“Mary Belle and the Mermaid”

by Carol9 Comments
"Mary Belle and the Mermaid" I read the saddest, saddest fairy tale today. It's a cante fable from South Carolina dating back to the early 1900s, although it may have a Portugese connection. A cante fable, I just learned today, is narrative interspersed with short songs conveying crucial information, in this case magical spells. The important difference is that while a lot of folktales contain verses, a cante fable storyteller actually sings the passages. In this story, a sweet young girl's mother dies and her father remarries. Sound familiar? Mary Belle gains two step-sisters, who, along with their mother are mean to her and she spends hours crying by the banks of the river. One day a mermaid rises to the top of the river, sympathizes with booy Mary Bele and brings her down, deep in the water. The mermaid gives the child something to drink and a delicious meal before sending her back home. The next day, Mary belle returns to the...
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Winner!

by Carol2 Comments
Congratulations to the winner of a signed copy of Write the Right Words by Sandra E. Lamb. Kim V at Metroreader I hope you find it as helpful as I do. I'll be sending you an e-mail later today. That just seems wrong somehow given that the book is all about actually writing physical notes, but I need your address to pass on to the publicist. Thanks!...
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Mommy Grace by Dr. Shelia Schuller Coleman

by Carol1 Comment
Mommy Grace by Dr. Shelia Schuller Coleman The book is based on the premise that all mom's tend to feel mommy guilt over not being the perfect mother. Sometimes we yell, sometimes we stop for fast food because there's absolutely nothing in the cupboards at home, sometimes we make hollow threats, and sometimes we even want a break. To be honest, I don't feel guilty about any of those things and never have. I'm not big on guilt. You do the best you can in life, apologizing and making corrections along the way when you need to. So, why was I reading this book? I love the cover, those two open hands layered with paint captured me, reminded me of my own daughter. I do feel I got something out of Coleman's honest and occasionally touching accounts of her own and others' experiences, screw-ups and all. I found instances I could relate to as I'm sure every mother will. Each of the chapters...
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Heat Wave by Richard Castle

by Carol9 Comments
Heat Wave by Richard Castle I enjoyed this book, but then again I've enjoyed the few episodes of Castle I've seen. The "author" is actually a character on that show and the book is pretty much just a reflection of the show, which makes sense. It's the book the character writes based on his time spent with the NYPD. It's a great little mystery. A New York real estate tycoon plunges to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk and homicide detective Nikki Heat is determined to solve the case. Unfortunately, thanks to the commissioner, she is stuck with journalist Jameson Rook, who is riding along with her as research for an article he's working on. He's arrogant and meddling and refuses to do what she tells him, like stay out of the road. Nevertheless, as suspects come up with alibis and the body count rises, Heat sifts through the clues, showing police work is far from glamorous. I of course didn't figure out...
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Words Are Magic

by Carol7 Comments
Language and magic. Where is the connection? Think about it this way: when we form letters to write words, we create something out of nothing, so that the still air or the empty space on a page fills with meaning, as if a wizard created a blizzard from a clear blue sky. (pg. 15, The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark) I finally got to start this one, and I love the way Clark talks about language, and spelling and punctuation. It's not dry rules; it's exciting, liberating, fun. By the way, my giveaway for this one is still open. You can enter here if you're in the US or Canada. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. ...
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