Category: News/Misc. Page 46 of 193

First Quarter Check-In: 2023 Plans and Challenges

The amount of dread I’m feeling around starting this post is…okay, I’m not sure how to end this sentence. I’m dreading this. I’m pretty sure I’m not in good shape here.

2023 Plans and Challenges
My plans this year focused on the two series that I’ve started–Literary Locals and Grandpappy’s Corner–both of which are doing okay (sure, there’s the Classic Spenser series that I meant to get back to–I still have time). Then there’s the perennial, “Cut down on my Goodreads Want-to-Read list and the unread books that I own.” How am I doing on that?

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
End of
2022
5 45 42 143
Current Total 4 44 54 142

Kind of So-so

Let’s see how I’m doing with the rest of my plans and move on to the Reading Challenges…
2023 Book Challenges


Goodreads Challenge
Goodreads Challenge


12 Books
This year’s selections are still looking good–I’m a little behind on the reading, and more behind on the writing. Still, I think I’m doing okay on this.
12 Books Challenge


2023 While I was Reading
While I Was Reading
I could be doing a little better on this—as usual, I’m not really planning the books for this challenge. When October hits, if I haven’t read everything on the list, I’ll get serious about hunting.

  1. A book with a protagonist over 40.:
  2. A book considered a classic.:
  3. A graphic novel.:
  4. A book that has been banned or challenged.:
  5. A book set in a place on your bucket list.:
  6. A book published before you were born.:
  7. A book related to a goal you have for 2023.:
  8. A book by an author of color.:
  9. A book with a clever title.:
  10. A book by a famous author you’ve never read:
  11. A non-fiction book about a topic you love.:
  12. A novella: Bad Memory by Jim Cliff

Your TBR Reduction Book Challenge

Your TBR Reduction Book Challenge
I’m on-target for this one (as much as I can be), and have even got a couple of the Stretch Goals accomplished.
January – End to end temptation I give you permission to read the most recent book you have got on top of your TBR. For many this is one we only get to read eventually but for now I want you to pick up the newest book in Mount TBR and read it. Can you remember the last time you did that? It’s a good habit to get into and January is all about starting good habits: The Perception of Dolls by Anthony Croix, Edited by Russell Day
Stretch Goal – Read the oldest book in Mount TBR it has waited long enough: Bartleby and James: Edwardian Steampunk Chronicle by Michael Coorlim
February – Short steps For the shortest month of the year I want you to read 28 short stories. This can be a TBR collection, anthology or even backlog of magazines that you have. Life is fast but use this challenge to appreciate the skill of the short story writer. Play your skills right you may get more than one book read this way. eh…I get partial credit for this, Noirville contained every short story I had unread, but it’s only fifteen stories. I did read extra novellas for the Stretch Goal, though. So I’m calling this okay?
Stretch Goal – Read four novellas one for each week of the month. Bad Memory by Jim Cliff, Anna and the Vampire Prince by Jeanne C. Stein, and Broken by Don Winslow (which is six novellas).
March – Fresh Starts This time for the beginning of spring you need to start a series you have never read before. Release this work from Mount TBR! Justice Calling by Annie Bellet


Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge;
Beat the Backlist Reading Challengee
I’ve got 2 of the 24 categories taken care of. So, I guess I’m behind–but I do have many of the rest picked out. I just need to set some time aside to knock those out.

  • five word title (only 5 words, count ’em up!)
  • won an award (the book won an award. any award!)
  • meant to read it last year (a book you planned to get to in 2022 and didn’t) The Night Watch by Neil Lancaster
  • giving an author a second chance (an author (or specific book) you previously didn’t jive with )
  • an author writing under a pseudonym (the author(s) is not writing under their real name)
  • 2022 debut novel (an author’s first book that released in 2022)
  • standalone (the book has no prequels/sequels)
  • bought and forgot it (a book you bought (or borrowed) and forgot about it)
  • plants on the cover (any kind of plant on the cover is fair game)
  • first in a trilogy (the book is the first of three)
  • name in the title (the title has a character name in it)
  • set on a continent you don’t live on (the story is set on a continent (or heavily inspired by a place on a continent) you do NOT live on)
  • it’s a trope! (your favorite) (pick your favorite trope and read a book featuring it)
  • less than 170 pages (make sure it’s a short one!) – Bartleby and James: Edwardian Steampunk Chronicle by Michael Coorlim
  • released at least 23 years ago (that’s right, we’re taking it back to the 90’s (release dates in 1999 or before))
  • protagonist name starts with “M” (the main character has a name beginning with “M”)
  • graphic novel outside your fave genre (find a graphic novel that isn’t in one of your favorite genres)
  • recommended by a bookseller (ask your local bookseller for a recommendation! if you don’t have a local store, there are plenty with social media accounts to reach out to)
  • letter “z” in the title (the letter “z” appears somewhere in the title)
  • all about music or the arts (the story revolves around music or the arts in some way)
  • protagonist has a pet (any pet will do)
  • more than 450 pages (grab a tome and get reading!)
  • your favorite genre (a book that falls in your favorite genre)
  • main cover color is your least favorite color (find a book prominently featuring your least favorite color on the cover)

