Mailbox Monday/In My Mailbox 9-21-2009

Mailbox Monday is hosted at The Printed Page or In Your Mailbox at The Story Siren. Please stop by those posts and take a look at what packages everybody else got this week!




Only You by Deborah Grace Staley

I won this book from J.Kaye at J.Kaye's Book Blog.

A charming romance about the lives and loves of people in a small Tennessee town. In the tradition of Debbie Macomber. "Hey, ya'll. Dixie Ferguson here. I run Ferguson's Diner in Angel Ridge, Tennessee. Population three hundred forty-five. It's a picturesque town in the valley of the Little Tennessee River, established in 1785. In the early days, its first families--the McKays, the Wallaces, the Houstons, the Joneses, and, of course, the Craigs--staked their claims on hundreds of acres of the richest bottom land anyone had ever seen. After all the years I've spent behind the counter at Ferguson's, I could probably tell ya'll a story about near everyone in town. But we only have so much time, so I'll narrow it down to just two for now. This is a story about coming home. It's also a story about acceptin' folks for who they are. You could say it's a story about Josie Allen, a librarian, and Cole Craig, a handyman, but I say it's a story about finding love where you'd least expect to." (Amazon)

Only You (Book 1, The Angel Ridge Series)
Publisher/Publication Date: Bell Bridge Books, May 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9821756-3-7
208 pages

The Sound of Sleigh Bells by Cindy Woodsmall

I received this for a book Random House book tour in October - There will also be a giveaway!

Beth Hertzler works alongside her beloved Aunt Lizzy in their dry goods store and serves as a contact between Amish craftsmen and Englischer retailers. But remorse and loneliness still echo in her heart every day, and she still wears dark dresses to indicate her mourning of her fiance. When she discovers a large, intricately carved scene of Amish children playing in the snow in an Englischer store, something deep inside bet's soul responds, and she wants to help the unknown artist find homes for his work.

Lizzy sees the changes in her niece when Beth shows her the woodworking, and after meeting Jonah, the artist, she is determined that Beth come to know this man whose hands create healing art. But it's not that simple--Beth has cut herself off from any possibility of romance. Will Lizzy's elaborate plan to reintroduce her niece to love work? Will Jonah be able to offer Beth new hope and a second chance at real love--or just more heartbreak? (book jacket)

The Sound of Sleigh Bells
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, October 2009
ISBN: 978-0-307-44653-4
208 pages

Last Breath by Brandilyn Collins and Amberly Collins

I received this for a First Wild Card Tour in October.

With his last breath, a dying man whispered four stunning words into Shaley O'Connor's ear.


The exciting and suspenseful Rayne Tour series features sixteen-year-old Shaley O'Connor, on tour with her mother's popular band. Shaley lives in a whirlwind of backstage secrets, hotels, and limo. With beauty and fame of her own, Shaley wants for nothing. . . except the one thing she can't have.


Shaley is reeling after two murders on the Rayne concert tour. But she has no time to rest. If the dying man's claim is right, the danger is far from over.


Shaley's quest for the truth leads to the mysterious and wrenching past of her mother and father. Could what happened to them so many years ago threaten Shaley's life now? (back cover)

Last Breath
Publisher/Publication Date: Zondervan, Oct 2009
ISBN: 978-0-310-71540-5
240 pages

Night of Flames: A Novel of World War II
by Douglas W. Jacobson

I received this for an October book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion.

What price would you pay to keep your soul?

In 1939 the Germans invade Poland, setting off a rising storm of violence and destruction. For Anna and Ian Kopernik the loss is unimaginable. Anna's father is deported to a death camp, and Anna must flee to Belgium where she joins the Resistance. Meanwhile, Jan escapes with the battered remnants of the Polish army to Britain. When British intelligence asks him to return to Poland in an undercover mission to contact the Resistance, he seizes the chance to search for his missing wife. (back cover)

Night of Flames
Publisher/Publication Date: McBooks Press, Oct 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59013-166-4
384 pages

Pendragon's Banner by Helen Hollick

I received this book from Sourcebooks.

Three years have passed since the mists cleared to reveal the Pendragon Banner triumphant. Arthur is king. But the crown, once won, must be defended.

He is a man about whom legends will be told. With his loyal and fiercely valiant wife Gwenhwyfar by his side, and three sons to his name, twenty-four-year-old King Arthur takes on the burden of a country battling for its very soul.

But before the harpers sing of glory, before the tales of brave daring and skill, a young man must win his place as the greatest warrior of all Britain. . .and the greatest king of all time. (back cover)

Pendragon's Banner (Book 2, The Pendragon's Banner Trilogy)
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Landmark, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1889-7
496 pages

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
by Allison Hoover Bartlett

I received this through the Library Thing Early Reviewer program.

John Charles Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed "bibliodick" (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. Journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett befriended both eccentric characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes and how Sanders ultimately caught him, but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love. (back cover)

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession
Publisher/Publication Date: Riverhead Hardcover, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59448-891-7
288 pages

What books found a new home with you this week?

Lucan by Susan Kearney (Book Review)

Title: Lucan
Author: Susan Kearney
Publisher: Forever

First Sentence: Cael was going to die.

My synopsis: Lucan had been searching earth for any clues as to the location of Avalon and the Holy Grail. His quest was for his twin sister, Marisa, as she was having trouble conceiving a child. His hope was that he could bring her this joy if and when he found the grail. In his search he discovers a star map that depicts Avalon as being on a moon named Pendragon - could it be true?

After 8 years of training and travel, Lucan finds himself on Pendragon, working with a team of scientists who have been trying to bring down a shield that is surrounding Avalon. The team is from Pendragon and they are not aware that there is a traveler from Earth among them. Their goal is to breach Avalon and find the Holy Grail. Complicating this mission though, is a sinkhole that has formed under Avalon, causing the ground to be unstable. Their time is limited before the military is going to claim the project as their own.

