Readathon - Bart's Mini Challenge

Fearless, hot and irresistible mom, needs chocolate, bacon sandwiches and salvation.

Short girls on the run shake the devil off.

Readathon Update - Finishing Hour 4

I cannot believe we are already 4 hours into the readathon - am still battling a slight headache but I am trying to ignore it - will probably need a nap later though! I did really well the first hour - before the household started moving - then my little boy got up - phone started ringing - television went on, etc, etc and suddenly I found I was reading fewer pages every hour! I have read about 250 pages at this point - have about 170 pages left to go in this book - Saint John of the Five Boroughs. It is pretty good and there is some mystery to it - I keep expecting some huge revelation to come out - sure hope I am right. After this one though we are going to move to a YA book or a short book! Well - I have had to wait 3 1/2 hours to actually get to use the computer this morning (hubby was playing games and I figures since he would be basically running the house today, I could give him some play time!) but now the line is once again forming at the computer desk. Have fun reading everyone!!

Have I Been Missed?

I have a terrible sinus infection with migraine that has kept me off the computer for most of the week. The only post that was done in "real" time was the book review yesterday - all the other posts about books were done last weekend (thankfully!) I missed WoW, Friday's Finds, my Thursday Kid's Korner - and I even had a Library Loot for this week! I also have 2 new giveaways to post - one for a new office chair. And tomorrow I am supposed to be doing the Read-a-thon!

So -I gave up and went to the doctor today. I am hoping that the antibiotics he gave me will kick in tonight and that I will be able to read headache free tomorrow! (Otherwise, I am going to be SOOOOO behind in my reviews!)

Well, that's it for tonight - I think I am going to bed. . . .

ARC Arrival: Thirsty by Tracey Bateman

Thirsty by Tracey Bateman

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

About the book: "Hello, I'm Nina Parker. . . and I'm an alcoholic."

For Nina, it's not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage daughter, Meagan. Hardest of all, she is forced to return to Abbey Hills, Missouri, the hometown she abruptly abandoned nearly two decades earlier - and her unexpected arrival in the sleepy Ozark town catches the attention of someone - or something - igniting a two-hundred-fifty-year-old desire that rages like a wildfire.

Unaware of the darkness stalking her, Nina is confronted with a series of events that threaten to unhinge her sobriety. Her daughter wants to spend time with the parents Nina left behind. A terrifying even that has haunted Nina for almost twenty years begins to surface. And an alluring neighbor initiates and unusual friendship with Nina, but is Markus truly a kindred spirit or a man guarding dangerous secrets?

As everything she loves hangs in the balance, will Nina's feeble grasp on her demons be broken, leaving her powerless against the thirst? The battle between redemption and obsession unfolds to its startling, unforgettable end. (back cover)

About the author: With close to one million books in print, Tracey Bateman is the award-winning author of more than thirty titles. Fan favorites include the popular Kansas Home historical series: Color of the Soul, a tale of race and prejudice; and her many intriguing Heartsong Presents romantic novels. Tracey resides in Missouri with her husband and four children. (back cover)

Thirsty
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, Oct 2009
ISBN: 978-0-307-45715-8
384 pages

ARC Arrival: Touched by a Vampire by Beth Felker Jones

Touched by a Vampire:
Discovering the Hidden Messages in the Twilight Saga
by Beth Felker Jones

Publisher: Multnomah Books

About the book: People around the world are enraptured with Edward and Bella's forbidden romance in the Twilight Saga, a four-book serial phenomenon written by Stephenie Meyer. The bestsellers tell the story of a regular girl's relationship with a vampire who has chosen to follow his "good" side. But the Saga isn't just another fantasy - it's teaching girls about love, sex, and purpose. With 48 million copies in print and a succession of upcoming blockbuster films, now is the time to ask the important question: Can vampires teach us about God's plan for love?

Touched by a Vampire investigates the themes of the Twilight Saga from a Biblical perspective. Some Christian readers have praised moral principles illustrated in the story, such as premarital sexual abstinence, which align with Meyer's Mormon beliefs. But ultimately, Beth Felker Jones examines whether the story's redemptive qualities outshine its darkness.

