Pencil-Pushers and Ink-Splotches

Time off

2011-08-06T10:09:00.001-04:00

Some of you might have noticed the slowing down of reviews by me on here over the last few months. What can I say other then life happens.

We had a series of postal strikes that has left me at times wondering if the books I was to review would ever make it here from their publishers. Some did.

I also had to make a choice, continue to spend my writing time working on the blogs or working on my own novel. After spending nearly three full years doing reviews -books and sports- I decided it was time to work on my novel again and to deal with a few of those life issues I had been avoiding.

The last review for now that I offer you is Tout Sweet by Karen Wheeler. A memoir she wrote when life got too much and she realized she needed a change. I can not disagree with the timing of that book coming into my life. It was pure synchronicity.

Please, do check in to the blog in the coming months, as I will be returning.

Tout Sweet by Karen Wheeler

2011-08-06T09:37:00.001-04:00

Plot: Karen has just come out of a bad break up and decides it's time to change her life. Leaving her career as a fashion editor, she goes to France with a friend for the weekend and ends up buying a house. Over the course of a year, she travels back and forth from England to France fixing up the new house in bits and pieces until she decides to move there on a full time basis. Having already established herself within the small village, we are taken into dinner parties, a few unsuitable suitors and the local gossip. During all this, Karen needs to remind herself that even though her ex-boyfriend is a few hours drive away, he's out of her life for good.

This is a memoir.

As a woman in my late 30's (at the time of this posting) I fell in step with her choices as I read the book. You understand the pull right off that a new city and a new country had for her at that point in her life. I thought it was a well designed suggestion that while the author was going through all of this, she kept mentioning a few books about moving to France that she too was reading. I am guessing that Julia Child had something of a role model for her on this regard.

We follow her through about two and a half years of her life as she fixes up her house, learns French and discovers who she can really trust as she learns who she herself really is.

A warm and light touch to what I am sure was a heavy time in the author's life. I would have loved to have found out just what the real issue between herself and one of the men she writes about, Dave, was. It's hinted at (an over active imagination of a relationship by Dave that never manifested) but never actually confirmed.
Her way of telling you about a pie is done with a flair you would expect from a fashion editor, but also from someone who knows food.

Karen Wheeler makes you want to take that risk yourself and just move to France.

Summer 2011

2011-06-19T11:54:00.000-04:00

I was interviewed recently over on Kindle Forever. You can read it here
It was different being on the other side of the questions for once.

Ex-Girlfriends United by Matt Dunn

2011-05-15T20:19:00.000-04:00

Plot: Edward is back with another break-up disaster. Only this time, it's not his it's his best friend. Dan Davis, a British tv personality has been unable to get a date for the last few weeks. With the help of the old gang, Edward, Sam and Wendy, we learn that Dan has been rated on a dating site. And not in a good way. Meanwhile, Jane, Edward's recent ex wants him back. Can Edward save Dan's reputation in time to save his own?

This is the second book in a great series of "guy-lit" by Matt Dunn. Even if you have not had the chance to read "Ex-boyfriend's Handbook" you will have no problem following the characters in it's followup.

It's a year after Edward's own life changing break up, and we find he's happily in a new relationship, barmaid Wendy is pregnant, and Dan has just landed a new role on a soap opera where he will be playing a character called "Wayne Kerr" a double dealing slime.

The writing is rich with humour and real with moments that you could swear were your own. (such as Dan not catching on to the double meaning of his soap opera character's name)
The author has managed to capture a few snapshots of what it's like to feel insecure and desperate without making it seem like the characters are less then normal.
I was surprised to see a new layer to the Dan character with a back history where we learn he's been dumped because of his career. This gave him an edge of reality in a world of fiction (his career as a celebrity) and causes you to not just cheer for him but to connect with the character that you couldn't in the first book.

Seeing Edward's arch come full circle from the first novel (from wanting his ex back to her wanting him when it was too late) helped to keep the human elements of confusion and honesty of his character in tact, which made him so joyful in the first place.

"Ex-Girlfriends United" is a lighthearted, sweet, fun way to peer into the minds of the modern man.

Just a note

2011-05-09T10:31:00.000-04:00

Dear Readers:

Hi. As you have come to know, I have been doing my best to keep this blog as professional as possible. (Since becoming a semi-professional reviewer) But I thought, I would take a few minutes and post something personal(ish) and off the records.
So to speak.

Let's start with a photo of the books you can expect to see make an appearance on this blog in the coming weeks.
Here they are, yes there is a few coming at you from the Paranormal genre.

One of the few books I've managed to get my hands on that is not for review (my sister bought it for me... okay I put it on order and she went to the store and picked it up but still...) is the letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto. I have been coveting this book for months and finally broke down and bought it.
Even though it's not part of the review list, I'm sure at some point I will make comments on it. If not on here then on my personal blogs (most likely my cooking blog)

See, even when I take a break from work (book reviews) my top thing to do for fun is read. My second is eat. The staff at my local grocery know me almost too well sometimes. But that's another blog for another time.

Love Kimberly.

Wickedly Charming by Kristine Grayson

2011-04-19T21:37:00.000-04:00

Plot: Mellie has been fighting what seems to be a loosing battle now for centuries. The image that was given to her because of her step-daughter Snow White.
Charming has grown older and just wants a normal life with his two daughters after his divorce from Cinderella.
Mellie and Charming bump into each other at a book fair in L.A. and decide they need to work together to change both their images. Soon the two are writing a novel together based on Mellie's side of the Snow White story. Before long, the cozy world they have created for themselves is threatened by members of the Fairy Tale Kingdoms. Does Prince Charming still have what it takes to be a hero to his favourite Evil Step-Mother or will reality crash their dreams?

Rarely do I find a novel that I think is just so unique that I wonder why I didn't think of it myself. This is that book.

This is a book about books. It's seen through the eyes of a book lover and a first time writer (the character not the author) which gives it a sweetness you almost never see. From the moment the two leads meet in an awkward hallway to the scene where they are in coffee shop battling side by side, you know their chemistry works on many levels.

We meet Mellie, in the middle of a protest for her group PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Archetypes- a woman who has been given a bad rap in her home world and is just trying to help those who are part of the Fairy Tale worlds. She is all business, and other then having a very long life span, no longer has any magic.
Already twice widowed, she's not looking for love or marriage or any of the trapping that come along with it. The only problem is, so far no one is taking her seriously as she tries to explain that the books are lies and step-mothers are not evil.

Charming, who is now calling himself Dave, does not see himself as the hero his stories paint him to be. He views himself as a divorced dad of two, who just wants to run a book store. Which is why he does not understand Mellie's protest or current desire to ban a large chunk of books. He manages to convince Mellie that her best way of getting people to listen is to use the media/medium to her advantage by writing a book on the very topic.

Both characters are given very human desires, insecurities, talents and issues that help to bind them to the real world, while still holding them in a fairy tale setting.
I loved the idea that both were attracted to the other for centuries (having meet years before at events) but are both too shy to react on it at first. Each having that give and take of feeling like they are the only one wanting the relationship adds major weight to their pairing. I loved how the author examined their personal insecurities while pointing out that they were not teenagers, but that love/lust at any age can cause misunderstandings.

This does more then just deliver a great budding romance, it puts some much needed value on not just step-moms, but older women. It also firmly establishes that women's fiction isn't just for women. One of the sub-plots is that Charming, is an advocate for the genre. The character of his oldest daughter also reinforces this idea later on when she makes a comment about how that's her dad's job, to stand up for damsels in distress.

With the hundreds of fairy tales out there, the choice of using Snow White and Cinderella as the backgrounds, was the author's ace. I giggled out loud at the idea of Cinderella (Ella in the book) being a gold digger of sorts. As well as the idea that Snow White was not as pure as she's been white washed to be (pardon the pun)

The author manages to bring you along two very different paths that somehow merger perfectly into one very emotional and believable plot. (Snow White's husband being a creepy Necrophiliac really makes you rethink that fairy tale's ending)

I'm told this is the first book in a Trilogy and I can only say, more more more!

Stilettos and Scoundrels by Laina Turner Molaski

2011-04-17T14:05:00.000-04:00

Plot: Presley just lost her job and has one chance at a new one. Get an interview with a local senator in her hometown for an internet magazine. Presley has made it a point not to be back much since leaving a decade before. Not much has changed, her old high school friends are still there living their lives, one of which is having an affair with the senator's wife. No sooner does Presley get to town to start her interview when a shockwave rings out; the senator has been murdered. Now everyone is a suspect. With the FBI and another female reporter suddenly on the scene, can Presley uncover the killer before they do and save her career, her friends and her hometown?

This is what happens when Murder She Wrote meets Sex and the City. It's brilliant.
The author manages to create a delicate good old fashioned murder mystery, with enough twists to keep you interested, while mixing in some modern moments of laughter. {the moment of silence for the Prada purse that gets a bullet} We are reminded more then once that the sharper the shoe, the deadlier the style. As the high heels are a focus throughout the novel. {Did the kill shot happen while in Manolos or Choos?}

Presley is a girl you would want to have on your side if you were battling your way through a sample sale at Dior. Tough, smart and never without style.
Cooper is a rebel with a cause. And the author managed to make their verbal sparing sizzle without making it cheesy.

There is a scene near the beginning of the novel, where our lead Presley catches the senator's wife doing something she might be suspect for, and up pops the character of Presley's dad to throw you in another direction. The slight of hand here is perfect with it's timing that for the next few chapters you start to suspect even her dad is part of the crimes that seem to be piling up around her.

The character(s) of her mother's women's group, are an interesting puzzle of their own. It lends itself to have a very Stepford Wives feel to it, drawing you around another possible twist. These were characters I would have loved to have seen more of, such as the character of Ruth; if for nothing but the fact the author hints at more deep dark secrets.
So many personalities collide throughout, weaving us back and forth within a pool of doubt. Giving us a glimpse at a place that could be the suburbs of any major city.

The love triangles here are many. Presley starts the story off with having just dumped a cheating boyfriend, returns to her hometown to be set up by her mother with her high school boyfriend, then falls in love with another ex-boyfriend.
We are then delivered into a maze of who is having an affair with who as the senator's wife is revealed to be unfaithful, at the same time as the now dead senator's mistresses pop up.

The idea that the best way to get to the bottom of a news story is still gossip, opens up the chance to have a few scenes set in both a beauty parlor and a coffee shop. These add a depth of warmth to the idea that we are indeed in a small town. Which, also gives Presley the chance to indulge in another vice all good reports have; coffee. I would love a coffee count on this story. There is even a small instance where coffee is the weapon of choice.

The only downfall I felt the author gave was with the character of Katy. The hometown best friend of the lead Presley. Katy starts off as a force to be reckoned with only to become a castoff near the last act. You're left wondering what happened to this character, both in the story and in "her life".

I understand this is the first book in a new series by the author, and personally can not wait to get my hands on the next installment.

Demons are a Girl's best Friend by Linda Wisdom

2011-03-29T12:05:00.000-04:00

Plot: Maggie is a 700 year old witch who works for the Guard. A group of top secret supernatural cops. The original Men in Black. Declan is a half demon of the fire breed who just wants to run a good old fashioned night club. One single mission puts Maggie in the line of his fire, for all the wrong reasons. The two find themselves partnered up to take care of a human teenager who holds the key to the ultimate portal. One that when opened will bring death and torture to all the worlds. Can they work together without letting their emotions get the better of them, or will they have to smolder the spark between them in order to save the world?

Witches, Shapeshifters, Demons, Vampires, Gnomes, Elves, an evil cult and talking jewellery. What more could you ask for.

This was a beautifully done character driven romance. The sex scenes were not too overpowering nor did they feel out of place.
In fact, there was a very quirky underscore in this romance, and that was finding not the perfect man, but one who was perfect enough with all his faults. As we see Elle, a magickal spider who wants nothing but to find a way to keep her lovers alive beyond one sex act. And Sybil, the Elf who is looking for someone who is more then just pretty.

Maggie's character, is a richly written woman, who's verbal wit could match anything Joss Whedon could have put into the mouth of his blonde heroine. And just as tough. Giving Maggie a back story of loss in the form of a dead sister, was a delicate balance to give some depth to her combat ready style.

Declan's character, at times leaned very much towards that of an incubus (of which the author cleverly added in the form of another relative) then the fire controlling demon he was designed to be. His back story is one that would be interesting to explore more of.

The beginning of the sub-story between Maggie and her human charge, played out as would be expected, giving her normal teenaged issues in the form of bad boyfriends and school bullies. But there were moments when the character of Courtney felt like a plot device that took on a mind of its own. I would have liked to have been given just a tad more on the character's upbringing before she joined the story.
Too often, paranormal/supernatural novels come off as stuck up, this thankfully is very casual in it's approach to the topics. The characters are developed enough to be relatable, yet the subject matter is still fantastic enough to be entertaining.

We are introduced to so many characters who easily could branch off into their own novels, which might be a delightful thing to see, as I have been told this is the first book in a series. (I hope they were not teasing) Though it does lend itself to "past history" that makes me wonder if it's part of a series, and not the first chapter?

It had a very Buffy meets McMillan and Wife feel. I thought this was the perfect balance between romance/dramatic and supernatural genres. The vampiric overtones (Succubus, Vampires, manipulation by the priests and the higher demons, the scene with the bully's dad at the school) that you find throughout leads me to add this book more to the vampire genre then to just a straight forward witchcraft genre. Which coming from a long time vamp fan, is a wonderful thing. I can not remember the last time I read a vamp book with that much interest.

Merely Magic by Patricia Rice

2011-03-13T18:25:00.000-04:00

Plot: Ninian Malcolm is a country witch who has been taking care of the local villagers for the last few years. The job of midwife handed down to her by her now dead grandmother.
Drogo Ives is an earl who's only private time is hunting the skies for new planets, when he's not providing for his brothers and their children.
Legends say that Malcolms and Ives are meant to keep apart or else the curse that flows through both families will destroy everyone in their path.
Drogo does not believe in curses or witches. He does however believe it's nearly time to settle down and produce an heir of his own instead of feeding all of his brother's. It just so happens that he's got his eye on Ninian, the only thing is she's not your typical Victorian Lady.

It's rare that I pick up a book in the morning and spend a full 8 hours reading. But that's what I did. I literally could not put this one down.

Set at the end of the Regency /beginning of the Victorian eras, this is a romance that rings out with a spark of truth. Playing back and forth with the idea that men and women learn differently (the men are all of a science background and the women all of a earth based background) and therefore express themselves in different spheres, it leans to a perfect romantic set up.
You could neatly ask "what would happen if a group of female Druids landed in the middle of London?" Which must have been one of the things the author asked herself.

The core of the story is trust. The Ives family have been tricked into wedlock a few times, and no longer trust their wives, where as the Malcolm family have been treated like outcasts for generations. I thought the brilliant move on the author's part was in making the Ives only able to produce sons, and the Malcolms only able to produce daughters. Proving balance is always needed.
This is an element (no pun intended) that is repeated throughout the story, with Ninian referring to herself as the earth and Drogo as the air and how when they meet they create storms. The idea that romantic longings are as basic as electricity was a strong one.

The farther along the story continued, the softer the character of Drogo became. It hinted a bit at Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as well as reminding me of Jane Eyre. Half set in an eerie gothic castle complete with a ghost and in London proper. Drogo is a man who can not turn anyone away who needs his help, nor can Ninian which makes them both a perfect pair and the most unlikely of rivals.

The opening scene sets up the story's baseline, as we see Ninian lingering on the edge of a May's Eve festival, longing for a simple dance knowing that none of the men in the area are brave enough to see past her family rumours. While a few yards away Drogo is watching Ninian from the shadows, not understanding who or what she is, but admiring her for the simple fact she's a beautiful woman. He ends up saving her from one of the local drunks thinking that she is yet another responsibility. He soon learns Ninian is far stronger then even he is.

The author has pitted two very different family rituals against each other in a simple way that shows tolerance and compromise are always one and the same.

This story is fully delicious in its understanding of Paganism. Which is a rarity all its own.

There were a few minor characters, like Adonis and Sarah (both Ives) that I would have liked to learned more about, as well as a story within the story that Ninian was reading from their family history.

Jamie's America Easy Twists on Great American Classics and More

2011-03-04T19:01:00.000-05:00

I was beyond excited when I heard I was getting a copy of Jamie Oliver's cookbook.
It's been sitting sort of in my living room since the middle of January. I say sort of because like the last cookbook I was to review, this one got snatched up by my mother. I had to wrestle it back (Jay Lethal would have been impressed)

It's laid out like a scrapbook, filled with photos of the trip and personal stories on how he came across each and every recipe.
What a true cookbook should be like.

I was disappointed by the lack of vegetarian offerings in this. Don't get me wrong, there are a number of them, but sadly, like many of the recipes, they're ingredients lists contain things that are difficult to find at times where I live.
I'm still trying to figure out what to replace the alligator meat with for even a basic switch off, let alone turning something into a vegetarian version.

The book is extremely region specific, and really only appeals as a "theme" to anyone not in the U.S. or here in Canada. But even that said, there are items in these recipes that can not be found in Canada.

I did find the paring of wines with each recipe to be a bonus.

This is one cookbook I will be coming back to and trying to figure out a few ways around some of the more interesting recipes, but over all, I was just not impressed.