Lady Cael is the High Priestess of Pendragon. This role leads her to live a solitary life, without family, without friends, without a mate. She is a dragonshaper and there is only one born at a time on Pendragon. When she is gone, one will be born to take her place. Her people respect her and fear her - but none are close enough to really know her - until Lucan. As he has not been raised on Pendragon (which she does not know), he does not know about her dragonshaping abilities or that to touch her means certain death by the Elders. As the outer shield of Avalon comes down, thanks to Lucan and Lady Cael, they are thrown into an adventure which may just cost them their lives. If they fail, Earth, Pendragon, and the entire galaxy's survival may cease to exist.

My thoughts: Only in the last year have I started reading paranormal romances - werewolves, vampires, etc and actually enjoying them. I have never been a fan of science fiction though. When I started reading this one and all of a sudden we are on Pendragon and other races, I thought - boyo - what have I gotten myself into - and considered putting down the book. Before I knew it though, I was halfway through it and wanted to finish. I read the book in a day! This is the first book in The Pendragon Legacy series with book 2, Rion, coming out in December. You meet Rion in Lucan and it will be interesting to see what he is all about in his own book! Yes, I am now a fan.

You can win Lucan by entering my giveaway! You can get an extra entry in the giveaway by leaving a meaningful comment here.

Lucan
Publisher/Publication Date: Forever, Sept 5, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-54331-6
368 pages

Code Blue! Win Beat the Reaper!

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell is coming out in paperback! And it is going to be available in 3 covers! (Red, Yellow and of course - Blue!) Here is your chance to win one of 5 copies that I have to give away courtesy of Hachette Books.

Dr. Peter Brown is an intern at Manhattan's worst hospital, with a talent for medicine, a shift from hell, and a past he'd prefer to keep hidden. Whether it's a blocked circumflex artery or a plan to land a massive malpractice suit, he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.

Pietro "Bearclaw" Brnwna is a hitman for the mob, with a genius for violence, a well-earned fear of sharks, and an overly close relationship with the Federal Witness Relocation Program. More likely to leave a trail of dead gangsters than a molecule of evidence, he's the last person you want to see in your hospital room.

Nicholas LoBrutto, aka Eddy Squillante, is Dr. Brown's new patient, with three months to live and a very strange idea: that Peter Brown and Pietro Brnwa might-just might-be the same person ...

Now, with the mob, the government, and death itself descending on the hospital, Peter has to buy time and do whatever it takes to keep his patients, himself, and his last shot at redemption alive. To get through the next eight hours-and somehow beat the reaper.

Spattered in adrenaline-fueled action and bone-saw-sharp dialogue, BEAT THE REAPER is a debut thriller so utterly original you won't be able to guess what happens next, and so shockingly entertaining you won't be able to put it down.

I loved this trailer - you gotta watch it!

This book would be a great fall read for your book club - and you can get the reading group guide for Beat the Reaper here.

But don't stop there - you can do all sorts of stuff at the Beat the Reaper website! I played the game - it is entertaining.

So - how do you win it? Here are the rules:

1. Five copies to giveaway.
   
2. Open only to U.S. and Canada.
   
3. No PO Boxes
4. All entries can be in one comment.
5. +1 Must leave email address in comment.
6. +2 if you are a new or old follower - but please let me know. How ever you follow - each will count for 2 entries apiece (Twitter, Facebook, Google, Feed Reader, Email, etc, etc, etc)
   
7. +3 if you post this on any social network or blog LEAVE A LINK TO GET BACK TO THIS POST OR IT WILL NOT COUNT - If you post on Twitter - please use @kherbrand and link to this post. Go Crazy! No Limits on Entries!
   
8. +3 for referrals of NEW followers - New followers - tell me who referred you and you will get those +3 also!
   
9. Giveaway ends on Oct 11.

The Treasures of Venice by Loucinda McGary (Book Review)

Title: The Treasures of Venice
Author: Loucinda McGary
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

First sentence: Samantha Lewis gazed over the nearly deserted square at the bulbous crown atop St. Mark's Cathedral.

My synopsis: Sam was not enjoying her time in Venice. What should have been a romantic honeymoon was a lonely solo trip to one of the most romantic places on earth - until an unexpected meeting with Keirnan Fitzgerald.

Keirnan was handsome and charming and any woman's dream so Sam could not figure out what had drawn him to her. Since she was suffering a broken heart, she wasn't feeling very charming or beautiful. From their first touch, though, the very air around them seemed to sizzle.

Keirnan was in Venice to save his sister Kathleen who had been kidnapped. He didn't want to share this information with Sam as he didn't want to get her involved. Unfortunately circumstances were not in his favor, and before he knew it they were in over their heads.

Kathleen had been kidnapped and the ransom was the Jewels of the Madonna. These jewels had been missing since the 15th century, but Kathleen had been studying and trying to find them for years. They had disappeared along with a pair of young lovers, Nino and Serafina. Serafina was the daughter of a wealthy man and had been promised to her deceased sister's husband. She met Nino by chance and fell instantly in love with him. He was a poor sculptor and felt he had nothing to offer her. A greedy monk set the plan in motion which would free Serafina from her family, but it would doom Nino's soul as he had to steal the jewels.

My thoughts: I loved the way that the current story was told along with the love story of Nino and Serafina. They do say that history repeats itself! The book was filled with rich descriptions of places I can only hope to see in person some day. I enjoy learning about new places, and even though this was a fiction book, some of the characters were based on real people and the places were - are real places in and around Venice. I could easily see this couple going on to star in other adventures based on historical "rumors"! The story was told from Samantha's point of view in the present and from Nino's point of view in the past. This was a nice contrast as it actually showed both sides of a very similar story. If you like historical romances, I believe you would like this one. I do have to say one thing on the critical side though - I have had enough of the word "libido"...

I am hosting a giveaway from Sourcebooks for one set of the two books: The Wild Sight and The Treasures of Venice. You have until Sept 29th to get in on the action! Visit my guest post from Loucinda McGary to find out entry details!

