Stories of a Phoenix

I've Moved!

2011-06-10T10:34:00.000-04:00

Since I've had such a long hiatus here, I've decided, since I'm back into blogging, that I'd make a new blog! I'm going to work my way through new books, and add some of my old stuff from this blog too! See you there.

Find me here!

Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men (Book 2 of the Jane Jameson Series) by Molly Harper

2010-07-15T17:46:00.003-04:00

This book is an absolute hoot. 5 out of 5 stars. Jane is the same witty, sarcastic girl we came to love in book 1, but things are evolving now.

Zeb is getting married to Jolene, a werewolf. Jane is the maid of honor, forced to wear the most hideous dress she's ever seen. But that's not the worst of her problems. The Black Widow (Grandma Ruthie) just lost another fiance to a rather suspicious natural death, and Wilbur is jumping to the chance to take his place. When Jane notices pig's blood, she gets curious.

Turns out Wilbur has a very fruitful past with his former wives as well, giving the Black Widow a run for her money.

So Jane has to keep a wedding from derailing, keep Wilbur from killing her grandmother, and maintain a relationship with her boyfriend and sire, Gabriel.

I highly recommend this series, and if you happen to have a sense of humor, you will find yourself laughing constantly.

Dreamfever (Book 4 of the Fever Series) by Karen Marie Moning

2010-07-15T17:40:00.002-04:00

Enthusiastic 5 out of 5 stars. Another beef with this series is a cliffhanger. Unfortunately the final installment of this series is not going to be released unil January, so if cliffhangers bother you, like they really bother me, you may want to hold off for a bit.

Mac has become priya, as three Unseelie princes have descended upon her, and Barrons has to work for months to try to set her back to rights. Once she gets there she has a horde of sidhe seers to work with, and keep her feelings for Barrons in check. But when her sister's killer holds her parents hostage, attempting to force Mac's help in obtaining the Sinsar Dubh, things go awfully wrong.

I really enjoyed this book. Like I mentioned before, I can't stand cliffhangers and it really bothers me that I have to wait until January to find out what happens. I love Mac and Barrons and all that they are working for. I highly recommend this series.

Faefever (Book 3 of the Fever Series) by Karen Marie Moning

2010-07-15T17:36:00.002-04:00

I give this book an enthusiastic 5 stars. My only complaint: cliffhanger. GAH! Those are the worst.

Mackayla Lane returns with Barrons, V'lane, and hordes of Unseelie filling the streets of Dublin, Ireland. Not only does she have a cop on her tail, but there are warnings of the walls between worlds literally falling apart.

Mac has to fight for her body and soul while still trying to find her sister's killer, the Sinsar Dubh and exacting some very cold revenge.

I don't want to give away spoilers, so I'll stop there. This book is very epic and the ending will throw you through a loop. I highly suggest you have book 4 at the ready or it quite possibly will drive you insane.

Bloodfever (Book 2 of the Fever Series) by Karen Marie Moning

2010-07-15T17:29:00.002-04:00

Mackayla Lane is back in the second installment of the Fever series. I give this book 5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book, the commentary and tension going on between Mac and Barrons is fantastic. Mac has to contend with V'lane, she has to keep working to find her sister's killer, and stay alive at the same time.

Without giving away spoilers to those who have not read this series yet, I'm going to refrain from going much further with this. I tell you one thing, I HIGHLY recommend this series. You will not be dissapointed.

It's Official!!

2010-05-24T10:12:00.002-04:00

So apparently my attempts at coversion didn't work out so well. Suspicions abounds, and now I guess it's time for something of an official capacity.

Several years ago, Jeff and I decided to try to conceive. The one and only time I actually achieved it, I had lost it almost as fast as I'd found out. From then on I had no luck. As time went by my likelihood of being fertile at all were coming into question.

So when fertility treatments weren't an option, we knew it wasn't in the cards for us. I knew deep down, that having a child of my own would not be possible, the doctor suggested I try to regain my health and try again. Somewhere inside me had already broken. I knew it wouldn't happen, but I didn't see any fault to getting healthy. If Jeff and I adopted, it would be good to have my health.

I turned to reading and writing to get my mind off the morbid fact. Just seeing children or pregnant women would send me in a spiral of sadness. So I've read countless books and I'm writing a series of books, the first of which will be done in a few months, and another book in the works. All in an attempt to escape the harsh reality.

Four months and 60 pounds later, the side effects of a certain medication were a bit much, and since I knew it wouldn't happen anyway, I stopped taking it. A little over 6 weeks later I had a problem.

A new set of side effects that I had no idea of the cause. I knew what the doctor would ask, so I wanted to be proactive, rule it out, and then find out what the problem was.

I thought the big line was the control line. Nope. I had a positive pregnancy test. I took it again that night. Same thing. I went to the doctor and had it confirmed. Such a tiny thing already with a heartbeat. Fast forward to 4 weeks later and the baby is still fine, sleeping away with a bpm of 150.

So without further ado, I give you our little Pickle, due to arrive December 11th, 2010.

Please spread the word.

A Taste of Darkness (Book 3 of the Mackenzie Vampires Series) by Nina Bangs

2010-03-26T08:49:00.003-04:00

Of course I managed to do it again with this series. I thought this was book 1, when in fact it is book 3. But that's okay, much like Showalter's book it is a stand alone novel, that I really enjoyed. 5 out of 5 stars, this is one of my favorites.

I just happened to be perusing the library when I stumbled on this little treasure and snatched it up.

Reinn Mackenzie is a thousand year old vampire, employed by the council as "Protector of the Blood" which means any Mackenzie who betrays the pure bloodline by wanting to wed a shifter or any other otherworlder, they were to be killed. That's his job. He doesn't understand why that has to be the case, but he does dispise the otherworlders outside of his own clan.

He gets word of a new guy, wanting to marry a werecat, so he sets out to "blend in" before making the kill. Alan Mackenzie is the offending clan member, so Reinn checks into the Woo Woo Inn to lay in wait. He meets Kisa Evans, sister to the bride-to-be. She helps him with the door to his room. Reinn has a nifty ability to shield his powers so no one can tell he's a vamp. Kisa can shield her powers to an extent, Reinn can tell she's definitely a werecat, but he has no idea what kind. He also cannot deny how attracted he is to her, despite his feelings towards shifters.

Things get crazy as someone plants catnip in Kisa's room. For werecats, it should just make them get silly, but not with Kisa, she is forced to change at the scent of catnip. Right before Reinn's eyes, she turns into a sabre tooth tiger. This makes for an interesting night, and a very interesting set of days to come. Reinn's attraction, as well as Kisa's grow until there's no turning back. Reinn must decide what he is to do about his "job". And he needs to do it fast.

Read this series!! I loved it!

Seduce the Darkness (Book 4 of the Alien Huntress Series) by Gena Showalter

2010-03-26T08:37:00.002-04:00

Well when I checked this book out of the library, I was totally under the impression that this was the first book of the series. But that's okay, because it was written in a way that I was perfectly capable of keeping up. First of all, this is paranormal romance, so with each book comes a new set of people. I give this a lovely 5 out of 5 stars.

The story follows Bride McKells, living in New Chicago (a postapocalyptic world), who also happens to be a vampire. She's been searching the area for her long lost little sister of sorts, Aleaha Love. They had been separated with Aleaha was still young.

One day she catches the scent of her young friend, she stumbles into Devyn de bon Laci, the king of the Targons. He just so happens to be a womanizer and he's very good at what he does. When she doesn't catch on to his charm he bores of her, until he realizes that she's a vampire. Living on the surface is punishable by death for the vampires.

Bride vows to take revenge on the man who refuses to take her to her young friend, and she does so, causing a major upheaval with AIR (Alien Investigation & Removal Agency), where Devyn works.

They duke it out, and finally Devyn gets her right where he wants her. Steaminess begin!

Before they know it they're in love, Bride finds Aleaha, and goes to the vampire underground to learn about her race. But this is where things get tricky...

I highly recommend you read this series, I know I am!

Darkfever (Book 1 of The Fever Series) by Karen Marie Moning

2010-03-26T08:19:00.005-04:00

This book was really, really good. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. Why? So many things.

Let's start with Mac, she's smart, sexy, and definintely nothing like the stereotype says for her. Her sister is murdered in Dublin, Ireland, and she sets off to find the killer when the police stop the investigation. She stumbles into a world she never thought could exist, didn't believe it could.

Enter Jericho, owner of a massive bookstore that puts even the best of libraries to shame.

Thinking that a bookstore is a good a place as any to get some information, she asks the woman behind the counter if she's heard of a Sinsar Dubh, something her sister said in a voice message hours before her death. The woman tenses up and starts saying she needed to talk to the owner, Jericho. Whoa nilly, is he a steamy guy.

He tries to warn Mac that she's treading on dangerous waters and needed to go home immediately, even threatened her a bit. But stubborn as she is, she decided to stay. Jericho helps her, teaches her about what she is trying to find, only to find that she is something special too. Very special.

There were also parts in this book that made me bust out laughing. There are certain royalty fae that can practically make a woman pine for sex in an instant. Mac finds herself randomly removing clothing when she sees one. It was very funny. Steamy. But funny.

Then at the end, Jericho is helping Mac with a manicure when she broaches a new subject. He interupts by saying he won't help her shave her legs. I about fell on the floor.

I highly recommend this book, and the whole series to all fans of paranormal!

Inspiration for werewolf character in my book

2010-03-04T13:46:00.001-05:00

Here's Oreo. You've seen her knawing on my nose, and if you've seen my myspace you can tell a lot by the pictures on there. She's a dog of many faces. This happens to be one them. Though she is at the end of a yawn, she looks crazy viscious. When playing with the other dogs, sometimes the teeth see the light of day, but never to this extent, unless it's an all out fight, which isn't really too fun to break up, by the way.

She reminds me a lot of the nothing dog/wolf from the Neverending Story. Although not as anatomically void of looking real (lol) she looks much more viscious to the unsuspecting victim.

Shadow, my star werewolf in my book spends the majority of his time in his were form. Think this picture at about double the size, and you've got about a 150 lb werewolf that's all black with big teeth and claws looking right at you. But to his friends and especially to Aisling (my heroine) he's just like Oreo, play-knawing on noses and all!

Look out world. Shadow will eat you alive!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

2010-03-04T12:47:00.001-05:00

Boy was this book looooong. I liked it, but it didn't wow me. I'd say 3 out of 5. I don't mean to put down this book because it was very good. However, it's not really my style, and it was beyond complicated.

Gaiman sets up an intricate network of Gods, all having come to America or having been created there. All throughout we know "a storm is coming," a war between gods of the old and the new.

We meet Shadow, our hero. He's a former felon, and he's finally getting out of prison. But then just days before his scheduled release he's sent out early with some bad news. His wife is dead. He starts his journey home and meets a man named Wednesday, who seems to know much more about Shadow than he should. Things get weird, really weird.

We find out that Shadow's late wife was diddling his best friend in his absence and both die while she is "servicing" him as he drove down the road late the night before Shadow's release. Then as Shadow concedes to the fact that Wednesday is his only option for employment he starts seeing some strange things.

We meet several gods, both young and old throughout the book and you can tell which ones are "good" and "bad" for the most part. The more Shadow learns the more he starts to believe the impossible is probably probable. Laura (his late-wife) is a zombie, trying to help him out.

There are so many twists and turns and imaginative dreams mixed with realities with webs upon webs of different people and gods to keep track of. Half the time I read, I had to think back and figure out who the heck some of those people were, or what the heck was happening.

There was that and the fact that even though Shadow was the hero, it was all written in the third person, so it wasn't really my cup of tea as far as style. AND on top of that there were lots of areas where I would have liked to have known what happened. We get lots of scenes building up and then you get "and then he told them" "and then she showed him" etc. I wanted to see/hear it too dammit!! It would have made it exponentially longer too methinks, but I think it would have been more valuable to me to see/hear those things than to build up to it and have to fill in a huge blank.

And much like Stardust, it was relatively anti-climactic at the end. I won't spoil it for you though!! But one shed of good light was that he wrapped up all the loose ends before ending.

I think it's worth while to read it, to say you've done it. You may like it, you may find it more complicated to really enjoy it. I don't know. But that's my glue and I'm stickin' to it!

Fireflies in December by Jennier Erin Valent

2010-03-04T12:03:00.000-05:00

I really enjoyed this book. 5 out of 5 stars! I plan on reading the sequel called Cottonwood Whispers.

This book follows the life of Jessilyn Lassiter, teenager. She just turned 13, and it wasn't starting out as she had planned. She's got a very strong will and she's not afraid to say what's on her mind. But she messes with the wrong boy at her party, and since she humiliates him, she knows retribution will be swift and dirty. Jessilyn's best friend Gemma, is black, and her family works for the Lassiters on their farm. Gemma warns Jessilyn of what would be to come, but she moves ahead anyway.