Staying at Daisy's -by Jill Marsell

2011-02-25T19:24:00.000-05:00

Plot: Daisy and her father Hector own a hotel in a quiet village in Britain. Daisy, a widow, finds herself back in the dating scene a year later after having met Dev, a former ruby player. Only thing is, Daisy isn't sure she can trust him given her history. Daisy also has two staff members who are like family to her, Tara and Barney, whom she's trying to look out for, a college boyfriend back in town, the biggest celebrity in Europe staying at the hotel, and the mistress of her dead husband living down the street. Just when Daisy thinks she's got everything under control, Maggie, Tara's aunt, holds a repair man hostage next door. Can Daisy run the hotel, and hold off the press at the same time?

I found this book to be a fun, delightful read.

You start off meeting Daisy and her dad Hector in the middle of a party which sets the tone for the entire book. Laughter, emotions and dogs.

The author sets the pace quickly, exposing a lie that has the lead then unsure of the people around her for much of the novel. She learns in one fail swoop that her husband has been cheating on her for months and has been after her money. There is a scene, where we see how gentle and honest Daisy is, when she not only lets the mistress of her husband into his hospital room one last time but when she saves someone else's life by donating his kidney.
The character of Daisy is a hero that would be rare to find, as she goes on to help the girl, Mel, who had been her dead husbands mistress later in the novel.

Tara is a character that many of us can relate to. Her mistake is falling in love with the wrong man, twice. She's faced with the issue of bumping into the great love of her life at the hotel where she works, on his wedding day. Soon, both remember why they had dated in the first place and get tangled up in an affair. You find yourself hoping it will work out for her but knowing that it just won't.

Then there is Maggie, a middled aged woman who is trying to get a fresh start on her life. She's been having an affair with Daisy's father for the last few years, only it's not something either of them are completely proud of, as money is involved.

The focus of this novel seems to be how the women at different stages of relationships, seem to handle the idea of how lies and lust mix.
Each of the women in this story, have been disappointed by the men in their lives. Some on a grand scale like Daisy, others on a smaller scale, like when Maggie has to wait months for the repair man to show up.

The author also managed to write a few male characters, Barney, Dev, Hector and Josh, as the perfect relationship ideals that so many of us dream of, but just never find.

Each of the men in this novel are also in very different stages of their own relationships, Barney being the innocent. I can not remember the last time I read anything that lent to a man being this sweet a character, or even virginal. The character of Barney brings a freshness that can only be found in a story like this.

The very beginning of the novel mentions a children's story that was written by Hector, "Dennis the Dachshund", which is what they built their wealth upon, and soon Daisy finds herself helping Dev picking out a dog. She talks him into buying Clarissa, which becomes the thread for their relationship as well as the second main connection; other then the hotel, for all the other characters.

I found myself very partial to the love story between Dev and Daisy. The idea that a former celebrity would want to have a normal life, and was willing to wait around for it really drew me in. I could not get out of my head the idea that a former sports hero would be happy living a quiet life and dotting over his dog. I could read another round of Dev and Clarissa if the author offered.

Except for a few references to British television/music, this story is one that is easily universal. Everyone who's ever been in love, or thought they were, or even heartbroken can find something and someone in this novel to connect to.

And if nothing else, we can all identify with the subplot of Maggie's washing machine repair nightmare.

The Ex Boyfriend Handbook by Matt Dunn

2011-02-18T17:38:00.000-05:00

Plot: Edward has just been dumped after ten years by Jane. He's at a loss for what he should be doing now, and finds himself spilling his guts to Dan-his best friend- and Wendy- the local barmaid- and asking their advice. They have three months to get Dan into half the shape he was ten years before when he first met Jane. They hire a personal trainer, a decorator, and set him up on speed dates. Soon, Edward is changing not just his outer self but his inner self as well.

A light approach to a serious topic, how we view ourselves and how we relate to others.

What seems at first like a down on your luck buddy story, turns into a journey of self for the lead character. The pitfalls of no longer knowing who you really are, and what you are brave enough to try, interweave with questions "who are your real friends" and "what do you have to loose" ?

You sympathize with Edward through the course of the novel and want to strangle Dan. There are moments when, as a reader, you are wanting to point out how Dan's insults could be seen as a form of truly holding Edward down, which are then balanced out by Dan's actual helping him out of his own shadow.

There is a scene near the beginning of the novel, when the lead Edward is telling his friends what it was like the first time he dated Jane years before in college, on how he trailed after her to the bar and did as she asked. It sets a tone for the remainder of the novel as far as how Edward lets himself be part of relationships. You see his little to no self worth until he starts to see his own reflection in mirrors, seeing for the first time, himself through the eyes of others.
But it is in fact, a conversation with a homeless man, Billy, that wakes him up. As Billy points out, he might not have a proper place to live, but he's living a proper life because he's doing it with his dignity intact.

The other lead is actually Dan. The television star playboy who without even trying, goes through a growth of his own, admitting his own fears and flaws along the way. We see him go from the hottest thing in the area to realizing he really wants what Edward had. Stability.

Through the course of the three months that the story rapidly moves, you are asked to witness the growth, the understanding, and the desperation that Edward must go through to get to the finish line. Using the metaphor of his training runs as his goal and his backdrop, we see ourselves in his earning his own levels of confidence. As he starts off with one goal- to get Jane back at all costs- he comes out of his shell and starts to understand he's really doing this for another goal -to get his own power back.
In the end he realizes he's better then the one who left him and in a better place because of it.

What Bridget Jones' Diary brought to women ExBoyfriend Handbook brings to men. Delightful, honest, witty and always fabulous.

The Werewolf Upstairs by Ashlyn Chase

2011-02-10T16:55:00.000-05:00

Plot: Roz Wells is a lawyer who just moved into her best friend's old apartment. In the courtroom she's tougher then nails and can take on anyone or anything. In the bedroom, she's unsure of herself and shyer then shy. Her reason for moving into the building is to protect her friends.
One of her new neighbours, Konrad Wolfensen, is about to need her protection, as he's just been arrested for a crime that is twenty years old. Konrad on the other hand, feels he's the one who needs to protect those around him, from Nathan downstairs, to Chad upstairs, to Morgaine on the second floor.
Roz soon learns that not all is what it seems, as Nathan is a shapeshifter, Chad's a ghost, Morgaine's a witch and Konrad is a werewolf. The worst part is, she's head over heels in love with Konrad. This is one day in court Roz might not want to loose.

Even though, this is the second book in Ashlyn Chase's paranormal series,{her first being Strange Neighbours} this was my introduction to her work.

I have to say right off, I have mixed feelings about this book. Part of Sourcebooks Casablanca selections, it is not your average "romance" novel.

I felt like I was reading two different books that just managed to end up in the same covers.

I adored the paranormal angles of this story. The idea that you would have a building that housed some of the city's supernatural characters was something I was looking forward to exploring. (such as why one building would be a magnet for them?)
Making two of these characters witches, Morgaine and Gwyneth, who are as different from each other as can be, but still giving them "normal" jobs (sex phone operators) was a fresh way to deal with what could have turned out too much a cliche.

The werewolves mythos that she used has just enough research to be believable (protecting the pack and mating for life). Having given Konrad not just a back story that included the pack, but a twin brother added to his layers like a cake.
I do however, think too much time was spent on the human angles of this novel and not enough of the paranormal was accounted for.
A few questions that surrounded the characters of Chad and Reginald- the two ghosts- one of which being about their leaving their buildings, left me wanting to know more about their back stories and mythos, but sadly, this was something the author just left open.

As well, I felt disappointed by the court scenes. I felt like I could have found any of the crime scenes on an episode of Law and Order. There was just very little meat on the bones in this area of the story.

Personally, I would have loved to have seen a bit more time given to the characters of Nathan and Morgaine. Nathan's character seemed to be where the dry wit was hiding, but rarely got to shine in the story.

I wasn't as thrilled with the "romance" angle of the story.
I myself write this way, with sex scenes that border more explicit language then what you would find offered most of the time. But in this case, I have to say less would have been more. It just seemed like every three pages there was a sex scene, which for me was over kill. I would have like to have been given one big one at the front of the book, and one big one at the end instead of the six or so that filled the pages.
This is straight up erotica and can not be classified as a romance at all.

As I said, this is part of a series, and coming into it midway like this, I can't help but wonder if some of the paranormal issues have been explained in the other books? If so, then it is safe to say the author's works are not very well at being "stand alone" books.

100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know -Edited by Glamour Magazine

2011-02-04T19:19:00.000-05:00

First let me say - yes! a cookbook!
Then let me say, I wasn't sure I was going to get to review this, simply because I took the book to my mother's and between her and my sister it sort of went missing for a week.

The main editor on this is Cindi Leive the Editor-in-chief of Glamour.

This is a beautifully complied collection of tried and true recipes that the magazine has run more then once over the last decade. The most popular being the famed "Engagement Chicken" which trust me, were I not a vegetarian I would be making every night of the week.

The book itself, has a very witty perspective, that is easy to read with tips and highlights that even the most un-cooking cook can follow.

I was delighted to see both the Meatless Mains chapter and the Sides chapter.

I have already made my own version of their "Meatless Monday Portobello Burgers". Which according to it's personal introduction, was inspired by a recipe from the McCartney's who had a campaign to go meat free at lest once a week.
Each recipe comes with it's own little personal introduction as to how the editors came to have the recipe to begin with.
The listing of people whom have written into the magazine about becoming engaged after making the chicken dish was an added bonus. As well as their address to send your personal stories.
There is even a complete menu at the back of the book, suggesting which dishes work well together and done in themes.

My copy is in fact the editor's advance copy (my cover is different) Each recipe has a rating of 1, or 2, or 3 shoes next to it, letting you know just how difficult or time consuming it is to make. The recipe for the Portobello Burgers had a 2 black and 1 white shoe. (all the drink recipes have 1 black and 2 white)

A user friendly book that you can find most of the ingredients without much time at your grocery... unless you count standing in line at the grocery.
There are a few items in here that if you are on a budget (any form of social assistance) you might have to make substitutions for, but all in all, an excellent cookbook to have on hand.

A needful kitchen basic much like a frypan and whisk.

Darcy and Fitzwilliam by Karen V. Wasylowski

2011-01-30T17:34:00.000-05:00

Plot: Mr. Darcy and his beloved cousin Col. Fitzwilliam have been as close as brothers their whole lives. Now, Darcy is married and facing the birth of his first child. Fitzwilliam has sworn to stay single forever, that is until he meets an American named Amanda. Not only will Fitzwilliam have to convince Amanda to marry him, but that her son from her first marriage will be safe with them. After the young couple run from Amanda's former mother-in-law they find themselves hiding at the Darcy estate. Meanwhile, Caroline Bingley still has not given up on wanting Mr. Darcy for herself, and is not letting a little thing like him being married get in her way. Can the two cousins survive the women in their lives and raise their new families or will all of London fall victim?

There were some interesting twists in this story. Caroline Bingley being more of a tart, Anne de Bourgh being more of a hypochondriac, and Catherine de Bourgh being a comedian all gives a new layer of normality to the iconic characters.

I was much surprised with the direction Catherine de Bourgh was taken in, then anything else. Seeing her moments of outrageous teasing of Caroline Bingley as well as her staff had me laughing out loud.
There is also a slight hint at something romantic between Catherine and Mr. Bennet at times, which I would have liked to see more of actually.
The bulk of the novel is about Fitzwilliam, and makes for a much more interesting subplot then the title first suggests. As we follow him through his nightmares, his obsessions, and his redemption.

The scenes in which Elizabeth has meltdowns because of being pregnant were tired for me on the whole. I could have done without the birthing scene as well. It was there, it seemed, mostly to build a bridge between the two women -Elizabeth and Amanda- but didn't lend itself to really much else.
I also found the epilogue a little bit of overkill, just an extra chapter that wasn't really needed.

All in all, I enjoyed this story more then I have with other recent Austen sequels. I thought that focusing on the Colonel as the tragic hero refreshing and the softness of Catherine long over due. The story is laced with humour and written with the ability to capture the attention of both die hard Austen fans and newcomers alike.

The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy- Mary Lydon Simonsen

2011-01-12T21:11:00.004-05:00

Plot: Georgiana Darcy, and her cousin Anne de Bourgh, are both fearful that Mr. Darcy has ruined his chances at happiness. Anne, who knows she herself will never be able to marry wishes to see her cousin with the woman of his dreams, Miss Elizabeth Bennett. Georgiana, who is ready to come out in society and ready to find a husband herself, is now the Mistress of Pemeberly, and does not want to see her brother lonely. Together they decide to create a very deliberate plan to set Mr. Darcy up to be in the same place at the same time as Elizabeth. The only thing getting in their way happens to be everyone else. From Wickham and Lydia, to Miss Bingley, to Darcy's former lover. Who knew one house could hold so many broken hearts at one time?

I have to say, it took me nearly 25 of the 53 chapters before I was really into this novel. The idea was a solid one, just a bit on the long side as we follow not one love story but almost seven. (Darcy and Elizabeth, Bingley and Jane, Wickham and Lydia, Mary and Mr. Nesbitt, Jane and Mr. Nesbitt, Darcy and Caxton, Caroline and Fitzwillam) There is just so many characters, it's hard to figure who you should be paying attention to at any given time.

The fact the author gave Anne de Bourgh a spotlight is the thread I found to be the most captivating. I wish there had been less Lydia and Wickham and more of Anne.

Giving Mr. Darcy a past that rips a tear in his "perfect armor" was a nice refreshing touch. Too many other Austen sequels make Darcy a saint, which can get boring.
There are a few scenes with Kitty reading a gossip mag of the time, exposing parts of Mr. Darcy's past in lush colours. I felt this dimension was something needed to make Darcy more a man and less an icon, and gave the little used Kitty some stock.

Jane, at one point, is given way to her emotions which also was a refreshing twist on the character.

You know the old saying, never judge a book by it's cover... well this is one time I can't seem to get past the art work.
I know that some times, we as reviewers get copies with temporary covers. I really wish this had been the case. The cover for Perfect Bride is just is too much like the cover of Twilight. Which might have been the idea, given that Twilight is a modern remake of Pride and Prejudice, and this is a sequel to P/P. Unfortunately, everyone who spotted the book on my table felt the same way.
Were it me, I would give the art an overhaul for next printing.

It just seemed to me, that this novel took too long to get it's pot boiling and then got a bit over plated.

Interview with Catherine McKenzie- 2011

2011-01-07T17:46:00.000-05:00

Last year, I was lucky enough to get to interview Catherine McKenzie about her debut novel Spin. I am pleased to say she was able to spare some time to grant me another interview, this time to talk about her new novel Arranged

KH: - Arranged is your second offering, how much harder was it writing on such a short schedule? Does it hamper the creative flow or help to push it along?

Catherine McKenzie: I’m actually very lucky that, although Arranged is being published only a year after Spin, I’d already written the book when I got my book deal. In fact, I wrote Arranged before Spin and so I only had to go through the editorial process in the last year (edits from my editors, line editing and copy editing) rather than starting from scratch or an outline. I know from other writer friends that writing on that kind of deadline can be very difficult, especially when – like most of us – you still have a day job.

KH: - I devoured Spin when I was given the chance to read it last year, and still recommend it to people when I am talking about books. I noticed a slight nod to one of the characters from Spin (celebrity Amber on the gossip show) near the beginning of Arranged, was that meant as a wink for your previous fans, or was Arranged originally meant as a sequel?

CM: Thank you! That was definitely meant as a wink to the fans – something I added in the editorial process. A funny anecdote: the copy editor – who, among other things, checks to make sure that cultural references are correct – queried who Amber Sheppard was because she hadn’t been able to find her in an extensive internet search. She hadn’t read Spin J.

KH:- Anne Blythe, is a 30-something writer who has a bad string of heartbreaks, with lovely red hair and a desire for the perfect man. I think I was 30 pages into Arranged when I was hit with a blast of emotions. You very easily could have been describing me. You've hit your target audience to a bullet point. How much of "Anne" came from your friends and from yourself and how much came from research?

CM: Again, thank you. I don’t generally research characters – other than those who have a specific job, like Anne’s therapist or the marriage broker she meets. On the other hand, I also work hard not to base characters in my books on my friends. Every once in a while, someone around me will utter a great line of dialogue and I’ll ask if it’s okay for me to use it in a book. As to whether Anne is based on myself, I think, inevitably, any author who writes first person narratives has to be ready to have people assume that the main character is them. Example: Katie, the main character in Spin, goes to rehab. I can’t remember the number of times I’ve been asked whether I went to rehab since the book came out. Since I look a bit like Anne – we have the same colouring anyway – I’m sure this assumption will rear it’s head again, but while we might have some similar opinions, I really try not to be the main character in my books. I’m in there somewhere, though.

KH:- I've been waiting to hold off on the question that I know everyone must have asked, but what was the first inspiration for the whole novel?

CM: Actually, the first question most people ask is whether or not Anne is ethnic – i.e. not a white girl from North America. That being said, it’s hard to pinpoint one thing that led to that “aha” moment. I do know a few people who’ve had arranged marriages, and have watched my share of The Bachelor etc. This kind of information – and questioning of who would undertake either – was floating around my brain hopper and Arranged is what it spat out.

KH:- Therapy, has made an appearance in both your novels, as part of the narration. Do you feel that in modern society we rely too much on what others think of us and how easily led some of us can become?

CM:Deep question. I use therapy for two different purposes in the books. In Spin, she had to be in therapy since a large part of the book is set in rehab. Since this was the case, I used it as a device to let us know more about Katie. In Arranged, I added the therapy aspect as a way for Anne to talk out the idea of going through with an arranged marriage without it all being in her head. I’m also not sure that therapy is about what others think of us, but rather, how to overcome caring about that, if that’s holding you back in your life.