20 Books of Summer
I’ve got about half of my list for this drafted, but I’ll save the details until later. Besides, knowing me, I’ll go through four more drafts anyway.


Basically, I’ve got my work cut out for me here.
(Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay)

March 2023 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

I read 29 titles (3 up/down from last month, 7 up from March), with 6,769+ pages or the equivalent—I don’t have page numbers on a couple of them (more than 200 pages up from last month)—and gave them an average of 3.76 stars (.04 up/down from last month). Those numbers do include 4 kids books, which helps the title count, but doesn’t do much for the page count. I need to start counting those separately as I’m just getting started with those, and the numbers should be climbing.

As I expected, attending the Nampa Library’s Indie Book Festival and then a signing the next week didn’t do my Mt. TBR any favors. I’m honestly not sure when I last had this kind of backlog of physical books to get through. I don’t regret it…yet. But those numbers are ugly.

Somehow, I keep getting further and further behind on my writing—while I never do as much as I want to, I’m getting worse at keeping up with my plans (and distracting myself to try new things). Still, I got a few great Q&As posted, a couple of other posts that I’m particularly pleased with, and read/listened to some great books! I’m putting March down as a modest win.

So, here’s what happened here in March.
Books/Novels/Novellas Read/Listened to

The Bandit Queens Good Dog, Bad Cop Darkness, Take My Hand
4 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers Justice Calling The Wonky Donkey
4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
The Devotion of Suspect X Semicolon Mrs. Covington's
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
The Dead Will Tell Profiles in Ignorance Miss Percy's Pocket Guide (to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons)
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
The Green Ember Death at Paradise Palms George the Bannana
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 3 Stars
Deadly Ever After Flood and Fury Fearless
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars
Golden Son Please Return to the Lands of Luxury Billy in Space
5 Stars 3.5 Stars Still deciding
Lulu and the Missing Tooth Fairy Trouble With Truffles 5 Puritan Women
Still deciding Still deciding 3.5 Stars
Red Stripes VS Miles the Mutant Mouse Adult Assembly Required You Took the Last Bus Home
3 Stars 5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Tower of Babel Space: 1969
Still deciding 2 1/2 Stars

Still Reading

The Existence and Attributes of God A Geerhardus Vos Anthology Church History in Plain Language
Backpacking Through Bedlam Vanished

Ratings

5 Stars 4 2 1/2 Stars 1
4 1/2 Stars 2 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 8 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 7 1 Star 0
3 Stars 7
Average = 3.76

TBR Stacks/Piles/Heaps

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
End of
2022
5 45 42 143
1st of the
Month
5 44 43 145
Added 1 5 19 0
Read/
Listened
1 5 8 3
Current Total 4 44 54 142

Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 16
Self-/Independent Published: 13

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 5 (17%) 7 (9%)
Fantasy 3 (10%) 9 (12%)
General Fiction/ Literature 1 (3%) 5 (7%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 9 (31%) 22 (29%)
Non-Fiction 3 (10%) 5 (7%)
Science Fiction 4 (14%) 5 (7%)
Theology/ Christian Living 1 (3%) 9 (12%)
Urban Fantasy 2 (7%) 9 (12%)
“Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western/etc.) 1 (3%) 4 (5%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wrote
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (3rd, 11th, 18th, and 25th), I also wrote:

Enough about me—how was your March?


March Calendar

Saturday Miscellany—4/1/23

Before we kick things off today, a quick announcement: due to the success of such things as my Grandpappy’s Corner series where I read picture books (and the like), I’m starting a new series this month—A Latter-Day Victorian Reads Erotica (logo forthcoming). It’ll kick off Monday with a deep dive into the works of E. L. James, and it’ll get racier from there.