The birthday party-goers are all sent to the watering hole (a lake or pond, I assume) and then the boys go after Jessilyn. She struggles to get away when the boy she humiliated pushes her underwater and holds her there. When she does finally break free she tries desperately to swim away. Well, she gets grabbed by the ankle as she tries to climb slick rocks and the boy yanks her, causing her to hit her head before he finally pulls her under the water. Enter Luke. He is older, and so handsome Jessilyn thinks she's hallucinating. He pulls her from the water and takes her back to her house. Luke is an instant friend to the Lassiters and instant crush to Jessilyn.

Tragedy strikes when a thunderstorm rolls in to town. Lightning and thunder precede the rain, and with the worst luck, Gemma's house is hit by lightning, sparking a fire. Jessilyn and her father jump in their truck and speed to their house, but it was too late. Gemma sat huddled just outside the house, now engulfed in flames, and her parents where nowhere in sight.

Later Jessilyn's father decides that they were going to keep Gemma as part of the family as a promise he gave to Gemma's father. Well, all hell breaks loose when the Ku Klux Klan hear word of this. Living in the South in 1932 was hard enough.

The Lassiter family was deeply religious and it was prevalent in the book, much discussion, contradiction, etc. But it wasn't in-your-face like many Christian authors can be. So even if you aren't religious, this book won't feel like major repellent.

The only gripe I had with this book was that it was written entirely in past-tense. The first line of the book, "The summer I turned thirteen, I thought I killed a man." I kept thinking at some point we'd get to the present, but no, the whole thing was past-tense, which was fine. I guess I sort of expected it to end up that way based on that first line. But even so it was still a good book nonetheless. I recommend it very highly.

2010-03-01T17:50:00.001-05:00

Sweet. Now i can update everyone on the go... Keep a lookout because I suspect I'm going to be using this feature!!

Summer of the Midnight Sun (Book one of the Alaskan Quest Series) by Tracie Peterson

2010-02-08T17:43:00.000-05:00

I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. I haven't decided if I want to read any more of it either. I give it 3 out of 5 stars. Leah Barringer lives in Last Chance, Alaska with her brother Jacob. Having been spurned by a previous love over 10 years prior, she felt her chances of landing a husband were dwindling fast. But Jayce Kincaid shows back up in her life, throwing everything off balance.

All the characters save for 1 in this book are very devout Christians. Not to say that this is a bad thing, Ms. Peterson definitely didn't plow the religion down my throat, she actually explained a few things and I found it to be a bit enlightening.

The wrench in the whole thing was that Chase Kincaid (Jayce's evil twin brother) was going around assuming his twin's identity, so ther Pinkerton's (similar to the FBI) were after him. One agent sends his sister on his trail, but she ends up going after the real Jayce. So when it comes down to the wire and they're reaching the climax of the story: the end. Talk about cliffhangers. All this buildup for resolving the situation and.. nothing. That's why I'm not so sure about book 2. Is this same cat and mouse chase going to last forever?

I'm still pondering that issue. But you may find it interesting if you're interested in 1915 Alaska.

Momma's Got a Brand New Bag!

2010-02-08T17:18:00.003-05:00

Not really, but hey, it's a nice little euphemism for ya. Anyhoo, it's been busy, it's been crazy, it's been a dreary winter. But things are lookin' up. Yes, it's still dreary, yes, it's busy and even more crazy. BUT! The good news is that I've changed some things up and I'm super-productive now! Pow! Take that! Ok, enough of that. Let's get to the nitty-gritty.

Anyways, not reading was a bad plan. I figured that if I read, I'd have a hard time putting it down, thus not giving myself any time to write. Well the lack of an outlet or whatever you want to call it, I was finding that I wasn't in the mood to write when I actually had time to do so. I think over the span of those weeks I may have edited a total of one page, let alone wrote anything at all. As I started to feel more and more detached from my characters and the escapism of books, I felt burnt out. This compounded on itself until the hubb'n decided an intervention was in order.

He always has a way of figuring exactly what is wrong with me before I even know what it is. All I know is that I felt “off” “wrong” fill-in-the-blank-here and the guilt of not writing, on top of not being inspired to write, not being able to read—it was too much (although until he told me, I hadn't realized that was the problem). He laid it all out there and told me that I needed to change what I was doing because it wasn’t working like I’d wanted. Here’s the new plan he suggested—and I’m so grateful for that—alternating reading and writing. Being painfully aware of my inability to shut off or to stop one thing and start another, he actually came up with a decent idea, and I felt hopeful immediately. Spend a day or two reading—that’s how long it takes me to read a book—and then spend a few writing. If I can manage I squeeze in alternating those throughout the day too.

The results of I’m guessing one week on this new program: 2 books read—blog reviews to come, by the way—and several quality pages of editing I’ve been meaning to do. You see, about half-way through the 2nd chapter of my book I changed my mind on the perspective. I decided first person was definitely the way to go. So I have to go through and change it. I’m very, very happy with the results thus far, and I can only see good things coming in the future.

I seem to have an endless supply of great ideas for continuing the series, and I’m really looking forward to doing it. I hope you guys will be along for the ride.

If I can keep up my progress I can only guess that I’ll be finishing up draft 2 of my book soon—draft 1 was very rough—at which time my reviewers will get a crack at it. At this point in time, I’m going to begin preparations for queries. This means a good deal of study on 1) who to send queries to and 2) exactly what to put in said queries. But I feel that getting that prepped and ready to go will be a good way for me to keep from nagging at my reviewers to “finish the hell up already!”

This will leave the sit down and sock-it-to-me session from my reviewers. They tell me what’s bad, what’s good, etc. Even editing that I’ve missed, I’m hoping they catch. Then brainstorming on my end as far as what needs changed, what stays the same. Fixing said missed edits. And voila! Query letters are sent, and hopefully I spark some interest in samples.

Then ideally I land an agent and—BAM!—book deal with publishers and book on shelves within a year or so.

So thanks to the hubb’n for always lookin’ out for me and giving me the best options for me to truly get some work done.

Soooo, how bout them apples?

2010-01-06T17:27:00.001-05:00

I know I've been slacking here recently, what with the new Kindle, the book I'm trying to write, etc. Here recently though I've stopped reading cold turkey! Blasphemous, you say? I know. It is. I'm finding it very difficult to follow and yet it's only been MAYBE 3 weeks at this point. I find myself almost drained, like I'm looking forward to the day I can pick up a book (or the Kindle) again and get going.

There's something about books, they suck you in and you get to live a new life for awhile. I think that's one of the best parts of reading.

Soooo, that being said, I wanted to let you all know that though I am busy with writing and the dreaded working of an actual job that does NOT include said writing, I will post reviews from any "past" books I've read. Believe me, there's plenty to go around. I may not have fresh fodder in the mix, but booo-oy you'll love some of the stuff I throw your way!

Depending on my mood, I might throw in a movie review or some other type of media into the mix. Few movies/ TV shows/ the like catch my attention, but when they do, I'm hooked.

Take Avatar for instance. Loved. It. Think: Motion-Picture-Orgasm. HA! That's not really as bad as it sounds. It's a whole new world. Wonderful wildlife. Plantlife. Everything is amazing. Even the cat-people, er the Na'vi are b-e-a-utiful! It's a book on crack! Well maybe not quite, but the experience reminded me so much of when I read, which is probably why I like to see it so much. It reminds me of my teenage Titanic days. I think I've lost count of the times I've actually seen it, and I'm not tired of it. After all these years, I'm still not tired of Titanic, but that's another story I'd rather not dive in to at the moment. The less y'all think I'm a freak, the better. *snickers* Maybe I'm a fan of James Cameron. Maybe it's just that he has a way of sucking you in to a new world (quite literally with Avatar) and truly captivating you. That's me. A Cameronite!

But let's get back to topic, shall we?

So please, stick around, I promise not to leave you hanging! Hopefully you'll find plenty of books from my blog that you'll be interested in reading. Feel free to make your own suggestions as well. I even welcome submitting your own book reviews to my blog! Send me an email if you're interested, or just leave a comment with a blip of your favorites!

Or if you feel like sending kind words of encouragement, that is ALWAYS welcome in my book... the figurative book, not the literal one I'm writing! HA! Almost walked into a trap on that one. Phew.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Get Your Drool Jar Ready - A Very Special Birthday Tribute!

2009-12-10T13:45:00.001-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Ms. Pattepoilue, turning 24 today! As you can tell on her blog (if you've read it, good, if not, head over there now! pattepoilue.blogspot.com on another note, follow her on twitter @pattepoilue) she's definitely had some issues with growing older. But with age comes wisdom and all that fun stuff that I'm sure doesn't help one bit. Being a year and a handful of days older than this lovely birthday girl, I have to say, I really wish that vampires were real, or at the very least: public.

Why you ask? Eternal youth and PLENTY of opportunity for fun with drool worthy men. Or at least I'd like to tell myself that.

Anyway, back to the point. Being 24 is not decrepit. No one is going to scream at you and say, "You're pussy's worn out, you nasty bitch!" (Yes, I have heard that before from a neighbor fighting with his girlfriend.)NO! Of course not. Of course all women hope that guys are more tactful than that.

Just because she's still in school and living at home with her parents is nothing to scoff at. I think it's a good thing that her parents are willing to keep her while she finishes school - believe me every penny counts when you're a student. And take it from me, I worked full time and lived with my hubb'n for 90% of my Undergraduate FULL-TIME career. It wasn't easy to do all that, believe me.

So, enough of WHY being 24 is still a good thing. Lets get to the goods. Ever since I started asking my #1 Fan/BFF/fill-in-the-blank-here what she wanted for her birthday, she said a "naked man". Well, my dear, I'm hoping to top that. Short of purchasing you an actual naked man, I think this is MUCH better. We've now graduated to Drool-Worthy men. Not nekked, unfortunately, because it's bad enough I've said pussy and bitch in the same post so far.

So, feast your eyes (and I mean FEAST) on these lovely men. Stare at your heart's content.

Wishing you a very happy Birthday this year, Pattepoilue. Enjoy!

I give you Mr. Gerard Butler

Most notably for his role in 300, he's definitely been around. The Ugly Truth and P.S. I Love You really helps put this drool-worthy man on our list.

Leather!!

I can think of a few things that would make that wall very useful...

Alex O'Loughlin

Take a bite out of crime.... nom nom nom..

Are your knees weak yet? No? Try this on for size: Stephen Moyer

Alexander Skarsgard...

Keanu Reeves

Johnny Depp...

Eric Bana

How's that drool jar coming along?

Robert Downey, Jr.

Are you still standing?

I could go on and on. And on. And on. But that will take a very VERY long time. I hope you've enjoyed the small sampling of the goodies out there that you can fill your drool jar up with in the matter of moments.

I really hope you have a great day! Happy Birthday Pattepoilue!

Good News Everyone!

2009-12-07T17:39:00.000-05:00

Alright, I've got my outline done for the first book of The Earthen Witch Series. I've actually had it done for a few weeks, but life kept getting in the way from actually getting it fully written out.

I was finally able to get a good large chunk of time writing yesterday, about 5-6 hours total, I wasn't counting. I have to tell you, I have a long way to go. The best part is that I'm having a blast!

I managed, in my decent sized time slot, to get about 7,000 words completed! Many writers shoot for 1,000 a day! I was very pleasantly suprised at how useful my outline has become.

I know Connor and Aisling from the inside out, and I know who they meet and know along their journey and I couldn't be happier that I know what's going on before I get there. Sure, I may find something I want to add that wasn't already in my outline, but I definitely found that having that outline out and at my disposal, I would have completely forgotten some significant parts!

So in essentially 2 days of outlining (about 500 words or so) I managed to mash out 4 chapters and 7,000 words. To give you a bit of an idea, I outlined for roughly a month, some more detailed than others. I'm not a math genious--hence being a writer--but I'm guessing this book is going to be a very nice length! I would say, probably 100,000 or perhaps more, depending on how much detail I actually provide.

Here's my goals with this draft, my ultimate plot-to-destroy-the-world-Pinky plan! I'm going to work my hardest to get as much time as I can during the week, even if it's only for an hour, every bit of time counts. During the weekends, if I actually don't get lazy and decide to watch a movie (which I'm promising myself I'm not gonna do!), I'm planning on *crosses fingers* another 5-6 hours on BOTH Saturdays and Sundays. So based on my non-analytical brain workin' math, if I did about 7,000 words in that 6 hours, I did just over 1,000 words per hour.

So let's do the math here. Working 1 hour every night Monday through Friday = 5,000 words, and another 7,000 words on each weekend day which would equal 14,000 words. Week days till Christmas: 13 (I'm counting Christmas Eve as a weekend day); Weekend days till Christmas: 5.

Crapz! I'm only at 55,000 words! That would MAYBE get me halfway through. So much for trying to get everything done by Christmas. Never fear! I will work my hardest and get done ASAP. If I'm not done by Christmas, I will be done soon after that because I'm on vacation until January 4th! WOOT!

I'll keep you guys posted on my progress! Wish me luck! Are you excited yet?

This is actually very disturbing when you think about it.

2009-12-07T13:52:00.001-05:00

In light of the New Moon phase, I give you this!

2009-12-07T13:49:00.001-05:00

Wow. Is this possible ;)

2009-12-07T13:47:00.002-05:00

This is funny on so many levels.