The Treasures of Venice
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablance, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4022-2670-0
352 pages

First Wild Card Tours: Cottonwood Whispers

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

I haven't yet read this book - I got caught up in the first one - Fireflies in December - and haven't finished it yet (Great book!) Hope to review them both together!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Jennifer Valent

and the book:

Cottonwood Whispers

Tyndale House Publishers (August 17, 2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jennifer Erin Valent is the winner of the Christian Writers Guild’s 2007 Operation First Novel contest for Fireflies in December, her first published novel. She lives in Central Virginia, where she has worked as a nanny for over fifteen years. A lifelong resident of the South, her surroundings help to color the scenes and characters she writes.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $12.99
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (August 17, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1414333269
ISBN-13: 978-1414333267

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

I’ve heard the dead whisper.

Every time I tell my best friend Gemma that, she frowns at me, says, “There ain’t no such thing as ghosts,” and then tells me I’m crazy. But I’m not crazy. The dead really can whisper, only it isn’t their ghosts that do it. It’s the memory of them.

There’s a place around the bend from my momma and daddy’s house where a stone cross rests beneath a cottonwood tree. That cross is where I first heard the whisper. It’s not really a grave so much, but a marker to remind people of what we lost that day. I was only seventeen when we placed that marker there, but it still looks pristine, like it was made just yesterday. Only yesterday was a long time ago, and time has brought a whole lot of changes since—some good and some bad.

And that’s just what I was looking for in that summer of 1936 . . . changes.

The last day of the school year saw me and Gemma meeting up at the pharmacy for a soda to celebrate another year of my surviving school. When I got there, she was standing outside the building, swinging her purse by one hand.

“Where you been?” Gemma asked when she caught sight of me. “I’ve been waitin’ ten minutes.”

“Teacher took a long time givin’ her end-of-year speech. She sure does like to talk.”

“Sounds a lot like you.”

I wrinkled my nose and gave her a shove, but she was the only person who could talk sharp to me and not get an earful back. We were like sisters, Gemma and me, and the way I figured it, sisters should be able to say near about anything to each other.

We sat down at the pharmacy counter with confidence because Mr. Poppleberry, who ran the place, didn’t have a thing against colored people, and he welcomed Gemma in all the time.

“I’m gettin’ a job this year,” I said determinedly once we were settled with our chocolate sodas. “I’m tired of not havin’ money to do things with.”

“Where you gonna work? Ain’t much open around here these days.”

“I’ll find somethin’. Everyone in Calloway knows I’m a good worker.”

She shook her head. “Work ain’t so fun as you think. It ain’t all independence and extra pocket change. It gives you backaches and weary bones, too.”

“You’ve only been workin’ at the Hadleys’ for two months, and you sound like you’re old hat at it.” I took a long sip of my soda and sighed. “Heck, you get to spend your days in that big old mansion of theirs.” I rested my chin on my hand and gave her a sideways glance. “All the same, you won’t catch me workin’ for no Hadleys. They’re just a bunch of uppity do-nothin’s.”

Gemma shushed me with a kick on my shin, and I gasped, pointing an angry glare her way.

“What’d you do that for?”

She didn’t say anything, but I saw her straighten up in her chair a little bit and look up past my head.

“You girls gettin’ somethin’ cool to drink?” a man’s voice asked from behind me. “Sure is a fine day for coolin’ off any which way you can.”

I spun around in my seat and turned back just as quickly when I saw it was Joel Hadley walking our way. Joel was the youngest son of the Hadley family, but his dangerous reputation belied his twenty-one years. I knew Joel Hadley for a charming scoundrel, and I was disgusted that my end-of-school celebration would be marred by his presence.

Gemma smiled at him with an extra twinkle in her eye. “Just givin’ Jessie somethin’ special. She finished school today.”

“Good ol’ days,” Joel said with a sideways smile. “Seems a long time ago, all that school stuff. Seem long to you, Gemma?”

“Not so much, Mr. Hadley. I’m not too long out.”

Joel patted my head as though I were a five-year-old instead of the almost-seventeen-year-old that I was. I sat up a bit straighter. “You got some business we’re keepin’ you from, Joel? We don’t mean to hold you up or nothin’.”

Gemma glared at me so quickly that I barely noticed it between the dumb smiles she kept giving that boy, but I knew it was there all the same.

“Well now, I was just takin’ a break from my work. I came on over for some cigarettes and lo and behold, I got an extra treat, seein’ such pretty faces.”

Charm oozed from his pores far too easily to be natural, and I couldn’t believe for the life of me that my wise Gemma could be taken in by such nonsense.

I fingered my straw and avoided looking at either of them. “Guess you’d better get back to the bank, then. Seein’ how it’s your daddy’s bank and all, we’d best not keep you from your work.”

Joel eyed me for a minute, slowly rolling a toothpick back and forth in his mouth.

After several seconds, I met that gaze with a forthright one of my own. “You got need of somethin’, Joel?” I asked innocently.

“Nope.” He stared at me for a minute longer, and I didn’t like his look one bit, all narrow-eyed like a rabid fox. I just looked casually back down at my soda, stabbing the cherry at the bottom of the glass. I fished it out and popped it in my mouth like nobody was even there.

Gemma cleared her throat. “Tell Mrs. Hadley we’re right grateful for the tub of strawberries she sent home with me yesterday. We all appreciate it, I’m sure.” With those words, she turned to me for agreement, nudging me beneath the counter.

As it was, I knew nothing about a tub of strawberries, so I shrugged and said, “S’pose we are. I ain’t tried one yet to tell.”

I could see by Gemma’s face that she thought me rude and undignified, but I was of no mind to give notice to men who put on faces that didn’t match their insides. Pretty pictures were all well and good, but if there wasn’t a good story behind the picture, it meant nothing. And that’s what I thought the whole lot of Hadleys were: just pretty pictures with no meanings.