KH:- Another series of stories plays more then a few notes in Arranged, that being Anne of Green Gables. What made you decide to pick that as a backdrop for the mother?

CM:So many books these days are based on or have a nod to the works of Jane Austen. I love Jane Austen, but that has been done – literally in some instances – to death. I thought it would be fun to work in another favourite author. Julie Buxbaum also does this with The Secret Garden in her book After You (Another book I’d recommend). I also wanted to explore the whole consequence of believing that your life should turn out like the books you read. I think too many of us grow up expecting that perfect ending, and end up disapointed when it doesn’t materialize.

KH:- In your first novel Spin, you used music to decorate the story, I noticed in Arranged you used other books in the same way. (On The Road really sets the foreshadowing for Jack) Was there a conscious decision to do this?

CM:There certainly was in Spin; I always envisioned that book as a musical, if that makes any sense. I think it was less consciously done in Arranged, other than the fact that since Jack and Anne are both writers, it’s natural for them to be interested in – and to discuss – books that are important to them.

KH:- Margaret is this fabulous minor character who is just so rounded and full of colour. She manages to sweep you along in her scenes making you forget she's just a character in the book. She's also the opposite of Anne. Did you create her just for that balance ?

CM:Thank you. And pretty much. Anne is so full of doubts, so self-questioning, that I thought it was important to have someone who took the opposite approach. Plus she was really fun to write.

KH:- To me, the philosophy in Arranged is that without a strong series of friendships, nothing solid in life can really be obtained. Do you feel that in our society people are forgetting what truly matters?

CM: I think what I was trying to get across – within the boundaries of something that is supposed to be, ultimately, a little bit of fun fantasy – is that believing that there is only one person out there for everyone – a soulmate – can be limiting. I think that we choose to go in certain directions in our romantic lives, but those are choices. I guess I don’t believe in predestination when it comes to love.

KH:- Without giving away the ending, I have to say I was not expecting it to end in the tone it did. There almost seemed to be a moment when I thought either the characters of Richard and William would have a stronger role. What made you decide to leave them as minor elements?

CM: Again, within the boundaries of what I was writing, I wanted to keep people guessing how it would end until the end. So, I’m glad you were not expecting it to end the way it does. Not sure I can say more without revealing too much.

Thanks for the great questions!

KH: Always a great pleasure.

Arranged by Catherine McKenzie

2011-01-03T10:18:00.002-05:00

Plot: Anne Blythe is a talented writer working at a magazine while putting the finishing touches on her first novel. Her latest relationship has just fallen apart, finding out the man who she's trusted was cheating on her. Anne then begins to bump into a few more of her ex boyfriends, all whom are now married. She discovers a business card for what she thinks is a simple dating service and after hearing that her best friend is engaged, decides to try it. Anne soon learns that they are more then just a dating service, but a company that performs arranged marriages. Anne turns this chance discovery into a new column for the magazine, her research leading her to join up herself. The matchmakers pair her up with a man who could be considered perfection, only to find out he's not what he seems after the wedding.

Is love by chance or illusion? In this case it's both.
Once again, Catherine McKenzie offers up vivid characters who have a sense of witty sadness to them, that makes them very real.

I'm at a loss for words on this one folks. I can't review this book without comparing it to my own life. Which means once again Catherine McKenzie has hit the nail perfectly on the head, she knows her audience with a bullet point.

The situation that the character Anne is in- in her 30's unmarried, a writer, a redhead, who's past boyfriends have moved on while she's still stuck- it's as if the author Catherine McKenzie were exposing pieces of my own life. I kept reading hoping she had a solution for me, then I remembered this was a novel. A beautifully sculptured piece of fiction that just happens to ring true.

The character of Anne's mother, who is currently on the edge of her own reality and not really paying too close of attention to Anne, was a brilliant element of distance. (Also too close to home for my nerves.) Even though she's a minor character, the mother was a fresh view, given most mothers in modern fiction are too involved, too annoying.

There are moments when you find yourself wanting to slap the character of Jack and then give him the benefit of the doubt. From the scene where he takes Anne boating you're left with this sense of menace that melts into a feeling of "maybe they got it right this time". I can not tell you how many times I sighed thinking if only there were more real men like this.

In this day and age, almost everyone has used the internet to meet someone, so the idea of falling for someone you've never really met is not as shocking as it first might have appeared. This gives an added weight to the element of Anne going to the matchmaker in the first place. Which I thought was mixed perfectly with the minor characters that Anne interviews who have had their own arranged marriages.
Too much in modern society is hinged on how we look, how we present ourselves and not enough on the real person.

Catherine McKenzie manages to take something as simple as eating lunch and deliver every emotion, every scent, every taste with such clear intent that it's no wonder her characters are so easy to identify with.

If you liked her first novel Spin then you're going to devour Arranged. (click here to browse inside the book)
Check out Catherine McKenzie on the Savvy Reader the official blog for Harper Collins Canada

Yours for the Taking by Robin Kaye

2011-01-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

Plot: Gina is a tough girl from the streets of Brooklyn. Ben is a cowboy from Idaho. Ben is on a deadline, he needs to be married soon or he will loose the only thing that's mattered to him, his family ranch. His grandfather is set on having his only living relative having it all or nothing, and will do whatever he needs to see Ben follows orders. Without any other options, Ben asks Gina to marry him, a women he's only met once before. Gina has never let anyone into her private life before, but a quickie marriage and even quicker divorce would give her the money see needs to save her own family. Neither of them had any idea that once they signed their pre-nup all bets would be off. Can they survive their marriage and both their families or will falling in love destroy both their dreams?

This starts off as your typical romance novel but quickly proves it's a step above the competition. The characters are more in depth then I've seen in the usual offering of romance novels, and the dialogue is as sharp as a nail.
You are pulled in with the first page, engulfed within a set of emotions wrapped up in humour.

A sweet twist comes in around the midway mark when the lead characters find themselves adopting a stray dog who quickly becomes a focus point on more then one level. A lovely bridge between the softer side of Ben and Gina, that makes you feel like the characters themselves didn't even know they had.

The moments of steamy description were handled to perfection without taking anything away from the plot or characters (which I've seen happen too many times in typical romance novels) and even the scenes where the leads are fighting, you're left breathless following their rise and fall of emotions.

If only there were more real men, more like her hero Ben and his cousin Trapper...

I wish someone had told me about Robin Kaye a few years back, as this is her fourth book in her line of "Domestic God" novels.

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

2010-12-11T22:36:00.000-05:00

Plot: Carrie is an author researching her latest novel set in the early 1700's. Her journey started in France and quickly takes her to Scotland, to visit her editor. Pulled by the beauty of the landscape, she decides to base part of her novel in the area. Soon Carrie is hearing a soft female voice on the wind, which leads her to create an new lead character. While researching the ruins of a castle, Carrie discovers the characters are very much rooted in reality and starts to wonder if she might be loosing her mind. The locals are a friendly group who not only help her with every inch of her research, but two brothers have both decided to make a play for her. While one is someone she trusts and thinks fondly as a friend, the other has captured her imagination in more ways then one. Soon, Carrie is torn between her reality, her novel and her own past as everything comes crashing together on the waves just outside her cliffside cottage.

The Winter Sea is a story within a story which author Susanna Kearsley manages to weave with perfection. Like a spider dangling in the delicate center of a web, drawing you into both the modern and the historical sides of it. The romance that blossoms between modern Carrie and Graham, roots you firmly in the here and now, suggesting a comfort that only comes around once in a lifetime. Meanwhile, the historical romance between Sophia and Moray plays out with an innocence that lives up to any fairy tale.

The author herself -Kearsley- manages to bring together the idea of time travel and past life regression into a buyable plot line, with the help of science, metaphysics, and a healthy dose of romanticism. Giving the novel a chance to cross from one genre (science fiction) to the other (historical romance) seamlessly.

You find yourself breathless at times with the way she describes the setting of the castle at Slains, to the point you can almost hear the waves themselves crashing against the edges of the cliff. In fact, the wind and clouds that hover endlessly through most of the modern setting are a character unto themselves, delivering a voice and dream like quality to the writing muse that "Carrie" must follow.

Divided into chapters within chapters, you soon forget you're reading a whole novel and begin to think of it as the author's -Kearsley- diary and manuscript. As it brilliantly combines the two worlds.

From the moment I picked up this novel I was intoxicated by the idea of finding not just a muse but true love by pure accident. The introduction of both Graham (the modern setting) and Moray (the historical setting) in their respective sections are subtle hints at how love can sneak up on you when you're not looking for it and grab you fully. And how a hero can appear out of the shadows.
The other subtle traces of the historical characters turning up in the modern setting (Kirsty the maid in the historical section having a modern twin in the form of the librarian, the Countess having a modern twin in the editor) helps to bind your believing that the lead "Carrie" is meeting her soul family for a purpose, following a trail of breadcrumbs down a delicious rabbit hole.
Instead of giving off an unsettling feel that some past life stories have done in other novels/movies, you are gifted with a sense of rightness. When you are reading the parts about the return of King James to his crown you never feel like you are being mislead or talked down to; but instead like you are truly reading research notes.
Sophia's feelings of loss and desire come through as clear and honest as if you were reading actual letters from her place in history.
Making Graham a history professor helped to fill in areas that would have otherwise seemed too unrealistic for the modern scenes.

The balance that the author -Kearsley- gives her leads in both time frames, is an extremely potent one. Having her females Carrie/Sophia and the Countess/Jane being strong independent women and the men Graham/Moray being emotionally available is something too many writers try but do not always nail. Kearsley gets it and manages to keep the flow even through out the two parallel worlds.
Another nice touch I found, was the addition of having "Carrie"while in Scotland, keeping in constant touch with her father in Canada. As the male elements were running strong in the modern setting and the female elements running strong in the historical one another balance was found without being too obvious.

A book not to be missed, The Winter Sea will have you believing in love at first sight as well as wanting you to move to Scotland for the spring.

365 Thank Yous by John Kralik

2010-12-03T16:12:00.000-05:00

1 man, 1 year, 365 letters.

This is a personal journey that lawyer John Kralik under took in the course of what ended up being just over 15 months.
In the late winter of 2007, his life had hit rock bottom. The simple act of receiving a thank you note from an ex-girlfriend, made him realize just how blessed he really was.
After what seemed like a hour of being lost on a hike (which actually turned out to be his defining moment) a plan was thought of to express his gratitude for all the millions of little things people had given him over the course of his life.

This began his plan to send one thank you card a day for a year, 365 handwritten letters, to the people in his life.

As with all personal journeys, his was paved with minor set backs (including the market crash of 2008) most of which revealed themselves to be positive reinforcements of strength, causing him to reschedule his goal to just over a year. And get in return not just his own thank yous but the knowledge that he'd started a trend in his community.

This book is perfectly timed. At lest it seems to be for me. The idea of sitting down and not just taking stock of the things in life that are truly blessings, but of the time that goes into sitting down and writing handwritten notes to the people who gave you those gifts (both material and emotional) in this day and age is almost ground breaking.
This book, which is really a diary of one man's ability to pick himself up after the worst emotional fall of his life, is a gentle reminder that as human beings we are more then the sum of our own parts, we are part of the greater some.

Interview with Rebecca Ann Collins

2010-11-29T00:09:00.003-05:00

In her latest and final chapter of the Pemberley Chronicles, author Rebecca Ann Collins, brings you once last time to the world of the Darcys and Bingleys as she weaves together a spell of innocence and betrayal.
She was also kind enough to grant me an interview.

Plot: The Darcys along with the Bingleys, have gone to the southern areas of Europe for the winter, leaving Pemberley estate to their children and Mr. Darcy's younger sister Georgina. Newly widowed, Georgina is at her wits end dealing with a full grown daughter who seems to have no patience for the rules. Meanwhile, two new comers to the area Mr. Faulkner and Mr. Fraser have endeared themselves to the locals, at the same time a wealthy land developer is trying to buy up the estates. Can Pemberley's guests get through the year without the guidance of Mr. Darcy or will this mean the end for it's legacy?

My favourite character was Daniel Faulkner, he's a large departure from the usual gentleman you would find in this type of novel, what inspired you to add him?

RAC: Thanks very much for inviting me to contribute to your blog. I am glad that you liked Daniel Faulkner; he is one of those characters I grew to love as he developed through the story. I live in Australia, so it wasn’t difficult to place Daniel Faulkner here.

It was quite a natural development to add a couple of “gentlemen” from the colonies into the cast of the Pemberley Chronicles. This was a period (it was the mid-19th century) in which many people were going out to America and Australia, India and Ceylon, as settlers, investors and adventurers. Unlike the earlier convicts, these people went willingly looking for a new life, fame and fortune. Some never returned, others came home and brought with them a completely new outlook. I used Daniel Faulkner and Adam Fraser to add something new and interesting- in character and outlook- to the story. They are quite different in character and help to illustrate the contrast between the two young women too.

Two of the "young ladies" are at the age of thirty, were you expressing the fact that youth has no bearing on love, or was it more a case of showing the contrast of maturity between the two girls?

RAC: I believe there is a bit of both . In other volumes of the series (A Woman of Influence or Recollections of Rosings), I’ve used older women as central characters and the feedback from readers has been terrific. Many women in that age group, who are aware that age is no barrier to love, have felt marginalized by the cult of youth that dominates the modern romance genre. They were thrilled to see older women given a chance to find love and express their feelings in the Pemberley novels. It’s a recognition of reality.

In the case of Rachel Fitzwilliam and Virginia Grantley, I was also trying to demonstrate the contrast between the two women.

There seemed at first to be a teasing towards Daniel Faulkner and Caroline Fitzwilliam being a couple (having him remember meeting her twice when he was a teenager, and joining her during the cricket game) did you originally intend for these two to become something other then what they did?

RAC: Not at all, I always intended Daniel for Rachel, who is one of my favourite minor characters. But, I also needed to work it out in a credible way. Rachel is not as outgoing as her mother; she is rather shy and needs some encouragement. It would not have been very credible in that era, to have her meeting and falling in love with a complete outsider—a man who appears from Australia after twenty years. Using the link with Caroline, who is a very socially adept woman, eases the situation. Also Daniel is somewhat older than Rachel and is quite at ease socially with Caroline, so it made sense.

Georgiana, after what had happened to her in the original works, did you feel her innocence was what made her character as endearing as it was? As when the information was given to her about Adam Fraser, she acted with a sense of disbelief, when one would think she of all characters would have been more careful. Even with the explanation that you've given her for her latest actions in regards to Fraser, it came across to me like Georgiana was set to just prove everyone wrong. Was your intent to show a "like mother like daughter" innocence when it comes to men like Fraser (and Wickham)?

RAC: To answer the first part of your question, yes, Georgiana’s innocence when we meet her at age sixteen in Pride and Prejudice is an endearing quality and that is continued in our first volume, The Pemberley Chronicles. Her complete dependence upon the approval and judgment of her brother, then Elizabeth and later her husband, Francis Grantley, contributes to a continuation of that impression.

As to the rest of your question, no, I did not want a “like mother like daughter” comparison at all. While Georgiana is genuinely naive and innocent and that does get in the way of her judgment of Adam Fraser, Virginia is self-indulgent and stubborn.

The novel carries within it a sense of bitterness at times by Elizabeth (Bennett). Did you feel that in the original works, her stubborn streak was downplayed? Or just that as she would have aged, she would have kept a stricter view of what society should have evolved into?

RAC: I don’t think Elizabeth’s attitude can be called “bitter;” she has nothing to be bitter about. She has lived a long and happy life with a loving husband and family. But she has known sorrow too and that has affected her character, the loss of a child in a stupid accident is likely to cause the same kind of reaction in any normal person.

Apart from that however, Elizabeth is in her seventies in the final volume and it is quite natural that her attitudes would be “stricter” and more critical of those who fall below her standards.

For you was there a particular reason you made such a contrast between the careers of Daniel Faulkner and Thomas O'Conner? You made both men very likable/similar in attitudes and yet, gave them careers that would at once put someone in the mind of polar opposites.

RAC: Well, isn’t that just how life is? In the same community you can meet two people who are polar opposites in their interests, but share the same values. I have two brothers –in-law. One is an intellectual and the other a mad keen sportsman, yet they are both thoroughly likeable, decent men.

As to the careers of Daniel and Thomas: there were not many careers for gentlemen if they didn’t go into the church, the military or Parliament. Daniel returns from Australia and it is revealed that he is an ordained clergyman, while Thomas wants to be a writer. Both these careers were popular with educated young men at the time. I also wanted Tom to be somewhat different—with that touch of magic intensity that the Irish brought to ordinary life—for young Laura Ann. Making him a promising young writer gave him that quality.

I noticed in your author's notes that you teased a bit on the idea of very minor characters and their future. As someone coming into your characters at the very end of their run, I found The Legacy of Pemberley to stand very easily on its own. Was your hope to not just wrap up your series but to maybe plant some seeds for a new direction?

RAC: My farewell note was quite genuine; I really felt sad at letting my characters (and those I had borrowed from Jane Austen) go, after more than a decade in which they had become part of my life. I was just saying what I felt—that it was difficult to part from them and not wonder what might happen to some of them, like young Anthony Darcy, the next Master of Pemberley, whose lives had not yet run their course.

I have no plans to return to Pemberley, at this stage, but one can dream, I suppose.

I do hope you have enjoyed the answers to your interesting questions. Thank you for having me on your blog!