2009-12-07T13:45:00.002-05:00

Important Notice to Comment Leavers :)

2009-12-07T13:32:00.001-05:00

**Update**
Notice to those leaving comments NOT in English: I've figured out how to translate, and I'm going to be frank with you. Stop spamming my blog. If I find you're spamming, I'm deleting. Simple as that.

First of all, I want to thank all of you for your gracious comments. It really helps show that my blog isn't collecting cobwebs throughout the webverse out there.

Now, on to business. Those of you leaving comments that aren't using the English alphabet, I'd love to respond to your messages, but I've no idea how to translate your comments to be able to do so! If you would like a response from me, please translate and repost! Otherwise I'll just leave them be.

So those of you out there who may be reading my blog but not commenting, please feel free. We won't bite. Much. :) I look forward to hearing from you.

Don't I know it!

2009-12-04T16:53:00.001-05:00

Pattepoilue can attest to this statement on both ends!!

2009-12-04T16:51:00.002-05:00

Some Funny Holiday Cheer

2009-12-04T16:49:00.000-05:00

Company Memos

2009-12-04T13:29:00.003-05:00

I received this as a forwarded message, so I don't know it's origination, but I thought it was WAY too funny to not share it with you! Read on for a hilarious holiday laugh!

Company Memo

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: November 16, 2009

RE: Gala Christmas Party

I'm happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23rd, starting at noon in the private function room at the Grill House. There will be a cash bar and plenty of drinks! We'll have a small band playing traditional carols... Feel free to sing along. And don't be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus! A Christmas tree will be lit at 1:00 PM . Exchanges of gifts among employees can be done at that time; however, no gift should be over $10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for everyone's pockets. This gathering is only for employees!

Our CEO will make a special announcement at that time!

Merry Christmas to you and your family,
Patty
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Company Memo

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: November 17, 2009

RE: Gala Holiday Party

In no way was yesterday's memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Hanukkah is an important holiday, which often coincides with Christmas, though unfortunately not this year. However, from now on, we're calling it our "Holiday Party." The same policy applies to any other employees who are not Christians and to those still celebrating Reconciliation Day. There will be no Christmas tree and no Christmas carols will be sung. We will have other types of music for your enjoyment.

Happy now?

Happy Holidays to you and your family,

Patty
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Company Memo

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: November 18, 2009

RE: Holiday Party

Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table, you didn't sign your name. I'm happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads, "AA Only", you wouldn't be anonymous anymore. How am I supposed to handle this?

Somebody?

And sorry, but forget about the gift exchange, no gifts are allowed since the union members feel that $10.00 is too much money and the executives believe $10.00 is a little chintzy.

REMEMBER: NO GIFTS EXCHANGE WILL BE ALLOWED.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Company Memo

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

To: All Employees

DATE: November 19, 2009

RE: Generic Holiday Party

What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20th begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon at this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees' beliefs. Perhaps the Grill House can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party or else package everything for you to take it home in little foil doggy baggy. Will that work?

Meanwhile, I've arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest from the dessert buffet, and pregnant women will get the table closest to the restrooms.

Gays are allowed to sit with each other. Lesbians do not have to sit with Gay men, each group will have their own table.

Yes, there will be flower arrangement for the Gay men's table.

To the person asking permission to cross dress, the Grill House asks that no cross-dressing be allowed, apparently because of concerns about confusion in the restrooms. Sorry.

We will have booster seats for short people.

Low-fat food will be available for those on a diet.

I am sorry to report that we cannot control the amount of salt used in the food . The Grill House suggests that people with high blood pressure taste a bite first.

There will be fresh "low sugar" fruits as dessert for diabetics, but the restaurant cannot supply "no sugar" desserts. Sorry!

Did I miss anything?!?!?

Patty
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Company Memo

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All F*%^ing Employees

DATE: November 20, 2009

RE: The F*%^ing Holiday Party

I've had it with you vegetarian pricks!!! We're going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the "grill of death," as you so quaintly put it, and you'll get your f*%^ing salad bar, including organic tomatoes. But you know, tomatoes have feelings, too. They scream when you slice them. I've heard them scream. I'm hearing them scream right NOW!

The rest of you f*%^ing wierdos can kiss my *ss. I hope you all have a rotten holiday!

Drive drunk and die,

The B*tch from H*ll!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Company Memo

FROM: Joan Bishop, Acting Human Resources Director

DATE: November 23, 2009

RE: Patty Lewis and Holiday Party

I'm sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patty Lewis a speedy recovery and I'll continue to forward your cards to her.

In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd off with full pay.

Happy Holidays!

Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly

2009-12-03T11:25:00.000-05:00

I liked this one too, go figure right? This story has a little bit of Christmas spirit in it! Read on for more!

Madeline Turner, or Maddy as her friends call her, is set out on a mission by her sister Tabitha to stop their stepmother from "winning" a gigolo from a Christmas for Kids Charity auction event.

The problem is that Jake Wallace is not the gigolo, as his profile says, he's a paramedic, but no one knows that. He sees a beauty behind the curtains. So when the bidding war begins he prays to the heavens and the universe for the beauty who's name he's yet to find out to bid on him and win. When some elder rich debutantes begin a bidding war over him, she shouts out 25 thousands dollars, winning the bet.

As she tries to get out of the building before he finds her, she practically runs in to him noticing her uncontrollable attraction to him. He is relentless, but he knows how to talk to women and make them feel desired, since he's a professional.

He doesn't understand her stand-offishness, but tries nonetheless. Eventually he gets her attention and she succumbs to his whims. So when she pushes him away after the realization that she slept with a gigolo she kicks him out. Her sister convinces her, since she cannot deny she has feelings for him, to buy him exclusively for a month. He agrees to the proposition, afraid if he said no she's turn him away without being able to tell her the truth about being a paramedic.

But what will happen if he tells her?

Ahh, the joy of quickie reads like this. I enjoy them muchly!

Kiss Me Deadly (Book 1 of the Bewitching the Dark Series) by Michele Hauf

2009-12-03T11:00:00.000-05:00

This is an amazing story about mortal enemies: vampires and witches. Ravin Crosse is a witch, and for centuries witches have had an immense protection spell against vampires. Their blood. Just a drop will reduce a vampire to dust, rather quickly. Ravin is a hunter, her life's mission to rid the world of as many vampires as she can before she dies. She's so serious about her profession that she loans out her soul to the devil Himself so she can have the Sight. The sight enables Ravin to see vampires for who they are, thus allowing her to steer clear of mortals.

One unfortunate night Nikolaus Drake, leader of his own tribe, was having a meeting with his fellow vampires in an alley. Ravin attacked, using an arsenal of blood-tipped bullets, bringing many of his friends down immediately. He tries to help a mortal that was with them, struck by a bullet. As he dodges behind a dumpster a bullet hits the wall behind him and he's hit with blood. He turns to his mortal friend, apologises, and feeds, hoping against hope that he could survive. His heart stops and yet he keeps drinking. Will he survive?

He does. And while he's on the slow road to recovery for months, his anger brews against the witch, and he vows to get her and make her pay. He's different now, he came back from the dead, again, and he's now a very special kind of vampire, a phoenix. He has survived a witch's blood, meaning the rules no longer apply when it comes to being invited in her home, and her protection spells and wards are also nothing to a phoenix.

As Nikolaus prepares to attack, Ravin is making a love spell, as one of her 3 reqirements of Himself to regain her soul. In their initial struggle, the love spell spills over Ravin, entering her blood stream. Since he's now a phoenix he can drink her blood, and he did, immediately realizing he made such a fatal mistake by hurting the one he loves.

As time passes they become very involved with one another, but then what happens when the spells breaks?

I really hope you read this story, it was really, really, hmm hmm good, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series as well.

Hotter After Midnight by Cynthia Eden

2009-12-02T17:32:00.000-05:00

I. Really. Liked. This. Book. It was a fantastic mix of suspense, mystery, romance, and some good old ADULT fun. That's right kiddies, you need to wait a few years for this one.

This tale follows Colin Gyth, police detective, working a very interesting murder case which he fears the perpetrator may be a shifter. The killer has a strange MO, the surveillance cameras showed a man, yet the body looked as if it were severely mutilated by a wolf, a very large wolf. Colin is also a shifer, but nothing like this crazed killer. He's also very guarded about the animal that lives within him as well. Only his leutenant on the force knows that he is of the Other, but he doesn't know for sure just what Colin is.

Dr. Emily Drake, a.k.a. Monster Doctor, is the go to lady for all those Other out there who are in need of some therapy and guidance. She's very guarded as she's not technically an Other she can most definitely sense them, and she can tell what kind of Other they are. She can't tell what kind of shifter may be standing in front of her like with Colin, but she knows if they're a shifter. Follow? Good.

Colin is sent by his leutenant to get Dr. Drake. They both suspected a shifter was the guy and they needed Dr. Drake to come look at the scene to give them more information. Colin has a significant reaction to seeing Emily for the first time and while Emily is very cautious of him because of the warnings she's had about shifters, she does feel the attraction too.

She signs on as official profiler for a serial killer they know is a shifter, but they can't seem to find out who. As Emily and Colin get more in to each other the killer starts to taunt them. Colin is faced with finding the killer and protecting the woman both he and the animal within him want to desperately protect.

Loved it! I suggest you read it! Awesomeness!

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

2009-12-02T17:00:00.003-05:00

This story is a lot shorter than I remember it being when I was a kid. Although the story is still good, I wish Mr. Irving would have made this story longer. Though he followed the tale of Ichobad Crane’s “life” that ended the story with an encounter with the headless horseman that seriously eluded to the dirtbag by the name of Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt being responsible and not the mythical headless horseman.

Though it was good and I highly recommend everyone read this story, it is quite short, easy to read because it’s very conversational too.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

2009-12-02T16:59:00.001-05:00

This book was alright. It has its fantasy attributes but Alice was just so dense! She had no respect for the creatures around her, always talking about her cat or some animal that was a major predator to the creatures in this Wonderland.

Alice never seemed to learn her lesson either, or change in some significant way. Usually in a story the main character goes through some sort of transition, which makes the whole thing worth reading/watching/hearing/what have you. Alice didn’t change, she was the same person through the whole thing and just when the creatures descended on her to presumably carry out the “off with her head” order, her sister wakes her up from a dream.

Maybe this is better served as a story for kids to read.

The Christmas Lamp by Lori Copeland

2009-12-01T16:53:00.000-05:00

Ok I wasn't a huge fan of this. BUT it's not to say that this was a bad book! It was good for what it was. This novella follows the story of Roni and Jake. Nativity, Missouri is failing and Jake is brought in to help save the town. What he wasn't expecting was falling for Roni.

Nativity is big on Xmas and they didn't like the fact that Jake came in to take it away from them, as they were spending too much money on it. This also had a lot of religious themes to it as well, which I prefer when that stuff is left out. But I digress.

It's a nice heartwarming tale of love during the Christmas season. It reminded me of a Nicholas Sparks book. I suggest if you're looking for some light reading that you check this book out.

Understood (Book 1 of the Unbroken Series) by Maya Banks

2009-12-01T16:47:00.000-05:00

Jake and Ellie. These two are quite a pair. Former football star, Jake, is in love with Ellie, has been for a long time. Ellie just doesn't know it yet. He's given her time to get over her ex, after that disturbing period in her life he was giving her the space she needed. But one night she gets drunk and gets brave, going to a bar to try to find someone to take her home. Jake sees her and does a double take. He can't handle the idea of her being with anyone but him. It's been long enough.

I really like this story. Ellie has to get beyond her brutal history with her ex-husband to finally be with Jake, the man she loves. She's just afraid of what that mean's and what it'll do to her.

Read it!! It was amazing. It even has a nice Christmas thing to it, definitely fits the season! Oh and, uh, this is an ADULT book, so no kiddies allowed!!

Shadowland (Book 3 of the Immortals Series) by Alyson Noel

2009-12-01T12:55:00.000-05:00

Damen and Ever are back again in the aftermath of Roman's wake. But unfortunately Roman is not done. Damen is cursed and if he comes into physical contact with Ever, be it brush of the hand or lips, he would plunge into the Shadowland, a place where all immortals go when their souls have nowhere else to go. In their desperate search to find a cure, Roman starts playing games again. But the entrance of Jude into Ever's life sends everything spiraling out of control. She's drawn to Jude like she's never been drawn to anyone but Damen. Before long she's going to be forced to make the most painful decision of her life.

I really like this series. At times Ever can definitely seem a bit naiive and she tends to act a bit rashly. She knows Roman is bad, yet she is so desperate that she's willing to trust him. But nonetheless, I still like it and I highly suggest it to everyone out there looking for a bit of a change from the usual vampire lore.

The Wild's Call (Prequel to the Aspect of the Crow Trilogy) by Jeri Smith-Ready

2009-12-01T12:40:00.000-05:00

This short story follows Elysia and Darien after the fall of civilization. As the world falls into a new Dark Age, it Elysia and Darien are being plagued by animal spirits. Fox for Elysia, Bear for Darien. After a series of unfortunate events they set out to the wilderness the spirits have called them to. Their destiny with each other and the future of mankind hangs in the balance.

