Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!

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My goal of posting twice a month is off to a surprisingly good start considering the fiasco on January 2nd.  My new computer and I are getting along well, though our relationship nearly hit an impasse when Windows 8.1 threatened to come between us.  Oh Windows XP, how I mourn you.  Rest in peace, my friend.

I wish I could say I was back to my normal writing schedule and that navigating the new system is a breeze.  However, I keep remembering websites I used to have bookmarked (I’m talking about you Africam.com), my cat is on the upswing of a serious illness and her royal highness is demanding a lot of attention, and my dog keeps finding stuffed animals to tear apart at my feet.

Then again, it’s only January 12th.  I’ll get there.

 

Happy New Year!

My computer decided to celebrate the new year by dying.  Poor thing!

We’ve been together for ten years so it was not wholly unexpected.  But one day into 2015?

We’ve been through good times and bad, written thousands of sentences together and cursed (well, I cursed.  The pc cursored…  Is that a word?) when things didn’t go as planned.

I wish I could say I’ll miss it, but the last few years have been rocky.

Today, I will start looking for a younger, sleeker model.  Sigh!  It’s going to be tough.

Stephen King

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”

–Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Stephen King’s On Writing is one of the best books I have read on the writing craft.  It is a must-have for any new writer, offering sage advice by a master.  Above, is one of my favourite quotes.

The Stolen: An American Faerie Tale

I received my copy of Bishop O’Connell’s new novel, The Stolen, in the mail a few days ago and I have been trying to find a moment to start reading it ever since.   This afternoon, I made the mistake of peeking at it while I was in the middle of making zucchini relish.  The pot was on the stove bubbling away.  Tired of staring out the window, waiting for the relish to thicken, I opened the novel.   One chapter later, I was hooked and scrambling to rescue my relish from becoming the consistency of tar.   The writing is good, the characters compelling.  Suspense builds quickly.   I look forward to seeing where this story goes.

About the Book

Tonight, for the first time in over a century, a mortal child will be kidnapped by faeries. When her daughter Fiona is snatched from her bed, Caitlin’s entire world crumbles. Once certain that faeries were only a fantasy, Caitlin must now accept that these supernatural creatures do exist—and that they have traded in their ancient swords and horses for modern guns and sports cars. Hopelessly outmatched, she accepts help from a trio of unlikely heroes: Eddy, a psychiatrist and novice wizard; Brendan, an outcast Fian warrior; and Dante, a Magister of the fae’s Rogue Court. Moving from the busy streets of Boston’s suburbs to the shadowy land of Tír na nÓg, Caitlin and her allies will risk everything to save Fiona. But can this disparate quartet conquer their own inner demons and outwit the dark faeries before it’s too late?

The Stolen: An American Faerie Tale

Dark Aemilia

What a fabulous surprise to collect the mail on Friday and find a package from Mslexia Magazine.  I won a free book, and not just any book, but Sally O’Reilly’s Dark Aemilia.

 

Here’s the blurb:

“This spellbinding novel of witchcraft, poetry and passion re-imagines the life of Aemilia Lanyer, the ‘Dark Lady’ of Shakespeare’s Sonnets — the playwright’s muse and his one true love.”

 

I started reading the book last night and it pulled me in immediately.  Thank you Mslexia!

 

Dark Aemilia by Sally O’Reilly

Mslexia Magazine