Joel finally took his eyes off me to reply to Gemma, but his manner toward me remained charmingly hostile, and I was surprised that Gemma didn’t notice the coldness he showed me. Or maybe she did, I thought, and she just didn’t care. No matter what she thought, she was now giving all her attention to Joel.

He tipped his hat at her and smiled. “Plants are full this year. Don’t see any need in lettin’ them rot.”

Gemma nodded in reply, her docile mood making me doubt her true identity. The Gemma Teague I knew didn’t get flutters over men and strike fancy poses like she was doing now.

“Well,” Joel said, “best get goin’. Time and money wait for no man.” He tipped his hat at Gemma again, flashed me a wry sort of grin, and walked off to buy his cigarettes, leaving us to sit in a moment of tense silence.

It was only after Gemma had stirred her soda for about a minute that she looked up at me with chagrin and said, “Jessie, what’d you have to go and do that for?”

“Do what?” I asked, though I knew full well what she meant.

“You was downright rude to Joel Hadley. Downright rude!”

“Me?” I argued. “Did you see the looks he was givin’ me? He could’ve near burned a hole in my skull.”

“He had every right to after the way you talked to him. Sakes alive, Jessie, he’s a Hadley.”

“That make him the king of England or somethin’? I ain’t got to bow to Hadleys no more’n I have to bow to Peeboe the milkman. Since when do I got to give people extra respect just for bein’ richer than me?”

“That ain’t got nothin’ to do with it,” Gemma said in exasperation, though I could see she wasn’t quite sure herself what she meant. “It’s just . . . well, I work for them and everythin’.”

“Don’t mean you gotta worship them.”

“I don’t!”

“Way you looked at him, a body would think you did.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said in a huff. “I just don’t want to talk about it.”

We sat there for a bit in an uncomfortable silence while Gemma slowly sipped her soda, and I wished I hadn’t finished mine already so I’d have something to do. I leaned on the counter and tapped a rhythm on it until another thought came to my mind. “He smokes cigarettes too.”

“So?”

“So? It’s a smelly old habit. And Momma always says it’s a stumblin’ block.”

“There ain’t no commandment about smokin’.”

“There ain’t no commandment about tippin’ cows, neither,” I said abruptly, “but we ain’t supposed to do it.”

“Luke Talley himself works in the tobacco factory, and you want to marry him.”

“But he ain’t smokin’ it!”

“What’s the difference between smokin’ it and makin’ it for other folks to smoke? Besides, your daddy don’t smoke hay in that pipe of his.”

I glared at her, not sure which way to go in this argument since I’d only brought it up by fishing for something else to blame Joel Hadley for. I went back to tapping my fingers and avoided looking at her.

Gemma tossed her napkin down and grabbed up her purse. “I don’t want to talk about work today,” she announced. “I don’t want to talk about nothin’.”

That’s exactly what we did as we walked home. We talked about nothing. We didn’t talk about her job or school or anything else. To avoid the tension, I tried thinking of other things, like what I was going to wear to church that Sunday. I thought about asking Gemma if I could borrow her red hair bow, but I wasn’t sure I should speak to her about anything just then, much less about something so trivial as a red hair bow.

We often borrowed each other’s things for church seeing as how we went to different congregations and the people there wouldn’t realize we were swapping. Gemma went to a colored church a few miles down the road. It was a sticking point with me that four years after her momma and daddy died, Gemma still had to stay away from certain places we went to even though she lived with us. But the way Gemma saw it, we weren’t going to cure all the world’s ills in her lifetime, and the fact that we were at least untouched by violent prejudice lately was advancement enough for her.

“A body’s got to wait for change sometimes, Jessie,” she said to me once. “We done gone to hell and back just to get rid of the violence, and it’s a miracle itself for us to see Calloway at peace with me still livin’ at your place, even if some do turn a cold shoulder. I’ll take that to my heart and be happy we got this far.”

I’d assumed she was likely right, but I still had parts of me tied up in knots over people’s strangeness. Nonetheless, I’d had to get used to the fact that Gemma had gone to a different school and a different church and couldn’t freely walk into any store in town she wanted to.

I glanced over at her and studied her face, thinking it didn’t look so angry as it had before, so I cleared my throat to get her attention and said, “You wearin’ your red hair bow on Sunday?”

“Probably not,” she murmured.

“I was thinkin’ I’d wear my white dress.”

She swung her purse by her side and continued to watch her feet as we walked along, kicking up the dry dust. “Guess you want to wear my bow.”

“I was thinkin’ on it.”

“You can wear it.”

We walked on for a couple of minutes in silence before Gemma seemed to decide there weren’t any real good reasons for us to keep fighting. She kept looking down at the ground, but her voice got a little lighter when she said, “Guess you think Luke will think you look right pretty in that red bow.”

I snapped my head up. “No ma’am, I don’t! I just like lookin’ nice on Sundays, is all.”

Her eyes glittered. “You talk a big talk, but come Sunday, you’ll stew over how to wear your hair and whatnot. Just like you always do. And you’ll swoon over Luke like always.”

“Don’t matter none, I told you.” I took my own turn to watch the ground, since looking at Gemma only told me she knew how I truly felt despite the lying words I was saying. “Anyhow, Luke wouldn’t notice me in a month of Sundays.”

“If he did show you attention right now, your daddy’d kill him. You best be happy he don’t see you as more than a sister yet.”

“I’m nearly seventeen,” I argued. “I’m enough of a woman to be courtin’.”

“Not courtin’ a man of twenty-three. The minute Luke were to show you some attention, your daddy would be loadin’ the shotgun.”

“Oh, he would not. Daddy wouldn’t kill Luke.”

Gemma waved a hand in front of her face to dismiss the subject. “If it’s meant to be, Jessie, it’ll be. That’s all there is to it. It just ain’t meant to be yet.”

I shrugged, guessing she was probably right, though I hated to admit it. Gemma went on inside, but I stood on the porch steps for a minute giving a little thought to her idea that Daddy would have the shotgun on Luke if he came courting. I shook my head at the notion and sighed. It seemed every other day I heard my momma moan about how fast time was flying, but the way it seemed to me, I couldn’t get old fast enough.

