Carol's Notebook

Thanks to Bermudaonion's Weblog for hosting this weekly event. Head over there to play along. My words this week are from Eyewitness to Jesus: Amazing New Manuscript Evidence About the Origin of the Gospels by Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew D'Ancona.   potsherd- A fragment of broken pottery, especially one found in an archaeological excavation ostracon- A potsherd, esp. one used as a ballot on which the name of a person voted to be ostracized was inscribed. "all sorts of materials—papyrus, parchment...wax tablets, potsherds (so-called ostraca) and so forth.   polemical- Of or relating to a controversy, argument, or refutation. "Even the Babylonian Talmud, polemical and aggressive wherever it refers to Christianity"   philology- The study of literary texts and of written records, the establishment of their authenticity and their original form, and the determination of their meaning. "In brief, classical philogists do not doubt that the text without epi ten gen is not only the shorter by also the better original version."   itacism- Pronunciation of  (eta) as the modern Greeks pronounce it,...

Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12. You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given. Please avoid spoilers! My teaser: He scrutinized her as she closed her eyes and chanted, To the present From the past Bring this spirit To speak at last. Suddenly cool air swirled around him, adding the aroma of otherworldy creatures to the mix. -pg. 60, Dark Hunger by Rita Herron Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along....

Thanks to Marcia at The Printed Page for hosting Mailbox Monday. I got two in the mail this week, and both made me hop around the house chanting "Look what I got."     The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood The times and species have been changing at a rapid rate, and the social compact is wearing as thin as environmental stability. Adam One, the kindly leader of the God's Gardeners—a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion, as well as the preservation of all plant and animal life—has long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have survived: Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, a God's Gardener barricaded inside a luxurious spa where many of the treatments are edible. Have others survived? Ren's bioartist friend Amanda? Zeb, her eco-fighter stepfather? Her onetime lover, Jimmy? Or...

Robyn DeHart was kind enough to take some time out of her schedule to answer a few questions for me. I loved her book, Seduce Me, and posted my comments about it earlier today. Keep reading for a chance to win your own copy. Robyn, thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions. I really appreciate it. Well, thank you, Carol, for having me. What draws you to writing romance? Why historical romance in particular? Well, the simple answer is because that’s what I love to read – historical romance, in particular. Aside from that I think it has to do with just how I see the world. I’m an optimist at heart and a romantic and I believe whole-heartedly in the redemptive power of love. And there’s something so compelling about boy meets girl and they lived happily ever after, especially when you’re talking about that once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. I think romance is powerful storytelling, it goes back...