Cautionary, thoughtful, and challenging, Touched by a Vampire is written for Twilight fans, parents, teachers, and youth workers. It includes an overview of the series for those unfamiliar with the storyline and a discussion guide for small groups. (back cover)

About the author: Beth Felker Jones is assistant professor of theology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. She is the author of the Marks of His Wounds: Gender Politics and Bodily Resurrection, as well as numerous articles and reviews. Beth is a mother and a pastor's wife. (back cover)

Touched by a Vampire
Publisher/Publication Date: Multnomah Books, Oct 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60142-278-1
192 pages

The Evolution of Shadows (Book Review)

Title: The Evolution of Shadows*
Author: Jason Quinn Malott
Publisher: Unbridled Books

First sentence: Lian hears the wind in the trees outside and the creak of the house as its timbers contract in the cool night.

My synopsis: This novel is about the coming together of 3 unrelated people to search for Gray Banick, a news photographer who disappeared 5 years earlier in the Bosnian war zone. Lian was his girlfriend - and also the reason he went to Bosnia; Emil was the interpreter he met while on assignment, and Jack was a fellow news photographer who was Gray's mentor.

These three people come together to try to search for Gray, or Gray's remains, as a way to put an end to that chapter in their lives. Emil is still trying to find Mira, his fiancee who was taken away by enemy soldiers - in his head he knows she is dead, but in his heart, he refuses to give up hope. Katja, his current girlfriend, isn't sure that he will ever be able to let Mira go.

Jack has given his whole life to surviving in war zones. Where his homecomings with his wife used to be exciting - they have become alienated over the years and she now feels as if he has deserted her. Most of the big events in their life he has learned of over the phone, half a world away. Jack realizes that Gray is a surrogate son to him, to replace the one that his wife had miscarried 30+ years before.

That leaves Lian. She was always sure that her and Gray would not be together, but not because she didn't love him - even though she couldn't put it into words. Her family was bound by Chinese values and traditions, and those were put on her shoulders to carry forward. For this reason, she found herself engaged and married to Daniel, a Chinese doctor who works with her father. She realizes that she has been a coward her whole life, and hopes that by coming to Bosnia she will be able to come clean with Daniel about her past, and move forward in her life, on her terms.

That is, at least, how I viewed these three people. I cannot say that I "enjoyed" this book - as the setting isn't something that someone would "enjoy". But I found that I could not put it down! The story was told between present interactions amongst Emil, Lian and Jack and flash backs on their relationships with Gray. While there isn't a lot of action, it moves forward steadily, hauntingly, through war-torn Sarajevo and the surrounding countryside. While the setting of the story is tragic, there is an underlying romantic element of never losing hope. I highly - highly! recommend this book. It is a great debut novel and I can't wait to see what else Mr. Malott has to bring us.


For some reason, this passage has stayed with me:

"I will take pictures of the truth. They will be ashamed of themselves."
The man nodded. "But not until after my family is dead."
"I come from a sleeping people," Gray said.
"You are awake," the man said. "I must get back to my family." (p210)

Read my interview with Jason or visit him at the following sites: Myspace, Facebook, and on his web page!

The Evolution of Shadows
Publisher/Publication Date: Unbridled Books, Oct 20, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-932961-84-3
272 pages

*This book was provided for review from Unbridled Books.

ARC Arrival: Family Plots by Mary Patrick Kavanaugh

Family Plots: Love, Death & Tax Evasion
by Mary Patrick Kavanaugh

Publisher: IUniverse

About the book: Family Plots is a fresh and funny autobiographical novel about a young mother trying against all odds to create a normal family life with her new husband, a criminal attorney, who - it turns out - is committing a few crimes of his own.

Kavanaugh gives us a wry, unsentimental account of a marriage barreling toward calamity. In an attempt to find romance, family, and financial stability, Mary stumbles into a world of pseudonyms, fake weddings, and hidden bank accounts. Events that land many of the players into the family cemetery plot reveal unexpected secrets and stashes that manage, in small ways, to transform a tale of seeming tragedy into one of surprising healing and redemption. (back cover)

Family Plots
Publisher/Publication Date: IUniverse, Oct 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4401-0466-4
300 pages

ARC Arrival: Spellbinder by Helen Stringer

Spellbinder by Helen Stringer

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

About the book: Belladonna Johnson can see ghosts. It's a trait she's inherited from her mother's side of the family, like blue eyes or straight hair. And it's a trait she could do without, because what twelve-year-old wants to be caught talking to someone invisible?

It is convenient, though, after Belladonna's parents are killed in a car accident. They can live with her the same as always, watching the same old TV shows in their same old house. Nothing has changed. . .until everything changes.