Laced With Magic's Barbara Bretton Posts Today!

When I was a kid knitting was fairly popular but crochet was king. Oh, the wonders of the granny square afghan! I have a few of them dating way back into the mists of time and love them more than I can say. My mother made them from scraps of yarn leftover from other projects. The only new yarns she ever bought for a granny square afghan was the yarn used to make the borders. Sometimes it was a bright sunny yellow. Sometimes a cheerful cherry red. Occasionally a drop-dead gorgeous dramatic black. We also did cross-stitch, but not the more sophisticated counted cross stitch done today (which, by the way, just the merest thought of makes my head explode -- I can't follow the charts!) but the stamped pattern on cheap fabric kind. My friend Teresa Garcia made one for me when I was eleven: Make New Friends, Keep the Old -- One Is Silver, The Other Is Gold. (I still have it.)

(Photo: Family Circle offer from June 1970 -
Julie Nixon Eisenhower's Crewel Kit.
At least our needlework managed true bipartisanship.)

Crochet remained very popular in the late 60s and into the early 70s. Crocheted bikinis, vests, scarves, slippers--I made them all. Crochet in 1970 was all about big hooks and triple strands of Red Heart or Aunt Lydia's Rug Yarn. Crewel was very popular around 1972. I worshipped at the altar of Erica Wilson and Elsa Williams, the queens of traditional (and non-traditional) embroidery.

(You're looking at my four-way bargello attempt c. 1982
which was really going quite well until I lost interest.
Why did I lose interest? I haven't a clue.)

The mid-to-late 70s, as I remember, were needlepoint. "Rich girl stuff" one of my Long Island friends said at the time because who could afford hand-painted canvases and pricey Paternayan Persian wool? A needlepoint shop moved into my working class neighborhood a month after we bought our first house in North Babylon and my truly exciting birthday present was Beginner Lessons. I'm telling you it was so thrilling that selling my first book had to struggle to match the joy I felt.



















(Groucho, circa 1983. Total improvisation with velour

yarns, silks, some metallics. I've since added a little
sparkly red to the end of the cigar ash.)

And then suddenly needlework seemed to vanish from the radar. Oh, I know men and women were still stitching and knitting out there but you didn't hear all that much about it. I switched over to sewing for a few years, a craft where my talent fell far short of my enthusiasm. (Would you believe I actually made my father a blue velvet caftan? What in the name of all that's decent was I thinking?)

Knitting popped back onto the radar in the mid-80s and in my opinion we have Bill Cosby to thank for it. Remember The Cosby Show? Cliff Huxtable wore the most gorgeous, elaborate hand-knit sweaters on the planet and I think seeing them every week revived interest in the craft. Sweaters were big and poufy in fluffy yarns with intarsia-like designs knitted in.

And then knitting vanished again.

See where I'm going with this? (And boy it's taken me long enough to get there.) Reading trends in romantic fiction follow the same interest curve. A Martian looking at the romance section in a local book store would think we were a country of vampires, werewolves, and demons with the occasional kick-butt superheroine tossed in for good measure. (Have I mentioned that LACED WITH MAGIC is on the stands right now??) A year or two ago we were all single working girls with cartoon covers. And not too long ago we were nursing mothers in low-cut gowns about to be ravished by hunky pirates. Or nightgown-clad damsels fleeing a spooky castle at midnight. And does anyone remember when cowboys and stalwart Apache and Cherokee and Sioux braves were #1 in the hearts of romance readers (and writers) everywhere? (Why were there no Chippewa heroes? I'm part Chippewa and that always annoyed me.)

Tastes change and that's a good thing. Life would be unbearably boring if they didn't. The trick, in needlework and in writing and in life, is learning how to change with them.





Thank you Barbara! Loved your post today...but crocheted bikinis? Ugh!

First Wild Card Tour: In the Arms of Immortals

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

I have only just started this book, so cannot really tell you what it is about yet. The writing is very familiar though as I read and reviewed the first Chronicle of the Scribe - In the Shadow of Lions last year and loved it. I have a feeling that this one will not disappoint either if the beginning is any indication. I will be posting my full review upon completion of the book!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Ginger Garrett

and the book:

In the Arms of Immortals: A Novel of Darkness and Light (Chronicles Of The Scribe)

David C. Cook (2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

An expert in ancient women’s history, critically acclaimed author Ginger Garrett (Dark Hour, Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther, and most recently In the Shadow of Lions) creates novels and nonfiction resources that explore the lives of historical women. In addition to her writing, Garrett is a frequent radio and television guest. She resides in Georgia with her husband and three children.

Visit the author's website.



Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 304
Vendor: David C. Cook (2009)
ISBN: 0781448883
ISBN-13: 9780781448888

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

In the Arms of Immortals

Chapter One


Thirty thousand dollars bought her the right to avoid being scalded alive.


Mariskka Curtis did not miss the shoddy built-in shower that had been in her old apartment. Now she owned a penthouse, and one of her first decisions as a new millionaire was to have a high-end luxury shower installed.


“For thirty grand, it should make my breakfast, too,” Mariskka said to no one.


At least the bathroom was warm, making goose bumps and bad leg shaves a thing of the past. The maid had lit the fireplace in the master bath an hour ago and brought a fresh careen of coffee up. The milk still needed to be frothed, but Mariskka didn't mind that.


She pumped the handle six times and the milk bubbled up. She poured coffee into her monogrammed cup, then the foamy milk over the coffee. Mariskka inhaled, surprised that coffee could still bring her so much pleasure.


Rolling her neck to get the morning kinks out, she swung open the shower door and sat inside. The shower began as a slow warm mist around her feet, giving her a few minutes to finish her coffee before the gentle raindrops started from the overhead faucet and the dawn lights bounced pink off the shower glass.