You can find out more about Rebecca Ann Collins and her complete series of Pride and Prejudice stories at her official website http://www.rebeccaanncollins.com

Giveaway- Legacy of Pemberley

2010-11-23T12:13:00.000-05:00

Hey folks. I'm doing something I never do, a giveaway! I'll be hosting an interview next week on the 29th of Nov with Rebecca Ann Collins author of The Legacy of Pemberley, which is the final chapter in her series, and will announce the winners at that time.

Here are the rules.... there are no rules. You just need to be from Canada and the U.S. and leave me a comment with your name, email and if you are in Canada or the U.S. That's it. Then come back next week for the winner. We've got 2 books to giveaway.

The Forever Queen by Helen Holick- review

2010-11-18T00:03:00.002-05:00

Plot: Emma, at age 13, has been promised by her brother, to the current King of England. AEthelred, a coward king. A middled aged man with children older then herself. On sight, Emma is filled with disappointment and feelings of betrayal which soon turn to shear loneliness. Abused and humiliated at the hands of her husband, Emma still fulfills her duty as a Queen, baring children before she's out of childhood herself. The death of the King brings with it relief and fear mixing itself to one solution if she wishes to keep the crown for herself and the lives of her children safe, marry the man who defeated her husband. Her second marriage to Cnut, is lighter, happier and filled with love and even more children.

Cnut too brings with him grief from the death of his second wife and their only daughter, who soon is taken by accident leaving him in despair. Emma is Cnut's third wife, his first having been a forced arrangement to AElgifu, a woman who would plague Emma her entire life.

Both Emma and AElgifu claim the legal rights of their sons for the crown of England. But it is Emma who has earned the love and respect of the people, who has herself stood with the armies over the years to protect and defend the land; with her first husband, then with her step-sons, then her second husband and finally with their own son.

In her long life, Queen Emma outlasted three generations of men to stand tall and serve England.

This historical fiction covers 50 years in the life of Emma, and contained in a volume of 616 pages. The cast of characters it welds spans from Normandy to England to Sweden to Rome and back again, filling up your imagination as it pulls you to it, engulfing you.

The author's notes give up the fact that the real history of Emma is but a footnote, even though she was one of the first- if not indeed the first- to have her life penned in a biography. Which is still unproven to be a loyal truth or a biography of semi-fictions.

For me, this novel was both breathtaking and difficult. Even with the maps, timelines and pronunciation guide, because so many of the book's characters had similar names I found it difficult to keep everyone straight.
As working with historical fiction is never an entirely easy task, Forever Queen manages to keep it's pace steady and forgiving for it's readers.

Emma is a woman's woman. She's been delivered into a life that is little more then slavery for the first half of her years. Having been abused, mocked, raped, mentally tortured (seeing her pet dog killed at the hands of her first husband) and even silenced, she some how managed to rise above it all and find her own strength as well as a voice. One that would trickle down though the centuries to find itself in a present day novel. You can't help but wonder what heights she would have risen to had she been alive today.
What I found most interesting about her character, was her lack of motherly instincts for half of her children. The connection she has or more properly the lack of connection she has with her sons from her first marriage, really start to show a great amount of residue from the years of abuse.
Speaking as a woman who has chosen not to have children myself, I found the intricate emotional tug of war between her devotion and duty to her country and to her own self to be brutally honest, to the point of asking myself would I have been able to go through what she did just to be Queen? The fact Emma sees no alternative but to be the physical embodiment of the title of queen is at times both desirable and horrific.

I also found myself cheering for some of the unlikely players in this novel, namely Cnut and Edmund.

Cnut, I thought was a more suited match for Emma as well as a more interesting man. He is played as a very human hero, when kings were seen as being gods. The twists his character goes through would give any modern movie hero a run for his money.
We meet his character as a angry teenager who not only represents the "generation me" aspect of things, but you know from the first meeting between Cnut and Emma that sparks will end up flying. It graciously foreshadows his arch throughout the rest of the novel.
When his character dips into despair, folding back and forth on his own trustworthiness; you find yourself forgiving him. There seems to be a sampling of innocence through his adulthood with his three marriages, such as when he can't turn his back on his first wife even when he knows she's going to be his destruction.

Edmund is the perfect hero. From start to finish he embodies everything you would expect the hero to be. He learns at the feet of not his father but Emma and her personal knight. His devotion to his family is something to be held as he puts all aside for the good of England.
Edmund is written with a sly smile, as if the author knew in the back of her mind he would be the one to catch your eye and hold it.

Forever Queen could easily be a complete work of modern fiction just by replacing the Queendom of England for a President of a Multi-million dollar company, the court for a boardroom, and the wars for ad campaign. Power, trust, jealousy and betrayal stays the same no matter what century it's brought out in.

It will be interesting to see how she weaves the remaining story of Edmund's legacy in the next installment.

Forever Queen Book Tour

2010-11-11T08:46:00.000-05:00

The author of Forever Queen, Helen Hollick, has been busy on a virtual tour for the novel. Some of the upcoming dates include

November 1

http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/

http://calicocritic.blogspot.com/

November 2

http://www.passagestothepast.com/

http://lifeinthethumb.blogspot.com/

November 3

http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com/

http://www.luxuryreading.com/

November 4

http://yankeeromancereviewers.blogspot.com/

http://historicallyobsessed.blogspot.com/

November 5

http://booksbythewillowtree.blogspot.com/

http://www.historyandwomen.com/

November 8

http://www.rundpinne.blogspot.com/

http://www.bookwormsdinner.blogspot.com/

November 9

http://debsbookbag.blogspot.com/

http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/

November 10

http://literatehousewife.com/

http://carpelibrisreviews.com/

November 11

http://web.me.com/quirion/Bookaddict/Welcome.html

http://bibliophile23.wordpress.com/

November 12

http://www.brokenteepee.blogspot.com/

http://www.read-all-over.net

November 15

http://writesthoughts.blogspot.com/

http://celticladysramblings.blogspot.com/

November 16

http://www.jennylovestoread.blogspot.com/

http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/

November 17

http://bookalicio.us/

http://themaidenscourt.blogspot.com/

November 18

http://pushersink.blogspot.com/

http://marthasbookshelf.blogspot.com/

November 19

http://theroyalreviews.blogspot.com/

http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/

November 22

Book Club Chat on http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/

7pm-9pm EST

I've just finished reading it myself, and will be posting my thoughts on it next week on Nov 18th.

A new blog... sort of

2010-11-02T12:41:00.000-04:00

I have started to contribute to a new community blog -Dream Books LLC. Most of the other bloggers are fast paced, adding reviews and interviews and personal publishing stories; but with my current work load, I'm working on a column idea. So far I have posted an introduction and this start to my "column".

I'll post each issue of the column here too for anyone who might want to read it here.

Is It You

Those of us who are writers besides being bloggers, have you found you have a different voice for blogging then you do for writing?

Anyone can tell you that when you blog, be it professionally or as a hobby, you will have a few weeks or even months where you are trying to find your own style.

For me, it took six months of blogging to get my groove. I started off doing one blog post a week, having spent that full week working on the post and trying to make it sound as much as possible like it was something you'd see on Sex and the City.

It's seven years later, and I still have times where I hear the voice of actress Sarah Jessica Parker reading in my head as I write.

Ironically, I did not find my own blogging style till after I started to read a column by Hunter S. Thompson. It was his style of reporting sports that helped to free me from what I thought a woman was expected to say.

I come across hundreds of blogs a week, where the blog's author talks about wanting to be a writer, but not showing any of themselves in their blog. Most of them have fallen into the same trap I did in the beginning, trying to be like everyone else when they blog. As a writer many of us have turned to blogging as an easy outlet for our stories. Many seem to be afraid to let loose and really put in their soul when they do; feeling that to be successful they must be able to fit in to an ideal.

I'll end my observation with a question... are you writing for yourself or are you blogging for the world?

Save the Assistants by Lilit Marcus

2010-10-25T13:40:00.000-04:00

Lilit Marcus, co-creator of the website Save the Assistants, has turned her own career ups and downs into a complete editorial on living with a job you hate. A simply must have book for anyone fresh out of college or thinking of doing an internship at an office building.

The book is peppered with humour and pop culture references that help to drive the book home. (Warning: If you are like me and have never seen the movie Office Space or television show The Office you will be as lost on the references as I was )
With everything you would need to identify the different boss-stress types, to how to take a personal day, to how to hunt for a better job; Save the Assistants is a handbook for the modern worker.

One of the best tips I feel the book's author gives is a simple one "Get Your Job Description Clarified"
How often have many of us gotten to day one of a job only to get bowled over by it not being what we thought? Or worse, being there for awhile only to have it change on us in a bad -not a promotion- way? as talked about on page 16 under the Buzzword heading of Combo Job.

The addition of personal stories from the STA blog readers, was a great way to make the points on a personal and universal level, while the pop quizes I found reminded me too much of something you'd find in a fashion magazine, the splattering of buzz words were entertaining as well as useful, (and proved how out of the loop I am) as were the movie/music lists where were added for an extra lightness.

The lists of bad celebrities vs good celebrities who are famous or infamous as the case may be, for their treatment of their assistants was both endearing and point on. This really gives you a sense of how good your job can be even if you are just the average person at an average job.

I have to admit something here, this book threw me for a bit. I wasn't expecting a strict how to book; and I've been puttering around for a full week on just how to tackle a review for it, which included me listing off every job I have had in the last twenty years on my personal blog. As when I first was offered a chance to review it, I'd never heard of Lilit Marcus or the website and was expecting more of a satire.

The book proved to be more then good, it's essential.

But in this case, do not take it from me, hit up your book store and get one. Actually get two, one for your house and one for your office library, trust me your co-workers will thank you for it.

Mail Bag Update October 15th 2010

2010-10-15T10:58:00.000-04:00

You know that old saying "Life happens whenyou're making plans" Well it's been one of those times. So much that I forgot to come in here and give the mail bag updates for the last few weeks.

I have on the list here Save the Assistants by Lilit Marcus, Darcy and Fitzwillam by Karen V. Wasylowski, Yours for the Taking by Robin Kaye, The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy by Mary Lydon Simonsen.

I am also reading right now for review, The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick,

And I won a signed copy of An Unlikely Missionary by Skylar Hamilton Burris simply by being a reader of the new AustenAuthors.com site.

Save the Assistants comes from Hyperion

An Unlikely Missionary comes from Double Edge Press

The other titles are all Sourcebooks

I am now taking

2010-09-20T11:38:00.007-04:00

Only books slated for 2011 release.

The remainder of 2010 has been filled with a current list of books to be reviewed containing

Desiree The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love by Annemarie Selinko with an October release date for Canada and the U.S.
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton with a November release date for Canada and the U.S.
The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick with a November release date
The Legacy of Pemberley by Rebecca Ann Collins with a November release date
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley with a December release date

I also have a couple more coming to me later this week.

You Comma Idiot -by Doug Harris

2010-09-16T13:56:00.013-04:00

Plot: Lee is having a bad summer. His dream girl is his best friend's girlfriend, his oldest buddy is being stalked by the news because they think he kidnapped a teenager, and his drug dealer has cut him off. At the edge of turning thirty Lee finds himself at the crossroads everyone has to face at some point, only he's not so sure he's ready for it. But somewhere between hamming it up for the news reporter to get them off his buddy's tail and starting an affair he manages to fit in one last youthful summer in Montreal.

I could sit here and feed you some hype about this novel telling you it's the next big thing. I could do that. And you know what, I'd be right, as you would be to believe what I tell you.

It's rare that a novel comes along that has me wanting to share it with people before I've even finished reading it. (I actually carried it around the grocery with me yesterday and showed it to a few people) It's beyond imaginable that I would want to share anything with my mother, but I found myself telling her the basic plot of this story and showing her the book jacket.

The design by which I think is brilliant! It gives the cheeky-humour that this story is ripe with an extra visual expression.

Doug Harris has opened a world that goes beyond borders, that anyone with a longing for missed chances and homegrown fantasies can relate to. It just happens that it's a Canadian story which lovingly embraces elements of it's maple roots.

You get the sense right off that Lee, the main character has a hole in his heart, something is missing from his life, only he hasn't figured out himself what that is. Then you are introduced to Honey. The center of his world. Only she belongs to his best friend, a best friend who is like a brother. From there a cast of sweet, sour and very real people float into the plot and you soon forget you are reading and feel more like sitting in a friend's kitchen hearing a tale of youth.

Following Lee down his urban rabbit hole was both enchanting and familiar. He could have easily been to a major degree myself (I had moments where I could easily have replaced the male components with female ones) or any number of guys I have known over the years.

The character of Henry was touching in a mix of paranoia and sadness given his underscored innocence towards what the media hounds were doing to him. You can understand how the rest of the characters flip flop in their support.

I found myself laughing out loud at moments, and booing at others. The character of Cuz, a street weasel, had me at one point thinking of people I had grown up with, but never got to see get theirs. There is a character I am sure is waiting, plotting and getting ready for the sequel to let loose.

Doug Harris proves with this novel that coming of age does not need be attached to a number, just a reason.

Mail day Sept 7th

2010-09-07T13:09:00.004-04:00

I just got another lovely book in the mail today.

This I believe has a Sept 17th 2010 release date.

You comma Idiot by Doug Harris and from GooseLane

The All Austen Authors Blog

2010-09-05T10:29:00.000-04:00

I just got word from my favourite person over at SourceBooks that their favourite and hard working Austen authors have launched their own blog.

Now all of us Jane Austen fans can go to one blog to see the up and coming Austen authors next selections.

AustenAuthors.com

Fearless Female Journalists by Joy Crysdale

2010-09-02T19:35:00.000-04:00

This is part of a series by Second Story Press called "The Women's Hall of Fame Series"

It's a thin volume of 118 pages. But do not let that fool you.
This entry to the series packs a punch. It gives a brief overview of the hardships that many of the women who dared to become a voice of their generation had to battle.

From Mary Ann Shadd Cary who wrote about ending slavery, to Margaret Bourke-White who was one of the first photo-journalists, to sports journalist Pam Oliver to many others, this book is a brief history of women in the media for the last 200 years.

I received this book about two and a half months ago, and have been carrying it around with me ever since, trying to get to it but having deadlines on other books, and it kept getting put back into my pile. Or more rightly, my purse, as I did carry it around with me while I did my other reviews. I finally had a chance this morning to get to it, and was more then glad I did.

Thought provoking, touching, enlightening and over all powerful. It made me remember why I had started my own career in Broadcasting so many years ago. The only difference is I did not have the guts to stick it out, unlike the courageous women who broke down the barriers and crashed open the doors for the rest of us.

Joy Crysdale has managed to turn a collection of biography profiles and essays into a collection of strength and dignity.

Mr. Darcy's Little Sister by C. Allyn Pierson

2010-08-30T21:27:00.000-04:00

Plot: Georgiana Darcy is set to debut. Hot on the heels of both Elizabeth marrying her brother and Jane marrying Mr. Bingley, we find the youngest Miss Darcy planning her coming out Season. Her guardian, and cousin Fitzwilliam, seems to set off her temper at every turn making the already shy Miss Darcy feel as if she does not know how to act. Soon, she is the center of attention from more than a few gentlemen, and a Mr. Walker being at the top of the list. Will Mr. Walker be true or another Mr. Wickham with nothing but bad intentions for Miss Darcy. With the help of Elizabeth and her sisters Jane and Kitty, Georgiana soon finds her own footing and dares to dream of a love as true as theirs.

This was a slow go at first. With nearly 500 pages and 29 chapters, Mr. Darcy's Little Sister takes a bit of warming up to; but once you are in you are hooked.

There are more then a few surprises in this Austen sequel, including Lord Byron as a slight character, but they add just enough plot twist to keep you turning pages.
The addition of Kitty, one of the younger Bennets was a sweet touch as she was always a under used figure in the original story. Giving the Regency period more space also helped to form a fuller backdrop then Miss Austen ever did, and the addition of the Prince Regent into the personal lives of the Darcy's gave a flavour of independence for the women. Forcing them to stand alone while Mr. Darcy was off on a private mission handed him by the Prince Regent.
Georgiana's growth from a shy innocent girl to full blown society lady in such a short time is felt more from her own frustration then the actual act of going through the paces of coming out.

Witty and captivating, this novel could stand up to Miss Austen's original works with ease.

The only part for me that I felt was over used was the idea of St. George, the older cousin of the Darcy's. He has a typical feel of many Austen villains jumping from one young lady to the other while Mr. Darcy and his family do much of nothing but worry about the situation. Which they in fact just finished doing over another character Mr. Walker.

You are at times finding yourself almost routing for Miss Bingley as well as Miss Anne. Both ladies who's characters were originally viewed as snobs. This time around they're more then just background noise. Miss Anne is one character I hope to some day see given her own sequel.

My Current Reading List- Review Books

2010-08-27T08:35:00.000-04:00

And as always, I am two weeks behind.

I am in the middle of Mr. Darcy's Little Sister Which will be done for next week.

As you see the stack, two of which (Winter Sea, Forever Queen) just arrived this morning.

This may put a large hold on my book club reading selections, as all these need to be completed before November.