I really liked this and I'm looking forward to reading the Aspect of the Crow trilogy as soon as I actually have some time to do so! I highly recommend you read it. Another really cool perk that means you should do this NOW? It's completely free on Amazon as an ebook. Read it on your Kindle, your iPhone, or your computer.

Go to http://www.jerismithready.com/ for more information about Smith-Ready and her other books that are available. You can also catch her twittering about as @jsmithready!

Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Book 1 of the Jaz Parks Series) by Jennifer Rardin

2009-11-19T17:39:00.003-05:00

It's been a bit since I first read this book. Honestly, I think I have to say that this is by far one of my all-time favorite series out there. I give this entire series 5 stars and enthusiastically suggest that you read them too!

Jaz Parks works for the CIA, she's an assassin, recently assigned to work as an assistant for Vayl, vampire, who's worked as an assassin for the CIA for quite a long time. They make a great team, especially since Jaz is what's called a "sensitive", she can detect certain things, and when certain powers are engaged she is also somewhat immune to them.

This book is action packed. A crooked senator is in cahoots with Mohammed Khad Abn-Assad, renowed terrorist who's made what's called the Red Plague. It will infect a vampire and then spread to humans, basically annihalating both species. Vayl and Jaz have to work together to stop this plague before it's released, while they battle immense attractions for one another.

Jaz totes my favorite weapon, Grief. A Walter PPK that's modified into a kickin' crossbow by her friend, and CIA consultant genious Miles Bergman, which definitely helps the death rate to vamps on her bad side rise!

Jaz is witty and extremely hilarious. I guarantee you'll be laughing at many parts of all the books in this series and people will think you're crazy! That's just some of the fun stuff!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, mixed with James Bond, and some other cool genres really make this series shine!

Slacker Extraordinaire

2009-11-19T16:02:00.002-05:00

Quick update for you lovely followers out there! I promise I'm not slacking. I've been uberbusy and I've been reading several books. I need to catch up and I'm hoping that I'll get to those VERY soon. I'm also planning (once the business goes away a bit) to review books I've previously read before starting this blog. Much like I did with the Edge series by Rhyannon Byrd.

So, please, bear with me. I promise I'm not ditching you. I'm not really slacking either. Extraordinaire, maybe, but that's for another day to discuss!

How bout a topic to talk about. In your opinion, what's the best book/series to buy for Christmas?

Till next time! Auf Wiedersehen!

Guest Blog!

2009-10-26T13:46:00.003-04:00

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you a lovely October treat!

Ms. Shannon Reinbold-Gee. She's got her first published book coming out in June 2010 by St. Marten's Griffin called 13 to Life. I am really looking forward to the release of this new YA series! Shannon has agreed to do a guest blog outlining the lore and history of the werewolf and give insight to the lore of her own story.

So, feast your eyes on these bits of goodies. You'll be wishing for June to come along so you can sink your teeth into this new morsel of wolfey goodness! Take it away, Shannon!

The Beast Within: The Werewolf in History and Legend

October is one of my favorite months (and only partly because it's the month of my birthday). In the Upper Catskills the leaves have just peaked in color and are dropping--falling victim to biting winds and murderous frosts. Here it's easy to imagine werewolves as reality. Of course, my love of myths, legends and history doesn't hurt my ability to imagine such things either. Maybe that's why in my debut YA paranormal series, 13 TO LIFE, werewolves are so important.

To me, werewolves are one of the ultimate symbols for transformation, evolution and the struggle we all face with those beastly bits within—the parts of our personalities more interested in snapping at each other and being “top dog” than showing compassion.

This very human struggle during the confusing and frightening medieval and renaissance periods allowed stories of werewolves (and yes, vampires and vicious witches, too) to take hold. During this historical period religions were defined and the lines between them became far more than lines in Jerusalem’s sand—they were reasons for horrific wars in the name of God. People’s roles in society were being carefully cemented through concepts like feudalism. Things were chaotic, violent and death was the one true equalizer. Fear-based superstition reigned.

In the medieval and renaissance periods most cases of what they called lycanthropy were attributed to demonic possession. Anyone who acted oddly (“oddly” being in any way against what was defined as the local and often repressed “norm”), was surly or exhibited mysterious wounds was potentially a werewolf and meant to die.

Most of us would not have lasted long. As a farmer, I can’t account for most of my cuts and bruises—they’re hazards of my lifestyle. Am I surly some days? Please refer to the comment on cuts and bruises. ;-) And let’s not start on if I personally act “oddly”—I’m an author of werewolves, an award-winning cellphone novelist and I live in a town where most everyone has one of two last names (neither of which are mine). So here, I am the definition of “odd.”

Traditionally there were only a few ways someone could become a werewolf. Some Eastern Europeans believed in a spell that included use of a copper knife to help the wielder transform. Western Europeans tended to believe there was a salve or lotion that (while saying appropriate words) could be smeared across your body to start the change. Some believed werewolves had two skins (or a special set of clothes) that allowed the transformation. The full moon thing we’ve been trained to via Hollywood? It wasn’t really even a consideration in the original stories.

Regardless of how nice the werewolf appeared as a person, they were nearly always merciless as a beast. According to most traditions, the ability to transform came from making a pact with the Devil. There are exceptions to every rule though, and there’s a well-documented court case of a man who proclaimed he and other werewolves were the “hounds of God.” They were the good guys--nipping at demons’ heels and driving them back to Hell every year before they could ravage humanity’s potential earthly harvest.

My werewolves in the upcoming 13 TO LIFE series (launching June 2010 with St. Martin’s Griffin) are tied genetically to Eastern Europe and some really funky stuff I found while researching. I mix legends, lore, Hollywood and history to tell their story. My werewolves are as human as you and I (and just as flawed). They are at once as monstrous and as humane as their humanity allows.

Whereas people historically relegated werewolves to a level of horrendous beast, I’m asking readers to think again: to re-examine what makes someone a man and what makes them a monster.

Thank you, Shannon, for that bit of history and giving us an inside to your new series! If anyone is interested in learning more from Shannon, she can be found dawdling around Twitter as @Shannon_Delany. Find her on her website: http://13toLife.us. You can also check out her blog here: http://13toLife.us/blog. Look for Shannon here again in a few months as she gets closer to her debut and I'll be sure to get some exclusives just for my readers!

Shiver (Book 1 of the Wolves of Mercy Falls Series) by Maggie Stiefvater

2009-10-22T12:12:00.003-04:00

This book was really amazing. I read it in a matter of a day and a half, and that involved 16 hours worth of working and another 6 or so of sleep. Not much time to take to read, but it is oh-so-worth-it!

This book follows Grace and Sam. Grace is a girl who was once attacked by wolves when she was a child. One wolf in particular had these intense yellow eyes. This one wolfe stepped up and made the rest of the pack back off, thus saving her life. Every winter there-after she stayed outside in her backyard watching him, as he'd never approach her. One winter, he finally allows her to approach. Once she runs her fingers through his fur, it's all over.

A local boy was killed by the wolves when he was outside shooting them with his BB gun. So the men of the town set out on a hunting trip to rid the woods of the wolves. One gets shot, and ends up at Grace's back porch, human. It's Sam, bleeding and shivering from the cold. Grace acts quickly to help him, rushing him to the hospital. Once he wakes up, he tells her about who/what he is. She already knew, because those eyes are the same.

Now a jealous wolf is out for Grace's blood, and Sam is fighting against the winter to stay human for one last time.

Night Life (Book 1 of the Nocturne City Series) by Caitlin Kittredge

2009-10-22T12:02:00.003-04:00

This book was really good. I highly enjoyed it. This book was dark, though not nearly as dark as Street Magic was. Definitely worth a look-see. I'd love to read the rest of this series.

Luna Wilder is a detective for the Nocturne City Police department. She is also a werewolf. Not just any werewolf, but an Insoli, which means she doesn't belong to a pack. That's not good whenever you happen to meet a pack member, it mean's as an Insoli, you're fair game. Luna is sent on a case that sends her into Ghosttown, which is not policed for a reason. It's full of blood witches, that's the bad ones. It's also full of werewolves. She goes, because it's her job, and she confronts a delicious pack leader named Dmitri Sandovsky, a lucrative suspect in a recent murder. Luckily he didn't attack her, and neither did the rest of his pack.

Dmitri is after the victim's killer, because she was his mate. Vengeance is essential in pack lore, so Dmitri was out for blood. When Luna gets suspended from her job after suspicion leads her to the Assistant District Attorney's son, Dmitri and Luna team up to find the killer before more girls are killed.

Read it. You deserve it!

Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs (Book 1 of the Jane Jameson Series) by Molly Harper

2009-09-30T13:45:00.002-04:00

This was a genuine thrill ride from start to finish. I laughed a lot while reading this book, and it was very worth the read. I can't wait to read more in this series!

Jane Jameson, librarian, gets fired and instead of severance pay she gets a $25 gift certificate to Shenanigans the nearby grill/bar. While she's there wallowing in the reality that is unemployment she meets Gabriel, Mr. Tall Dark and Hansome. On her way home from Shenanigans Jane's car breaks down and she decides to walk the rest of the way home. The local drunk-hunting-enthusiast drives by, mistaking Jane for a deer and shoots her. Just before she dies, Gabriel comes to her aid and offers her the choice of living or dying. She chooses life. Three days later she wakes up and finds out her world really did change, but she didn't realize that she made the decision.

Soon, just as things start to heat up between Jane and Gabriel, someone is murdering other vampires and harassing Jane. But the vampires in the council believe Jane is the culprit of the murders. Jane needs to find this person before she gets killed by the council's justice or by the murderer. She doesn't know which one would be worse.

Glass Houses (Book 1 of the Morganville Vampires Series) by Rachel Caine

2009-09-22T17:16:00.002-04:00

I really enjoyed this young adult novel. I give it 4 out of 5 stars!

This book follows the story of Claire Danvers, a sixteen-year-old college freshman at the local college in Morganville, Texas. At the opening, she discovers that all her clothes were stolen from the laundry room. She finds that Monica and her friends were the culprits. When they confront her, Claire is left with a twisted ankle, bruises, and a nice black eye from a combination of a punch, slap, and a push down the stairs. All because Claire corrected Monica when she made a comment about WWII being caused by the Chinese. Big mistake. Claire sets out to find a new place to stay so she can avoid the dangers of Monica and company.

She finds a lovely house, aptly named Glass House and meets one of it's tenants, Eve. Eve is naturally concerned with the beating Claire no doubt endured. Eve brings her inside, where she introduces her to Shane, another tenant of the house. They feed her and let her sleep off the evening when she would then have to meet the head of the house, Michael.

Because Claire is so young, Michael tells her she cannot stay, she must find someplace else to live. When he discovers the identity of the person responsible for her bruised and sore body, he agrees to let her stay for awhile, enough so that she will have time to find someplace safe that is not the dorms.

Things start to get worse. Claire finds out from the Glass House tenants that vampires run the town of Morganville and they explain to her about the rules and the protections that many people have from vampires across the town. Claire didn't know if she could believe them, and then she met Brandon, a live vampire, who has his eyes set on her.

Eve, Shane, and Michael try to keep Claire safe as much as they can, but things start to escalate until they reach a point where they have to do something or all of them will be dead.

Bitten (Book 1 of the Women of the Otherworld Series) by Kelley Armstrong

2009-09-22T17:06:00.002-04:00

I give this book an enthusiastic 5 out 5 stars. 10 thumbs up! Kelley Armstrong knows how to write people. She drags you in from the get go and she keeps you reeled all the way to the end, leaving you yearning for more.

This book follows the story of Elena Michaels, werewolf. The world of the werewolves is much different than that of the myth and lore than roams the earth. Totally no more than 40 total werewolves known in the world, Elena is the ONLY female to ever survive a bite from a werewolf. Elena lives a normal human life with her live-in human boyfriend in Toronto, when Jeremy, her pack leader from New York calls her with need of help. After unsuccessful attempts at returning his call, she heads out to New York to find out what is happening. She finds out that a Mutt (werewolf not affiliated with the Pack) is wreaking havoc in the area. She is filled with bittersweet feelings about being home, being able to be her true self, werewolf included. She has her reservation about Clayton, though.

Clayton, mystery man, dedicated to his job of protecting the Pack and the Pack Leader, Jeremy, and his undying love for Elena. She has a history with Clayton, one that reveals a shocking discovery of betrayal from their past, that she must work to overcome.

When the danger of one Mutt becomes many working together as a collective against the Pack, Elena must work with the others to find the men causing such death and destruction in their territory. But when things start hitting close to home she is forced to face her true feelings for Clay and who she really is inside.

Street Magic (Book One of the Black London Series) by Caitlin Kittredge

2009-09-22T16:58:00.002-04:00

This book was a hoot 'n holler all around. I loved it. Although it was definitely dark and not really perky or "fun" like the sparring session between Merit and Ethan, but it was very good.

I have to admit, I really liked Jack's character. He has his problems, but he was definitely worth the fight. The book follows Pete Caldecott, a detective working for the wonderful Scotland Yard. When children start coming up missing, Pete meets an anonymous tipper to clue her in on the whereabouts of the child. She is shocked when she sees that Jack is the informant. Back from the dead, it seems, Jack had been killed many years ago and Pete was there to see it all. He is undoubtedly a drug addict and he is full of hostility, and Pete doesn't understand why.

