Thursday’s Tale: Crocodile’s Treason

by Carol2 Comments
Image: News Real Blog Today's folktale comes from South Africa and takes place during the time when animals could still talk. The Crocodile is the leader of all the water animals, so when the river dries up, he comes up with a plan to trek to another river, one that the otter assures him still has water and will be able to withstand any drought. There are a couple of problems. First, traveling across dry land is dangerous for water creatures. Second, to get to the other river they have to pass by a Boer's farm. The Crocodile comes up with the solution. He offers peace to the lion and other veldt animals. In exchange for allowing the crocodile and his friends to cross without worrying about being eaten and to escort them pass the farm, the other animals will be allowed to drink from the river unmolested whenever they wish. The Crocodile sheds tears to show his sincerity, and the Lion...
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Review: Ghost Liners by Robert D. Ballard

by Carol12 Comments
I've mentioned before that my daughter, Amber, who is 11, loves non-fiction, but it can be tough to find books perfect for her. Ghost Liners definitely fit the bill. Robert Ballard is an explorer, an adventurer whose interests lay under the water. Beginning with the famous Titanic, he tells of five great ocean liners that sunk. Amber had actually read an excerpt from the book, the chapter about the Titanic in her reading class last year, and found it fascinating, which is what made us  read the book together. Ballard doesn't just give us a dry history of the ships- when they were built, what happened to make them sink. He makes us see the ships in their glory, know what it felt like in the last minutes of the wreck, and shows us eerie underwater photos of what remains. Some of the stories of rescues and losses are touching, and for each ship Ballard gives us a personal story. The ships that...
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Teaser from Fun and Games

by Carol4 Comments
She loved the ocean air smashing into her face, the feel of the tires beneath as they struggled to cling to the asphalt, the hum of the machine surrounding her body, the knowledge that one twitch to the left or right at the wrong moment meant her brand-new car, along with her brand-new life, would end up at the bottom of a ravine, and maybe years later people would ask: Whatever happened to that cute actress who was in those funny romantic comedies a few year ago? Back then, she loved to drive Decker Canyon Road because it blasted all of the clutter out of her mind. (Tuesday Teaser from Location 21 of Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski)...
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Spotlight and Giveaway: The Blue Light Project by Timothy Taylor

by Carol5 Comments
The Blue Light Project by Timothy Taylor When an armed man seizes a television studio in the center of town, Thom Pegg, a former investigative journalist turned tabloid reporter, is as surprised as anyone to learn that he is the only person to whom the hostage taker will speak, bringing him inside the studio and in contact with the frightening truth. From outside, meanwhile, the drama of the enthralled and horrified city is revealed through the eyes of two characters who meet in the early stages of the crisis and who bond to one another instinctively. Eve is a former Olympic gold medalist and much loved local daughter. Rabbit is a secretive street artist who has just completed a massive street art project involving mysterious installations at the tops of hundreds of buildings through the city. It’s a time of fear, a time when people have grave doubts about the future, and each other. Yet, when events collide, and Rabbit’s installation is activated,...
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Monday Morning

by Carol14 Comments
Hopefully this week is going to be cooler than last Here are a couple of books that arrived in the mail for review this past week. Mailbox Monday is taking a blog tour. This month’s host is Gwendolyn of A Sea of Books. For review: Ding Dong the Diva's Dead by Cat Melodia from Tribute Books Blog Tours The Butterfly Cabinet by Bernie McGill from Simon & Schuster I also bought one at Amazon's "The Big Deal" Kindle book sale. The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder Should be some good reading. It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Along with some randomness, I posted a couple of reviews last week and talked about a musical I went to see. A New Prospect by Wayne Zurl, with a guest post by the author "Bronsky's Dates with Death" by Peter David Into the Woods I also posted a flash fiction piece, "The King is Dead". I only finished one book this week, Murder on the Orient...
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