Emma and the Vampires by Wayne Josephson

2010-08-03T13:35:00.000-04:00

Plot: Emma Woodhouse, beloved by all who live in her small town and matchmaker to humans and vampires alike, now has to fight a group of rogue vampires.
Emma has always been a carefree girl with nothing to vex her as far as society goes, mistress of her father's house, secure with a large fortune and never without a friendly ear. Her dear friend Miss Smith though seems to be a magnet for vampires wherever they go. It's not bad enough that Miss Smith has fallen in love with two already, now Emma must keep her friend from becoming dinner. Meanwhile, the town is abuzz with the return of another vampire gentleman, Frank Chruchill and an ever pale Miss Fairfax. Everyone is very much looking forward to the two strangers visits. Too bad it's at the height of vampire attack season.

Jane Austen and Vampires. Two of my favourite topics. This should be a given that I would love this idea.

But it's not.

I was greatly disappointed with this remake of Emma. There were plot points that just did not seem to go anywhere. Two major things were going through my mind during the course of this book, 1) why does everyone feel they need to have "vegan" vampires? and 2) why does this feel way too much like a missing script of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

I did like the new depth it gave Mr. Knightley, making him a vampire. It added a layer of understanding that you always felt was missing in the original character. As well, with Mr. Elton and Mrs. Elton being of the undead variety, their natural rudeness came across more appealing then ever their original characters did.

The metaphor of biting the newlywed wives on the wedding night was a nice touch, only the question then was are we to assume that the vampire can only feed off his wife once and only because she'd have been a virgin? The male characters keep thinking about how each other is in desperate need of sustenance and hoping each will marry soon. It was a subplot that made little sense to me, as you would think if half the town is inhabited by vampires, would there not be an "outlet" for such a thing?

I wanted to love Emma and the Vampires but sadly, I could not.

Interview with Liane Shaw

2010-08-03T12:54:00.000-04:00

Liane Shaw author of thinandbeautiful.com over at Second Story Press was kind enough to do a short interview with me last week. You can read my review of the novel here

Me: I know the author's notes lists you as having survived your own battle with an eating disorder, what made you decide to use this as a story plot?

Liane Shaw :My reasons are threefold. First of all, as a teacher of mostly adolescent aged students, I was very worried about the extreme emphasis on body size I was seeing in both girls and boys. I was particularly concerned when I had a student in my class who was quite thin and the other students were teasing her by calling her "anorexic". It seemed to me that using that term as an insult indicated a real lack of understanding of the seriousness of the issue. Secondly, as the mother of two young women, who were teens at the time I started this project, I was worried about the influence of media and societal expectations. My youngest was trying to fit into size 0 pants...what does that mean anyway!...and I started researching current thoughts on eating issues. That's when I tripped, literally because I'm not too techno savvy, over the Pro ana movement. Which brings me to reason 3...I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to me when I was young if I had had the kind of "support" that the sites can accidentally provide....the kind that encourages rather than discourages eating issues. When I had an ED, few people even knew what is was, and certainly no one encouraged me to keep losing weight. Putting the three reasons together, I wanted to do something to share what I felt about ED, the internet and body image...to find a way to "teach" about it while reaching as many young people as I could.

Me: You chose to do this in diary form, was there a reason for that?

LS : Yes. I realized that everyone's actual experience of having an ED would vary, and that young girls today are dealing with a very different world than I was as a teen. But I thought that the feelings would probably be much the same and that's what I wanted to convey. I thought a diary was the best way to really delve into feelings. I worried that it was a bit trite, but overall I think it worked.

Me: Your use of the internet, it was as if it were a character all it's own. Was that on purpose or just simply a way to make the story more hinged in modern culture?

LS :What a great question! To be absolutely honest, at the very beginning I wanted to find a hook that would, as you so aptly put it, hinge the story in modern culture. However, the deeper I went into the pro ana, thinspiration etc sites the more I wanted to really shine a light on the internet as a potential factor in the perpetuation of ED for some people. It was obvious to me that these young people were not intending to hurt anyone, least of all themselves, but unfortunately the potential for harm seemed overwhelmingly clear.
In retrospect, I think I could have made the internet an even stronger "character".

Me: My attention was grabbed by Wolf. The male character you gave the illness to. What was it that made you choose to add a man to the rehab center ? Have you met many men who have had this illness over the years, as I know it's wide spread but rarely talked about (the fact boys suffer from eating disorders too)

LS: Another great question. I have had equal parts praise and criticism for adding Wolf to the "cast". I have dealt very directly and personally with young men struggling desperately with their body images. More attention is gradually being given to the presence of ED in males, but it is still not enough in my opinion.

Me: You left the end of the story slightly open, was that because you wanted to give the impression that she would be dealing with this for the rest of her life, or just hoping for a sequel?

LS: Actually neither. I wanted to leave the impression that the most important step is the first one, recognizing the issue and being willing to look at getting help. I believe that's the part of the story that is the same for everyone but I think the next chapter would be radically different for each person dealing with this issue. I do think some people deal with ED for most of their lives but I don't know if this is true for everyone. I had an agent a long time ago who wanted an earlier version of the novel to be tied up with a neat bow of healing at the end. I felt this was unrealistic and disrespectful to anyone actually dealing with an ED so I refused to change it. That was the end of that relationship /and/ the novel until I re-wrote it a couple of years ago with the ending I thought most appropriate and found a publisher who understood what I was trying to say.

Me: As a teacher, do you see that the illness is developing in younger and younger students or is it something that is only apparent with middle to older teens?

LS: I don't have any data on this question and my personal experience hasn't really given me a clear perspective. I worked with grades 6 and up for the most part, and really felt that my 11 and 12 year olds were far too worried about their weight at an age where adolescence had barely had time to kick in. In terms of the illness itself, I have certainly read articles that support concerns about development in younger children.

Me: When doing your research for the websites that you modeled thinandbeautiful.com on, did you find there were more that lean towards caution or more towards the risks (pro sites) of the illness?

LS: The most concerning aspect for me was trying to tell the difference. Most of the sites I researched seemed to offer positive advice and medical information...on the surface. However, with many of them, a little clicking on headings led me directly to chat rooms and other types of advice...how to lose more, and purge more easily for example...and to pages with ultra thin images that seemed to be there for young people to aspire to. Beyond the concerns over how many sites I found, was the ease with which I found them. There are many really positive sites out there as well. I have tried to include lots of them on my blog and as I find more, I will continue to add them.

Me: There were moments when you almost seemed as if you were going to move away from Maddie your lead, and follow her family member's story more closely, was there a purpose to your not going that route?

LS: I do think that family is a huge part of the process but I was really attempting to focus on Maddie and her personal journey. Maddie was very absorbed in her own struggles and her own emphasis was on herself. I was trying to find the balance between the reality of how wrapped up in yourself and your body you become when dealing with ED, and trying to find ways to demonstrate the impact on those around you as well.

Me: Getting back to the internet side of it, you managed to address another subculture with the fact you had your lead feeling closer to her internet friends then her real life friends. I know myself, my relationships with my internet friends are as close if not closer then my offline ones, was that done to show Maddie's feelings of loneliness or just a natural by product of modern society?

LS: A little of each. My youngest daughter is very much a part of the modern, electronic social communication age and I am fascinated watching her deal with people online as if they are right in front of her. Arguments and making up via text and facebook...so far from my personal experiences but so interesting to watch with a new generation. I wanted the novel to be something young people could relate to and this is so much a part of their lives I felt it had to be there...besides my daughter told me I /had/ to have it in there or the novel would suck (her word not mine!).
In terms of Maddie's loneliness, absolutely. Her feelings of being misunderstood by those in her "real" life are what led her to find new friends online. I really believe that I would have done the same thing if I had the chance when I was young. I also believe that the lack of "understanding" I had...literally no one understood what was going on with me...might have helped me on my way to recovery in a strange way. No one told me what I was doing was "normal" or "OK" so at some point, I started to wonder myself. If I had others like me, even online, I might have kept on going further down the path than I did.

Me: This is a brave topic to begin with, did you have any outside pressure to not tackle the topic?

LS: Not in my personal life. Family and colleagues were totally supportive. However, there were critics and bloggers who questioned the book before it was even formally released, wondering if it was going to be harmful to young people....which upset me of course as that would be the exact opposite of my dream when writing it in the first place! My dream was to help people better understand what someone with an ED is going through and to perhaps encourage even one person to seek help. I do have to admit, it's a tough topic to start a writing career with. Some of the negative responses (thankfully few in number!) to the novel seem to come as much from passionate opinions about the topic itself as about my ability to write about it.

July 31st 2010

2010-07-31T23:33:00.000-04:00

You would think by now I would know better then to give a date on stuff when blogging but no. I haven't learned my lesson yet.

I know, I promised three book reviews that I have not posted yet, and I am behind on one right now.

I'm currently reading Emma and the Vampires for review. I will have it up shortly.

PLUS I was lucky enough to get an interview with Liane Shaw the author of thin and beautiful . com

I will post that soon.

And you're wondering what my hold up is? Well, I have been suffering from a back injury. Yes, I'm a mess. Just sitting here for this last 5 minutes is torture. Sitting is torture. I've been in and out of the hospital all week.

So fear not, the reviews and interviews are coming. Just not as fast as I was hoping.

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

2010-07-20T21:54:00.000-04:00

This is book two in the Cousins' War series

Plot: Margaret Beaufort has been enchanted since she can remember with the idea of Joan of Arc and feels that she was meant for greatness. First believing that she is meant for a holy life, Margaret is sent with great disappointment to be married at age twelve. After nearly dying in childbirth, she is widowed and sent to be remarried. Her one goal is to see her only son and heir Henry be crowned king. Years pass and her second husband leaves her a widow, forcing her to marry a third time. This time around as Lady Stanley, she lives her life as close to being a nun as she's allowed, serving as advisor to a queen she would rather see dead. Can she pull herself out of her own shadow and see her own heir king or will she have to bow down to a woman known to be a witch?

There is a lot of ground to cover in this novel. The first part takes you solidly through the life of Margaret Beaufort and her quest for divinity, before switching to a more common view of royal ruling. Set mostly on the battlefields, this story slithers in and out of the lead's narration and having been done beautifully with letters making you feel as if you are truly looking over the shoulder of Margaret. I found myself towards the end feeling the hurried frustration that Margaret was, as she was being forced to play her hand silently, never knowing who was telling her the truth and who was spying on her. It's rare for an author to give you the sense of urgency like this while reading their words.

As you grow with the character of Margaret, you feel both pity for her and in time distaste. Her ever present desire for control which is supplied first under the disguise of her visions from God then begin to show their true colours as being jealousy for a more adored woman.

There is a small segment where upon Margaret has lost favour with the court and is sentenced to both house arrest and to be the guardian of the future queen. You feel the full weight of her character here the most, as she is still plotting revenge while in denial about her situation. Ever flaunting her religious devotion in the face of her ward, increasing the divide between the two women. This is the standoff that tells more about the future of things then even the final battle scene. The Princess Elizabeth never bends to the will of Margaret once during her stay with her, ever holding onto her own truth.

Margaret is both cunning and cruel in her sense of self and her loyalty to the house of Lancaster. Stopping at nothing to secure her name and her place in the royal line, letting her own vanity cross out the weakness in herself, seeing it (vanity) only in her rivals. There are moments when you are not sure if she is mad or just so blinded by her own upbringing and devotion to both her religion and her greed.
Either way, the idea of a woman keeping to her choices and her show of faith in them is refreshing.

There were moments when reading this when I wished her third husband had been expanded on as a character. As strong as he was, Lord Stanley was left short in actual personality. Easily the most interesting of the three husbands, I kept waiting to see more direction from him.

The character of Jasper Tudor, the brother -in-law from the first marriage, at times seems like a half forgotten element. The first part of the novel has him a prime player in the plot, but he tappers out a little too much and is nearly used as a means to bridge the shift from one husband to the other. At times very one dimensional, at other times, you feel the hopelessness he is balancing on the edge of.

This is not just a story about power but a story about devotion. What you are willing to sacrifice for your visions and how you are able to stand for the choices you make.

As someone walking in on this series at the second book, it does indeed make me want to go out and find the first book in the series The White Queen, to see what I've missed.

thinandbeautiful.com by Laine Shaw

2010-07-10T01:09:00.000-04:00

I know I've said recently that books I've read have been emotional, but this was a roller coaster.

Plot: Maddie is worried about her weight after visiting the doctor. She is fifteen when she starts to "diet" and soon is being both praised and punished for her rapid weight loss. Feeling as if no one understands her, she turns to the internet for help. Website after website list the ways one can diet and quickly loose weight, but only one lets her chat about it. Almost two years pass before Maddie's family and friends make her get help for her eating disorder and Maddie ends up in a rehab clinic. The people she meets here help her realize that she's more then just her shadow.

I could not put this book down. It left me needing a few deep breaths and a little shaky. It's listed as being semi-biographical, as the author herself has dealt with eating disorders.

Okay, this really hit home. I've admitted in the past that at one point I suffered from Bulimia and have had issues with my weight my whole life. I only publicly talked about it in the last few years, but I also grew up in a time when internet was not available everywhere at all hours. This novel uses the internet as a co-star, showing that just because the information and so called support is at your fingertips, does not mean it's good advice.

The group of girls Maddie ends up finding are all under 90 pounds and still thinking they are fat.

One scene had me caught between anger and tears, when Maddie is shopping for jeans with her mother and the sales lady keeps telling her how thin she looks.

Given that the novel is seen mostly through the eyes of a teenager suffering from the disorder, there are moments when it almost seems pro-disorder, ALMOST but not completely. Then it switches gears very quickly as you get moments of the story as seen through the eyes of the rest of the characters and it is clearly anti-.

thinandbeautiful.com is a hard pill to swallow, as it should be. This is not a pretty topic and it is laid out very vividly in all of it's harshness. I have to give a big nod to the fact the author did not limit her research to just women having this disorder, men fall victim to this as well. Lots of men. I think she made a brave and smart move adding a male character who not only had the disorder, but was aware of it and seeking help.

The fact Maddie has fallen into paranoia over her life shows a level of normalness that all teenagers no matter if they are suffering from an illness or not, go through was another sub-plot that added extra texture to the story. Feeling of betrayal, confusion, low self esteem, and simply being misunderstood flows through the entire novel with a serpentine grace that manages to weave you up inside itself.

The journey we are taken on with Maddie and her Girls Without Shadows, is a bumpy one that points the finger where it belongs, on the individual and the media in a joint effort to expose the rawness of the illness. Not enough is ever said on the topic of eating disorders and this novel serves up a cold mirrored image that is needed.

This is a book I feel needs to be standard reading in high school.

Books I've been reading lately

2010-07-08T12:10:00.000-04:00

Between the one's I've been doing for review, I've been doing a book club.

So far, we've had two selections

Jane Slayre (April 's book of the month)
Eat Pray Love (June's book of the month)

With summer, we've sort of slowed down. Hoping that things will pick up soon though.

I've also read for just myself Bergdorf Blondes

I will have reviews on these in the next few days. The book club is still in the middle of Eat Pray Love You can find us on Facebook too

Mail July 2010

2010-07-06T11:34:00.000-04:00

I have a nice stack of books that have arrived in the last week from a few different places.

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory, which came from Simon and Schuster Canada.

As well as thinandbeautiful.com by Liane Shaw and Fearless Female Journalists by Joy Crysdale both of which came from Second Story Press

Jessica Z by Shawn Klomparens

2010-07-02T13:45:00.001-04:00

I was asked by Catherine McKenzie to take part in a great new thing. "I bet we can make a book a bestseller" (which can be found on both Facebook and Goodreads)

I'm a little behind the rest of the gang but I'll get to that in a minute.

First book on the list was Jessica Z by Shawn Kloparens.

Plot: Jessica writes for online ads, her sister Katie is working towards her PhD, and their lives are smooth until Jessica meets Josh, an artist. Agreeing to work with him on a still life project, Jessica ends up becoming more then just his muse. Meanwhile, their city has become the base of political upheaval as bombs are being set off everywhere. Can she really trust her new friends or will they lead her down the wrong path?

Now, let me tell you why I'm like two weeks behind the rest of the group on this book. It's just too real.
I was commenting to friends that the first half was as if pieces of my life were there in this story.
The lead character has a job working online doing promos and ads, she has a younger sister, survivor of a broken family, worked a few times as a model, and the three main men in her life are named Patrick, Josh and Danny. I was un-nerved a little with the similarities to my own life and had to step away from this novel.

There are two plot twists I did not see coming. We're set up with a rival co-worker/love interest of her sort of boyfriend Patrick, who you're not really sure that you should be trusting. I thought it was a beautiful use of the modern Frenemy element.
The character of Josh was also a great elemental plot twist. A rich character who straddles the line between lost little boy and mesmerizing control freak. The idea that he's breaking through the modern scope of what is considered art and science lends to a subplot all its own that weaves you up like a cocoon.
The addition of Emily, Josh's sister midway through suggests a thread of Jane Austen in it's Victorian sensibilities. Secrets exposed and loves revised.
This is another very modern novel that could easily translate into any decade or century. Communication being the key element through out in all it's forms.
The decisions Jessica has to make are ones that seem to plague every modern woman right now, lest of all how much freedom to give up to her new life as it seems to blast away her old one.

This novel drew me in and gripped me wholly, leaving me smiling and agreeing and at times in shock. I had to keep reminding myself that these three women, (Jessica, Katie and Emily) who are so real at times, were written by a man. I have rarely found novels where this formula has worked so well.

Jessica Z was a surprising story that left me breathless.

Interview with Kathleen Grissom

2010-05-21T09:33:00.000-04:00

I recently had the chance to chat with Kathleen Grissom author of The Kitchen House (you can read my review here)

Me: Mama Mae. She seems almost like a combination of real people. Were you tempted to add more of her back story at times? You almost get the impression she's a former Vodoun Priestess, was that on purpose?