Pete takes the information that Jack provides and finds the child, blind and seemily stripped of their life. When another child goes missing, Pete goes on a mission to find Jack and to get his help in saving the child. In order to save the children who are becoming prey to some very dark force in London, Jack and Pete must look beyond their differences to save the children and stay alive.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

2009-09-10T17:25:00.003-04:00

This book was pretty good. I give it 3 out of 5 stars. The reason: it was slightly depressing. Stop right there, don't think "I'm not going to read it" it is well worth it. The trajedy happens in the beginning.

Mia is the daughter of some really awesome parents, and elder sister to a pretty cool boy. Something happens, a major car accident. It leaves her parents instantly dead. She's in a coma, walking around as a ghost or astral projection of some kind. Her brother's well-being is not immediately known.

Mia has to decide whether or not she wants to stay or if she wants to let go and meet her parents, wherever they may be.

I really liked the way Forman went back and forth between the present and the past, giving us more in-depth look at Mia's life.

What does she choose? You need to read it and find out. I liked this book and recommend you read it.

Storm Front (Book 1 of the Dresden Files Series) by Jim Butcher

2009-09-10T17:11:00.003-04:00

This book was a hoot 'n holler book from start to finish. Sure it was tense at times, given there's a mad, crazy, loony wizard out there who's burning and bursting hearts from people's bodies. But I loved it, every step of the way.

Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a dry-witted bundle of fun when it comes to his sarcasm. I laughed from chapter 1 all the way through the end. If you are interested in audio versions, this one might just be for you. James Marsters (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is the narrator, and from what I've heard, he does a fantastic job with it.

So Harry is a wizard. He's even in the yellow pages as a serious investigator. Monica Sells contacts him about locating a missing husband. At the same time Detective Murphy with the police department shows him some gruesome murders that involved burning and then exploding hearts from two peoples' bodies. From here, Harry knows a wizard is responsible for the murders. When Gentleman Jonny Marcone steps in and asks Harry to "look the other way", things get interesting. Now he's got this wacko wizard trying to get him, and he's running out of time before his heart will erupt from his own chest.

But let's get back to the goods. I. Loved. This. Book. Hands down. I suggest you read it. There's lots of cool things in it and it will definitely leave you wanting to read more!

On another note The Dresden Files series was aired for 1 season on the SiFi channel. I haven't seen it, but it's on my list of things to see!

Some Girls Bite (Book 1 of the Chicagoland Vampires Series) by Chloe Neill

2009-09-10T17:01:00.004-04:00

I completely loved this book. I give it 5 out of 5 stars! As many books go, this wasn't the heart-stopping suspense-driven stuff that starts from the get-go. She starts out subtle. I loved that. We get to learn about Merit, just re-born as a vamp, the only option to save her life when she was attacked outside of University of Chicago.

Being the person she was prior to her death, Merit stood up to the man who saved her, who also happens to be the man called Master of his own house, called Cadogan. Ethan is his name. He is the epitome of sexy and not far into the book we get a huge dose of the chemistry that flows between Merit and Ethan. By this point I was trying not to drool all over the pages as I frantically, desperately wanted more of Merit and Ethan. Needless to say there is a rogue vampire on the loose. The very same that attacked Merit, thus ending her mortal life. So she must work to stay alive, and find out who is behind it all before more people die.

I can't wait for her next book to be released. It's called Friday Night Bites, and it's due to hit shelves October 6th! I highly recommend adding this to your reading list. I'm going to be adding it my shelves as soon as the money tree blooms in my favor.

The Summoning (Book 1 of the Darkest Powers Series) by Kelley Armstrong

2009-08-31T12:08:00.004-04:00

This was an outstanding book. I can't stress enough how much I really loved this book.

Following the case of Chloe Saunders, haunted with a strange childhood that included the tragic death of her mother, she finds that she is very different from other girls her age. She suddenly begins to see ghosts, and she is chased by one in her school before taken away to the hospital for psychic evaluations. She is then sent to the Lyle House to recouperate with other kids her age. She finds out that she has been diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Strange events begin to occur inside the walls of Lyle house, Derek and Simon begin to tell her that all is not what it seems. Chloe finds out that some other kids in the house harbor supernatural abilities. And she comes to the realization that she isn't Schizophrenic, she can actually see and communicate with ghosts. She's a Necromancer, with a very strong capability of raising the dead.

My only problem with this book was that it ended in a cliffhanger. I cannot wait to get my hands on book 2 to find out more of what happens. I highly recommend this book!

Nightwalker (Book 1 of the Dark Days Series) by Jocelynn Drake

2009-08-31T12:01:00.003-04:00

I give this book an enthusiastic 5 out of 5 stars. I absolutely loved this book. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

This book follows a very unique vampire named Mira. She has the ability to create fire, which is unheard of with her kind. She is charged with keeping the peace and maintaining secrecy in her area of the United States. Then Danaus shows up, he's tall, dark, and mysterious and very sexy. He's not a vampire, but he's a hunter. He's been killing off vampires in her area for weeks now, and she's ready to confront him.

Her world entirely unravels as she discovers through Danaus that the vampires' mortal enemies, the Naturi, have returned from their exile. No one believed that they could have returned. Now that Mira and Danaus have a much worse enemy to contend with, they are forced to trust each other and work together to stop them.

As Mira's past comes back to haunt her, she discovers some very unwelcome truth about the nightwalker she trusted with her life.

So, as I said. It is definitely worth reading. With all these books I find so fascinating and wonderful, I'm going to need to convert a whole room into a library before long.

The Hunger Games (Book 1 of the Hunger Games Series) by Suzanne Collins

2009-08-25T09:30:00.004-04:00

I'm going to give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I'd give it 5 out of 5, but there's a few things with which I have some issues.

Set many generations into the future, the world is a much different place. The United States have fallen and a new nation has risen in its place, Panem. With 13 districts outside the capitol, the people yearned for the days of their freedom. They tried to fight Panem, and as a permanent warning, they destroyed District 13 with what is believed to be nuclear bombs. The remaining 12 districts are mandated to watch the yearly Hunger Games which takes 1 boy and 1 girl from each of the 12 districts, places them in a big playing field, and they fight to the death until one is left alive.

There are some complicated rules, but essentially each person, ages 12-18 is entered, and every year the ballots compound. In order to help keep families afloat, many teens actually add more ballots to their plate through other efforts to remain alive or to sustain their families.

The story follows Katniss, a 16 year old girl, taking care of her mother and little sister, Prim (12 years old). Katniss is shocked when her sister's name is drawn, and she quickly volunteers her position to go to the games. The boy to accompany her is Peeta, the boy that risked himself to provide food for her before she realized she could sustain her family.

The two head off to the games with an unlikely edge over the others, making the rich in the capitol feel sympathy for them. Two in love, forced to fight each other.

To maintain not giving away any spoilers, I have to say I loved it up until the very end of this book. It is going to be a trilogy and I am sincerely hoping that my dear Katniss redeems herself. She royally made me angry at the end.

This is a young adult book with some violence and gore involved, but it's not too bad. Collins provides enough detail to the let the imagination take over. Though there are a few heart-wrenching parts, it is not a depressing story and it didn't really have a bad ending, there are two more books on the way! I highly recommend that you give this book a shot. Book 2, Catching Fire comes out on September 1!

ReVamped (Book 2 of the Void City Series) by J.F. Lewis

2009-08-21T15:25:00.004-04:00

This is the second novel in Lewis's Void City series. It did not disappoint. I give this one another enthusiastic two thumbs up!

Continuing the story of Eric and Tabitha as they try to make their way through life and all the mystery and madness that fills to the brim. Rachel, Tabitha's little sister, who was supposed to be dead, is alive and well, and has stolen Eric from her. Eric, having been blown to bits after four months is returned to his normal forgetful self, with some perks. His mustang is now a part of him. He lovingly names it Fang the 'Stang, as it is an undead car.

I truly love this car. It can drive itself, it can feed, and it's totally aware of what's going on. He's impervious to the sun, he can tint his windows to protect the vampires, if any, are inside.

This book is a struggle for Eric to fight the underlying cause of his problems from Staked. He just can't seem to figure out who is working for him, or against.

This book was full of laughs and I would recommend this book to anyone. I can't wait to hear more from this series!

Staked (Book 1 of the Void City Series) by J.F. Lewis

2009-08-21T15:11:00.004-04:00

Alright I thought about putting this off for a few days, but I just can't. I absolutely adored this book. It's the first of Lewis's Void City series. I give this book two thumbs up, way up!

It follows the story of Eric, a vampire suffering amnesia, who usually can't remember what happened only moments before. The book begins with Eric, just realizing he blacked out and killed a vampire he recognizes but can't place. He's attacked by a werewolf, but manages to survive. The sun comes up and a van comes to rescue him and take him home to his strip club, the Demon Heart, and neighboring vintage theater, the Pollux.

Eric's girlfriend, human, named Tabitha helps him feel better and, because Eric's such a softie, he finally agrees to turn Tabitha into a vampire. One thing after another happens as the local werewolves come after Eric for retribution, while Tabitha comes to terms with her new undead life.

This is a thrill ride you just can't resist. And, much like I experienced when readin' the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin, I laughed most of the way through it. I highly recommend reading this piece of überfun.

Visit Lewis's site for more information@ www.authoratlarge.com

Pleasantly Suprised!

2009-08-12T11:10:00.006-04:00

After some debacle after another, I was finally able to stop at the library last night to pick up Staked (the First of the Void City Series) by J. F. Lewis. Here is a synopsis from Lewis's website (http://www.authoratlarge.com/). You can also find him lurking around Twitter under the handle of @jf_lewis.

"Murder is a fact of life for the vampire Eric, owner of the DemonHeart strip club in Void City, but when he kills a werewolf in self-defense, things get wildly out of hand. Though the local Alpha and his pack of born-again lycanthropes are out for holy retribution, they're the least of Eric's worries when he finds himself caught between his girlfriend Tabitha, who has always wanted to be a vampire, and her sexy little sister Rachel, a tantric witch with a hidden agenda.

Why can't unlife be easy? All Eric wants to do is run his club, drink a little blood and be left alone.

In his quest to discover who is trying to end him and why, he must survive car crashes, embalming, sunlight, tantric magic, and werewolves on ice as well as his own nasty temper, forgetfulness, and mistakes. More diamond in the sewer than diamond in the rough, Eric is willing to take on the world in Staked, a book where love just might conquer all, even if it is twisted, evil, and undead."

As you might be able to guess, I'm really looking forward to reading this little piece of heaven!

While trying to find the book and the Book Depository, I stumbled on 3 others with my name written all over them. I hadn't received an email telling me they were ready to go, but I was very pleased nonetheless.

The other books I picked up:

ReVamped (the Second of the Void City Series) by J. F. Lewis. Assuming as though I'll enjoy Staked, which I have no reason to think I wouldn't considering what I've already read from the juicy book. Synopsis? Yes!!

"Eric has lost his strip club, his Mustang, and even Marilyn, the love of his (mortal) life. Even his body was obliterated. In short, they almost got him. But when you're a vampire, "almost" is a very important word. With a little magical help from his friends, Eric is restored to corporeal form, but his treasured Mustang gets caught up in the sorcery as well and ends up with an unlife of its own. Now, along with "Fang the Stang," he's out to save Marilyn from one of Void-City's most powerful soul-stealing demons. But salvation comes at a high price, forcing Eric to venture into his own worst nightmare, Vampire High Society, to uncover the truth about the origin of his powers.

At the same time, Eric's ex-girlfriend Tabitha, has begun to wonder exactly what it was that she admired about those High Society vampires in the first place. Her quest to find her own place in this deceptively vicious circle may lead her right back to Eric's side, if her little sister Rachel doesn't kill her first.

Eric will need all the help he can get, because it looks like someone is out for his soul, too. Blood will flow, fangs will be bared, and the claws will come out, because revenge is never pretty... and Eric has plenty to pass around."

Nightwalkers (The First of the Dark Days Series) by Jocelynn Drake. This is another highly anticipated read on my list, and I can't wait to get to it! Drake's website (http://www.jocelynndrake.com/) has plenty of juicy goodness for your reading pleasure. You can find her dawdling on Twitter as @JocelynnDrake. Here's a synopsis from her site:

"For centuries Mira has been a nightwalker -- an unstoppable enforcer for a mysterious organization that manipulates earth-shaking events from the darkest shadows. But elemental mastery over fire sets her apart from others of her night-prowling breed...and may be all that prevents her doom.

The foe she now faces is human: the vampire hunter called Danaus, who has already destroyed so many undead. For Mira, the time has come to hunt or be hunted.

But in a dimension just beyond the worlds boundaries, a banished race stirs dangerously, hungry for power, for domination, for vengeance. Already a protective seal has been breached: already blood flows like a river through the world's great cities.

And only the collaboration of two sworn enemies can save humankind...and its ferel brethern."

Ah, yes, sweet music to my ears! Moving along!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book is the first of a trilogy and I thought it might be worthwhile to read. Here's a synopsis from her website (http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/index.htm):

"Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When her sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place."

