one of the largest inter-agency busts ever in the city. Heather had agreed to go into witness protection, and she’d convinced her friend to go as well, so the only thing left was the trial.

A loud boom made Karen wince as the last concrete wall went down. The insurance had agreed to cover most of the loss, and between that and the check Stetson Security had cut her for her help with the case, she’d be able to rebuild. It wouldn’t be as nice as the original, and some corners would have to be cut. But since she’d be working two jobs for awhile, she might be able to make it work, as long as Kane kept his promise to keep her hacking assignments and his security guys far away from her shop.

“How are you holding up?” Patrick came up beside her, holding a steaming cup. She took it, sniffing the earthy aroma and then taking a careful sip.

“English Breakfast - your favorite. You know I prefer Yunnan, right?”

He shrugged, continuing to watch the work. “I know. I was hoping it would grow on you.” His lips curved up in a slow grin, and she took another small sip.

“It’s not bad, I suppose. A little pretentious, maybe. Outside my comfort zone, for sure.”

Her heart picked up, a warmth that wasn’t necessarily from the tea infusing her body. Could she get used to this? To him? They were so different, and different was...difficult. The last time had ended in disaster, one that she took full responsibility for. Why would he want to risk that again? Why would she?

“It’s hot enough though, right?” He struggled to keep a straight face, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

Looking down at the cup, she was all too aware of his gaze on her warm cheeks.

“Yes, it’s definitely hot enough. Maybe a little too hot, actually.” A giggle escaped her lips, and she kept her head down, watching his feet move in front of her. When his hands closed around her arms, she looked up, meeting his sparkling gaze with her own.

“I think...” he reached out to caress the side of her face with one hand,  “...that you should give this another chance. And just to be clear, I’m not talking about tea, Karen. My feelings haven’t changed. I still love you as much now as I loved you when you broke my heart. Give me another shot.”

With gentle pressure he pulled her forward, and she knew he was giving her time to stop. To back away. To toss the tea in his face.

So help her, she couldn’t.

His kiss was soft, sweet, with a hint of earthy bitterness reminiscent of the tea he’d brought her. She moved closer, her arms wrapping around his neck as his hands pulled her tight against his body and his lips devoured hers.

Home. She was home.

Coming up for air, he leaned back slightly, a twinkle in his eye as he smiled down at her.
“You do realize that dropping the tea would have been romantic, right?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “And waste good tea? I thought we just agreed not to do that!”

Then he kissed her again, overwhelming her senses with the passionate onslaught.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered the sound of a cup hitting the pavement.

###

Thanks for reading English Breakfast - I hope you enjoyed the story! This one has already been heavily revised, so the edited, polished version will be quite different than the one you just read (better, I think). English Breakfast will be available for purchase in digital format on August 16, 2013 from your favorite online vendor.
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Talkin' Books: Baseball, Enigmas & Super-Art

Books Finished: 
A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare


Books In Progress: 
Rough Country by John Sanford
Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes Yardley
Play Hard (collection by V.K. Sykes, Juliana Stone & Jennifer Lyon)


Short Fiction: 
None 


Comics Read:
Age of Ultron #10
Wolverine #6
Superman Unchained #2


I'm on a bit of a historical romance streak lately (you've probably
noticed). That's partially because a lot of it is deeply discounted at
the moment - we're talking $0.89 for a lot of Tessa Dare's stuff, which
makes it an easy choice when I can't decide what I'm in the mood for and
just want something simple/easy to get lost in. It helps that I love
her heroines - they're smart, spunky girls who do their absolute best to
be as independent as the time period allows. They are wonderful,
really. A Lady by Midnight was great, and I expected no less.


In another bargain shopping moment, I saw that the Play Hard
collection listed above was $0.99 at the moment, and even though I've
already read the Juliana Stone novel included, there are two other
novels in there too. So I got that, and am currently ensconced in a
baseball romance (I can't remember the individual title at the moment,
but it's the one by V.K. Sykes). Sports anything is really not my normal
fare, but for some reason, I have a taste for it this summer. Probably
Juliana's fault, I suppose, but I'll run with it as long as the books
are inexpensive.


No short reading this week, unfortunately...I was too ensconced in the novels.