One night, with no warning, they vanish into thin air - along with every other ghost in the world. It's what some people think ghosts are supposed to do, but Belladonna knows it's all wrong. They may not be living, but they're not supposed to be gone.

With the help of her classmate, Steve, a master of sneaking and spying, Belladonna is left to uncover what's become of the spirits and to navigate a whole world her parents have kept well-hidden. If she can't find her way, she'll lose them again - this time, for good.

In her sparkling debut novel, Helen Stringer spins a ghost story that's spine-tingling, sensitive, and dead funny. (back cover)

About the author: Helen Stringer grew up in Liverpool, England, and currently lives in Los Angeles. Here in the U.S., she studied film, winning several student film awards, and was a Directing Fellow at the American Film Institute Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies. This is her first novel. (back cover)

Spellbinder
Publisher/Publication Date: Feiwel & Friends, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-38763-1
384 pages
Reading Level: 9-12 years

Tome Traveler: However Tall the Mountain by Awista Ayub

However Tall the Mountain by Awista Ayub

Publisher: Hyperion

I received this book from Marcia at Printed Page as part of her Read It Forward program. Thank you so much Marcia!

About the book: In 1979, when Awista Ayub was only two years old, her family fled Afghanistan for the United States, where Awista flourished, thanks to organized athletics - and where she vowed to make a difference in her home country some day. Soon after the fall of the Taliban, Awista saw her chance: She founded the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange, an organization dedicated to nurturing Afghan girls through soccer. What began with eight young women has exploded into something of a phenomenon. Fifteen teams now compete in the Afghanistan Football Federation, with hundreds of girls participating.

By bringing soccer to young Afghan women, Awista reintroduced the very traits the decades of war had cruelly stripped away from them - confidence and self-worth. In However Tall the Mountain, she tells her story and the stories of the eight original girls. Timely, heartfelt, and moving, it shows how women can find strength in each other, in teamwork, and in themselves - risking their lives to obtain the freedom that we take for granted. (back cover)

However Tall the Mountain
Publisher/Publication Date: Hyperion, Aug 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2249-6
256 pages

ARC Arrival: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Publisher: Delacorte Book for Young Readers

About the book: Daniel's gaze caught hers, and her breath caught in her throat. She recognized him from somewhere. But she would have remembered meeting someone like him. She would have remembered feeling as absolutely shaken up as she did right now.

They were still locking eyes when Daniel flashed her a smile. A jet of warmth shot through her. . .but then he raised his hand in the air. And flipped her off, Luce gasped and dropped her eyes. Her momentary delirium vanished. What was that guy's problem?

Just before she ducked into her first class, she dared to glance back. His face was blank, but there was no mistaking it - he was watching her go. (back cover)

Fallen
Publisher/Publication Date: Delacorte Book for Young Readers, Dec 2009
ISBN: 78-0-385-73893-4
464 pages
Reading Level: Young Adult

ARC Arrival: Through the Triangle by C.P. Stewart

Through the Triangle by C.P. Stewart

Publisher: Outskirts Press

About the book: Jake Myers and his semi-estranged son Nathan were supposed to be on a healing jaunt: a Florida vacation spent deep-sea fishing and them park hopping. But they and the tree other passengers aboard Oblique View happened to be in the wrong place at the right time - in a storm within the Devil's Triangle. On a deserted shore, they discover they are in the right place at the wrong time - the Florida coast nearly three-hundred years in the future. Then there's the metropolis nearby that appears to be deserted. . .appears, that is. . .

Now, this group is about to confront a dangerous species - part animal/part human. . . that can see in the dark. Together with a loose association of other humans, fellow travelers cast off in this strange land and strange time, they'll have to rely on instinct and cunning to survive. But something as deadly as the Devil's Triangle they just passed through might be one of their own. . .

What follows is a journey of enlightenment as Jake discovers the shocking historical events leading to this new reality and the love lurking right under his nose. It all combines for a savvy time-travel thriller that will keep you guessing right up until the shocking finale. (back cover)

About the author: C.P. Stewart made a career of teaching high school and, when requested, university physics. A lifelong resident of western Pennsylvania, he is married with two adult children and one grandchild. (back cover)

Through the Triangle
Publisher/Publication Date: Outskirts Press, Aug 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4327-4036-8
390 pages