Needless to say it's going to be a fun-filled few weeks in store for me. I have about a dozen more books that I'm waiting for at the library, so that list is just going to keep on growing.

Stay tuned..

Edge of Desire by Rhyannon Byrd

2009-08-10T14:21:00.002-04:00

This is the third book in the Primal Instinct Series. It follows the journey of Riley Buchanan, sent to recover a weapon buried in the woods behind an Inn that happens to be run by the woman who got away from him when he was younger.

While they struggle to uncover the weapon, the feelings that Riley feels for Hope and the awakening of his Merrick inside of him. He struggles against the love that he feels never left them so many years ago. But he tells himself he cannot bring her into his mess as his ancient enemy, the Casus, comes for him. He will take what she offers to finally awaken his Merrick and leave. But he is becoming increasingly aware of the lie he tells himself.

The Edge of Danger by Rhyannon Byrd

2009-08-10T14:16:00.002-04:00

This is the second book in the Primal Instinct Series by Rhyannon Byrd. This book follows the youngest sibling in the Buchanan family named Saige. She's an archaeologist working to uncover the weapons the Merrick can use to truly defeat the Casus. Michael Quinn, a watchman sent to bring her to the safety of the compound to learn about the thirsty thing inside of her, is overrun by his intense feelings for her.

As Saige's Merrick grows stronger, and she craves blood more and more, Quinn must destroy her innocence so that she can get what she needs for her Merrick to thrive. This is the epic battle for Saige to reach the safety of the compound and learn to use the Merrick inside of her.

Edge of Hunger by Rhyannon Byrd

2009-08-10T14:02:00.002-04:00

I read this a few months ago, and by request of one of my loyal readers and friends, I am here to post my review of this lovely series. I loved all three books of this series, and now a Prequel has been released in e-book format, which I will be purchasing soon! Again, this series is a Paranormal Romance, which means all kiddies out there need to steer clear of this until they reach a better age.

These books faithfully follow the Buchanan family. Beginning with Ian in Edge of Danger. Ian fears the darkness inside him, and he's spend the majority of his life running from it. Until a beautiful woman by the name of Molly Stratton enters his life to give him a message from his mother, from beyond the grave. Molly and Ian enter into the same dream, and they realize the darkness is much closer than either of them ever anticipated.

Ian struggles against the urges he feels for Molly, and fears the thirst he begins to feel. But the message his deceased mother passes along is that of a warning. Their great enemy is on the loose, and hunting him. He must control his thirst before it overtakes him.

Thus begins the realization of the ancient Merrick and Casus feud that will leave you thirsting for more.

Spider-Touched by Jory Strong

2009-08-10T13:38:00.003-04:00

This book lived up to the potential left in the wake of Ghostland. I was very enthralled with it immediately. I just couldn't put it down. Loved it thoroughly. Just like Ghostland, this book isn't for the kiddies. It's got some serious lovin' in it, and if this is something they might want to read, they'll need to wait 'till they're older.

This book follows Araña. She's a young woman with the mark of demon. A spider. This spider makes skin-to-skin touch deadly, so Araña is forced to go through life without physical touch from a mortal. The spider moves into places that best suit the situation for her protection. At the beginning of the story she and her "family", for all intents and purposes, make their way on the boat Constellation to Oakland. Matthew and Erik are a couple, and Erik is sick with the wasting disease, and they've come to Oakland to find a healer. The problem is that the trio are thieves, and conduct justice when they find it appropriate. Who could find fault in executing a child molester?

The guard immediately catch on that they've arrived and they are ambushed. Araña is the sole survivor and she is turned over to run the maze, which is essentially the post-apocalyptic version of gladiators (criminals) vs. gladiators (Weres). The maze is also patrolled by a Djinn named Abijah, who is stuck to perform at the whim of his master.

Araña survives the maze and later ambushes a trapper's truck on it's way to deliver more gambling fodder to the owners. Tir is on board. He's an immortal, who has lost his memory from being imprisoned for so long. Araña risks her life to free him and she succeeds in doing so, but the collar that binds his memory still remains on his neck. Tir and Araña embark on an entangling journey of lust, passion, and love Even the spider comes to crave the touch of Tir. They work together as Araña seeks revenge for the men who killed Matthew and Erik, and Tir struggles to be free of his collar and seek revenge on those that enslaved him and gave him this life of torture.

I was very pleased to see Aziel in this book, and even more happy when the Wrainwright witches returned as well. But I was the most pleased when Aisling and Zurael came into the picture yet again to assist in Araña's journey. I can't wait to see more of this post-apocalyptic world that Araña and Tir, Aisling and Zurael have come to find love in. Who's next in the game of the heavens?

Blue Moon (Book 2 of the Immortals Series) by Alyson Noel

2009-08-06T12:10:00.005-04:00

This is the second book in the Immortals series by Alyson Noel. I really enjoyed this one too. My only qualm, it ended very abruptly.

This book follows Ever Bloom again, struggling to learn how to be an immortal. Damen, her immortal boyfriend is trying to teach her. A new boy comes to school by the name of Roman, and everything changes. Damen starts to get sick. The whole school, including Damen work against her. Ever doesn't know where to turn for help.

Again, I can't say too much or it'll give everything away! But if you like Evermore, I really suggest you keep on reading. Look out for book 3, coming in February 2010 called Shadowland.

Evermore (Book 1 of the Immortals Series) by Alyson Noel

2009-08-06T12:01:00.003-04:00

I had so much fun reading this book. I read it in a day, and couldn't wait to start on the second of the series.

This book follows Ever Bloom, struck by the tragedy of losing her entire family. After a long time in recovery at the hospital, she moves from her hometown of Eugene, Oregon to Laguna Beach to live with her aunt, Sabine. The trouble with all of this is that Ever died, but came back to life, and when she came back, she had some, should we say, problems. She was psychic. She could read minds, see someone's entire life just by their touch, and much more.

A new guy comes to town named Damen Auguste that she intently tries to ignore, but he doesn't let up. Caught in a whirlwind romance, that's filled with confusion brings her to the fight for her life as she uncovers the truth about her beloved.

I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just leave it at that. This book was worthwhile and I really liked it. It's a quick read too, so you'll be ready for the next fairly quickly.

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

2009-08-03T17:11:00.004-04:00

I give this book an enthusiastic 5 stars, 2 thumbs up, what-have-you!! I was absolutely floored.

When the book started out, I admit I was a little confused as to what was going on, but once I realized the Theatre Illuminata is actually a magical place, I understood how so much could go on and happen at a moments notice. I was a few hours into reading when this dawned on me, although if I really understood that to start with I would have enjoyed the beginning a bit more. No worries though! It did a very nice job at redeeming itself from it's early confuzzlements. This book follows the story of Bertie. She was left so-to-speak at the doorstep of the theater as a young child and she struggled to make her world livable within the theater.

She made friends, most notably the four troublesome fairies. On a side note, I loved the fairies, they were every bit as annoying and lovable as I imagined they could be. Bertie had a growing attraction for Nate, a pirate from The Little Mermaid but the mysterious Ariel has other agendas for Bertie and the theatre as a whole. When Bertie's entire existence at the theatre is threatened, she steps up her game to become a director. Many things go wrong and in the end she and her friends set off to rescue a member of the theatre.

Honestly, I cannot wait until the next one arrives on bookshelves. Even though I bought the book on the day it was released, I put it off, thinking I'd be able to draw out a good thing. I wish I had read it earlier, it was just too good! But not in a bad way, never.

Ms. Mantchev, keep 'em coming. To be honest, I think that the original idea of a trilogy could be very easily made into a full-length series! I would love to see more and more and more of Bertie and the rest of the gang.

Anyone out there who has read any Shakespeare or seen any plays in a theater that you found unforgettable, anyone who has read a fantasy book, anyone in general. You. Have. Got. To. Read. This. Book. I cannot recommend it more!

Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison

2009-07-29T17:03:00.003-04:00

As you guys read from Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper short story here, she's dead managing a physical form by a powerful amulet that hangs around her neck. As I mentioned, there's a difference between a dark reaper and a light reaper. Light reapers believe in choice, dark in fate. There is only one Timekeeper on either side who pass the orders down to the reapers. Kairos, or Seth as we knew him in the short story is the dark Timekeeper. Keeping up? Good. Madison roughed him up in the morgue and stole his amulet and made it her own. From there on, she has a constant struggle of staying "alive" or not getting her soul destroyed by Kairos. Barnabas is instructed by the light Timekeeper to watch over Madison and keep her safe. They run into some trouble on some campgrounds when a reaper tries to off a girl. Madison and Barnabas prevent the reaping, but they get identified. Barnabas and the light Timekeeper must then go to the Seraphs (higher-up angels and such) to see what they can do for Madison, leaving her in the care of a cherub, which reminds me of the Pixy Jenks in Harrison's Hollows series.

Kairos attempts to off Josh, the guy who originally took Maddy to the prom, Mr. Pity-Date. Madison sets out to keep him safe. She learns some nifty tricks and names her flying guardian angel Grace. Grace agrees to keep Josh safe, since apparently he's a target. From then on, it's a struggle not only for her own life, but Josh's as well. But I'm not going to give away the ending. It's too good to kiss-and-tell.

Harrison delivers another series with twists and turns and crazy shenanigans of dead girl Madison. As I said before, I like Madison, and this book did not disappoint. It's just another one of those paranormal worlds living right under our noses. Go read this, I promise you won't regret it.

Prom Nights from Hell "Hell on Earth" by Stephenie Meyer

2009-07-28T10:19:00.002-04:00

Alright, this one was not a good story. It follows Gabe and Sheba. Gabe is a nice guy. Sheba seems to delight in people misery, and the prom was definitely full of it. Turns out that Sheba is a lowly demon who's job is to bring peril and misery to people. She's doing a good job despite the good works of Gabe. We learn some details of the demon heirarchy through Jezebel, Sheba's sister, who happens to be higher up. Sheba is bent on causing Gabe some pain, but then something happens. Gabe senses she's in distress and he's wanting to help her. He's actually half-angel so when he catches Sheba's eyes she starts to feel content and happy. Once she's under his spell the only way it can be broken is if he tells her to go to hell.

I can see the practicality of it, but a full demon shouldn't be caught by a half-angel so quickly. It was okay for what it was.

Prom Nights from Hell "Kiss and Tell" by Michele Jaffe

2009-07-28T10:08:00.004-04:00

We follow the story of Miranda, modern-day Wonder Woman. She's fast, she's strong, and she knows how to kick butt. As of late, she's been working under the radar deterring crime in some really funny ways. For instance one purse-snatcher is tied to a fence by a yo-yo string, or a gun knocked out of a robber's hand by a Pez dispenser. She moonlights as a limo driver on her days/nights off school. Today is prom, and she's working. She picks up a fourteen-year-old girl who clearly idolizes Madonna's racier days who tries to kiss every boy she comes across. After a stop at a burger joint and a donut shop, they arrive at their destination. Miranda notices something's not right. She quietly goes back and listens in, realizing the people are trying to get information out of the girl and threatening bodily harm. The man who planned to do the harm was a local police deputy. Miranda crashes through the window and grabs the girl and they retreat to her limo. They decide to head to the prom to blend in. Undoubtedly, the prom is crashed by the people trying to abduct the girl, the deputy included. They clear out the room by claiming a bomb threat was called in. Miranda acts quickly and takes down a few guys. She catches up to the deputy and he say's he's there to help her. She follows his plan and goes back tot he principals office. Both girls were disguised as roller derby girls and the deputy came to take the item of interest to safety before coming back to Miranda. He attacks her and starts to strangle her and just when she loses consciousness, the girl comes to her rescue. Only it's Miranda. The girl being strangled was the one Miranda wanted to protect. She wakes up a few minutes later and they leave safe-and-sound.

I liked this story very much. Jaffe didn't explain much about the origins of both girls but I found them to work very well together. I wish Jaffe would actually do as Harrison has done and turn this story into a novel. I would highly enjoy seeing more of Miranda.

Prom Nights from Hell "Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper" by Kim Harrison

2009-07-28T09:57:00.003-04:00

This is the prelude to Kim Harrison's teen novel "Once Dead, Twice Shy" of which I'm almost halfway through. I really like Madison, she's smart and she seems to take care of herself pretty well. While at prom, she gets angry with her date, Josh, because he tells her she was a pity date. She then finds the mysterious and sexy Seth, who dances with her like no one she's ever met, he even kissed her. He offered to take her home and she gladly accepted. Only after she was in the car and they were driving did any warning bells go off in her head. Before she knew it the black converible was fliping down a deep ravine. She miraculously survives, only to find Seth standing at her mangled door with a huge knife. He slices her abdomen, but it wafted right through her, then everything faded to black as Josh reached her side. She then wakes up in the morgue and realizes she is truly dead. Barnabas tries to explain everything to her but then they are interrupted by Seth, come to collect Madison's soul and body. She manages to defend herself very well and snatches his amulet, which keeps her looking like a person and not a ghost, and runs off with it. She is allowed to continue with her life with Barnabas looking out for her, and his boss, Ron, works on the problem at hand.

