Caught Dead by Andrew Lanh

by Carol4 Comments
I like this mystery a lot. Mysteries are often not only about the whodunit, but about the issues and cultures surrounding the case, and this one is as much about the Vietnamese community as it is about who killed Mary and why. The older Vietnamese, mostly immigrants, are trying to hold on to their culture, while their grown children are losing the connection to the traditional ways. Rick is not fully accepted by the community, but Hank, his sidekick, is and it is at Hank's family's request that Rick is investigating. The characters are the strong point of the book for me. Mary and her family are not rich, but her sister and her sister's American husband certainly are. The children, in their late teens and early 20s, are a mixed lot, mostly self-centered, unwilling to cooperate. In the end, though, greed and love are what it comes down to - and fear. Each has his or her own goals, secrets, and ambitions. For...
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Thursday’s Tale: Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman

by Carol7 Comments
Love, love, love this Halloween kids book! We read our copy so many times when Amber was young that it started falling apart. We went to the pumpkin patch this Sunday and while we were picking out our pumpkins, we had to repeat the catch phrase - "It’s big and it’s mine, but it’s stuck on the vine, and Halloween’s just hours away.” The rhythmic, repetitive text is perfect and I love the monsters. There’s the must have Halloween visitors, the witch herself, a ghost, a vampire, a mummy and a bat, but the story focuses on how they all end up working together. It's got a great message of teamwork and friendship. And then they all get to share the pie. A definite Halloween treat. It's a perfect read-aloud with plenty of repetition and rhyming and fun voices. Just then, along came a vampire. “Big pumpkin,” said the vampire. “It’s big and it’s mine, but it’s stuck on the vine, and Halloween’s...
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Guest Post: “On Becoming an Author” by Leslie Tentler, author of Fallen

by Carol5 Comments
I'm happy to welcome Leslie Tentler, author of Fallen, to my blog today. She's talking about how she went from reader to write and mentions a couple of books I read when I was a kid. On Becoming an Author By Leslie Tentler It’s sometimes said that authors start off as avid readers who begin to desire even more immersion into fictional worlds. Simply reading becomes not enough, so we begin to dabble in creating worlds of our own, daydreaming stories until finally we attempt the task of putting those ideas on paper (or these days, the computer screen). For many authors, I believe this path is true. As a child, I never planned to be a novelist, but I did have a strong imagination. And I also loved to read. My particular favorites were Nancy Drew mysteries. I’d learned the general timeframe in which new ones arrived at our local “Rose’s” – a discount retailer similar to Target or Wal-Mart in our small Southern...
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Reader’s Workouts – 10/28/2014

by Carol5 Comments
Okay - time for a reboot. I have been pretty lousy at exercising and eating right lately. Part of it is that I haven't had a goal, part is that we've been busy, and last week we went on a mini-vacation which meant lots of food and very little exercise. All excuses, I know, and I could still have easily fit in some walking or a few miles of running, but I didn't. So it's time to get back on a track. Here's the plan I've been using and I like it. I'm going to pick back up on week 11, hopefully. We'll see how I feel this evening when I head out. At least it's a nice day to run outside. Long runs are so hard on the treadmill. Food is just as important as exercise, so I need to come up with a plan. Tuesday - shrimp with peppers and spinach. Wednesday - Fall Festival at church, so hot dogs and nachos....
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Book Blitz: The Murders at Astaire Castle by Lauren Carr

by CarolNo Comments
Book Excerpt: Prologue November 2002 – Astaire Castle, top of Spencer Mountain, Deep Creek Lake, Maryland Shivering, Rafaela turned up the fan for the heater in her old Plymouth. The weather channel was calling for snow. With an eye on the storm clouds heading straight for Spencer Mountain, she picked up the speed a notch. Her car bumped along the worn road cut through the trees and rock to take her to Astaire Castle. The notion of being trapped at the castle by a winter storm made her curse the day she had accepted the job as housekeeper at the Astaire estate. The young illegal immigrant thought her prayers had been answered by landing the job at the luxurious estate. Not only was it prestigious to work in a castle, but lucrative since Damian Wagner was paying almost twice her normal hourly wage. What a gem to put on my housekeeping resume! To be hire by only one of the world’s most famous authors of...
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