Wednesday Reads & A Happy Birthday

First off, I must wish my darling daughter a Happy Birthday!! Twenty-eight years ago she decided to award us with her presence. And she picked this day to be born, no one forced her! J

Now on to what I read in the past week:

Apr 3: “Immortally Yours” by Angie Fox. Don’t know whether this is a paranormal romance or an urban fantasy, since it’s written in first person. There is romance, although it’s all given one-sided. Blurb on back: No one patches up the incoming wounded like Dr. Petra Robichaud.  Recruited by the gods for her uncanny medical skills, she’s the best M*A*S*H surgeon in the Army. Along with a nosy guard sphinx, vegetarian werewolf, and other paranormal paramedics, she bandages soldiers who are built like Greek gods (literally). But when one sexy immortal ends up on her operating table--half-dead and totally to-die for--Petra’s afraid she’ll lose her patient and her heart… Commander Galen of Delphi is one gorgeous but stubborn demi-god. When his spirit tries to slip out of his fatally wounded body, Dr. Petra has to slip it back in--unwittingly revealing her ability to see ghosts. Now that Galen knows her secret, he’s convinced she’s part of an ancient prophecy. If the oracles are right, Petra could lead Galen’s army to peace. And if he seduces her on the way to hell and back? Heaven knows--all’s fair in love and war… Even though first person isn’t my favorite (how do I manage to READ so many of them??), I liked Petra. She was funny. Galen was hot (I would have enjoyed his POV, though). It’s the first of a series, but the ending didn’t leave me wanting to pull out my hair (yay!). I could stop reading here, although I might not because I like the characters. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

Apr 7: “Perpetual Light” by Jordan K. Rose. Paranormal romance or urban fantasy? It’s written in first person, and I have a hard time labeling this one as a romance. Blurb on back: Fate is cruel. Especially when the one you’ve sworn to love for all eternity-the very soul who changed your destiny-is the last person you should trust. After more than three hundred years of running, Lucia Dicomano must make a choice. Forced to take her place as a Pharo of Redemption, the divine slayer needs to master her forgotten powers. Lucia turns to Vittorio, the one vampire she’s failed to deliver from eternal damnation. But overcoming smoldering remnants of love, lust and anger aren’t their only obstacles. Samuel, who may know Lucia better than she knows herself, hunts her with a fervor stoked by a thousand years of vengeful hatred. His plan--capture and enslave the weakened Pharo then take control of her elusive power. Can Lucia trust Vittorio long enough to reclaim her powers? Or will she have no choice but to kill him and battle Samuel alone? I think this book would have been so much better if presented in third person. Instead, it confused me with the back and forth of memories/dreams and there were two POVs, but both in first person. I stuck it out, though, hoping the end would satisfy me. No such luck so it must be a series, although it isn’t mentioned. It’s possible all the problems I had with the book are my fault (other reviewers seemed to love it). The story was interesting, so I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.

JJJ

Walking has been going…painful. I love walking, but apparently my feet don’t. I’m not listening to them, though. The only thing that can stop me is the weather and so far it’s been cooperating. My feet will learn to toughen up (although I may go out and buy new shoes to help them along).

Oh, and remember when I said I would freeze at our first Dragons game? Well, it won’t be too far from that. While we’re enjoying the 70s now, the forecast for Friday shows a high of 48. That’s WITH the sun out. Yikes! Guess I better make sure I have the gloves, scarf, and ear muffs, as well as that blasted winter coat. That’s what you’re supposed to wear to a football game, not a baseball game! Argh!

Oh well… Happy Reading!

Is Spring Finally Here?

Temperatures are supposed to be in the seventies this week. The lows in the fifties. I might actually get to go out walking! I might actually get to go outside without a winter coat on!!

Warm weather!!!!! I thought it would never get here.

The daffodils are even trying to bloom. We’ll see if they succeed. And if they do and I can get a picture of them without showing the weeds (I’m not the gardener, my husband likes to play in the dirt and he hasn’t played there in a while), then I’ll post them later on. However, the tulips haven’t shown any blooms yet. Maybe they’ll surprise me.