And now on to our regularly scheduled offerings (a big thanks to Celeste’s A Literary Escape for all the help with this week’s offerings!):
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Welcome to Brandon Sanderson’s Fantasy EmpireEsquire‘s Adam Morgan didn’t set off as much controversy as his colleague at Wired did last week. I’m still Sanderson-agnostic, but it’s stuff like this that makes me not want to be.
bullet Guinness names four-year-old boy world’s youngest author—Awwww
bullet Literary baby names ranked from least to most cringey.—this is a handy list for prospective/expecting parents. Or just fun to read for whoever.
bullet An Interview With Tao Wong!—K.R.R. Lockhaven chats “with Tao Wong about cozy fantasy, food in books, and Kickstarter projects”
bullet Constructing Doom in Eli Cranor’s DON’T KNOW TOUGH—Paul J. Garth breaks down a pivotal scene (maybe the pivotal scene) in Cranor’s novel. If you’ve read the book, this is a rewarding look. If you haven’t—stay away from this post until you’ve corrected your mistake.
bullet Crazy Jobs 5 Famous Female Authors Had Before Writing—(I’m a little jealous of Octavia Butler, I’m sure the reality doesn’t match the fantasy around that job title, but man…)
bullet I don’t (often) talk about adaptations, but how do you not get excited about this announcement from Edgar Wright?
bullet Let’s Talk Bookish – Do Genres Change Over Time?—As I usually do when it comes to Let’s Talk Bookish prompts, I ran out of time to scribble anything in response. I think it’d have looked like a less thoughtful version of Peat Long’s had I managed to.
bullet The Absurd Infantilisation of Children’s Literature—The Orangutan Librarian starts with the hatchet job taken to Dahl’s works and moves on from there.
bullet Why I disagree with the Bowdlerisation of Agatha Christie by HarperCollins—Mike Finn nails it
bullet What I’ve learnt from reading fiction – part 9—as always, I love these posts.
bullet Reading is a radical act
bullet Five Science Fiction Book Recommendations for Beginners—a good starter list. Also a decent list of SF reads for people who aren’t beginners
bullet How the Pandemic Changed My Reading Experience
bullet Have Book Bloggers Been “Deinfluencers” All Along?
bullet How To Work With Book Bloggers [Marketing Tips]—I can think of a few authors I’d like to send this post to if I could only figure out a way to do it without being/coming across as a twerp
bullet On Story-Savvy Audiences and Obviousness—this is incredibly important for the Thriller/Mystery community (but holds for every genre)

A Little Help for Our Friend
bullet Kickstarter: Mrs. Covington’s: A Cozy Fantasy Novel—It’s at 81 percent with 11 days to go, if you haven’t kicked in yet, why not do it today? Pretty please?

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Know Thy Enemy by Jeffery H. Haskell—Grimm and the crew of the Interceptor are back in death-defying action
bullet Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey—”genre-defying story of humanity’s expansion across millions of dimensions—and the AI technology that might see it all come to an end.”
bullet Strictly No Heroics by B.L. Radley—”a normal teen girl must navigate crushing on her best friend, starting a new summer job, and not being squashed during the next supervillain showdown in B.L. Radley’s young adult debut filled with humor and heart.”

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Hilarey, who followed the blog this week. I hope you enjoy the content and keep coming back.
Harper Lee: This is the worst writer's block I've ever had Mockingbird: ThIs Is THe WorSt WriTER's bLOck I'Ve EVer HAd Harper Lee: *eyes narrowing*

AMENDED: Book Blogger Hop: Are Books a Must-Have in Your Home?

My sister’s 2¢ arrived after I posted this, but I didn’t want to leave her out (I left her out of enough things when we were kids, I need to stop that*).

* That’s a joke obviously—my little sister was the cool one, I was the one with the books.

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

Are books a must-have in your home?

This seemed like a no-brainer of a question to answer, but I was fairly certain that whatever I ended up saying would sound a lot like something I’ve said before, so I decided to crowdsource the answer and reached out to family and friends asking them to respond to, “Are books a must-have in my home?” Here are their responses:

Steve
I’ve heard of a Chinese proverb, something like “never ask a fish about water.”

I would suppose that’s because a fish doesn’t know how important water is until it’s removed from it.

I pray you never have to be removed from printed words and their life-giving nourishment.

Steve’s known me longer than anyone who doesn’t share my last name or DNA, he knows whereof he speaks

Rosemarie
My first inclination is to go full Sicilian with my answer. I’ll be polite though and ask you, “Che cavolo dici?