I really liked this story. Madison seems like the seventeen-year-old that everone else seems to be missing. She has her independence and she's not a child about anything either. This explains the backstory of the tragic event that ends Madison's life. If anyone is planning to read "Once Dead, Twice Shy" you should read this first, it will save much confusion later on down the road.

Prom Nights from Hell "The Corsage" by Lauren Myracle

2009-07-28T09:48:00.002-04:00

Frankie is our heroine, who just so happens to be in love with her best friend Will. She's desperately waiting for him to ask her to prom. They go to get their fortunes read along with their friend Yun Sun by the mysterious Madame Zanzibar. Highly disappointed, they start asking about the various props throughout the reading room. They then land on the corsage, whch M. Z. warns gives three wishes, but those wishes always end badly. Frankie takes the corsage and once they get back to her house for pizza and movies, she makes her first wish. Will runs off and gets himself killed while trying to spraypaint "Frankie, will you go to prom with me" on the town's watertower some 300 feet in the air. All the way up to the night of prom, Frankie's in a daze and then realizes she can make him take her to prom after all. Moments later someone's walking up her drive and knocks on the door. It's zombie Will. Frankie gets scared and wishes for it to end. Thus, the end.

You would think juniors in high school would be a bit smarter than to do stupid stuff like both Frankie and Will did in this story. Frankie, at least, acted like a 12 year old, which reminded me of Raven from Vampire Kisses. I was sorely not impressed. Who goes to the local watertower to spraypaint on a cool damp night? If you get beyond that, the message is still clear, be careful what you wish for.

Prom Nights From Hell "The Exterminator's Daughter" by Meg Cabot

2009-07-28T09:37:00.002-04:00

Dracula's son is stalking Mary's high school, and she discovers this days before the prom. She is waiting for him at a club, with her best friend in tow, completely under his spell. Just when she's about to pull the trigger of her crossbow, someone shoots Drake with ketchup through a water pistol. He sees his would-be killer along with the guy who shot him with ketchup and disappears. The rest happens rather quickly. The prankster-shooting-ketchup guy finds out about what drake really is from Mary, and they set out together to catch him at the prom. Drake lures Mary away and is about to bite her when her newly recruited prankster as backup shoots Drake and voila problem averted. Except they were going to have to deal with the very upset Dracula at the death of his son.

Well, I wasn't horribly impressed with this story. I understand the lore of the vampire and how they can undoubtedly put people under their spells, but I had pegged Drake as being more like his father. Why parade through school and put a girl under your spell if you're just drawing out the ultimate death. Why tag a slayer and then lure her with tenderness and care? I imagine Dracula would have been furious at the actions of his son.

The Hollows Series, Book 1, Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

2009-07-23T13:27:00.005-04:00

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I give it 5 stars!

This story follows Rachel Morgan a witch and a runner (cop, basically) that arrests Inderlanders (supernaturals) for doing something illegal. She works for the illustrious I.S. (Inderland Security) that monitors the goings-on in The Hollows, the supernatural ghetto of Cincinnati. The Federal Inderland Bureau is the agency that works on the human side of Cincinnati, and they are constantly competing for the best image.

Runners have contracts lasting, on average, about 30 years. If a runner quits, there is typically a death threat out on them. Rachel decides to quit after months of being given bottom-of-the-barrel assignments, knowing she might just get away without the death threat because her boss hates her.

Her former partner at the I.S., Ivy, is a living vampire. This is where the lore of traditional vampire stories differ. Living vampires are those that have been infected with the virus, but they aren't yet undead. They can be outside during the day, they crave blood, and they do have vampire strength and speed (just not quite as much as an undead vampire). Ivy is the star runner at the I.S. and when Rachel tells her that she's going to quit, Ivy jumps on the wagon too, wanting to join her.

Rachel's sidekick, a hilariously talented pixy, named Jenks, is about four inches tall and has wings, just like fairies do. But don't tell him he's a fairy! Pixies and Fairies have a long history of wars and troubles. Fairies are usually the preferred sidekicks of runners, but Rachel was handed this mouthy pixy after a "frog incident" we never really discover the details about. He wants to quit the I.S. too, and work with both Ivy and Rachel, under the condition that he, his wife Matalina and his plethora of children were able to live with them. Because pixies have such short life-spans in the I.S. they aren't put under an obligation of a contract, because most pixies die within a few short years of working. Jenks wouldn't have to worry about a price over his head.

Rachel tells her boss that she's quitting and he rips up her contract in front of her, telling her to get out, and that he was glad she was quitting, no death threats involved. Then Ivy went in and dropped the bomb with enough money to buy off her contract so they wouldn't come after her. She stormed out, and left an angry ex-boss to contend with Rachel, still packing up her belongings. The death threat was on against Rachel using the money Ivy just gave him, because she was taking the best runner they had.

Rachel has to fight for her life and try to find a way for the I.S. to back off on the death threat. It seemed as though one thing after another happened, but it was a great ride nonetheless. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Jenks was a supporting character, but definitely my favorite of them all. He was funny, witty, quick, and very good at his job. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of him. My favorite line of Rachels' regarding the deliciously good looks of Jenks, "Color me Thumbelina and I'll be a happy girl."

I'm thinking this is yet another series, one that's going to be gracing my shelves, and not being rented over and over again from the library. And I highly recommend anyone enjoying paranormal, urban fantasy or what-have-you to read this series!

The problem, of course, is that there is a waiting list for book 2, so I'm moving temporarily on to Once Dead, Twice Shy, a Young Adult novel by Kim Harrison, to tide me over.

Ghostland by Jory Strong

2009-07-20T10:36:00.002-04:00

I have finished reading Ghostland by Jory Strong. I am giving this book a full 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Reader beware though, this is an Urban Fantasy Romance, which means you kiddies out there would probably need to wait a few years before reading it.

This book follows the story of a young woman named Aisling in a post-apocalyptic world filled with devastation and destruction aftermath. The supernaturals: vampires, werewolves, demons, angels, etc have surfaced and hunt in the night. Aisling is a Shamaness, with the ability to travel into the spiritlands or Ghostland to communicate with the dead, or find answers, depending on the request of her customers.

When she was summoned to help with a case involving the Church, she called upon an unknown being named Zurael to help her with her task. Zurael is a prince in the House of the Serpent among the Djinn, neither good nor evil, but portrayed as demons in the real world. He fears only one thing, becoming ifrit which means being permanently bound to a human to do their bidding.

He leaves his lands to seek justice against Aisling, because he fears that she would be able to bind him, but when he finds her, he cannot kill her. He protects her, using her as bait to find an ancient relic to keep the knowledge of how to bind a Djinn before going through his plan to kill her.

This was a fantastic story, and I'm planning on adding this to my permanent collection. I highly suggest you read this!

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

2009-07-16T08:01:00.007-04:00

Um, where to begin? I'm giving this a generous 3 out of 5 stars. Why? I didn't buy it. Maybe a similar sixteen year old would buy it, I don't know.

A sixteen year old girl has wanted to be a vampire her whole life but when a new family moves into town in the town's famed haunted mansion, she goes on a mission to find out the truth. Some breaking and entering and a bully with spray paint later, she's invited to have dinner with the son, who just so happens to be her age.

She's pretty brave considering she's never had a boyfriend before, because she tries to get him to kiss her from the get go. Once he does, he moves to the nibbles on the neck and her clumsy self knocks a drink onto him and his reaction to the cold liquid causes him to bite down.

She's "in love" and acts like a twelve year old, like a giddy mall frequenter. Complete with screaming when he comes to pick her up to go to the Snow Ball. I've met twelve year olds who are more mature than this chick. If a girl is goin' to act so friggin' stupid, she is definitely not old enough to feel true love, if she did it'd mature her up right quick. It's worth a read, even if its for a laugh. It's quick too.

I won't give away the rest of the goodies, but it definitely wasn't hard to guess what happens in the end.

I'm not saying that Ms. Schreiber wrote a bad book, I'm just saying the characters just rubbed me the wrong way. It's at least worth a look-see. Let me know what you think of it!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

2009-07-14T14:03:00.004-04:00

I must say I was completely floored by this book. I wasn't expectin' it to be quite so insanely intense! Anyhoo, I'm going to break it down, be careful though, there may be some spoilers ahead.

So this book is 'bout a girl named Mary. She lives in a secluded village in the middle of a forest, aptly named the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Their village is surrounded also by a fence, a border to keep the villagers safe from the Unconsecrated. Now, Ryan doesn't really come out and say what they really are, but based on the lore of the history of Zombies, I'd be willin' to bet moolah that that's what's happenin'. So it's many generations in the future, based on the decrepit pictures and old clippings of newspaper that are discovered along Mary's journey.

Mary loses her mother to the Unconsecrated at the beginning of the book, and her elder brother casts her out and she's forced to join the Sisterhood, much like a nunery. These Sisters run the town, and Mary is given the responsibility of praying over her childhood friend, her love, Travis after he breaks his leg. She discovers a horrendous secret that the Sisters have been hiding from them, they even "create" a Fast One, an Unconsecrated with unparalleled speed and agility, making her extremely dangerous.

Days later, the Fast One finds a way to break through the fence and a breach into the village is created. Many are massacred in front of Mary's eyes, and the only refuge they can find is a pathway away from the village that is safeguarded by an unbreached fence. Mary, a young boy, her childhood friends, her dog, and her brother and wife are with her.

It seems as though one thing after another happens, until eventually, the last one left is Mary.

This book will seriously make you think. Sometimes I thought Mary was a bit too dreamy for her own good, but she stood up and fought when it was necessary. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but it definitely leaves me thinking, as it would anyone else who reads it. I highly recommend it.

I Blow a Raspberry at Thee!

2009-07-09T14:40:00.003-04:00

I'm just kiddin'! So I thought in my immense amount of boredom at the lack of a computer network, that I'd spell out what I've got a cookin' in mah brain. I swear, it's like wielding one of those humongo swatting swords that explorers use when trekking through jungles. The vines, and weeds. Trees, 'n plants. Poison even. It's all marred up in that noggin' a mine and I'm thinking it's about time to spill a little while the mood strikes like a hot vampire itching for some neckin'!

I know, you're thinking, "Alright already, get with the goods!" Okay, fine, I do like to drag it out a bit, forgive me for indulging. It's just überfun to mess with you guys.

I'm goin' to dish out a few words of advice at this point before I really dive in to a huge vat of grapes and give ya the goods. Ready? Okay, here goes.

The library can be a godsend.

Wait, don't run off now! Just hear me out, you might be suprised at gettin' a bitta logic.

The times are tough, money is tight and you're itchin' to read that new dig that's just crawlin' under your skin like a leech that won't quit. Solution? It's free, you can usually get your grabbers ahold of them within a few weeks at WORST if there's a long wait.

I've found this little trick to come in rather handy in itchy situations. Observe. Let me lay out the scene:

You read the back of a book and it sounds like it could be pretty decent. You buy it, read it, and it's the most complicated, dence, choppy piece of donkey bologna that you immediately want to throw it away, knowing half.com won't pull more than 50 cents for ripping a black hole through your head that you'll never get back again.

So whaddya do?

Rent. It. From. The. Library. It's just that simple. Get it, read it, and if you happen to like it enough to read it again, it might be time to bite the bullet and add it to your bookshelf, where those worthy suckers actually belong.

I have to say I've had some significant luck in this department this summer. I'm readin the Jaz Parks series at the moment. I'm at the third installment and I'm about to explode if Jaz and Vayl don't get on with it. I saw the first book at the bookstore and I thought, "sounds cool". But I perservered and rented the set from the book depository. I'm so pleased I'm gonna drop the bomb on the hubby in the near future and spend a small fortune on mah new babies.

As y'all have 'bout noticed from Lee's blog that I'm a bit weird. Maybe slightly eccentric. Perhaps crazy. I'll buy that one. But hey, I'm lovin' every minute of being me. So while I've got y'all waitin' hand and foot at my new endeavors. Listen up!

My novel is still in the relatively "new" stage, so I won't get to the nitty gritty. Here's the gist of the thing:

Our heroine's a witch. Not the kind of witch that chants to the moon and wishes for all the good in the world. She had a bad childhood, marred by an evil father, responsible for the death of her mother. She was pushed over the edge when she was forced to watch her beloved dog die a slow and tragic death. She dedicated herself to the craft and was given the power to stand up and fight. She stumbles on her newfound powers at night, in the park. She can see through any other's eyes and she can also move things with her mind.

One perk of the gifted: auras. They glow, change color and texture as a person's emotions, horomones, or actions change. Only those who are gifted can see these auras around people.

She startles a werewolf and is nearly ripped to shreds when a man saves her. He's a witch too, with a dark past. As he takes her under his wing and teaches her about the craft and how to handle her powers, a religious fanatical group is after her. And they won't stop until they have her life. They have to figure out how to keep her alive, and keep their secret before it's too late.

Sink your teeth into that juicy goodness. So whaddya think? Mop up the drool from your keyboard and cheer me on. Encouragement is the best driver to gettin' things done. I'd hate to end up like those people who haven't begun to procrastinate. No, that wouldn't be good.

Ah, the joys of books!