ARC Arrival: Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle

Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle

Publisher: Square Fish

About the book: Twins Persephone and Penelope Leleand are anticipating their first London season with mixed feelings. Pen can't wait to flirt with handsome young men at parties, but Persy would far rather stay home and continue her magic studies. When the twins discover that their governess has been kidnapped as part of a dastardly plot to enchant the soon-to-be queen, they're determined to find and save them both. Along the way, Persy learns that a good lady's maid is hard to find, that one should never cast a love spell on anyone after drinking too much brandy punch at a party, that pesky little brothers can sometimes come in handy, and that husband-hunting isn't such an odious task after all, if you can find the right quarry. (back cover)

Bewitching Season
Publisher/Publication Date: Square Fish (Reprint) Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-59695-8
368 pages
YA

Wonderful Wins: 4 Book Jazz Tremaine Series by Linda Wisdom

I won these four books from Anna's Book Blog and Sourcebooks. Thanks guys!

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover by Linda Wisdom

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

About the book: Jasmine Tremaine is a witch who can't stay out of trouble. Nikolai Gregorivich is a vampire cop on the trail of a serial killer. The sizzling love affair between Jazz and Nick has been on-again, off-again for about 300 years -- mostly off, lately. But now Nick needs Jazz's help, and while Jazz and Nick try to figure out their own hears and resist their increasing attraction, they must steer clear of a maniacal killer with super-supernatural powers. They are surrounded by a hilarious cast of oddball paranormal characters including Irma, the chain-smoking ghost who haunts Jazz's sports car; Dweezil, her ghoul of a boss; and Fluff and Puff, a pair of bunny slippers with sharp teeth and short tempers (watch your ankles)! (back cover)

Hex Appeal by Linda Wisdom

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

About the author: Feisty witch Jasmine Tremaine and drop-dead gorgeous vampire cap Nikolai Gregorovich have a hot thing going, but it's tough to keep it together when nightmare visions turn their passion into bickering, and it's tearing them apart.

With a little help from their friends - a motley bunch of ghosts with attitude, rule-breaking witches, supernatural hotties and sinister elves - Jazz and Nick are in a race against time to uncover whoever it is that's poisoning their dreams, and their relationship. . . (back cover)

Wicked by Any Other Name by Linda Wisdom

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

About the book: Stasi Romanov uses just a little witch magic in her lingerie shop, running a brisk side business in love charms. A disgruntled customer threatening to sue over a failed love spell brings Trevor Barnes to town. Trevor's the best attorney around, and he just happens to be a wizard. Everyone knows that witches and wizards make a volatile combination - sure enough, the sparks fly and almost everyone's getting singed. Add to that Cupid playing a practical joke, a lunar eclipse that nearly precipitates a witch hunt, and some very mysterious goings on at the magical lake, and the feisty witch and gorgeous wizard have more than simply a possible lawsuit on their hands. Can they overcome their objections and settle out of court - and in the bedroom? (back cover)

Hex in High Heels by Linda Wisdom

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

About the book: Feisty witch Blair Fitzpatrick has had a crush on hunky carpenter Jake Harrison forever - he's one hot shape-shifter.

But Jake's nasty mother and brother are after him to return to his pack, and a bunch of unruly elves start causing all kinds of chaos. Blair is trying hard not to unleash the ultimate revenge spell, but when Jake's enemies try to force him away from her, Blair is pushed over the edge. No one messes with her boyfriend-t0-be, even if he does shed on the furniture! (back cover)

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Mar 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1085-3
374 pages

Hex Appeal
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Nov 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1400-4
368 pages

Wicked by Any Other Name
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Mar 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1773-9
384 pages

Hex in High Heels
Publisher/Publication Date: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Oct 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1819-4
352 pages

Interview with Jason Quinn Malott - Author of The Evolution of Shadows

I would like to welcome Jason Quinn Malott to Books and Needlepoint today. He is the author of the newly released novel - The Evolution of Shadows.

1. Hi Jason! Can you tell us a little about your book, The Evolution of Shadows?

A) For so long when asked that question my inclination was to go for the “elevator pitch,” as if I were still in the mode of trying to sell this book to a publisher. I suppose I’ll have to unlearn that habit.

It’s the story of three people, damaged by the circumstances of their lives, who all feel a deep connection to one person, a charismatic photojournalist who disappeared during the Srebrenica Massacre in the summer of 1995. In their own ways, each one feels responsible for Gray Banick’s disappearance. A few years after the war, Gray’s one-time guide and interpreter, Emil, begins to search for an answer to his friend’s fate. His search draws to him Gray’s old mentor, Jack, and the quiet and desolate Lian, the woman whose betrayal years earlier may have sent the heartbroken Gray into the Bosnian war zone looking to purge her from his memories.

