Review: Leaving Annalise by Pamela Fagan Hutchins

by Carol4 Comments
Title: Leaving Annalise (Katie & Annalise #2) Author: Pamela Fagan Hutchins Category: Suspense/Romance Audio published: July 1, 2013 by Skipjack Publishing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon One unexpected and hotly fought-over little boy, two dead bodies, and a series of home vandalisms throw Texas attorney turned island chanteuse Katie Connell into a tizzy. Juggling all of this, Bloody Mary cravings, baggage, and the bad guys too, she waffles between the jumbie house that brought her back from the brink and the man she believes is the love of her life. Leaving Annalise is the second in the series, and while it can stand-alone, I'd have to advise reading the first one before it to really understand Katie, why she's in St. Marcos and how she met the fantastically quirky characters who are her friends on the island and Annalise, Katie's jumbie house. I like Katie. She's go issues, but she's building herself a life in St. Marcos. She's funny, brave and scared. She's real. I love the...
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Audiobook Review: Five Ring Circus by Jon Cleary

by Carol2 Comments
Title: Five Ring Circus (Scobie Malone #15) Author: Jon Cleary Reader: Shaun Grindell Category: Mystery Audio published: Sept 1, 2013 by AudioGo (First published 1999) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon Audible When Australian homicide detective Inspector Scobie Malone is treating his family to dinner at one of Sydney’s best Chinese restaurants, a masked killer suddenly enters and shoots three men dining nearby. The stakes are raised when Scobie finds out that one of the victims was an investor in the multimillion-dollar construction project Olympic Tower, built to house VIPs during the 2000 Olympic Games. But in the midst of union disputes and an economic slump, the tower is still unfinished. Scobie has stumbled upon a scam that could show Sydney’s underbelly as much as it shows its seedy characters—from former Chinese government men to the mysterious Madame Tzu. Even as the Olympics approach, sportsmanship is nowhere to be found. I enjoy Scobie Malone mysteries. He's a good character, an honest, hard-working detective. His family also gets their share of...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass

by Carol2 Comments
It's been a while since I featured one of Aesop's Fables, so today I dipped into the collection and found "The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass." One thing I like about these fables is their clear morals. This one's is learn from the mistakes of others, a good lesson for all of us. The Lion, the Fox and the Ass agreed to help each other out in their hunting. After catching a lot of food, the Lion asked the Ass divide the food up, giving each of the three their portion. The Ass carefully divided the spoils into three equal shares and told the other two to make their selections first.  The Lion became very angry and ate the Ass.  Then he told the Fox to do him the favor and divide the food.  The Fox gathered all that they had killed into one large pile and took for himself only the smallest possible bit to eat.  The Lion asked who had taught him...
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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

by Carol6 Comments
Think of your blog as a mirror: what does it reveal? Consider your blog name, theme choice, design, bio, posts… what does every element tell you about yourself? The title of my blog is pretty self-explanatory. This is my space to write about what I want to, although it is mostly about books. I like the quote from Holbrook Jackson I included too. "The end of reading is not more books but more life." I like to believe reading helps you enjoy life more, learn more about the world and people around, experience places and things outside of your own circle. Books can inspire ideas, begin journeys. I also write about fairy tales or folktales weekly, which fall into the same general category. They are the stories that help define us as people, that have shaped our earliest memories, that are some of the first stories we're told as children. I like the kind of peachy and teal colors I'm using right now. They...
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Five Mythic Influences: Guest Post by L. T. Getty, author of Tower of Obsidian

by Carol2 Comments
Today, I'm happy to welcome L. T. Getty to my notebook to discuss five of the myths that influenced her novel, Tower of Obsidian. Five Mythic Influences – Tragedies and Sagas by L. T. Getty Tower of Obsidian was heavily influenced by mythology – the two defining mythic bases I used to develop the magic system set in our world were Celtic and Norse. I think it is important to acknowledge the stories that inspired me – and while there are many more, I have listed five stories that I think help explain some of my artistic choices in the novel. I’ve done my best to get the story across to you without telling you everything – and for the most part, these stories have seen adaptation beyond translation – from film, art, opera, and poetry. If you’re looking for something different to read, pick up a translation or adaptation of any of these stories, even if you think you know it already –...
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