KG: To me, Mama Mae was EVERY good mother. She would do whatever it took to make certain that her family survived. I wrote about her exactly as she presented herself to me. Strong. Reliable. Resourceful. Actually, I saw and felt her so completely that I forgot the readers were relying on me for description. I hadn't included any back story until it was suggested to me that I might want to do so to give the reader more insight into her character.

Me: The subject matter is a harsh but realistic one, were there many objections to you writing this sort of theme from your family/editors?

KG: I was exceptionally blessed to have the parents that I did. They never shied away from looking at the truth and we were always encouraged to explore and embrace other cultures. My husband, Charles, my agent, Rebecca Gradinger, and my editor, Trish Todd, couldn't have been more supportive and encouraging.

Me: The character of Mr. Boran very much reminds me of Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice, were you at all influenced by Jane Austen?

KG: I have always enjoyed Jane Austen, and her writing was helpful for me in writing this book, most especially for the cadence of speech of that time period.

Me: What made you decide to split the story into two voices? Why both female and not go with one of the girls and say Marshall?

KG: Initially, Lavinia was a single narrator. Then it was suggested to me that it might be helpful for the reader to hear more from the perspective of the slaves. I went to my characters and listened. Belle came through with the clearest voice. I might have gone with any of the others, but, as I said, Belle stepped forward, quite determined to have her say.

Me: I noticed in the novel you have taken on the themes of oppression in both the two biggest forms, Non-Whites and Women, was there a reason you decided to parallel both of these at once?

KG: I did not intentionally set out to write a story that involved themes of oppression. The story came to me after I saw a notation on an old map that said "Negro Hill". Then. one day, it was as though a movie began to play out and my pencil followed along. Throughout the process. my goal was to get myself out of the way so the characters could tell their story.

Me: The one theme in the novel that had me scratching my head was the Captain's secret. As a reader, I could not understand why the secret was kept, did you as a writer plan on revealing it at all when you started?

KG: From the beginning I was frustrated with him and I wished that he would tell the truth. Once, when I tried to change that fact, the story stopped. When I went back to the original story, it began again. Then, while doing research, I learned that in this time period a blind eye was turned and the subject of paternity of many of the more Caucasian looking slave children was never discussed.

Me: Food. It runs through almost every page. Do you have a personal connection with the recipes you talked about in the novel? How do you view the new foodie movement and did that have any baring on your placement of food within the story?

KG: While doing my research I often saw food prepared as Mama and Belle might have made it. My mouth watered as I watched roasts turning over an open fire or saw cornbread, pulled from the red coals, browned and hot in a cast iron pan. I would leave those sites hungry for those dishes and determined to recreate what I had seen prepared. That may well have have translated itself into the book.

Me: The character of Miss Martha at moments seems to choose her destiny of madness. Did you set out writing her as being just in denial or the pure victim of her surroundings?

KG: I saw Miss Martha as a victim of circumstance, someone who simply could not cope with what life presented to her. Of course she also suffered from untreated opium addiction.

Me: What was the significance of Jamie's bad eye?

KG: There was no significance other than that is the way he came to me.

Me: The fact the Captain saved Lavinia and gave her to Belle instead of his wife, was that a gift of guilt?

KG: Lavinia was very ill on her arrival and to the Captain likely represented an inconvenience. I don't know that he considered Lavinia as anything but a problem...more like extraneous cargo.

Me:Religion plays a minor roll in the story but Faith plays a major one. How did you make the choice to separate the two?

KG: Again, the characters acted from their beliefs and spoke their truth as they saw it. I often wondered how Mama Mae developed her strong faith but that was never revealed to me. Also, I was often moved by Uncle Jacob's quiet faith and I wondered if he practiced his religion when he was alone.

Mail Day

2010-05-14T14:09:00.004-04:00

I just got an advanced copy of Mr. Darcy's Little Sister in the mail today from Sourcebooks.

I'll be getting to this soon

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

2010-04-28T20:12:00.000-04:00

I know a book is going to be great when one of two things happen, either I am laughing out loud agreeing with everything, or I'm crying.

This book has done what only one other has in the past, had me crying less then ten pages in.The first paragraph of the Kitchen House is fast paced and seems to grab at your throat, hooking you and forcing you to pay attention to the lead character.

Plot: Lavinia is an Irish orphan who is brought home to a plantation, where she's given to the kitchen staff. A white girl in the middle of the 1700's working and living as if she is black. Belle, her new adoptive mother, is the daughter of the plantation owner, but banished to the servants quarters. Both find themselves struggling to live a life torn between these two worlds. As each grows into her own identity, she must face the outside world that is no bigger then the farm they are indebted to.

This story unfolds in the voices of both women, each chapter a parallel of the one before it, giving you a view from the "big house" (Lavinia) and the smaller "kitchen house" (Belle). This novel is not for the weak of spirit. There were moments where I was shocked at passages but loved the fact the author Kathleen Grissom was not afraid to explore the territory.

Rape, incest, slavery, addiction, faith, hope.

The story itself covers only a part of their lives, roughly twenty years, but weaves a tapestry that covers more. Not since Anne Rice's Feast of All Saints, have I come across a novel that dared to speak honestly about a time in history that helped to change the structure of things. There were moments when my mind was drawn to a comparison of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park in the lighter sense, of Lavinia's own improved "banishment" to a more wealthy aunt and uncle.

As I read this, I found myself asking the questions "what are we willing to do for love? How far are we willing to go? What secrets are we willing to keep? What boundaries are we willing to cross? And what would you do for your family to keep them safe?"

The novel is hauntingly beautiful in it's own spirit and gracious in it's unapologetic tone.

It's a mail bag day

2010-04-20T10:41:00.004-04:00

I just got this in the mail today.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grisson.

So, I'll have a review of it soon.

Read, Remember, Recommend by Rachelle Rogers Knight

2010-04-05T10:37:00.004-04:00

I was sent this by Sourcebooks the other week.

It is a complete guide to award winning books up to this point, with a break down of award by country and genre.

A lovely jumping off point for building your own library, or for sharing titles you might not have thought of before.

This however, is not all that Read, Remember, Recommend has in store, it in fact is a very thought out book club diary. With sections for your ever expanding "To Read" list, your groups "Read" list with discussion pages, the "Recommend" list, a section for keeping track of books you have lent out or borrowed and the final chapter/section is an overview of internet based sites for online book clubs and internet awards.

This is a well researched diary for anyone just starting out with a book club or who might be wanting to look into what sort of writing awards they might be eligible for.

Rachelle Rogers Knight has put hours of dedicated work into her latest offering, and it's companion diary for teens. The diary is available this week and you can visit her at her website http://www.bibliobabe.com/

Blog's First Award

2010-03-30T09:51:00.004-04:00

Thank you Magaly Guerrero at Pagan Culture for this award.

If I understand this right, I need to follow the rules of the award

They would be

* Thank the one who gave you the award

*Share 7 things about yourself

* Pass the award to 15 others

*Let them know you are giving them an award

Well, okay seven things about me...

1) Disney movies make me cry

2) I'm still after 15 years only on chapter 2 of ClockWork Orange -just can't get into the book, loved the movie can't get into the book

3) I'm a Michael Damian fan from years back. I still listen to his self titled album from 1986 on cassette

4) When I had cable I used to watch Designer Guys every day on HGTV

5) My favourite scene in the movie Duets when Paul Giamatti sings "Hello It's Me"

6) I love Earl Grey Tea

7) I adore the character Clem on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I think he's the best of the comedy relief they ever had.

That was the easy part, now for 15 bloggers I adore. Little harder, I can think of 5 off the top of my head.

1) Revenge of the Book Nerds

2) Reading with Tequila

3) Austenesque Reviews

4) Stephanie's Written Word

5) WWE GIRL

Motherhood : movie

2010-03-29T17:28:00.006-04:00

Right off you are thinking what does this have to do with anything?

It's a version of Mrs. Dalloway.

For anyone who has not read Mrs. Dalloway, it is about a woman who's life is examined in the course of one day. The end of the day being a grand party she's throwing, and how she views herself in the course of the day.

The movie Motherhood is about a woman who is planning this party for her daughter's 6th birthday, and how her life is

examined in the course of that day leading up to the party.

The husband, the best friend, the society she has to deal with; all which make her doubt herself and her place in life.

Now, I love this idea. Loved it when they did the film The Hours (also based on Mrs Dalloway)

and am loving it in this modern telling.

With the internet, our lives are processed down to one day at a time, and our lives spilled forth sometimes in full for others to view in short areas of time. This movie uses the blog as a way for the lead to examine her own life in less then perfect snips. And we the viewers, are treated to her in every shade of what at first appears to be the beginning of a meltdown but in fact is a celebration.

March 26 2010

2010-03-26T18:20:00.000-04:00

I have got to learn not to plan anything beyond a few hours, cause whenever I do, those plans get shuffled and mucked up.

I know, I said the other day I would get to an Emma post. Well, that did not happen. Was hoping to also have a Cleaving by Julie Powell half done by now, but I'm only starting it. But one things for sure, I was not prepared for it. I thought I was, but I wasn't. What do I mean by that, you are thinking. Well, I'm a vegetarian so I was prepared for the graphic content of the butchery, but I was not prepared for the erotic way she describes the butchery. It's like she's describing a lover in a very poetic way.

Wow.

Okay, so now that you all know I am behind on my homework, I'll throw another Emma question at you.... Do you feel that Frank Churchill's behavouir was justified?

March 23 2010

2010-03-23T08:26:00.003-04:00

I got another book in the mail the other day. Read Remember Recommend by Rachelle Rogers Knight. Which I will be reviewing next week.

Yesterday, was my birthday. So mom took me for lunch and while I was out, I wandered into the bookstore and bought myself a copy of Cleaving A Story of Marriage Meat and Obsession by Julie Powell. I am very eager to start reading this one. I adored Julie/Julia. Been reading her blog for awhile now and just love her strength and humour.

This has launched me on a bit of a cooking book addiction. I have a "to buy list" that has about 6 memoirs from Chefs/Food Critics that I hope to have soon.

I'll be doing a Jane Austen post hopefully tomorrow. I just got my hands on a copy of the latest BBC version of Emma and I want a chance to sit down to watch it.

Oh my god! My life sucks

2010-03-15T12:37:00.005-04:00

Okay, so I had every intention of working on book reviews for the next while.

Then my oven blew up.

I have a new stack of book it seems coming from a different publisher for review sometime this week.

Things have to sort themselves out soon... I hope.

But on the topic of Emma.... It was once said that Jane Austen wrote it with the idea that no one would like the heroine but her.

How do you feel about an author who wrote their main character to piss people off?

Jane Austen Anyone?

2010-03-05T20:42:00.003-05:00

You know, I had fun last year being part of the All Jane challenge that was hosted by Stephenie's Written Word. I know there are a few other bloggers out there doing one of their own right now, and I am sure that there will be more as time goes on.

I'm tossing out the idea to anyone who might be interested, of doing a semi-Jane Austen book club. Not really a challenge, but just comparing notes.

If anyone is interested, just leave me a comment and we'll get a link exchange going.

First book to be talked about is Emma

March 1 2010

2010-03-01T14:38:00.003-05:00

Hey, just to let everyone know, the contest closed today for the copy of "Spin" by Catherine Mckenzie.

Someone will be getting ahold of the winner in the next day or so.

This also means that I will be back later this week with a few updates to the blog. I know, it's been silent for the past month. I just did not want the contest and interview to get too lost in the shuffle, not too mention, the past month has been chaos in my personal life to say the lest.

But congrats to the winner of the book, and I will be back in a day or two with a few things to pump life back into this blog.

Interview with Catherine McKenzie

2010-01-27T08:39:00.002-05:00

I had the chance to talk with Catherine McKenzie about her debut novel Spin. Which you can read a bit of on the sidebar, just click the "Browse this Book" link.

Don't forget about the giveaway that is going on and the review

Me :- The first question I am sure everyone has asked, but is the story fiction or semi-autobiographical?

Catherine McKenzie : Yes, I have been asked that question before and the answer is: no. I have not gone to rehab, undercover or otherwise. The story is fiction, with the exception being of course I was inspired by some real-life celebrities who were going in and out of rehab as the premise for the story. That being said, those guys on the roof – The King and his acolyte – are inspired by two guys I actually met. Oh, yeah.

Me-You made direct reference to two Jane Austen stories, were you reading/watching those two during the writing of this book or are they just some of your personal favourites?

CM :The two references you refer to are Mansfield Park, my least favourite Jane Austen novel, and Persuasion. I wasn’t reading either during the writing of this book, though I have read them both multiple times, but I did see the BBC production Persuasion I refer to while I was writing the book. It was one of those kismet elements that happen when writing sometimes – I had already decided to poke fun at the running that happens in romantic comedies when I saw this production. I screamed in disgust, and then I smiled with glee. I had the perfect place to express my feelings!

Me: I felt the undertone of both stories at different points in the novel (when Henry and Katie are together in the woods while Amber and Connor were covering in the game room, I thought about the scene in Northanger Abby when Morland and Mr. Tilney are chatting while Miss Tilney is courted by her lover)

CM :Interesting. That was really not intentional, but you don’t always know what you’re influenced by.

Me - Katie is in denial for most of the book about her own addiction, what was the deciding factor that prompted you to let her realize she might have a problem after all and that working the program was her best bet?

CM: In my mind Katie isn’t a full-blown alcoholic, just someone who is starting to let alcohol interfere in their life. Others might feel differently (some reviewers for instance), but I thought it was realistic for her to be in denial for a long time, but not for the whole time. Main characters in novels have to arc and learn and change a little (generally) and so this became part of Katie’s arc.

Me -The playlist that you have Katie listening to throughout, was that on purpose (deep emotional response for the characters and readers) or was that what you were listening to when you wrote it? It seemed to me, as if you were trying to express the surrounding characters and environment just that much deeper?

CM: Absolutely, thank you for getting that. Soundtracks are used so often in movies to help express the feel and tone of a scene, but more rarely in books. I wanted to fold in that extra dimension if I could. Really, I was kind of trying to write a musical, if that makes any sense.

Me - You have half your characters without real names, was that to show the level of personal interest Katie had with the other patients, or were you commenting on how many of us go through society? (and the way we communicate through gossip)

CM: I think I was trying to do several things. First, I admit I found it kind of funny and reflective of Katie – she doesn’t take things seriously, even when she should. More practically, in a book with that many characters, it’s really hard to make them all stand out individually – but calling them by their profession automatically gives them some personality.

Me- You used all the elements in modern culture -fashion/music/movies/tv/internet/magazines - as both a backdrop and for a form of communication, were you trying to show simply how obsessed we as a whole have become with escapism or where you expressing (mirroring back to us) how easily we as a whole can be led?

CM: Yes, yes, yes. I was trying to root this in the now, now, now but also to comment (gently) on our fanaticism with celebrity. There are large groups of people who look to and believe celebrities’ opinions on things as serious as autism instead of doctors. Why? How did we get this way? And isn’t it funny?

Me: What inspired you to make Katie a music writer?

CM: I honestly don’t know where that came from. Sometimes details just appear on the page. But I knew I didn’t want Katie to be a girly girl and to me a music obsessive is sort of the opposite of a girly girl.

Me - Hamlet. What I picked up from the use of Hamlet in your story was the underlining idea that things are not always how they seem. Comparing the madness of Hamlet and Ophelia to the drug addictions of both Connor and Amber. And the way their relationship is doomed to the way the lovers in Hamlet's relationship is doomed, was that your intention?

CM: You are smarter than me. Seriously. I wish I had thought of that.

Me-There is a scene where Katie realizes after she returns home, that her roommate is dating one of her friends. The fact she does not think of it as it is unfolding in front of her, was that to express how quickly things can change/grow or was that to express how self absorbed Katie was before rehab?

CM: Again. You are smarter than me. No, seriously, I was trying to soften Joanne a little and show a transition from her old life to her new.

Me -The character of Candice, I thought was a brilliant move. The idea of a person who could not accept that they had their time in the spotlight and needed to move on, was she based on anyone particular ? What was the underlining reason for having her almost disappear after her "performance"?

CM: She was not based on anyone in particular. She disappears after that because she had served her purpose. It’s just not possible to pursue each and every story line to its conclusions. Unless you’re Stephen King. He can do the 1000 page book. And John Irving.

Me: Thank you so much for your time Catherine.

CM: Thanks for the very thoughtful questions!

Her next book is set to be released early 2011

Give away -Spin by Catherine McKenzie

2010-01-23T00:25:00.007-05:00

I am doing my first giveaway. It's for SPIN by Catherine McKenzie.

By now you have all read my review and had a chance to browse the book by the sidebar link and now you have a chance to win a copy.

All you have to do is leave me a comment with your email address saying why you might like this book.

This is for CANADIAN readers only.

You have until March 1st 2010 then one person will be picked by random.

Spin by Catherine McKenzie -Review

2010-01-18T18:25:00.016-05:00

Plot: Katie is a music writer about to turn 30. On the eve of her biggest job interview for her dream job, she parties a little too long with her friends. The morning of the interview then becomes the morning of hangover hell.

But all is not lost, as Katie is offered a job in the company for their gossip magazine. The one catch, she needs to go to rehab to get the story.

Katie's life is about to change in more ways then one when she meets her fate in the form of Amber and Conner, the two biggest movie stars in rehab.

