Joyce DiPastena's Blog, page 53

Sweet Saturday Samples

This week, my Sweet Saturday Sample is taken from my sweet medieval romance, Illuminations of the Heart (rated PG), a spin-off of Loyalty's Web. My heroine, Siri de Calendri, and her companion Lucianna, have been surrounded by a band of robber barons on their journey to join her new guardian, Sir Triston de Brielle.





He reached out a mailed hand and threw back the hood of Siri's cloak.
Siri was not surprised to hear his gasp. She had seen too many men stand stunned by her unexpected beauty. Their flattery she knew by heart: her glowing locks rivaled the liquid sheen of purest gold, her eyes dazzled like the sky on a midsummer's day, her cheeks bloomed with the blush of spring roses…
For all this and its accompanying effect she was prepared. 
But she was not prepared for his companions' startled oaths, or the signs of the cross sketched hastily across mailed breasts.
"It's impossible!"
"But it is she!"
"My lord, it cannot be—"
"Silence!" their leader snapped, and Siri caught an impatient amber flash from behind the eye-slits of his helmet.
Thank you for stopping by. You can read more about Illuminations of the Heart on my website. And click here to find some more Sweet Saturday Samples.

Get to Know the Reviewer: Babs Hightower of BabsBookBistro

Today's Get to Know You guest is Barbara Hightower (aka Babs) of BabsBookBistro. Welcome, Babs!
JDP: Did your mother read to you as a child?
Babs: Yes, she did, my mom has always been reading as far back as I can remember. The funny part, I did not like to read until high school.  Now, I can't live with out my books.
JDP: Do you remember a favorite book from your childhood?
Babs: Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.
JDP: Name a favorite author as an adult.
Babs: Even though she has recently passed away, it would be Lillian Jackson Braun.  Her Cat series was the first series I ever read and how I got hooked on mysteries.
JDP: I've looked at that series for years but have never read one. I haven't wanted to give my cats ideas, but maybe I should take a chance. ;-) Share a book you've read multiple times.
Babs: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. I started reading her work 4 years ago now and love each story, some more then others.  I even have all the movie versions. 
JDP: Kindle, Nook, or good old hard copy?
Babs: iPad for me. (OOO, JOYCE IS SO JEALOUS!) I use to have a Kindle until the iPad came out.  I like having all the versions on my iPad. I still like hard copies and always will though. Sometimes there is nothing like the feel of the pages you are reading.
JDP: I'm with you there. I bought a Kindle in January, but I'm finding I'm too old fashioned to give up print books in a big way. What's your favorite place to read?
Babs: My bedroom, as the boys will leave me alone and it is cozy.
JDP: What are your three favorite reading genres.
Babs: I have several:  Mysteries, Romance ( Historical, western, any old romance) and Amish.
JDP: What's the last book you read?
Babs: Murder by Mocha by Cleo Coyle.
JDP: What are you're reading now?
Babs: Love To The Rescue by Nancy Lennea.
JDP: What's next on your reading list?
Babs: What isn't is the best question.  My TBR list is huge and keeps building each day.  With this TBR I will have to live to be about 200 if not older to get them all read.  I love every minute of it.
JDP: What you would like to read more of? (author, genre, etc)
Babs: I would like to read more of Western Romances.  I have only read a few and love them. 
JDP: Have you read Marsha Ward? I've only read two of her Westerns so far, but she is quite good! Share a favorite book that you've read in the last 12 months.
Babs: This is a tough one as I have read several good ones so far this year.  I would say Murder by Mocha. Cleo Coyle has a way with her characters that always draw me in and they are like family after so many books.
More about Babs!
 The picture is of my youngest, Marco who is 9 months old and me.  Marco is named after my favorite book character by Kate Collins.  She was excited and shared his photo with everyone.  I digress, I am a stay at home mom to 4 boys.  They range from 9 months to 14 years old.  I have been married to my wonderful husband and best friend TJ for 15 years now.  I love being able to stay home with them as my mom did with me.
I love to read, write (I have 2 novels going), cook, bake and work in the garden.  I love to do crafts when I get the time.
We have 4 indoor cats and 9 Siberian Huskies that are all rescued.
My blog is called BabsBookBistro .  I like to share my reviews of course, along with giveaways, author interviews, recipes and anything else I can think of.  My idea for the blog was to help authors promote their work and help people as I go along.

Winner of "Lydia"!

The winner of Lydia , a sweet Regency romance by Wanda Luce, is Robin Weiss! Congratulations, Robin!
Thank you to everyone who read my interview with Wanda and took time to enter for a copy of her book.

Tuesday Teaser

Tuesday Teaser is a weekly bookish meme (rhymes with "cream"), hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. (I've borrowed it from LDS Women's Book Review.) Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share at least two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!


I'm adapting the rules slightly. I'll be quoting some random lines from the last chapter I read before I post a teaser. I'm a slow reader, so you may get multiple teasers per book. Here's a teaser from The Lantern Bearers , by Rosemary Sutcliff:


Aquila no longer heard them. He sat with his head in his hands and stared at a dry sprig of last year's heather among the strewing fern at his feet, and did not see that either. Somehow it had not occurred to him that the Sea Wolves who had slain all that he loved and left his home a smoking ruin had been anything but a chance band of raiders.


From The Lantern Bearers , page 44
If you'd like to share a teaser from a book you're currently reading, I'd love you to do so in the comment section. And you don't even have to share it on a Tuesday! Be sure to include the title, author, and page number in case others would like to check out the book you're reading.

What Am I Reading Now?