Rough Country is still highly amusing.
Virgil is such an interesting dude...I'm half-through the book, and I
still don't completely know what to make of him, but his sense of humor
is charming in it's dryness. Bravo to Sanford for creating such an
intriguing detective!


I finally read the last Age of Ultron
issue this week, and it's just so convoluted I don't know quite what to
make of it (in a completely different way from Virgil Flowers).
Honestly, I'm not sure the writers do either. It's a serious time/space
continuum conundrum, and perhaps not all that believable. Though I did
find the method of defeating Ultron completely plausible. The series is
morphing into a continuity, but I'm not going to continue with it.


Wolverine #6 launched a major, major
issue for poor Logan, and I may have been a tiny bit annoyed at where it
cut off, due to wanting the rest of the story. Dang serial stories.
*ahem*  I'll be anxiously waiting for the next issue...


Have I mentioned how much I absolutely *love* the artwork in the new Superman Unchained
series? Love, love, love! It's actually almost distracting from the
story. This rendition of Superman is *hot*, but it's more than
that...the lines, the shapes, the colors, the way everything is laid
out...it's really just spectacular art. Unfortunately, now that I'm
reading a Superman continuity, I'm sort of seeing why long-time comic
book fans were disappointed with parts of the movie/Superman's
personality, but overall I still like both. 


In any case, this is one comic I'd recommend just for the artwork,
even if you're not a Superman fan. Needless to say, I'm anxiously
awaiting the next one in that series as well.


This week, more of the same...and with any luck, the Grimm comics I ordered will get here soon...
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On Mental Breaks, Blankets & Future Writing Plans...

It's Sunday night as I write this, and my weekend has largely been
about taking a mental break. Last week was long and mentally taxing all
the way around, and I needed to hit the reset button to get some clarity
of thought. Basically, this means I got very little done over the
weekend, but I have a better outlook on the problems I need to deal with
going forward, which should help. 
I also
picked out some of the items I want to make for gifts by Christmas,
which is a very good thing. Not just because I can get started on them
this week, but because it will help get my yarn stash down to a more
manageable level. 
It may not seem like a big
deal to have an entire hall closet filled with yarn, but as I was doing
laundry this weekend and noting all the blankets laying around waiting
to be washed/dried, I realized that part of the reason I haven't gotten
that done yet is because I *have nowhere to store them*. We have some
blanket storage in the ottoman downstairs, but a lot of the blankets
that are waiting to be laundered are quilts not used often (made for me
by my grandmother, mostly, so not things I want to give up), blankets
the dogs use (one at a time), or throws for the furniture that get
switched out when others are being washed. Once they're all clean, where
do I put them? There's no closet space available, no drawer space, and
the ottoman is already full. 
Long story short,
I really could use that hall linen closet to store all those various
blankets and quilts, along with extra pillows (my husband is a
collector). There's room in the office and my closet for a smaller stash
of yarn (all of which is full right now), so it's not like I can't keep
any yarn at all...but I don't need an entire closet full, especially
the mish-mash of colors and quantities I have now (largely given to me).
It's difficult to use up little odds & ends like that (yes, I'm
planning a yarn "quilt" or two from some of them - to give away, of
course).   
This is all part of a big house
cleaning/reorganization project I'm planning in a week or so, when my
husband goes off to Vegas with his buddies. Do you find it easier to get
housework done with your spouse out of the house? I do, and I know I'm
not the only one, so with any luck our house will be much cleaner/more
organized by the time my husband returns from his trip. Call it a
birthday gift - he gets back two days before his birthday. Not that it
won't be a gift for yours truly as well.
Last
week, I finished one of my drafts in progress - the last Fantasy Ranch
story I'll write for a long time, I think. It needs a lot of revision.
And I nearly finished the draft of the second tea story as well...but it
needs some work before I can finish it. All of that had me thinking
about books, sales, and where I want to focus on next. And I've decided
to change directions just a little bit. 
I'll
still be writing romantic suspense, but I have an idea for a series of
novels with paranormal elements in them that I'm actually quite excited
about. I won't be serializing these, at least not at first, but I'm
planning to start working on them in a month or so, and hopefully the
first will be ready to go by January. 
I've
also got a non-fiction series on organizing that I really want to work
on...I think I have a lot of information to share that people might find
useful. So I'll be working on that as well. 
And
finally, I have a medieval steampunk type fantasy started that I really
want to finish...it's part of a series I'm also excited to write. So
those three things will be getting my focus for the next year or so,
though I will still keep writing under my other pen names as well (just
maybe not as often). 
I have a good feeling about this new direction. It's gonna be a lot of fun! 
So, with all that in mind, here's my list for this week: 
- Revisions to the short necessary to finish the story- Finish the short "tea" draft- Revisions on edited draft for story releasing in two weeks. - Read through of novella draft just finished, revision notes- Start another holiday serial story (or two) - Weeding in the evenings- Start 1 crochet gift- Work on one more cover
So...a
metric ton of writing-related stuff, and a little bit of everything
else just to keep things balanced. Fair enough, eh? Onward, into another
week!
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Serial Story: English Breakfast, Part 12