Later this morning she was scheduled for an appearance on yet another talk show to dazzle America with her rags to riches tale. She hated the hollow feeling in her stomach that came from lying. She had stolen her best-selling manuscript from a patient's room. The patient, Bridget, had been a famous editor, and left it behind when she died. Mariskka stole it on impulse, thinking it might be valuable if sold on eBay. Only later, when packing the editor's belongings, had Mariskka seen the business cards thrown in the bottom of her bags. One was for an agent. Mariskka had contacted the agent, passing the manuscript off as her own. It couldn't hurt anyone, she had thought. Mariskka had also stolen Bridget's watch, but only because she intended to return it to the family. Only later did she realize Bridget had no family.


When the agent sold that manuscript in a seven-figure deal, it was as if God answered her prayers. Mariskka made a pile of easy money. She bought things she never dreamed of owning. She even donated some of it, paying hospice bills that threatened to bankrupt families and sent worn out care givers on vacations. Good things had happened to plenty of people because of her decision to steal.


As the mist rose she finished her coffee and waited for the overhead shower to turn on. Hard rock blared suddenly through the shower speakers, and she dropped her coffee cup in surprise. It shattered at her feet. Instinctively she yanked her feet out of the scalding puddle. Losing her balance in the wet mist, she hit her head on the imported tile and blacked out.


The smoke stung Mariskka's eyes.


She blinked, trying to clear her mind, groping in the darkness for the shower door. The shower had stopped, and the music was dead. She wondered if the building had lost electricity.


She crawled over something sharp and jagged. The lights must have shattered above. It was too dark to see anything; she wished she had windows in her bath as she pushed back the shower door.


Something was coming.


She felt the vibrations through her legs, shaking her to her stomach. Straining to hear above her thundering heart, she heard a heavy scraping against her hardwood floors, the sound of a sharp tool being dragged over the floors, catching every second or so, bumping over a seam. Heavy footfalls shook the floor, and metal screeched together with each step. She thought of the armored boots she had seen on medieval knights in museums.


Something slammed against the door, making the wood split.


It hit again.


“There is no Blood here,” someone said.


“God help me,” she whispered.


When she said the word God, the thing outside the door shrieked like an animal. A sword pierced through the door, creating a jagged seam as the intruder jerked it back and forth in the split wood. Light streamed in from her bedroom windows, but she could see nothing except a sword sawing its way through the door.


They should be testing the microphones for the television hosts right now, she thought. Amber-Marie Gates, her publicist, was going to be furious when Mariskka didn't arrive on time. Or when she didn't arrive at all.… Mariskka's mind was gone, traveling down more familiar tracks, unable to process her death.


Then the door burst apart, and she was showered with wood fragments. A figure too large to pass through the doorframe stood, stood, twisting its head in different directions, staring at her. The glowing blue dawn outlined its frame. Morning sunrays shot up from behind its head and between its flexed arms, illuminating dust particles spinning down and turning the shifting light into a kaleidoscope.


Metal wings reflected the light at their sharp ice-pick tips; below these, the shoulders of a man were layered with scales. Each finger was tipped with dozens of iron claws, all pointing backwards. Once it grabbed her, she wouldn't get free without tearing herself to shreds. It was built for death.


“There is no Blood here,” he said.


“What?” she screamed.


“You have no Christ.”


A tail with an iron tip, long and scalpel sharp, raised behind him as he pointed his sword at her. He turned his shoulder to come through the door. As he thrust his wings against the frame, cracks ran up the walls above the door.


He lifted his sword, aiming for her neck. She wondered if her lips would still be moving after death, the way Anne Boleyn's had.


He spun back around, his sword in motion.


A shower of sparks was burning her.


She remembered lights like this.


She was a child at Disney, watching the Magical Parade of Lights. A green, scaled dragon floated past her as she sat on the sidewalk, full of lemonade and ice cream. When the dragon swung its head in her direction, with its blind paper eyes and red paper streamers coming from its mouth to look like fire, Mariskka vomited right between her shoes. No one noticed, not the least her mom, who had taken the wide white pills so she could get through the day, one of their last together. Mariskka wanted her to take the pills so she wouldn't be in pain, so she wouldn't groan in the night, but the pills made her dull and distant. Either way, Mariskka lost her mother a little more each day.


She stood, grabbing her mother's hand, pulling at her to run. Her mother laughed, tipsy from the combination of opiates and Disney princesses, swinging her around in a dance, not understanding the panic in her daughter's eyes. Mariskka struggled to get free, to see where the dragon went, but it was gone. She would lie awake for years after that, wondering where it was now. The eyes had only been paper, but she knew. It had seen her. It had seen something inside her.


Mariskka was still remembering herself as a little girl when she noticed her impending death had been delayed. Another creature was here, holding a sword, blocking the iron-winged monster from killing her. He had gold-and-straw colored dreadlocks that ran down his back and the body of a linebacker. Judging from how close his head was to her ceiling, Mariskka guessed he was about eight feet tall.


The man picked up the dark iron angel by the neck and slammed it against the wall. Plaster rained down.


“She is ours,” the iron-angel said. “We can take her.”


“Not yet,” the new creature said.


A dark stain spread underneath the iron-angel on the tile floor. The stain shimmered as teeth began to appear, ringing the edges.


The new creature yelled over his shoulders. “Cover your eyes!”


Mariskka stared at the stain, which was devouring the iron-angel as it moved up it his legs.


The new one screamed again, “Mariskka! Now!”


Mariskka obeyed.


She heard the sound of an animal screaming in pain, and then all was quiet.


She looked up to see the new creature staring down at her. His nose was inches from her face, and his dreadlocks fell forward, tickling her cheeks. If he were human, she thought, he would be beautiful. But he could not be real, not with his strange eyes that were like big, gold saucers and canine teeth that peeked out from his lips. His breath smelled of meat, too. She collapsed, losing all control over limb and thought.