2009-07-08T14:06:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share with you a piece that I contributed to Lee A. Verday's Guest Blog found here. Full of fun and pizzaz, I'm about to embark on some fun blogging adventures, complete with book reviews, music likes and dislikes, movies and television show raving and pillaging, among much more. So come with me for one of the first of many to come.

I want to start off by thanking Lee for this wonderful opportunity. I have been following Lee's progress and I am just amazed at how much he does to help his wonderful wife, Jessica. I am very highly looking forward to reading The Hollow, as September 1st cannot come fast enough!

Books are food for the soul, without them, dreams can't come true.

Just like Mitali, I have been reading since I was little. I have also been writing. And crafting. I have always been creative and I've always loved diving head-first into new worlds and exploring everything books had to offer. I am currently writing my first novel and I hope maybe one day I'll be able to inspire someone the way I have been inspired. When I was little, I remember how much I loved Dr. Seuss books that graduated to R.L. Stein's Goosebumps books, and then I stumbled on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I couldn't understand why so many kids in school couldn't understand his fluid, poetic words. They were like music to my ears.

I naturally had an affinity for "scary stories" and the paranormal, I always have. I remember one stormy summer afternoon when I was about 7 or 8 years old. My mother let my brother and I watch a movie called "It", adapted from a book of the same name written by renound author, Stephen King. I was floored. I was scared out of my mind at the clown. Mr. Curry still creeps me out when I imagine him in character as Pennywise the Clown. It marked me. To this day I am still afraid of clowns, thanks to Mr. King's brilliant mind! From that movie, I finally graduated to reading his books. I have a blog post in my MySpace account, found here, that explains just one of the few things that makes Mr. King so great at what he does. But, reader beware, it is graphical, as it is not a young adult book.

My absolute favorite book of Mr. King's is called Lisey's Story. It's about a widow dealing with the aftermath of her late husband's death. He was a brilliant writer (writing books much like what Mr. King writes), and it turns out that he had a little gift of his own, that he had once shown her. Now, that gift all but forgotten, she is faced with a crazed man who wants to get his hands on her late husband's writings, and she must turn to the gifted memories locked away in her head to save her. Good stuff!

This summer alone I have read countless books. I've read the Twilight series so many times I've lost count, as sort of a guilty pleasure. I've read the Sookie Stackhouse series so much I could read it through and play it like one long movie in the back of my mind. I also recently read another series, my first Harlequins! It was good, as it was a paranormal romance series, called Primal Edge by Rhyannon Byrd, but that's not what I'm going to talk about here today.

I've read The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. I followed that book as if I was living in Connie's shoes. It was amazing the amount of history I learned from that one book alone, about the infamouse happenings of the Salem Witch Trials. The concept of "what if" is a very strong one. Think about it. What if there were real witches in and around Salem? This is exactly what Ms. Howe did. She took this world and brought out a true witch, one with powers that are passed down to their daughters over generations. It really makes a person wonder. And that right there is why I loved this book so much.

Right now I'm reading the first book in the Jaz Parks series called Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Jennifer Rardin. I've laughed so many times I think my husband thinks I've about fallen off my rocker! It's a story about a girl working as an undercover government assasin, with the best witty and wry sense of humor I have ever encountered. Her boss is a very old, very yummy vampire named Vayl. I'm only about halfway through the first book but I believe it's going to be counted in the Sookie and Twilight books as one of the most read series' on my bookshelf.

UPDATE: I have finished Once Bitten, Twice Shy the first of the Jaz Parks series, and I'm working my way through Another One Bites the Dust. I've just gotten through the part where Vayl kisses Jaz for the first time just because she was aggravating him. He says, "That will teach you for pushing a vampire to his limit." Here's one thing I have to say about that: "Aggravate away Jaz! Provoke that deadly yet delicious vampire till dawn." -But that's just me. I'm going to outline all those books that I've mentioned above. I won't give away any spoilers unless I warn you at the beginning of the post. Until next time, boys and ghouls. Stay sharp out there!

Ah, the joys of a first purchase!

2009-03-20T08:23:00.004-04:00

I sold my first item last night. When I saw the email I was ecstatic!

This wallet was called Grape Jelly Mini Wallet. I'm going to list another one this weekend.

It's good to be a Phoenix

2009-02-27T16:33:00.002-05:00

Long days and nights of blood, sweat, and tears has finally paid off. Well not really, I don't sweat, I haven't poked myself enough to bleed, and I haven't cried over my creations. I take great care into my creations. I pride myself for being able to provide for others when others cannot.

I already have a handful of happy customers under my belt and I cannot wait to find more. I even learned of two prospective customers today, they may be asking for some items outside of my Etsy shop.

This weekend my to-do list includes making more wallets, hopefully I will get some done, but considering it took me two weeks to make 8 items, I'm hoping I can pull some wallets or Geek Pockets out in just 2.5 days!

I'm also planning on posting many more items, but I'm thinking to making a few things first and then posting the new items. I've tweaked my patterns here and there, and my old card pocket and wallet patterns (which were used for my first set of customers) is now old news. But never fear, the essentials are all the same, just changed the shapes a bit.

I purchased some new items yesterday for my line of jewelry that I'm very excited to announce! Keep an eye on my shop because I'm also planning on making a few and posting them!

Of course one of the best things about my new business is that I have Pumpkin warming my feet and Oreo guarding my back while I work.

Etsy Posting!

2009-02-27T09:43:00.002-05:00

After a few hard weeks of working to get items done for family, I have now posted two items on Etsy. More to come tonight and over the weekend! Head over to my Etsy shop to check them out! storiesofaphoenix.etsy.com

From Years Ago

2009-02-20T11:32:00.000-05:00

The bird flew away.

Let Me Fly

Across my face
The print of tears
Trickle down
Caused by the sweat-stained
Hand from which I received the blow

Drunken anger boils his blood
Glass shattered with rage
I wait in tears knowing he will find me
Cowering in a corner
With blood dripping from my nose

Locked in my prison
I cry myself to sleep
Listening to those harsh words
That flew from his mouth tonight
Knowing I am broken

I am trapped
In this hell
Of Eternal gloom
Set me free
Heal my Angel Wing

V for Vendetta, probably all the V's in the dictionary!

2009-02-20T11:30:00.001-05:00

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.

The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

Etsy on the way!

2009-02-10T21:47:00.001-05:00

Stories of a Phoenix has now dived into wallet and purse making!

I have many ideas and designs! From clutches, to different styles of wallets, even iPod, cell phone, and camera bags, shoulder bags, messenger bags, and so many more.

I'm even going to start my own Etsy shop to sell my spoils. I'm pleased to announce that my mother is going to start selling some of her massive collection of her handmade crocheted items! She has doilies galore and even more!

It's a mother-daughter adventure and I couldn't be more excited. Join me in my new endeavor!

New Crafting Adventure

2009-02-10T21:31:00.009-05:00

A gift from the gods

2009-02-05T10:47:00.003-05:00

Even when you don't feel well. Whether it be a sickness, a pain, or some emotion taking over, there are little things that can raise your spirits.

For instance take a cute, fluffy black dog named Oreo. Watch her curl up on the bed, drop her head to her paws and look up with puppy dog eyes. My heart melts every single time. If I'm sick or not feeling well for any reason, she seems to know what she needs to do to get my mind away if only for a few moments.

This is why I owe much of my life to her.

I'm gonna git you!

2009-02-03T17:21:00.003-05:00

Pumpkin looks on as Oreo has a playful showdown with a piece of food

Snow is a funny thing

2009-02-03T17:13:00.003-05:00

Early this morning, I struggled to get ready for work because it was snowing like a banshee outside and we needed extra driving time. We let Oreo and Pumpkin outside to do their morning business.

I couldn't help myself. I stopped and watched them. Their carefree dance in the snow was breathtaking. I could see the huge grins on their faces and it broke my heart when we had to call them in.

When we finally coerced them in, our normally black dogs were completely white! Of course it was only moments later the snow had melted off them and they were wet black dogs.

Seeing their happy faces has been the highlight of my day so far. I'm going to start a snow fight with them when I get home.

In the eyes of the hubby

2009-02-02T12:20:00.002-05:00

So yesterday as every other day, my hubby told Pumpkin that she is a disgrace to the canine community. Likewise to Mumbo, being a disgrace to the feline community. The reason being: a cat and dog totally in love with each other. They are inseparable. If one is sprawling out on the couch, the other is probably in plain view within physical contact, or the other is covered up!

Pumpkin is a serious snuggler and lap dog. Though she's a bit bigger than your average lap dog should be, that doesn't stop her at all. She will curl up right next to me on the couch, and then Mumbo will follow, curling up right up against her.

So while we were watching the Superbowl, they snoozed, nose to nose right next to me. I am warmed by the body heat of a dog and a cat, while my feet stay warm from Oreo snuggling with against them.

How lucky am I?

Nibble Muffins for dogs

2009-01-30T14:44:00.003-05:00

2 tablespoons honey
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon nutmeg
2 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup unsweetened chunky applesauce
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped
and lots of love

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl, mix together honey, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add water, applesauce, and egg. Mix well. Add nuts, stir. Spoon into a greased muffin tin, filling each cup two-thirds full. Bake 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. Allow time to cool, then store in a sealed container. Makes 16 muffins, and one really, really happy dog.

Moonlight and Dark

2009-01-29T17:20:00.001-05:00

by Stories of a Phoenix

A beautiful creature
Stands in front of me.
I am aware,
An open blooming flower,
Anticipating the warm
Rays of the sun.
It opens its mouth to speak,
Blood flows
From the scarlet lips.

Quick as a blur,
The creature sets me free.
I am aware,
Staring into the black
Eyes of the hunter,
I close my heart.
Gurgling onto the pavement,
Blood flows
From my own wound.

Now I start to fade,
Into the starry night.
I am aware
Of what I will become,
But I feel free,
Knowing my destiny.
Here I fall,
Blood flows
For the last time.

I am reborn,
A child of the darkness.
I am aware,
A beating heart,
Pumping and warm
Beats for a final minute,
And I make my first strike.
Blood flows,
I am consumed.

A few windgusts short of a blizzard

2009-01-29T11:47:00.004-05:00

Pour 12.5 inches of snow in a city and add people that always forget to drive in said weather. Mix well. The result: 3.5 hours to get home. As a garnish, include a day off work due to the city's inability to cope with significant snowfalls.

Though I'm sore from all the shoveling, it's always worth it to see the happiness bubbling out of your dogs. Seeing Oreo and Pumpkin having a blast romping in the snow is priceless.

My Lil Girl

2009-01-27T15:53:00.002-05:00

I'll be on the other side

2009-01-26T17:04:00.004-05:00

It's the end of another day, I'm ready to hit the trails toward home. It's a crisp cool afternoon in late January. The smell of Spring is in the air. Although it's far off from official springtime, I just can't wait for the fresh warm air. I especially enjoy the breeze billowing curtains at home, the sun shining in, and the dog walks.

Dog walking is one of the most enjoyable times you can have with your dog. Not only is it good for the dog to get exercise, but owners also have a chance to get exercise, all the while spending quality happy time with their best friend.

That's the perfect motivator for those of you who are wanting to shed a few pounds or just step up the activity. I know everytime I reach into our dogs' leash drawer, they go nuts, jumping and happy that they get to take a walk. It's fascinating to see a dog's face light up with the thought of getting out in the sun for a trek. It's an amazing feat to see your Border Collie jump three feet straight into the air because you've pulled out his leash, all the while sporting the biggest grin in history! That's what I call pure excitement.

So the next time you want to go for a hike in the woods, a stroll around the block, or a leisure trek through the park, remember to bring your buddy with you, and you will wonder why you ever left home without them.

It's the little things in life that make it worth living. I'll be on the other side of happiness tonight.

Creative Expanse

2009-01-25T15:52:00.004-05:00

So I've been reviewing some of HGTV.com's section called "Rate My Space". I have to say I am somewhat surprised by some of the examples that people have been willing to share with the world. Many have fallen in love with their space and want to share the glory with others looking for ideas of their own.

Being of the creative persuasion, I'm typically drawn to these things to gain more ideas of my own, and though I have some slight ideas to implement. The overall changes that I can make would be rather minimal.

As my cat ricochets across the room in a fit of frenzy, I feel comfortable with my living space. Though my life revolves around animals, I have to say that having a comfortable place for them, without sacrificing the look and feel of the home has really left me with a sense of accomplishment.

This blog is dedicated to my life, creativity, and animals. If something catches my fancy or tickles my creativity buttons, I will share them here. So come for the ideas, and stay for the stories. I'm here for the long haul, and as sparks fly from my fingertips, it's time to begin!

Enchanted

2009-01-24T11:02:00.006-05:00

Gliding through the world at the size of a nubbin catches envyous gazes. It's a still life. Easy. No conflicts.

Imagine a white sandy beach with the clearest turquoise water with no one around but you and your blissful existence. How carefree that would be.

But that is not the life I have and far from the life I had growing up. I live in a small town in Indiana, in a relatively new house, built only three years ago. I have a great husband, some great pets that I see as my children.

So my turning point mainly began with Oreo, our first dog.