This story is presented weekly in draft format.





Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 |




English Breakfast, Part 12

Karen shuffled beside Heather, stifling the urge to pull against her captor’s hold as they were led down an echoing passage and out a door into fresh air. Or what passed for fresh after being filtered through the hoods they’d been forced to wear. Jerked to a stop, she heard a car door open and then stumbled onto a long slick seat as rough hands pushed her inside. She felt Heather’s denim-clad leg beside her. All of the men had been wearing camo-pants.

Two doors slightly forward opened and shut, and she assumed that they had two escorts for the trip. It was a grim outlook at this point, she figured. Why move them unless it was to kill them?

The forward motion made her lurch in her seat, the hood flapping loosely around her face. Settling herself more firmly against the back of the seat, she tried to figure out the best chance they’d have of escaping a moving vehicle.

She’d just discarded the third mental plan when there was a loud pop somewhere outside. The car swerved, pulling her to the side and she reached up, yanked the hood off with her bound hands and quickly turned it upside down, aiming for whoever was sitting in the passenger seat.

Shocked when it actually encapsulated a head, she pulled hard on the bottom against a thick neck, her eyes having trouble tracking the action as another pop sounded and the car swerved wildly again. The man in her grasp twisted in his seat, aiming a handgun toward the back in Heather’s general direction. She quickly threw all of her weight into twisting his head the opposite way just as two explosions rocked the car and if not for the ropes at her wrists, she would have lost her grip.

Panicked, she looked to her side, expecting Heather to be bleeding, possibly dead. But her twist-move must have worked. The driver was slumped against the opposite window, unmoving.
Not daring to let go, she pulled hard at the other man’s neck until he went limp.

“Karen? What’s going on?”

Reluctantly releasing the man, Karen reached out and pulled off Heather’s hood.

“In a nutshell, one guy is dead, one is out cold, and we need to get out of here before reinforcements show up. Can you run?”

Heather’s eyes got big as she took in the gruesome scene in front of her. Slowly she nodded.

“Good. Let’s go.”

Not sure if the other woman was too shocked to move, Karen reached across her and grabbed the door handle, then pushed the door open. When Heather didn’t move to get out, Karen gave a gentle shove.

“We have to go right now,” she said, thankful when the journalist finally put a foot out the door. “You want to live, right?”

Snapping out of her shock, Heather nodded and got out quickly, turning to help Karen crawl out as well. As soon as she got out, she saw the SUV with “Kane 1” on the license plates.

“This way!” Heather shook her head, fear lining her face, but Karen grabbed her hands.

“Kane Security. The firm hired to get you back. It’s help. Come on.”

Dragging the journalist behind her, Karen ran for the truck, grateful when the side door opened and Kane reached out to help them in.

“Where’s Patrick?” she asked once the door was closed and they were speeding away.

Kane pointed to the back window. “Right behind us. Are you two okay?”

Karen looked at Heather, who nodded. “I think we are,” she said, taking deep breaths. “Do you still have the pictures Patrick took of Heather’s information?”

“Patrick has it, as far as I know.”

Karen nodded. “Good. Heather has one hell of a story to write, and we need to get it out to the press as soon as possible.”   
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Talkin' Books: Romance, Dry Wit, Sci-Fi, Sorrows & Superheroes...