His arms slipped behind her knees and under her neck, lifting her without effort. He carried her to the bed and laid her down, drawing the curtains and stepping back into the shadows. He sat in a chair, resting one arm on the armrest, watching her. A thick, numbing sensation started in her toes and poured slowly into her body. She felt it filling her, working its way through her abdomen, then her arms. When it got to her eyes, they closed and she slept.


©2009 Cook Communications Ministries. In the Arms of Immortals by Ginger Garrett. Used with permission. May not be further reproduced. All rights reserved.

Winners from Monday!

It's that time again - I had three book giveaways end on Monday. I have not emailed these winners yet - so if you see your name here - shoot me an email! I will try to get emails out before the weekend!

A Stinky Surprise for Jake the Snake was won by Abi!

The 2 copies of Healing Luke are going out to Jane and QuenKne!

My 5 winners of Seduce Me are:
tetewa
clenna
Razlover's Book Blog
Jake Lsewhere
wanda

Winners - if you see your name here before I get the emails out - shoot me an email with your mailing address or let me know if you have already won the book

Time to Tempt you with a New Giveaway: A Highlander's Temptation

A Highlander's Temptation by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

Darroc MacConacher spends sleepless nights dreaming of a raven-haired beauty who makes him ache with desire. Then his dream comes true: the lady with her lush curves and fair skin appears shipwrecked on his shores. Darroc is immediately drawn to her strength and beauty, and from the moment she lays eyes on this powerful, broad-shouldered warrior, Lady Arabella MacKenzie knows she'll never want another man.


But theirs is a forbidden love. The MacKenzies drove the MacConachers from their lands and destroyed their honor. Now, Darroc can use this sapphire-eyed seductress to shatter his foes. Yet how can he deny the passion that burns between him and Arabella, and ruin the one woman who touches his very soul? (Hachette)

This book is going on a virtual tour soon, so you will have the chance to read original essays by Sue-Ellen, get to know her through her interviews, and I am sure win her book on other blogs - so watch for all the fun starting Sept 24. For now, I have 5 copies of A Highlander's Temptation to giveaway courtesy of Anna and Hachette Books!

Rules - rules - rules

1. Five copies to giveaway.
   
2. Open only to U.S. and Canada.
   
3. No PO Boxes
4. All entries can be in one comment.
5. +1 Must leave email address in comment.
6. +2 if you are a new or old follower - but please let me know. How ever you follow - all will count for 2 entries (Twitter, Facebook, Google, Feed Reader, Email, etc, etc, etc)
   
7. +3 if you post this on any social network or blog LEAVE A LINK TO GET BACK TO THIS POST OR IT WILL NOT COUNT - If you post on Twitter - please use @kherbrand and link to this post. Go Crazy! No Limits on Entries!
   
8. +3 for referrals of NEW followers - if you already follow, you will not get entries for saying someone referred you - you can however get entries for referring new people...
9. Giveaway ends on Oct 8.

BBAW: Me and My Reading Habits

Always a day late and a dollar short - that is me lately! This meme was yesterday's - but thought it would be fun anyway!

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
I love pretzels or popcorn - so I would have to say that yes, I occasionally snack while I read - Unless I am in bed!

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you?
I don't usually write in books - more because I don't want to teach my kids to write in books, as they cannot always differentiate between what we own and what the library owns. . .

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
Laying the book flat open?
I love bookmarks and have a ton to choose from. I will dog-ear a book though if there is a word on a page that I need to look up.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
I read both fiction and non-fiction - just depends upon my mood.

Hard copy or audiobooks?
I wish that I would have discovered audiobooks while I was working, as I could have used the distraction while in the car - Unfortunately, as much as I would like to listen to audio books now, my chances to do this are limited - so I am more a hard copy person.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you
able to put a book down at any point?
I really need to have ending points. I really hate it when and author writes really loooooong chapters.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
Nope - I dog-ear the page usually and look it up later.

What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading The Treasures of Venice, Millie's Fling, and In the Arms of Immortals.

What is the last book you bought?
I have absolutely no idea! I pick up a lot of books at library sales and garage sales...



Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can
you read more than one at a time?
I am currently reading 3 so I guess that covers this question!

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
Does the bathroom count? Just kidding - well, a little - I would love to have a favorite, but right now it is whenever I can grab a few minutes. I do enjoy sitting in the shade in the afternoon waiting for my son's bus and reading.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
I love books that are in series!

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
Not really - my favorite book is usually the one that I am currently reading!

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
My review books are organized in the order they need to be read - my "other" books are organized by author. When I was young I even went so far as to organize my books by publisher one day when I was bored.

Waiting on Wednesday: Sea of Poppies

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:


Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

Publisher/Publication Date: Picador, Sept 29, 2009

The first in an epic trilogy,Sea of Poppies is "a remarkably rich saga . . . which has plenty of action and adventure à la Dumas, but moments also of Tolstoyan penetration--and a drop or two of Dickensian sentiment" (The Observer [London]).

At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the Ibis. Her destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean shortly before the outbreak of the Opium Wars in China. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of Indians and Westerners on board, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited French orphan. As their old family ties are washed away, they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais, or ship-brothers. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the exotic backstreets of Canton. With a panorama of characters whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, Sea of Poppies is "a storm-tossed adventure worthy of Sir Walter Scott" (Vogue).

Read an excerpt from Sea of Poppies.

AMITAV GHOSH is the internationally bestselling author of many works of fiction and nonfiction, including the novel The Glass Palace, and the recipient of numerous prizes and awards. He divides his time among Kolkata and Goa, India, and Brooklyn, New York.



What are you waiting for? Waiting on Wednesdays is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

To Tempt the Wolf by Terry Spear (Book Review)

Title: To Temp the Wolf
Author: Terry Spear
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

First Sentence: Sucking up oxygen, the flames spread outward, devouring thirsty timber and underbrush, perfect fuel for the firestorm.

My Synopsis: Tessa and her brother Michael had been obsessed with wolves for as long as they could remember. Tessa captured their beauty in photographs, and Michael was able to portray them in paintings. As they had lost both their grandparents and their parents in the last couple of years, they really only had each other to rely on. When Michael is found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Bethany, Tessa sets out to prove him innocent.

