Tea And Tomes: An Introduction

Who doesn't love curling up with a good book and hot tea? Obviously, everyone does. My favorite times are when I can lose myself in a novel, come up for air, and then be inspired for my own work. I know I've found an excellent book when I finish it with a sense of awe and a new drive for my own writing. I tell myself, keep working and you can join your heroes one day!

Today, I want to share a little bit about one such hero. As I'm sure the entire world knows by now, I love Middle Earth. So, when I say that I have read Gail Carriger's work almost as many times as Lord of the Rings, you should get an idea of how much I adore her.

In all honesty, I wouldn't be the same writer without her. In college, I was stuck in a bit of a hole with my writing. I wanted it to be a fantastical mystery, but the words weren't complying. It didn't help that I was receiving critiques that said it was "too much genre". I decided to put my random ramblings aside and focus on the core mystery that would eventually turn into Our Fathers. Through my research, I stumbled upon steampunk. This genre had everything I ever wanted. I was in heaven.

A blog was running a promotion for a new book, Soulless. I was captivated by the description, and the interview with its illustrious author. As fate would have it, I actually won a copy of Soulless in that blog's raffle. I waited with bated breath for it to arrive. I read it in less than a week and proceeded to lend it to my friends.

Since then, she's written three incredible and successful series, and is now self-publishing novellas. Miss Gail is, as one of my favorite Hamilton songs says, NON STOP. Each novel is incredibly fun, and deeply touching. While I have been praising her here and on every other form of social media, I want to take the next few entries to delve deeper into these incredible stories.

 For today, I am settling in with a big cup of English Breakfast and her first novella, Poison or Protect. This will be my fourth (maybe fifth) re-read of it. I'll be back with my thoughts once the cup is empty.