Books Finished: 
Here Comes the Bride by Theresa Ragan
Silver Mine: Takhini Wolves by Vivian Arend


Books In Progress: 
Rough Country by John Sanford
Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes Yardley


Short Fiction: 
The Application of Hope by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Asimov's Science Fiction, Aug. 2013)
A Place Shielded From Horrors by Mercedes Yardley (Beautiful Sorrows)
Crosswise Cosmos Sabotage by Mercedes Yardley (Beautiful Sorrows)
Life by Mercedes Yardley (Beautiful Sorrows)
Luna E Volk by Mercedes Yardley (Beautiful Sorrows)


Comics Read:

Wolverine #4 & #5
Justice League of America #4


Kind of another binge last week...with a little bit of everything
tossed in for good measure. It seems like I read another shorter book
somewhere in there too, but I can't for the life of me remember which
one.


Oh wait. Yes I do. It was one better suited for mentioning on an alter-ego's blog.


In any case, lots of good reading material. I got Here Comes the Bride free,
I think...and it was a nice light, contemporary romance - just what I
needed to sort of relax and get out of my own head for awhile. I
followed that up with the slightly heavier Silver Mine ,
because who doesn't love a good shifter novel occasionally, and Vivian
Arend is one of the three best authors for that sort of book, in my
opinion. I adore her characters/pairings, and her version of the shifter
world makes good, logical sense to me. She's incredibly prolific too,
which I love - I still have plenty of catching up to do on her backlist,
both paranormal and...uh...normal.


Rough Country is just fun...I mean, it's
murder, and a mystery that needs to be solved, but the dry wit and
constantly sarcastic back-and-forth dialogue is just completely
entertaining to read. I'd read one Sanford novel a long, long time ago,
but I don't remember much about it. Virgil Flowers is easily one of my
new favorite detectives. I'll be digging up his other books after I'm
done with this one.


It's been awhile since I read much science fiction (after
practically inhaling everything Issac Asimov ever wrote when I was in
junior high/high school). Deciding I should get a little more variety in
my reading "diet" (and working on a draft that could potentially fall
into the sci-fi genre eventually), I picked up a copy of Asimov's Science Fiction for
my tablet. I'm a fan of KKR's blog, and I've read a contemporary
romance of hers, so I was excited to see one of her stories included in
the first issue I happened to pick up. I have to say, I have a little
trouble relating to the whole "life on a spaceship" culture (hard to
imagine, don't you think?), but I enjoyed the story nonetheless, and the
mental challenges her main character had to face/overcome. For such a
short space, there was a *lot* going on - it easily felt like a whole
novel. Which is why she wins awards, of course. I'm looking forward to
reading more of these, not just because they're entertaining, but also
to sort of "soak up" the shorter genre story nuances. 


And then at nearly the other end of the literary spectrum entirely, I read four more of Mercedes' short stories from her Beautiful Sorrows collection - much different vibe and tone, but no less interesting and intriguing to read.


Variety is good.


As for comic books, I finally caught up with Wolverine 4 & 5 ,
both of which were fascinating in different ways. His muscular-skeletal
structure is fascinating and quite painful at times, which is something
I don't think is addressed enough. He wasn't born a "shifter", like
we're used to reading about with animal/human hybrids (?), but rather
created - a dangerous and insanely uncomfortable thing, I'm sure. So it
was interesting learning more about that in issue 4. As for issue 5, I'm
kind of lost, honestly...I mean I sort of get the main plot, I'm just
lost as to why it's happening. Which is probably what I get for reading
late at night. Or maybe it will be revealed in the continuation of this
particular storyline in issue 6. We'll see...


And I finally got around to Justice League of America 4
too - also interesting, and kind of confusing. I have issue 5 which I
think will help clear things up, but I was too tired to finish it late
at night. I really need to read these things earlier in the day...


This week, more of the same, happily. I still have most of that
Asimov's to go through, several more stories in Mercedes' book, the
Sanford novel, a stack of comics (and new ones to buy, happily), and
about a ton of novels and novellas on my Kindle all waiting to be read.
No shortage of reading material around here! 


If you're so inclined, feel free to share what *you're* reading. The TBR pile is always hungry...

Enjoy
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Romantic Suspense
| Erotic Romance | Contemporary Romance |

Horror | Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction

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will be moderated. Once you have been approved, future comments will post automatically.