Must-have…are we talking defined as an essential or highly desirable item? Let me ask you these questions in return. Does Stephanie Plum need Janet Evanovich? Is Charles Portis essential for Reuben J. Cogburn? How about Atticus, Jem, and Scout? Was Harper Lee essential to them? Would Mr. Darcy be desirable if not for Jane Austen? Would Lucy and Mr. Tumnus ever meet if not Lewis? What would H.C. have named his children if not for the books in his home?

Yes, I would say books are essential in H.C.’s home. But then I have always had a flair for the obvious.

Victor
Home? I thought he lived in a library branch!

Nicole
Initial reaction to this question
Obviously

Paul
“Are books a must-have in your home?” Does a fish need water? Car need gas….or electricity?? A camel need a hump? Or 2?? Peanut butter need jelly?? Elvis need Pike? Spenser need Hawk?? Quinn need Lily?? Rebus need Shiv?? A house of yours without books would be like the vacuum of space, nothingness hurtling at the speed of light in all directions, nothingness in chaos with nothingness…utter senselessness, utterly!!

Nisha
Yes!!

(I really hoped to have a paragraph or two, especially since I like to poke fun and be rotten. However, time and creativity escaped me!)

I was hoping for something more, honestly, but so were they. Figured Nisha would bring the funny, as they rarely pass up the chance to be rotten to their uncle–but I’ve been there, time and creativity are harsh and finicky mistresses. And, hey, “Yes!!” is accurate.

Carleigh, my daughter
Obviously

I’m sensing a theme.

Owen, my oldest
He just sent me this FB screenshot from when we were preparing to move a couple of years ago:
Obviously

A long day of work and being the family IT tech got the better of him, and he had to go with a practical answer.

My Sister
Are marshmallows a must-have for s’mores?
Is water a must-have for fish?
Is a flame a must-have for a fire?
Is oxygen a must-have to breathe?

I’m no expert on any of these things except s’mores and maybe breathing. But, I’m pretty sure books are as essential in H.C.’s home as any of these!
rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong
I would say they go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong.

Be grateful that I’m not a BookTuber or a podcaster, no one wants to hear what that would’ve sounded like.)

My Dad
Q: Are books a must-have in H.C.’s home?

A: Absolutely! Yes, unless H.C. can totally reinvent himself and his home, family, and life. What kind of book? Probably doesn’t matter that much.

My Wife
That’s like asking if food, water, and clothing are must-haves.

My Mom (who goes last because she got serious and earnest about it)

H.C. has never lived without books in his home. He was read to and told stories from the time he was born.

At age 3 his readers weren’t always able to read to him when he wanted so he began reading on his own. He proved that he was truly reading, not just reciting books that had been read to him, when he began reading the local newspaper to himself. His appetite for books has continually grown. As his mother, I learned that I needed to read whatever books he was reading at the time so I could continue to talk to him about topics that were important and interesting to him. I ended up reading different genres (is that the right word?) of books than I would have on my own and found interesting topics and styles of writing. He outgrew me in High School with reading and requiring books to keep exploring and learning and enjoying. Fortunately, he had access to libraries since there were only so many places to shelve books in his home. He reads and re-reads books because he enjoyed them so much the first time. He remembers who wrote what book/s. He remembers the content of books he read yesterday, last month, and 30 years ago. He knows what books to recommend to or give to family members based on their interests. He treats books and their authors with respect and awe. He sees books as friends, as pathways to learning, and as entertainment. He shares books and his love of books with people he cares about as well as with people he doesn’t know. He thrives on books challenging him. The question of books being a must-have in H.C.’s home is not even a question. Makes as much sense as asking if H.C.’s body needs air, water, and food.

Oh, look, another theme.

What about you—is a house a home without a book?

The Friday 56 for 3/31/23: Hacked by Duncan MacMaster

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

I’ve been reading a lot of ARCs lately, so nothing I can quote from, but MacMaster talking about editing book 3 in this series got me thinking about it. Ergo…

from Page 56 of:
Hacked

Hacked by Duncan MacMaster

“Let’s change the subject.”

“Well,” she said, “the rumours about you being kidnappig have really given interest in your books a big shot in the arm.”

“At least it was good for something,” I said.

I ordered breakfast, Geetha told me she already ate, so I only ordered for myself. I ordered big, waffles and Sausages with real maple syrup, coffee, and orange juice. I normally didn’t eat this big in the morning, but kidnappings really worked up an appetite.

Book Blogger Hop: Are Books a Must-Have in Your Home?

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

Are books a must-have in your home?

