Joyce DiPastena's Blog, page 80

Winner of "Love Engineered"!

Congratulations to Martha Eskuchen of Florida! Martha has won a copy of the sweet Victorian romance, Love Engineered , by Jenna Dawlish. Happy reading, Martha!

Thanks to everyone who entered my drawing!

Arizona Renaissance Festival 2010

Real fairies live at the Arizona Renaissance Festival!


And so do walking trees!


You mustn't be late if you want to catch the Greenman, though.


The royal court


Here comes the King! (King Henry the Only)


Pitter patter, goes my heart as King Henry recites a poem just for me!


Me and a Renaissance fountain


A mechanical jester entertaining the crowds at the end of the day


Me and my Renaissance partner-in-crime. Thanks for a wonderful day, Rocio!

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

Now that I'm finished with a delightful re-reading of Georgette Heyer's The Talisman Ring , it's time to choose another "new" book to read. My book of choice is Easterfield , by Anna Buttimore Jones. The setting in 1850 England is one thing that attracted my interest in this book. As you'll see from the book blurb below, the heroine, Catherine, encounters a Mormon missionary in Lancashire England in that year. One of my ancestors on my mother's side, Robert Clarkson, was baptized into the LDS C...

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 readOpen to a random pageShare 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...

Summary Sunday

Some writers I know write much faster than I do. Some writers I know write slower. Some writers I know write more hours a day than I do. Some writers I know write less. One thing I've learned. I cannot successfully complete a new book if I worry about comparing myself to others, therefore...I write the number of words a day that I write. I write the number of hours a week that I write. When my efforts feel so small that I sometimes wonder if it's worth it to continue, I take this verse as my...

Winner of "Missing"

Congratulations to Cassandra Cantrell of Utah! Cassandra has won a copy of Missing , by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen.

Thank you to everyone who read my interview with Ronda and entered my drawing!

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 readOpen to a random pageShare 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...

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

Due to going through one of my "I can't sleep" phases this past week, I finished  Apollo's Child , by Joan Smith, a "new" book for my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge in record time for me! I don't usually review books for my reading challenge, but since  Apollo's Child  had NO reviews for it on Goodreads, I took the time to write one. Here's what I wrote:
"A YA book describing the life of a young man named Philo, a student of the ancient physician, Hippocrates, from whom the Hippocratic Oath that...

Summary Sunday

Some writers I know write much faster than I do. Some writers I know write slower. Some writers I know write more hours a day than I do. Some writers I know write less. One thing I've learned. I cannot successfully complete a new book if I worry about comparing myself to others, therefore...I write the number of words a day that I write. I write the number of hours a week that I write. When my efforts feel so small that I sometimes wonder if it's worth it to continue, I take this verse as my ...

Whitney Award Finalists Announced

The 2009 Whitney Award Finalists were announced on Friday, February 5th. I was excited, pleased, and humbled to see my sweet medieval romance, Illuminations of the Heart , listed among the finalists in the romance category. My book is up against some stiff competition, but competition is good. Keeps us writers on our toes! Wishing the best of luck to every one of these authors...including me! :-)

2009 Whitney Award Finalists
Romance Category
Counting the Cost, by Liz Adair Illuminations of the...