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Does anyone remember me mentioning a short story I wrote back when I was 15? If not, you can read about it HERE. Would you believe I finally found that short story? (Titled “It’s One of Those Weeks”) I couldn’t believe I found it exactly where I thought it was (that rarely happens). But what’s even more amazing is that I have the typed, mimeographed AND the hand-written versions. While I thought I had written it in the ninth grade, the date (Fall of 1972) indicates I wrote it in the tenth grade (see, my memory is shot).

I transcribed it to Word and discovered it’s over 6000 words (Who knew I wrote so much back then? Certainly not me!!). Anyway, because of its size, I’m thinking it wouldn’t work that well as ONE blog post. Talk about lengthy. However, each section/chapter is named as the day. Is ANYONE interested in reading a story written back in 1972 by a goofy 15-year-old? I could possibly post each day on that day (Sunday on Sunday, Monday on Monday, etc.). Might even do it during a week I was unable to blog (like on vacation - or just give myself a vacation).

Yes, it’s goofy. Yes, it’s horrible. But even when I re-read it, I still laughed at parts. I had a very strange mind (and apparently loved similes).

So, what do you think? Would you post such a thing (with errors and all)? Or would you let it stay hidden? It’s not like I plan on publishing the thing, that’s for sure! More likely I’ll just embarrass myself. Ah, but that’s nothing new.

 

Dreams

First off--Yay! Got through the edits. One more read-through and it’s back to the editor. Then I remembered I had written the following and never used it. Perfect for a day when I didn’t have time to write a post. I’ll have to remember to stock-pile some more. They can come in handy!

DREAMS

I’m lucky to remember my dreams, that’s for sure. But sometimes I’ll have a dream that was similar to another. I like to call these themes.

I have had multiple dreams in the following themes (the ones I remember, anyway): finding a bathroom, exploring a house, and driving over a cliff. Luckily, I haven’t had that last one in quite a while. But the others? Yeah, they happen more frequently.

FINDING A BATHROOM

It’s not like I’m actually looking for a bathroom. No, I found the bathroom. It’s the toilet I’m having trouble with. It’s either dirty or not working or exposed to the public. Very weird. I have no idea what it all means, either. I just know when I wake up from one of these dreams, I’m frustrated. Pretty bad when I can gross myself out, too, because some of those dreams have been pretty rank.

Hey, if you know what this theme means, then by all means, share. I’d like your opinion.

EXPLORING A HOUSE

I love these dreams. The house is always larger than it seems. Rooms and stairways appear out of no where and lead to other areas I never knew existed. Almost never ending and never scary. Just a lot of exploring. All I know is when I wake up, I wish I were still in that house because I hadn’t had a chance to explore it all.

Hmmm… Does this mean I’m nosy? Well, I guess I am. I just never follow through in real life. These dreams let me do that.

DRIVING OVER A CLIFF

I hate these dreams. Or should I say nightmares? I’m usually driving in the mountains, on a narrow two-laned road. Weather sometimes plays a part, but there always comes a time when there’s a white fence on the curve and instead of taking the curve I just plow through the fence. And yes, this is when I wake up. Don’t know why I want to drive over a cliff, or what would happen if I hit bottom. I don’t think I want to find out!

I’ve also had repeat dreams. I only realize it’s a repeat when I wake up, but I have never written it down, so it’s long gone out of my head now. But at the moment of waking, I realize I’ve dreamed it before. The next time that happens, I really need to write it down. Heck, I should just write down my dreams. Sometimes they’re quite entertaining (to me anyway).

So, have you had themes in your dreams? Have you ever had a repeat dream? Or am I just a freak?