This seemed like a no-brainer of a question to answer, but I was fairly certain that whatever I ended up saying would sound a lot like something I’ve said before, so I decided to crowdsource the answer and reached out to family and friends asking them to respond to, “Are books a must-have in my home?” Here are their responses:

Steve
I’ve heard of a Chinese proverb, something like “never ask a fish about water.”

I would suppose that’s because a fish doesn’t know how important water is until it’s removed from it.

I pray you never have to be removed from printed words and their life-giving nourishment.

Steve’s known me longer than anyone who doesn’t share my last name or DNA, he knows whereof he speaks

Rosemarie
My first inclination is to go full Sicilian with my answer. I’ll be polite though and ask you, “Che cavolo dici?

Must-have…are we talking defined as an essential or highly desirable item? Let me ask you these questions in return. Does Stephanie Plum need Janet Evanovich? Is Charles Portis essential for Reuben J. Cogburn? How about Atticus, Jem, and Scout? Was Harper Lee essential to them? Would Mr. Darcy be desirable if not for Jane Austen? Would Lucy and Mr. Tumnus ever meet if not Lewis? What would H.C. have named his children if not for the books in his home?

Yes, I would say books are essential in H.C.’s home. But then I have always had a flair for the obvious.

Victor
Home? I thought he lived in a library branch!

Rosemarie
Initial reaction to this question
Obviously

Paul
“Are books a must-have in your home?” Does a fish need water? Car need gas….or electricity?? A camel need a hump? Or 2?? Peanut butter need jelly?? Elvis need Pike? Spenser need Hawk?? Quinn need Lily?? Rebus need Shiv?? A house of yours without books would be like the vacuum of space, nothingness hurtling at the speed of light in all directions, nothingness in chaos with nothingness…utter senselessness, utterly!!

Nisha
Yes!!

(I really hoped to have a paragraph or two, especially since I like to poke fun and be rotten. However, time and creativity escaped me!)

I was hoping for something more, honestly, but so were they. Figured Nisha would bring the funny, as they rarely pass up the chance to be rotten to their uncle–but I’ve been there, time and creativity are harsh and finicky mistresses. And, hey, “Yes!!” is accurate.

Carleigh, my daughter
Obviously

I’m sensing a theme.

Owen, my oldest
He just sent me this FB screenshot from when we were preparing to move a couple of years ago:
Obviously

A long day of work and being the family IT tech got the better of him, and he had to go with a practical answer.

My Dad
Q: Are books a must-have in H.C.’s home?

A: Absolutely! Yes, unless H.C. can totally reinvent himself and his home, family, and life. What kind of book? Probably doesn’t matter that much.

My Wife
That’s like asking if food, water, and clothing are must-haves.

My Mom (who goes last because she got serious and earnest about it)

H.C. has never lived without books in his home. He was read to and told stories from the time he was born.

At age 3 his readers weren’t always able to read to him when he wanted so he began reading on his own. He proved that he was truly reading, not just reciting books that had been read to him, when he began reading the local newspaper to himself. His appetite for books has continually grown. As his mother, I learned that I needed to read whatever books he was reading at the time so I could continue to talk to him about topics that were important and interesting to him. I ended up reading different genres (is that the right word?) of books than I would have on my own and found interesting topics and styles of writing. He outgrew me in High School with reading and requiring books to keep exploring and learning and enjoying. Fortunately, he had access to libraries since there were only so many places to shelve books in his home. He reads and re-reads books because he enjoyed them so much the first time. He remembers who wrote what book/s. He remembers the content of books he read yesterday, last month, and 30 years ago. He knows what books to recommend to or give to family members based on their interests. He treats books and their authors with respect and awe. He sees books as friends, as pathways to learning, and as entertainment. He shares books and his love of books with people he cares about as well as with people he doesn’t know. He thrives on books challenging him. The question of books being a must-have in H.C.’s home is not even a question. Makes as much sense as asking if H.C.’s body needs air, water, and food.

Oh, look, another theme.

What about you—is a house a home without a book?

WWW Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Much of what I put in the post last week got derailed by cold-induced cognitive impairment, so you’re not imagining things—a lot of this is a rerun. But my cognition is back to my typical level of impairment—I’ll leave it to you to gauge how bad that is—so things should start moving here soon.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading Tower of Babel by Michael Sears, and am learning how much I can care about real estate shenanigans (a lot). I’m about to finish the delightful You Took The Last Bus Home: The Poems of Brian Bilston by Brian Bilston. I’m also listening to Space: 1969 by Bill Oakley, narrated by Natasha Lyonne and a lot of other people on audiobook.