I read this book in 2 days. It clocks in at just over 400 pages but breezes through. It's witty, fun and just what the doctor ordered.

I found myself nodding to a lot of the situations Katie was finding herself in. Not knowing how to handle herself around men, feeling different from her family, reaching for her dream no matter how low she had gotten. All things I could identify with myself.

Growing up is never easy, and it seems to hit women harder then men.

The social commentary of how we treat people was a main theme throughout. The lead character seems to have a nice balance between seasoned journalist and fan, (something I personally still don't have a handle on) which makes her befriending the very people she is suppose to be spying on very believable. Even the "playlist" she carries around in her iTouch throughout the story lends itself to the building blocks of the personalities around her.

Catherine McKenzie has the Austen touch in this novel, (it helps that there is a direct mention of Northanger Abby and Persuasion) making you able to view the society the lead character finds herself in from the same quiet nobility that Anne Elliot does, or Catherine Morland's dreamy view of reality (in Northanger Abby Morland reads about fantastic lives where as in Spin Katie watches on television celebrities)

This is one story that makes you sit up and take notice of not just the characters but of yourself. Having the subplot being rooted in rehab (finding one's core truth) had me walking away from it and thinking about my own life and goals.

Can you dig into the dirt of your own vices and not come away clean?

I will be having an interview with the author Cathreine McKenzie later in the month on Jan 27th. Please come back then for more on Spin.

Just a Note

2010-01-15T07:59:00.003-05:00

I just want to drop a reminder that I will be having a Q&A with the author of "Spin" soon.

Stay tuned here for more details. I will be updating everything later this weekend.

Jolted Newton Starker's Rules for Survival by Arthur Slade

2010-01-05T09:09:00.004-05:00

The Starker family are cursed to die by lightening. Newton is the youngest member of the family and might well be the last of the bloodline. He has decided to do the only thing he can think of, he joins the Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival. This means moving from his home to the middle of Moose Jaw in Canada and having to learn how to live in the wilderness. In the meantime, he's recovering from his mother's death and the death of his great grandmother. Both were hit by lightening.

The last gift his great grandmother had given him was a diary having belonged to Andrew Starker. Newton hopes to find a clue in the diary as to why this is happening to them.

This was a delightful 203 page book. I found this story to be touching and very funny. Laced with a passion for cooking truffles in any recipe that he can, Newton is a character that makes you look at your own life with a little more humour.

He's has this strange disability that has kept him sheltered for his whole life, unable to have any close friends because of the fact the lightening can kill anyone around him. The fact the main characters are in their early teens is not missed. The metaphor of going off to school away from home for the first time, experiencing that freedom is a perfect way to show how facing your fears is the first step to growing up. He's given a pig to help find the truffles he's addicted to, which turns out to be the compass he needs to find his own footing in life.

The character of Jacob, the teenaged writer, adds a second layer of sweetness; almost like a mix of a comedy duo and the voice of reason.

As the title suggests, there are rules for survival within the story. Some of these are a little cringe worthy but I found myself laughing too. One scene in particular describes having to use the eyes of a camel for water.

I warn anyone who is a vegetarian to tackle this novel with a light heart. The book is well worth the few moments of queasiness that you might get from the "mystery meat" scene.

I look forward to another round of the Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival.

1 Year ago (Jan 6th)

2010-01-05T08:04:00.005-05:00

One year ago I decided since I was spending so much time over on Chapters online community doing reviews that I would start a book blog.

I was seeing a growing trend of people who were doing this on a weekly and daily basis. I had been doing the odd review on my main blog and on my vampire blog already so I thought it seemed natural.

I think it was easier before when I was just reading for the sake of reading and just throwing up a few posts about what I was reading at the time. There's a lot of pressure when you get a set of books in the mail just for this.

As some of you know,(if you have been following my main blog) I've been having some health issues the last few months and have been back and forth with doctors and x-rays. So I haven't been keeping things updated as much. I've also been focusing on finishing my own novel while I wait for results.

Having said that, the Jane Austen Challenge that I got to be part of was one of the highlights of my year this past year. You don't realize how much someone influences your own style of work till you do a challenge like this and study them. Once things get settled a bit with my personal life, I think I'll do another mini Austen challenge. Just to clear the cobwebs.

Mail Day

2009-12-22T11:47:00.004-05:00

My doorbell rang, and I was thinking, "who would be coming here this time of day?"

I had forgotten with all that has been going on in the last two weeks that I was getting Spin by Catherine McKenzie.

I will be part of the blog tour later next month.

I have been having some personal issues and have to apologize for being behind on a few reviews.

I still have to finish reading Jolted by Arthur Slade and Cheers by Nicholas Pashley. I will try to have them up before the end of next week.

All are Harper Collins Canada books.

The Book of Spells by Michael Johnstone

2009-12-14T19:11:00.005-05:00

This book of shadows is designed to look like a cookbook.

But don't let that fool you.

At 384 pages, this is book covers almost every type of ritual you would be looking for in an easy to understand layout. The introduction covers the basics for anyone not familiar with spellcrafting, including a brief overview of the Wiccan holidays.

The Book of Spells, is one you should have in your collection if you are a practicing Pagan.

Elvira Three Pack

2009-12-12T08:44:00.004-05:00

Back in the mid 1990's Horror Hostess and Queen of Hallowe'en, Elvira along with her long time writing partner John Paragon, put out a series of books.

They were as campy as the Mistress of the Dark herself and filled with classic monsters but that wasn't the only gimmick they used. As the first book in the series Transylvania 90210 suggests, they mixed pop culture icons from Saved by the Bell and 90210 to create something that could only have come from The Mistress of the Dark.

These make for a light laugh out loud read at just under 200 pages each, and a series I dearly hope gets a reprint. I was little depressed to find out there were only 3 books in the series.

The Men of Jane Austen Part 3

2009-12-09T19:06:00.001-05:00

This is the last part of the final challenge for the All Jane Austen Challenge

I know I have not covered all the men, I have to be honest, this was a challenge that was unrealistic. Which I of course would not admit when I started this one. I am admitting it now.

Does that mean I failed the challenge? Maybe.

Something I have noticed in a general sense with the men in her books, that is the age. The average age of her heroes and villains is around 34.

Almost as if the men over this age are of no interest to her at all. I can in part understand this, as I am one for younger men.

I also noticed there are not alot of father figures in general in her books. The ones that do appear, seem to have little to do with things.

It makes one wonder if Jane Austen found the lives of her male characters as interesting as she seemed to for her female ones?

And why I am about to do something completely odd. I am going to "cast my Austen men". If I was doing a production of a Jane Austen, I would choose these real life men to play her characters This would be my dream cast. Some of these names you will recognize and some will have you scratching your head as to whom they are. ( The names with ** after then are wrestlers. )

Mr. Knightley = Jay Lethal**

Mr. Elton = Randy Orton**

Frank Churchill = Austin Aries**

Colonel Brandon = I have to go with the actor who's played him and stuck in everyone mind Alan Rickman. I know there have been other actors who's played him, but for me there is no other Colonel Brandon.

Mr. Willoughby = Andrew McCarthy.

Mr. Edward Ferrars = Jack Huston

Mr. Robert Ferrars = Jimmy Jacobs**

Edmund Bertram = Jude Law

Tom Bertram = Benicio Del Toro

Mr. Crawford = Alessandro Nivola . Again, I know he played this character already, but for me there is no other Mr. Crawford. No one can live up to his version of it.

Mr. Rushworth = Ryan Reynolds.

William Elliot = Desmond Wolfe**

Captain Frederick Wentworth = Sheamus**

John Thorpe = Steven Mackintosh

Henry Tilney = James Marsters

Mr. Bingley = Chris Sabin**

Mr. Collins = Eric Young**

Mr. Wickham = Kevin Zegers. And yes I know that is a cheat as he already did the movie Jane Austen Book Club playing the character of Trey

Mr. Darcy = Alex Shelley **

I hope I remembered everyone.

So this is the final part to my final challenge. As I said, it was more then I could handle. I'll remember not to be so bold next time.

This has been fun, coming around to peoples blogs over the last 6 months seeing everyones reviews.

In the end you have to ask yourself "What would Jane Do?"

Into the Dark by Peter Abrahams

2009-12-06T21:45:00.005-05:00

This is a children's book, but don't let that fool you, it packs a punch.

Plot: Ingrid is a devotee to Sherlock Holmes novels and seems to find one mystery after another. Her Grandfather is a war hero who is having issues with a local corporation trying to buy out his land. While out with a friend Ingrid stumbles upon a dead body on her Grandfather's farm and now must prove his innocence. Clue after clue leads Ingrid to the alibi she needs to clear her Grandfather, only he refuses to tell the truth. While this is going on, her parents break up, and her dog gets kidnapped. Can Ingrid keep her wits about her before it's too late?

I really enjoyed this novel. It had a good pace with 26 chapters and 300 pages. The characters were solid, which they would be as this is the third installment in the Echo Falls series.

You follow Ingrid exclusively as she pieces together the clues of dates, times and logic. The fact the character is a 13 year old girl lends to the quirks and pitfalls of letting something that might be obvious to an adult, expand as the next part of the puzzle.

Her sidekick shifts from her dog to her best friend, but you never feel the shift as jarring.

Using the subplot of the school play as a backdrop foreshadows the crime so subtly you don't realize it till you are in the last chapter. Brilliant.

The use of direct quotes from various Sherlock Holmes novels helps to link together plot points that would otherwise seem overlooked. It's easy to get behind the characters and it's clear who's side you should be routing for.

There was only one thing in this novel I did not like, that was the whip cracking housekeeper. It was a new take on the bad guy, but she was almost an after thought, brought in within the last two chapters.

I would recommend getting the other two novels as well, Down the Rabbit Hole and Behind the Curtain as there were references to things that happened in the past novels. Otherwise this works well as a stand alone piece.

As I said in the beginning, this is listed as a children's book, but adults who enjoy a good who done it will find it a nice bit of entertainment.

Movies about Books -part 2

2009-12-01T12:08:00.003-05:00

Secret Window. Based on the novella by Stephen King, Secret Window Secret Garden.

Is about a writer who is being accused of stealing another writer's work. We are taken through this situation which is only a small part of his downward spiral into madness as we discover his recent divorce.

He's done this in the past, and now has to face this demons.

This being a King story right off makes it a good one, true horror comes from inside not out. Johnny Depp once again pulls you into this world and makes you believe that what you read might not be what you see.

Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs

2009-11-25T17:47:00.003-05:00

I read this book back when it first came out two years ago, and had thought I reviewed it.

This is a year and a half long journey that the author found himself on where he followed the laws as they are listed in the bible.

It made for some interesting trials. At first, I wasn't sure I could get into a book about religion, but found myself glued to it. AJ Jacobs uses humour and personal errors as the jumping off point for his quest.

Could modern man be able to live up to the "moral code" laid out in both the Old Testament and New Testament?

Maybe.

Can enlightenment and spiritual purpose be found in someone who has never really seen themselves as being spiritual or religious?

Yes.

This is a book that anyone having questions about their personal spiritual beliefs should pick up.

The Gonzo Challenge

2009-11-21T11:02:00.002-05:00

Gonzo Journalism was brought to the forefront by one man brave enough to speak his mind even when it was a mill of rumours.

After having talked to people who all say they are big fans of Hunter S. Thompson, but yet can't list off more then one of his books, I am wondering if anyone in the last 30 years have read anything by him other then Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ? Or If they even read it?

So it's simple, between now and Feb 20th 2010 (the 5th anniversary of his death)

I am challenging anyone who sees this post to read one of his books and tell me about your thoughts on it.

Simple.

You can leave your comments on this post or on my other blog Another Freak in the Freakdom

Buy the ticket take the ride.

Books as Comfort Food

2009-11-20T08:50:00.003-05:00

When we are depressed, we all have a food, movie, cd or book we turn to as an emotional security blanket.

For me, it used to be Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, but as of late for me it's been Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Lover by Arielle Ford.

I have been finding it uplifting and grounding all at the same time. Beautiful stories of real people who found their happiness.

What are your comfort food books?

Mid Nov Update and a Poll

2009-11-18T09:54:00.004-05:00

Current reading list is crazy large.

The Shipping News is on the top of the pile, the one I have managed to get a few chapters read from this week.

If you hit up WWEGIRL's book blog you will find a Dracula book club online.

Not too mention, she's got a poll going at the moment, as do I.

I can't keep up with her, she manages to read more then I do, and I'm the one without any body around to distract me. Go figure eh?

And don't forget to Show us your all time favourite book.

Movies about Books

2009-11-16T14:09:00.005-05:00

As I was working on my Jane Austen Challenge, I found myself returning more then once to the Jane Austen Book Club. Which is a movie about books.

And it got me thinking of the movie the Ninth Gate which is also a movie about a book.

In this case, a book written by the devil on how to bring him into flesh.

The movie is also based on a book.

What is it you think that draws us to books? To the idea of the written word? To the need to have them?

Is it the knowledge they hold, or is it the idea of what they might evoke? Wither we are reading a text book on math, a cookbook, a steamy romance or a religious text, books somehow bring out another side of us. And let's us get lost in that particular world for awhile.

The message in the movie Ninth Gate is one of caution. The book that Johnny Depp's character is chasing after is one that unlocks a puzzle to the gods. In turn, it unlocks a part of him that he didn't even know existed. Sometimes, when we go hunting for the answers, the answers are hunting for us.

Share your all time favourite book

2009-11-14T18:43:00.004-05:00

I used my webcam so it's a backwards photo, cause my camera is still without batteries.

But my all time favourite book is The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

You can see by the condition of the book, it's been read alot.

I've had it since 1986 -this copy- I read it in Hardcover from the library when it first came out in 1985. It's traveled with me since grade 6. Lived in my purse and survived many trips across Canada.

My favourite quote is " Now and then eyes settled on me with some vague air of expectation. My white skin made them pause, but what was that when they let blood out of their veins themselves to keep their delicate parlor? ( Let me hold the basin for you and drink it afterwards) And my eyes, what were those in a sea of paste jewels?" page 273

BookStop

2009-11-10T11:49:00.000-05:00

Visit Bookstop

Come join me

What are you Reading Monday?

2009-11-09T12:07:00.003-05:00

J.Kaye's Book Blog has had this going for months, and I just found out about it cause you know me, I spend too much time alone under my books.

But here I go:

Monday Nov 9th 2009

I am reading Shipping News by Annie Proulx

The Pagan/Witch Challenge

2009-11-09T11:18:00.004-05:00

Pagan Girl is hosting her first challenge.

You can find out about it on her blog here

You can read about my challenge choices here

It runs from Yule (Dec 21st 2009) until just before Hallowe'en (Oct 21st 2010)

That goes against my values

2009-11-06T23:00:00.002-05:00

I was given a book to review that I not only could not finish, it opened a genre to me I want nothing to do with. This just was not my cup of tea.

I ended up letting a friend of mine take a look at it because of the religious and military themes running through the book.

The best she could offer was the the author exposed too much of himself with the personal reflections, and the poetry seemed forced.

How do you stay objective when dealing with a genre that goes against your religious/political beliefs?

Had I known before hand the genre/sub-genre of the book I would have politely said "no". But nowhere on it (it was a download actually ) did the book in question have any listing of it's religious/political slant.

So why didn't I ask the genre before hand?

Good question Spudgun, because the author was so desperate for someone to review it. I said yes and got the file from him without any other information. Bad on my part I know.

Where do you mark the invisible line when it comes to your work and your beliefs ?

Thunder and Blood-Review

2009-11-04T13:20:00.000-05:00

I have been sitting on this review for over a month waiting for the Nov 5th tour stop with the author Stacey Voss.

Due to issues with the author there will be no tour stop this week. Sorry.

Plot: Two sisters are on a weekend get away when they suddenly find themselves lost in a fog. With their car having broken down, they head for the nearest house for shelter. Right off the bat there is something odd about the place given the style is over a hundred years old with no running water.

The sisters soon learn that they are in a parallel universe where vampires rule the world and blood is the only form of currency.

Each sister then goes on her own way, and each of them gets involved with a vampire. Which one of the sisters will come out alive and which one of the vampires will gain control of the land.

Now you know me, I am always up for a vampire anything so I was really looking forward to this book. As well the premise of this story isn't bad, it's fairly good.

Now before I tell you what I liked about it, I have to tell you what I didn't like about it.

Thunder Bay.

For someone living in the city of Thunder Bay, I found the first chapter really difficult to sit through. I understand for anyone living outside of the area, this will be a very new and interesting plot part, but for people like myself who have been in the shadow of the Sleeping Giant for years it's dry very dry.

Now what I liked about it.

I found the idea of having a world run on blood to be a nice story line, (yes I am aware of Repo Man the Genetic Opera has a similar plot) and the head villain Lord Radek to be worthy of the title of vampire. There was something of a flavour that reminds me of Anne Rice's character Armand. Lord Radek is the strongest character in the book with the most interesting back story and seems to have the most depth to his personality. It's a shame he's only given a small slice of actual page time.

The element of the fog (no pun intended) being a key to the space/time travel was also an interesting way to get the characters from Thunder Bay to Donner, though it does lend one to think of Shadow Over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft and Evil Dead 2 and the fog sequence that Bruce Campbell encounters.

Not placing the story in this century was also a good idea, as it gave a second conflict for the two sisters in their need to adapt.

Mixing pieces that seem to be right out of the author's real life helped to ground the story in reality even though this is a sci-fi story. The good qualities out weigh the bad, but there is still something lacking for vampire fans.

