Winner!

A rainy but positively warm weekend, at last! Lots of errand running, sadly.

But here's a giveaway winner!

The winner of Last Train to Paris is ... Jenna E.!

Congrats! If you didn't win, be sure to check out my open giveaways -- more coming this week. Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Historical Novel Society 2013 Conference: Gushing & a Story

Image
I'm back from both my work conference and the Historical Novel Society's 2013 Conference.

I had an amazing time.

Some off-the-top-of-my-head points:

I rode in the same van as Diana Gabaldon on the way to the conference, and me and my fellow shuttle-mates all tried to play it super cool.  Gabaldon was incredibly gracious. Amy of Passages to the Past and Historical Novel Virtual Book Tours and Heather of The Maiden's Court are as fabu as one would expect and I'm grateful that they were my con buddies! (Also, how crazy is it that I had to go to Florida to meet Heather, who lives, like, 40 minutes away from me!?!)got to meet bloggers like Meg of A Bookish Affair and reviewer/author/GoodReads friend Jane Steenevery author I met was adorable, gracious, enthusiastic, collegial, sweet, and supportive, not just of each other, but of the aspiring writers, bloggers, readers, and fanshad the head spinning experience of people gasping when they met me!the panels were fun and intere…
Read more

Weekend reads, and living in interesting times...

Image
Things are so complicated in my life right now, I couldn't even get my weekend reads post ready until Friday night.

We're hopefully moving -- beginning of December -- out to the country, of sorts. It'll mean an easier commute for my wife and a different kind of living for our whole family. It'll be a real adjustment for me but I'm excited.

But just to make things a little more hairy, my wife slipped last week and broke her ankle. She'll have to be off her foot for at least four weeks, so ... I'll be trying to figure out how to pack and move and keep house and keep my sanity so think good thoughts for me!

I'm between books again and feeling a bit too frazzled to read -- but I've been doing crazy prep for NaNoWriMo and I'm excited to get started.

What are you reading right now?
Read more

Book Review: The Changeling by Victor LaValle

Image
First line: This fairy tale begins in 1968 during a garbage strike.

Holy expletive, this book was intense!

A quarter of the way in, I told my wife this was American Gods by way of Laura Lippman, and now that I've finished, I stand by that description. This is a family mystery, a domestic thriller, a supernatural mindfuck.

Perfect for Halloween and the creepy autumn days around it.

This was my book club's October read, and I inhaled it in about three days. All of us who read it loved it, although pretty much none of us expected some of the elements -- although it varied which plot point or character surprised us.

Apollo Kagwa loves books and stories; his parents' courtship, which opens the novel, has the magic of a fairy tale. His own marriage seems similarly fantastic, from his unusual courtship to his mesmerising wife Emma. But the pressure of a new baby takes a toll on all of them, especially when Emma becomes convinced their baby isn't really their baby. The famili…
Read more

The Taker by Alma Katsu

Image
Title:The Taker
Author: Alma Katsu

Genre: Fiction (Contemporary / Maine / Historical / 19th century / Paranormal)
Publisher/Publication Date: Gallery (9/2011)
Source: The publisher.

Rating: Okay.
Did I finish?: I did.
One-sentence summary: One woman, two hundred sordid years, and one unending love.
Reading Challenges:Historical Fiction, R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril

Do I like the cover?: Yes, although I vastly prefer the UK cover. While neither exactly capture the novel's feel (to me), the UK version is sort of reminiscent of the tattoos some of the 'chosen' have.

I'm reminded of...: Karen Essex, Anne Rice, Cate Tiernan

First line: Goddamned freezing cold.

Do... I love the freebies the author offers on her website?: YES. Signed bookplates and bookmarks, plus a chance to Skype with her if you read this for a book club.

Did... I love reading about historical Maine and Boston?: YES. I'm a sucker for New England historicals!

Am... I going to get the second book in this series?: YES, …
Read more