 

What I Read Since Last Week

When it rains it pours. Yeah, it’s a cliché, but ain’t it true? Case in point: I received three books I want to read (and I have another on order) at the same time I received four books I have to read (judging). True, I have a couple of bookcases full of books I haven’t read, but when you have a favorite author, you want to read them first. Right? Well, guess they’ll just have to wait. Because before I can do any serious reading, my edits are due first. Doesn’t mean I won’t read, just means I won’t spend all day doing it! Oh well… On to what I read this past week (as if you didn’t know):

Mar 27: “Reckless” by Allison Brennan. Book/Novella 5.5 in the Lucy Kincaid series. Blurb from Goodreads (in blue): FBI trainee Lucy Kincaid's spontaneous weekend camping trip with her boyfriend, P.I. Sean Rogan, turns into a deadly nightmare when they come across two hikers looking for their lost son. But when Lucy and Sean split up to help find the missing child, each quickly realizes that the parents have a dark secret they'll kill to keep. Nice, short story to hold me over until the next Lucy book comes out. And until I got “Lover at Last” from my daughter (who surprisingly did not finish it in one sitting). I’m beginning to think Lucy and Sean will NEVER have a normal vacation. Ah, but then, what’s really normal? I gave this short story 5 stars on Goodreads.

Mar 29: “Lover at Last” by J.R. Ward. Book 11 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Blurb from Goodreads (in blue): Qhuinn, son of no one, is used to being on his own. Disavowed from his bloodline, shunned by the aristocracy, he has finally found an identity as one of the most brutal fighters in the war against the Lessening Society. But his life is not complete. Even as the prospect of having a family of his own seems to be within reach, he is empty on the inside, his heart given to another.... Blay, after years of unrequited love, has moved on from his feelings for Qhuinn. And it’s about time: The male has found his perfect match in a Chosen female, and they are going to have a young—just as Qhuinn has always wanted for himself. It’s hard to see the new couple together, but building your life around a pipe dream is just a heartbreak waiting to happen. As he’s learned firsthand. Fate seems to have taken these vampire soldiers in different directions... but as the battle over the race’s throne intensifies, and new players on the scene in Caldwell create mortal danger for the Brotherhood, Qhuinn finally learns the true definition of courage, and two hearts who are meant to be together... finally become one. I believe this one is now my favorite book and was sad when it ended! Still amazes me how Ms. Ward keeps all the separate plotlines going (I’d get confused without a chart). It was also hard to read these new plotlines, since I (and my daughter) was more interested in reading about Qhuinn and Blay, but I was patient. This is definitely not the end of the series, but in this case I don’t care. I love it too much to gripe, I guess. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

Don’t be surprised if I do not post anything on Friday. I really want to get my edits finished on time and don’t want to wait until the last minute because there are instances where I have to ~gasp~ THINK of how to fix. And I ain’t a fast thinker. At least where it counts anyway.

Happy Reading!!

Basketball, Hockey, Baseball, and April Fool's

I pretty much lost interest in the NCAA tournament once Ohio State lost, and while I feel really bad for that kid on Louisville who broke his leg, I’m so glad I didn’t witness it (besides giving up watching, we were traveling from Columbus and couldn’t see it anyway). I do hope he recovers from that injury.

So, while basketball is out for me (I like the NCAA tournaments, but hate the NBA), hockey is still in. Fifteen in a row for my Penguins. Hope they keep it up. Only wish their games were telecast more often. But Columbus is closer, so the Blue Jackets games are usually aired in this area. Bummer!

And I guess baseball is back in swing (pun intended). Think there will be any snow-outs this week? I mean, there’s gotta be at least one, right? This winter has just lasted tooooo long! While the temps were mild this weekend (in the 50s even!), it’s expected to dip back down to the 30s later in the week. Ugh!!! Enough already.

At least the Dayton Dragons (Single A team of the Cincinnati Reds) season doesn’t start until April 11. We own the tickets to the April 12 game (as well as the April 14 game). Sure hope it’s warmed up some by then. Oh, who am I kidding? We’ll be freezing for sure!

I was hoping to come up with something good to April fool everyone, but my brain just can’t seem to think up anything good (that isn’t mean, anyway). So did you fool anyone today? If so, please share. Maybe it’ll give me some ideas.