It's hard to miss the shades of Vampire Masquerade and Kindred the Embraced; as the subplot stems up to offer the sectioning of land ruled by a vampire lord , but still does not hold the same edge that either offered back in the early 1990's. Or the placement of a Renfield-esque character (Gervis) in the castle of Lord Radek , who seems contented to be the male-servant to the vampire. Anyone who has seen the movie Blood and Donuts will see the psychic vampire undertones used by Lord Radek for seducing Christine into letting him drink her blood. (Again the scene in Interview with the Vampire where Louis turns Madeleine jumps to mind)

For anyone just coming into the genre of vampires this is indeed a slick and deserving take on the theme but for those who have been hanging around coffins for awhile, will find it to be treading on old ground.

As far as having vampires in Thunder Bay, it's not that far fetched, one just has to look at International Wrestling Superstar Vampiro, to know it's been done before.

Wishful Wednesday

2009-11-04T09:26:00.005-05:00

I saw this on Bluestocking Guide

I really want to read "Dracula the Un-Dead by Darce Stoker"

But have to wait for it to go on sale.

The Men of Jane Austen Part 2

2009-11-02T13:23:00.000-05:00

This is the second part of my final All Jane Austen Challenge

Jane Austen gave her share of bad guys to her novel Emma.

The character of Mr. Elton even out weighs the character of Frank Churchill, who is the "other bad boy" in this story. Mr. Elton is viewed as being in love with one character, then confesses the fact is wrong that he is indeed crazy about Emma, then runs off and marries someone else for their money. His motive like so many of the men in Austen's novels is money.

Her big hero in this story is Mr. Knightley. Whom, as his name suggests is the knight in shining armor not just to Emma, but to Miss. Smith and to Miss Bates. A gentleman who is not only educated, and wealthy but how has a sense of real family values. It's easy to understand why so many state Mr. Knightley as a favourite among Jane Austen's characters.

How do we feel about Mr. Collins?

I did a short post on another blog a year ago on the character traits of Mr. Collins. Once again, this villain has done nothing much more then being stuck up and greedy.

Even Jane Austen's most wicked characters Mr. Wickham, Mr. Willoughby, Captain Frederick Tilney, never seem to cross the line from seducer (wither for simply sex or money) into harsher crimes (rape and murder) giving all a chance for redemption.

Mr. Darcy is seen as the design of man in perfection. But again I ask why?

So many stories over the years have copied the idea behind Darcy for their hero. Making him tall dark and stuffy. A man who practices life while looking down his nose at it. Everyone and they're dog's grandmother has said "but look at what Mr. Darcy does for love" Um what does he do? He ruins his best friend's life for a full year by talking him into running away in the middle of the night because Mr. Darcy disapproves of Jane's station. He then helps to hide the fact Jane is in the same town as Mr. Bingley, further complicating it for them. Then only when he realizes that in order for his own ego to be centered does he mastermind to get them together. Yes he threatens Mr. Wickham into a proper marriage to Lydia, but still only because otherwise his own desires would be shut out. So tell me again why we all love Mr. Darcy?

Part 3 coming soon

Delivery Day

2009-10-30T22:19:00.004-04:00

I had to use my webcam as the batteries are dead in my digital camera, so hey they are reading backwards on your screen.

But, here are the latest books I got from Harper Collins Canada.

Cheers An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada by Nicholas Pashley

Into the Dark by Peter Abrahams

Jolted :Newton Starker's Rules for Survival by Arthur Slade

They all look fairly cool, I am hoping to get to them by the beginning of next week.

Darren Shan : Cirque Du Freak Book 1

2009-10-26T16:47:00.004-04:00

I received this one in the mail last week and only now had a chance to sit down and read it.

I have to get my hands on the rest of them, cause I think I found my new addiction.

Darren Shan is your average school kid. He likes playing soccer, hanging with his friends and spiders. When Steve his best friend manages to get them tickets to the traveling Freak Show, Darren can't wait.

The two boys witness what at first seems like simple stage magic while at the show but soon find out the best act is a real vampire.

Steve decides that he's tired of his life and begs the vampire to make him one. Only something goes wrong and he's left even more angry then before.

Meanwhile, Darren has a plot of his own, to steal the vampire's pet spider. Soon the two boys find themselves way in over their heads and facing their own deaths. Will they turn on each other or find another way to get away from Cirque Du Freak?

I have to admit, for a Young Adult novel this one had me glued. There is one scene between the character of Darren and his sister Annie that made me have to do a double take. It clinched the entire book for me, and I suddenly started thinking in metaphors and not taking the story as face value anymore.

Always a good thing in my view.

The characters are complex, rich and not at all what you would expect. The author managed to capture the emotional ups and down of young pre-teens with a vividness I haven't seen in this genre in years.

I love the little nod to Anne Rice by having the character writing under the pen name of Darren Shan as well as a very refreshing fact it's not set in the same old gloomy areas most vampire novels have been set. It's very much a British story so if you are unfamiliar with the British language it might throw you off at first.

This gets a 4 and a half out of 5 fangs from me.

The Kitten Diaries by Conny Manero

2009-10-19T09:14:00.006-04:00

This is a short two story book that is written from the point of view of two kittens, Chanel and Queeny.

Though it is a short read, it's what I would call a reality read.

Warm, fun and witty, the points it makes are serious ones.

In the first part, Chanel's Story, we witness what it would feel like to be the last one picked for adoption and the uncertainty it would bring.

Even though it talks about how pets stores can become over populated, you can't help but feel that children will identify with it on a few emotional levels and see themselves as the "scruffy kitten". It is a lovely way to show that everyone has a purpose on this earth and that everyone is entitled to love.

In the second part, Queeny's Diary, we view the three weeks Queeny has to spend with friends while her owners are on vacation. It's seen as an adventure in a very light hearted way. The idea that Queeny would like the look of bowling balls was a neat little tug that seemed to then flow into setting up a connection with her new part time family.

I have to admit, I liked the lighter tone of Queeny's Dairy little more then the seriousness of Chanel's Story. Which is a good thing considering I got begged by my niece and nephew to read the "kitty book" after they spotted it on my endtable. They too liked the scenes of Queeny rolling around the floor with the yarn.

I am interested in seeing if there is a sequel in the works, as there were a few other characters whom I feel would be interesting to hear from. Would love to know what Husky was thinking during Queeny's visit.

Stacey Voss: In Person from Oct 17th 2009

2009-10-17T22:30:00.042-04:00

Here is the new episode of my show Creeping Screams! Stacey Voss did a book signing today as part of her tour. I was there with camera in hand, a very shaky hand, and taped it.

The Men of Jane Austen Part 1

2009-10-15T07:48:00.002-04:00

This is the last challenge for the All Jane Austen Challenge. I will be the first to admit that I picked lighter challenges at the beginning so that I would have enough time to give to this one. Had I been smart I would have been working on it from the beginning but, I am not that smart.

Even with 3 full months this was a heavy one to handle.

Mr. Darcy Mr. Darcy Mr. Darcy. Everyone loves Mr. Darcy. More spin offs have been written around him then I can count.

Why do we love him so much? That is the question.

Mr. Bingley. I have always felt should have gotten more air time.

I was going to break this down to the heroes and the villains but, was unable to keep from wanting to add Frank Churchill to the heroes when most consider him a villain. So, that idea went out the window. Then I started a list of the men, and well I know I am forgetting a few.

*Mr. Tilney

*Mr. Knightley.

*Colonel Brandon

*Mr. Wentworth

*Mr. Ferrars

See what I mean.

In Jane Austen Book Club, the character of Grigg is a mix of Mr. Knightley and Mr. Bingley. He's loyal, sweet and witty. The traits of most of Austen's men who are more the sidekicks then the center heroes.

As well in JABC, the character of Dean is viewed as a slight take on Edward Ferrars and Capt. Wentworth. Solid, dependable, passionate enough but still not the visible hero.

But what of our Henry Crawford?

In JABC the character of Trey is our token bad boy, (one of as the other "bad boy" in Jane Austen Book Club is a girl) as a full out Henry Crawford.

Few of the Austen villains are borderline nice guys, Mr. Crawford from Mansfield Park is one of them. I know I am going to get alot of reactions to that, but he does fall in love. Yes,

Mr. Crawford falls in love with the wrong woman, but he does indeed fall in love.

Once again, I bring you back to Jane Austen Book Club, and the question that is posed if when you read Austen's novels, you have to wonder if she didn't have a thing for the bad boys?

Which got me wondering, almost all of her heroines fall in love for the first time with a bad boy. Is this a lesson Jane Austen felt all must go through to end up knowing a good thing when they finally found it? Or is there another reason under it all?

Was it to warn women of the pitfalls of lust?

Or was she just wanting a reason for her heroes to be heroic?

Frank Churchill.

Another one of the borderline bad guys. He is an impossible flirt that manages to make everyone believe he is interested in them, while the whole time secretly committed to Miss Fairfax, as well as being a snob. Unlike some of the other Austen bad guys, who's crimes are far worse, his biggest fault is being a grown man with the attitude of a high schooler. I think that is why I like the Clueless version of his character the best.

Part 2 of the Men of Austen coming soon.

A challenge to any men reading my blog

2009-10-14T11:05:00.004-04:00

I just posted a challenge on my main blog for any of the men who read it so why not post it here too.

I want to know what men really think of the Jane Austen characters.
Here is the post
and it will be ongoing no deadlines or time limits. A totally open challenge.

And yes I was inspired by my favourite scene from Jane Austen Book Club.

October Season : The Vamp Challenge

2009-10-03T10:57:00.008-04:00

It's GingerRoot, I know I don't post much but I thought I would step in on here a bit and let everyone know that in case you didn't, that Ardeth Blood is having her first challenge.

The All Vamp Challenge.

Which is running from Nov 1st 2009 until May 1st 2010. (I'm waiting for the all werewolf challenge)

With all the vampire fans out there how can you not sign up? There is a direct link at the side bar which will take you to her vampire blog and the Mr. Linky.

If you don't have a blog, but are members of ning.com, feel free to use your ning profile blog.

It's that simple.

Books, vampires, bloggers. What a wonderful mix.

Resistance is futile

Coming Soon

2009-09-27T16:43:00.004-04:00

We'll be doing an interview on Nov. 5th with author Stacey Voss of Thunder and Blood.

It will be part of her blogging book tour so don't forget to mark your calender and check out it.

Contests and More

2009-09-26T16:15:00.003-04:00

Everyone has a give away going on. (but not us cause we can't part with our books)

One of the latest is over at Froggaritaville's Bookcase. They are giving away Tall Dark and Fangsome.

So hop on over and check it out.

Banned Book Week

2009-09-26T11:19:00.007-04:00

From Sept 26-Oct 3 it's time to show your love for all books.

So I went to the website with the list of 100 Banned Books and was shocked to see a few titles on there. I knew about a few of them, as we had a great English staff at our high school who always managed to get a few of the "black listed books" into the reading groups. Infact, have read a nice bunch of them. At lest three from that list still sit on my book shelf.

The ones I knew about

*Naked Lunch by William S Burroughs

* A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

* Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Ones I was shocked about

*On the Road by Jack Kerouac

* Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

*Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

*Call of the Wild by Jack London

* Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

Are you kidding me? Charlotte's Web and Winnie the Pooh? For real? What have they got in them to be banned? And Mrs Dalloway?

Now, I have Mrs Dalloway, On the Road, Clockwork Orange, Naked Lunch; in my collection. Read all of them except Clockwork Orange, that is still on my to read list.

In high school I read Catcher in the Rye and Call of the Wild. I think the only two times in high school I finished the reading projects early.

In support of these books and others on this list, check out a few other bloggers and their thoughts on the issue.

Chick with Books is what brought it to my attention.

Word Shakers

2009-09-23T10:49:00.005-04:00

Been hanging out on Book Blogs on ning.com and saw a post for a new online book club. Fabulous.

So I joined of course.

The All Vampire Challenge Update

2009-09-20T13:20:00.003-04:00

For those taking part in the All Vampire Challenge, I have added a Mr. Linky to the blog post over on the vampire blog

http://alucardsrose.blogspot.com/2009/09/vampire-challenge-2009.html

Just to make it easier for sign up and for following.

We already have a few people so, don't be shy, join in.

Mr. Darcy Vampyre -Review

2009-09-18T23:51:00.007-04:00

Just finished my next Jane Austen Challenge.

This was challenge #5 out of 6. (Listed I think as item #4 on my to do list)

I was so excited about this book, I bugged and bugged the guy at the book store for a month till they got it in.

I pushed everything else aside to read this, and I read it in 2 days.

I was hyper to see the author added the character of Count Polidori based loosely on Dr. Polidori who in real life had written "The Vampyre".

Only, this book left me dry mouthed. That's not good.

It tried too much to be Anne Rice.

There were a few plot holes, and I thought the ending was just thrown together. As if the author didn't have a real ending and just let the chips fly where they may.

I wanted to love this story I really really did, but I just couldn't.

Another issue I had with it was that it is told through Elizabeth's point of view and not Darcy's. There are too many characters running around that have no purpose, they are mire window dressing, and the tease of Wickham at the very end was meaningless.

Too many unresolved questions that have you sitting there going "but why? and how?"

The author gives Elizabeth these vivid flashbacks that end up not linking to anything, and a myth connected to the first vampires that is never explained or returned to.

Too many loose ends.

Plot: It's the wedding tour for our Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. But just as they step foot into the coach Darcy changes their plans and takes her off to Paris. The wedding night does not happen, and Elizabeth fears Darcy regrets the marriage. As the days turn into weeks, Elizabeth is introduced to people from Darcy's past who seem to have strange habits even for people who live outside of England. In the chaos she learns her husband is not what he first seemed.

She is then seduced and abused by someone from Darcy's past.

The metaphor of Darcy's vampirism being used to represent repressed sexuality has been used more often then I can count in the vampire genre.

Too predictable.

Having a guy who is Darcy's rival seducing Elizabeth in much the same way Wickham did, was just a poor spin off.

As someone who has been reading vampire novels since 1985, I found this repetitive and moldy.

Jane Austen Book Club book vs movie

2009-09-17T23:50:00.001-04:00

Another one of my challenges for the All Jane Austen Challenge
this is number 6 on my list.

Comparing the book to the movie with a slight review.

But wait I am adding a twist. The twist is pointing out who in my social circle is an Austen iconic character.

First off, the book.

It's a retelling of all 6 novels, with a leaning towards Emma. It starts off with heavy Emma overtones, with the loss of a family member. (In Emma we see a wedding and the "loss" of her companion. In JABC it's the dead of a pet) The character of Jocelyn is Emma

The main male character Grigg (there are 4 male counterparts ) is meant to be Mr. Knightly/Mr. Bingley.

The character of Prudie is Anne Elliot.

The character of Sylvia is Fanny Price/Elinor Dashwood

The character of Allegra is Marianne Dashwood/Mary Bennet

The character of Bernadette is a little harder to nail down.

Then we are thrown into Mansfield Park on more then a few levels. Prudie's students are doing a play, and she is asked by one very seductive bad boy to help prepare. He is very much the Henry Crawford character.

Prudie's mother can be compared to Lady Bertram, by the simple issue of her being an exhippy stoner, unaware of reality.

Onto the movie

The scene when Prudie's husband is reading to her in bed, it's one of my favourite scenes from any film I have ever seen. It's so seductive.

The characters of Sylvia and Jocelyn are about a decade younger in the movie then they are in the book, but yet Allegra is around the same age as the book's character.

Most of the back stories have been left out of the film. Which is a shame, as we learn why certain characters do certain things in the book through their back stories.

And who in my social circle are Austen iconic characters?

Well, my sister would be Elizabeth Bennet.

Her friend Y.B. would be Lydia Bennet.

My friend E.K. is Emma.

And I am Miss Bates.

If I ever find a Mr. Bingley or Mr. Darcy I'll let you know.

Let's start an All Vampire Challenge

2009-09-15T19:56:00.004-04:00

Yes you heard me.

Why do I want to do this?

Well, because I am in the process of an All Jane Austen Challenge right now, and currently reading Mr. Darcy Vampire. And thought why not? I have read god knows how many over the last 3 decades, and have at lest 10 more vampire books sitting in my to read pile.

So, starting in November 2009 I am going to do an All Vampire Challenge.

I will figure out how to proceed and post about it again soon.

Okay people seem to be missing the link. It was in the comments. But, here it is again.....

http://alucardsrose.blogspot.com/2009/09/vampire-challenge-2009.html

You will find the rules and sign up deadline.

The Shining by Stephen King- Review

2009-09-11T19:54:00.005-04:00

As I said a few posts back, I was reading this for 2 book clubs.

I just finished it. I actually had a difficult time getting into this believe it or not.

I loved the movie version and could not get it out of my mind while reading.

I have to say, one theme by Stephen King, I have always been endeared to is the writer who looses his mind. He's done this more then once and is the best at it.

Stories about madness are always I find more scary then overly gory stories. Madness could happen to anyone at anytime for any reason.

I was alittle confused on a few elements, which I brought up in book club, that dealt with how certain items manifested themselves. And if it was a haunting or possession? It's never truly clear.

For anyone who has not read the original story it's about a man who is given a last chance to recover from his vices by taking his family to a hotel for the winter, where is has a job as the winter caretaker. His son is psychic and awakens the entity living in the hotel. Quickly one by one the three of them begin to loose control.

Given that this novel is 30 years old, it holds up brilliantly.