Hunter is the alpha leader of a group of lupus garou - gray wolves to be exact. His pack had been forced off their land because of fire, so he was relocating with his sister, Meara, further north in Oregon. The rest of his pack had split up, with some going into Portland, and some to the vineyards in California. His sister was restless and was looking for a mate, so when Hunter came home to find her gone, he set out in pursuit. He met up with three wolves who he thought were involved with his sister's disappearance. They threw him off a cliff and left him for dead. That is were Tessa found him - in his human form.


When Hunter comes to, her realizes that all he can remember is his name - and that he is a lupus garou, of course. He agrees to help Tessa find out who really killed Bethany, as he can't remember where he is from, so has no where else to go.

From the very beginning there was an attraction between them. Tessa did not have a great history with relationships, so she was very wary of her attraction to Hunter. Hunter was a little surprised at how quickly he became attached to Tessa. He didn't believe in 'turning' humans, and felt that his obligation to her for helping him after his attack would be over soon. He tried to keep his distance, as he could not remember if he already had a mate.

Hunter begins to believe that Michael is indeed innocent and promises Tessa that he will help her find the real killer. This is compounded as Tessa's house continues to get broken into and they come to the conclusion that she has a stalker. Could this stalker be the real killer?

My thoughts: This was the third book in the series that includes Heart of the Wolf and Destiny of the Wolf - but it is not necessary to read them first to enjoy this book. I was drawn in immediately to the story and wanted Tessa and Hunter to hook up. There were a lot of secondary characters in the story which rounded out the plot and I felt gave it some humor. You had Ashton, Michael's best friend and also the son of the local sheriff. Rourke - a wannabe newspaper reporter who is still harboring feelings for Tessa from high school. Cara, a lupus garou who works the night shift at the hospital as a nurse. Meara, Hunter's sister and partly responsible for bringing Hunter and Tessa together. . .if she hadn't run off with the three wolves, Hunter would not have been out tracking her down. Close to the end it seemed like there were a lot of peripheral characters brought in and I was occasionally lost as to who was who. In spite of this, I did enjoy this book very much and have hopes to read the first two in the future.

There is still time to enter my giveaway for Heart of the Wolf and To Tempt the Wolf - with the added bonus of a guest post by Terry Spear!

To Tempt the Wolf
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1904-7
416 pages

31 Hours Blog Tour (Sept 15 - Sept 21)

31 Hours by Masha Hamilton
is currently on a virtual tour for Unbridled Books.

A woman in New York awakens knowing, as deeply as a mother’s blood can know, that her grown son is in danger. She has not heard from him in weeks. His name is Jonas. His girlfriend, Vic, doesn’t know what she has done wrong, but Jonas won’t answer his cell phone. We soon learn that Jonas is isolated in a safe-house apartment in New York City, pondering his conversion to Islam and his experiences training in Pakistan, preparing for the violent action he has been instructed to take in 31 hours. Jonas’s absence from the lives of those who love him causes a cascade of events, and as the novel moves through the streets and subways of New York we come to know intimately the lives of its characters. We also learn to feel deeply the connections and disconnections that occur between young people and their parents not only in this country but in the Middle East as well.

Carried by Hamilton’s highly-lauded prose, this story about the helplessness of those who cannot contact a beloved young man who is on a devastatingly confused path is compelling on the most human level. In our world, when a family loses track of an idealistic son an entire city could be in danger. From the author of The Distance Between Us. (Unbridled Books)

Read an excerpt of 31 Hours.

Visit Masha Hamilton

Watch for my review this week!

31 Hours
Publisher/Publication Date: Unbridled Books, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-1932961836
240 pages

Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker (Book Review)

Title: Dancing with Ana
Author: Nicole Barker
Publisher: The Golden Road Press

First sentence: "Christine McCady's hair is especially shiny today," Jenny told the three girls sitting with her at the lunch table.

My synopsis: From a distance, Beth, Jenny, Rachel and Melanie looked like they didn't have a care in the world. They had been friends forever and knew that they could count on each other no matter what problems they should face. So when Beth decides that she wants to diet, Jenny and Rachel decide to diet with her.

Beth's is no normal diet though - she quickly becomes obsessed with what the scale tells her and drops down to eating just enough to survive, followed by lots of water and Advil for the headaches that have started. The boy next door, Jeremy, whom she has been friends with since they were toddlers, has now began to look different to her - and she to him. As she discovers the joys of a first love, she continues to battle those things that are making her want to lose more and more weight. She soon realizes that she hasn't stopped eating because of her weight, but as a way to control her life that appears to be spiraling out of control - she just doesn't know how to stop.

Will Beth's friends and Jeremy be able to help her before it is too late?

My thoughts: For such a quick read, this was a really heavy subject. If you haven't figured it out, I am guessing that the Ana from the title is anorexia. These girls appeared to have it all, and a strong friendship besides, but they were all battling their own problems. This book isn't just about a young girl battling her weight, but about what a family goes through during a divorce, and the toll that it takes on the children. It is amazing to me, though I am sure more common than I realize, how prevalent anorexia is with today's teen girls. The author deals with the issues that could cause anorexia and how quickly it could consume a young girl's life. Being a mother of teen girls, I am trying to raise them with a good body image, and not focus so much on what the scale says. I will be passing this book on to them, as I think it is an important issue.


Dancing with Ana
Publisher: The Golden Road Press
ISBN: 978-0-615-28852-9
170 pages

Teaser Tuesday 9-15-2009

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!






She opened the window and tried to get a closer look. The animal's ears twitched and his eyes focused on her. He didn't seem vicious, but he was still feral. (p155, To Tempt the Wolf by Terry Spear)


My review for this one will be up today - I am so close to being finished!






Teaser Tuesday is hosted at Should be Reading. Come on over and share your teaser, too!

To Tempt the Wolf
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1904-7
416 pages