Tower of BabelBlank SpaceYou Took The Last Bus HomeBlank SpaceSpace: 1969

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Harry L-B’s Billy in Space and Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman, Emily Rankin (Narrator) on audio.

Billy in SpaceBlank SpaceAdult Assembly Required

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Backpacking Through Bedlam by Seanan McGuire and my next audiobook should be Vanished by Kat Richardson, Mia Barron (Narrator).

Backpacking Through BedlamBlank SpaceVanished

How are you ending the month?

The Friday 56 for 3/24/23: Please Return to the Lands of Luxury by Jon Tilton

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
The Friday 56 Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
The Friday 56 Find a snippet, short and sweet.
The Friday 56 Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Please Return to the Lands of Luxury

Please Return to the Lands of Luxury by Jon Tilton

Jane sighed and cradled the doll in her arms. As she studied the closest group of homes, the tag brushed against her hand. Her heart skipped a beat. Of course—even though she couldn’t read, she knew what the words ‘Spring Blossom Way’ looked like. She grabbed the tag and compared its letters to the ones on the sign. A few matched, but nothing exact.

Jane hurried down the street, stopping at each intersection until she found a match. A warmness swept through her, as if the letters had jumped off the sign and given her a hug.

EXCERPT from The Haunted Lost Rose by C.L. Bauer: Interrogation

The Haunted Lost Rose Banner

from The Haunted Lost Rose by C.L.Bauer

I survived the lengthy interrogation, supposedly a statement about the murder, but it was certainly a questioning of the “gotcha” format. They even made me go downtown to walk through the building almost like a “perp walk”, meet with a Detective Marino, and flee out of the building feeling frazzled and befuddled, and every other word that describes sheer hell.

Along the way, my legal representation was greeted by many who missed him in court. We ran into many of his old friends. Dad was definitely in his element. Then we ran into Paddy. My own brother pretended to not even notice me. Dad and he talked briefly in the hallway, and I slumped against a wall as I perfected my talent of invisibility. Over the years, I’d become very good at blending in and going unnoticed. During the lunch after Conor’s death, no one saw me sitting in the corner for over an hour. I liked being the wallflower; attention only made me aware of my flaws and insecurities.

My voice was weak and wavering after thirty minutes of time-sensitive questions. Finally, my father tapped his hand on the table in front of us.

“Detective, let’s make this easy for you. Tom and Charlotte O’Donohue were the man’s realtors. Charlotte clearly had a meeting set up with Mr. Martin that morning. There is proof she called her brother on her way there. It was beginning to snow. Mr. Martin’s car was parked in the lot before her arrival. The door was locked. She went in and discovered the man’s body. What more do you want?”

The detective coolly searched through the file folder in front of him. “What about the rose he gave you?”

“No, the rose was on the mantle when I arrived. He didn’t give me a rose.”

“Did he ever give you flowers?”


Interested in the rest? Go grab your copy of The Haunted Lost Rose by C.L. Bauer now at https://mybook.to/HauntedLostRose or https://books2read.com/u/3Joj5E/!


Psst Promotions
Let's Talk Promotions
My thanks to Psst…Promotions for the invitation to participate in this Book Tour and the materials they provided.

WWW Wednesday, March 22, 2023

I’ve started to worry that these posts are becoming like those recipe blogs where the blogger goes on and on for ages before getting to sharing their Aunt Bea’s recipe for Peach Cobbler (the secret ingredient is lard—with a generous splash of bourbon). So let’s skip the preamble and get to the WWW Wednesday.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I just started reading the ARC of Tower of Babel by Michael Sears. I’m still strolling through You Took The Last Bus Home: The Poems of Brian Bilston by Brian Bilston. I’m also listening to Golden Son by Pierce Brown, Tim Gerard Reynolds (Narrator) on audiobook.

Tower of BabelBlank SpaceYou Took The Last Bus HomeBlank SpaceGolden Son

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished the M.W. Craven’s Fearless—it’s going to be huge this summer. The last audiobook I finished was The Green Ember by S.D. Smith, Joel Clarkson (Narrator).

FearlessBlank SpaceThe Green Ember

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Backpacking Through Bedlam by Seanan McGuire and my next audiobook should be Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman, Emily Rankin (Narrator), because I need a little lightness after Golden Son.

Backpacking Through BedlamBlank SpaceAdult Assembly Required

What are your WWWs?

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