Having closed the covers on Lydia with a pleasurable sigh, I have taken up for my next read The Lantern Bearers , Book Three in the Roman Britain Trilogy by Rosemary Sutcliff. With the very first page, I found myself again immersed in the painfully beautiful word-portraits of the author of Knight's Fee and The Eagle of the Ninth . What I don't yet know, and read with a bit of trepidation to discover, is whether The Lantern Bearers will leave me as sad the former or as warmly contented as the latter. I am ever so tempted to sneak a peek at the ending so I can brace myself if necessary, but I am trying to be good and allow the story to reveal itself as it was meant to do. We'll see how long I can continue to resist temptation.

In the meantime, here's a summary of The Lantern Bearers :

The last of the Roman army have set sail and left Britain forever, abandoning it to civil war and the trheat of a Saxon invasion. Aquila, a young legionaire, deserted his regiment to stay behind with his family, but his home and all that he loves are destroyed. Years of hardship and fighting follow, and in the end, there is only one thing left in Aquila's life--his thirst for revenge...

Stop by on Tuesday to read a Tuesday Teaser from The Lantern Bearers .

Summary Sunday

Summary Sunday is where I share one new sentence from each day of my writing week with you. It's a way to give you a flavor of what I'm currently working on, and a way to hold myself accountable for actually writing something during the week so I'll have some sentences to share with you! :-)
These sentences are from my never-ending draft of Acelet's story. (Acelet was a character in  Illuminations of the Heart,  in case you haven't read it.)
Monday: Devil.
Tuesday: He caught the accusing glance she tossed at the harp case still slung across his shoulder and tightened his clasp when she would have jerked her hand away.
Wednesday: She stepped away from him, and for a moment he feared he had asked too much of her courage.
Friday: Acelet found himself jarred from admiring the a warm sheen on Joslin's cheeks that proved the heart that throbbed in her breast did indeed pump something more than ice water.
Saturday: Sir Raimon's slap reverberated against the walls of the bedchamber.

Sweet Saturday Samples

Here's one final excerpt from my sweet medieval romance, Loyalty's Web (rated PG). This scene takes place after someone attempts to murder the Earl of Gunthar by slipping poison into his wine at a banquet. My heroine, Heléne, smells the poison and knocks the cup out of his hand before he can drink. The next day, Gunthar finds Heléne in her mother's gardens and the following conversation ensues:



"Thanks to you. I am again in your debt, my lady Helen." The sun threw its shaft from behind him, casting a softening aura about his formidable build, but also shading his expression from her. She could not tell whether he was teasing her or not when he added, "I had not realized you were so adept in your knowledge of poisons. Healing, yes--"
"Well for you that one is required to recognize the noxious so as not to mistake it for the benevolent." She spoke coldly, in case he was mocking her. The shocking way the evening had ended had shaken her somewhat from her anger, but she had not forgiven his humiliating treatment of her at the table, still less his unpardonable behavior in her chamber.


"No doubt," was all he said. "What was it then, this 'cowbane' from which you saved me?"


"'Tis a wild herb that grows near streams and in the swales of pastures. It looks very much like angelica, a harmless medicinal herb, but the rootstock of cowbane is deadly. The juice of a young plant's root, such as might be found in the spring, can kill a man in less than thirty minutes...."


She trailed off and caught the tilt of Gunthar's head, which threw his gaze briefly upon the roses. Knotted and wild they might be, but they were also large and brilliant, their glory testifying of the vernal season.
"I see." His voice hardened. "Then I am in your debt, indeed."
Next week I'll share an excerpt from Book 2 in my medieval romance series, Illuminations of the Heart .
Now click here to find some more Sweet Saturday Samples.

Blog follower celebration?

Wow! I'm almost up to 500 blog followers! So what do you all think? Should I celebrate when I hit 500? If  I held a giveaway, what would you most like to win? (Keeping it reasonable, of course. I'm not made of gold, though given the present economy, I wish I was!)

Tuesday Teaser

Tuesday Teaser is a weekly bookish meme (rhymes with "cream"), hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. (I've borrowed it from LDS Women's Book Review.) Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share at least two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!
I'm adapting the rules slightly. I'll be quoting some random lines from the last chapter I read before I post a teaser. I'm a slow reader, so you may get multiple teasers per book. Here's my third teaser from Lydia (the book is GREAT! I just haven't had a lot of time to read):
"Oh, my dear Lydia, words cannot tell you how glad I am to see you." He shocked her by throwing his arms around her briefly, though she was no less glad to see him. "Everything shall be better now."
From  Lydia , by Wanda Luce, PFD, 78% done
If you'd like to share a teaser from a book you're currently reading, I'd love you to do so in the comment section. And you don't even have to share it on a Tuesday! Be sure to include the title, author, and page number in case others would like to check out the book you're reading.

Summary Sunday

Summary Sunday is where I share one new sentence from each day of my writing week with you. It's a way to give you a flavor of what I'm currently working on, but more importantly, it's a way to hold myself accountable for actually writing something during the week so I'll have some sentences to share with you!
These sentences are from my never-ending draft of Acelet's story. (Acelet was a character in Illuminations of the Heart, in case you haven't read it.)
Monday: "Whatever boon you may be seeking from his hand might be sweetened by a sweet-thrummed song from this."
Tuesday: Quite certainly Lady Siri, who deplored anything to do with the needle, had delegated the task of adorning the case to the Lady Lucianna, Sir Balduin's wife.
Wednesday: The future unfurled like a scroll in his mind, with a siren call so strong that his words of reassurance died in his throat.
Thursday: Acelet did not often spare his time in thinking of her at all, save to curse the fact that since Lisette's father had chosen the Lady Joslin to be her companion, he had scarce been able to steal a dozen words in private with his beloved.


Friday: (no sentence, because I took myself to see "Captain America". :-) )


Saturday: If a dousing in the river could have washed the memory away, he would have plunged himself to the very depths before seeking out Lisette.