The Evolution of Shadows Trailer from Unbridled Books on Vimeo.

2. I can't wait to share my review with everyone tomorrow! What led you to write this particular book?

A) A combination of things. First, was an interest in the 1992-95 Bosnian War that began when I was an undergrad at K-State. I’ve never had the kind of wealth where I could throw money at causes I believe in, and I’ve never been in the right place at the right time to join any of those causes in a meaningful way (except to be asked to open my wallet, which, of course, is always empty). What I learned about Bosnia made me angry with the European Union and my own government over their lack of action. The Bosnian Serb nationalists, led by Radovan Karadzic, were essentially trying to purge Bosnia of its Muslim population, much like Nazi Germany tried to purge its country of Jews – and no one seemed to be in a rush to stop it, or to help the officially recognized Bosnian government (yes, mostly Muslim, but also Bosnian Croats, and Bosnian Serbs who wanted Bosnian independence from the old Yugoslav Federation). So, part of the reason was to use my meager talents to write as honestly as I could about an injustice.

The other thing that led me to write this book was a crush on a girl. In graduate school, I had a day job in a call center and worked with a beautiful young woman named Callie, who was several years younger, and, I’m certain, thought I was a dork. So, one day I sat down to write a short story that would explain to me why any relationship I might have with a girl like her would fail – miserably. Somewhere in the middle of that story the characters that were supposed to be proxies for Callie and me rebelled and insisted upon becoming themselves and telling their own story.

And Gray and Lian’s story was much more interesting than my personal story.

3. Now Callie can say - "I knew him when. . ." and I bet that the 'dork' won't even come up! What kind of research did you have to do for this novel?

A) I read a number of histories of the war, and several excellent memoirs, and then I focused my attention on the characters, relying on them to carry the story rather than the scenery.

Such an approach is the simple result that travel has never been a viable option for me to conduct research. I always seem to have hourly day jobs with little or no vacation time, plus there are those pesky student loans to pay off along with the monthly bills, so, I’ve never felt like I had the time or money to travel.

4. Will you tell us what your journey from writing to actual publication was like?

A) It was an exercise in determination. I began trying to find an agent as soon as I had a viable draft sometime in late 2002 or early 2003. The accepted wisdom is that a writer should find an agent first, so that’s what I tried to do. I knew I didn’t have an easily pitched book: it didn’t have the kind of thriller hook that a Dan Brown novel would have. Because of that, I very carefully went about selecting the agents I submitted to. I did everything the “how to get an agent” books suggested – I looked at the agent’s list, read a book or two by an author on that list, and then wrote a fresh cover letter for each agent. It took time, but I was determined to find the right agent. I never did. After 50 rejections from agents, I gave up on them in early 2007. The few personal rejections I received made some truly strange comments – present tense literary fiction doesn’t sell, the novel has a haunting, lyrical quality but the agent didn’t know how to sell it. There was one that seemed to suggest it needed to be a Slavic “Da Vinci Code.” Finally, I decided to take the book straight to publishers in late-2007 and Unbridled Books snatched it up in the spring of 2008.

5. Not only do I not possess the skill to become a writer - I don't think I possess the determination! I think Unbridled Books did the smart thing! Do you have a special place that you write - or anything you absolutely have to have in order to write?

A) I try to set up an “office” in every place I live. Sometimes it’s a corner in the living room, or crammed in the bedroom with my bed. Once, I took over a large storage closet in the apartment I shared with a friend: it was cramped and windowless, and I loved it. Now I have an office I share with my live-in girlfriend. It’s the first time I’ve had a room, with windows, that is dedicated specifically for writing.

The only things I have to have when I write are music, a cup of tea or a chai, and my old green hooded sweatshirt.

6. Can you share with us a typical day in your life?

A) My days are not very glamorous. I usually get up around 5 or 5:30 in the morning and write or revise until 6:30 or so. Then I get ready and head out to my day job that starts at 8. I usually get home sometime after 5pm and have about four and half or five hours to cram in dinner, reading, some more revisions, time with my girlfriend, and keeping up with all the social media stuff (facebook, twitter, blogs, etc). Some days, however, I’m completely burned out and end up sitting on the couch doing nothing. It’s arduous and frustrating to tell the truth, but it’s what needs doing if I’m going to avoid moving back into my mother’s basement and/or going bankrupt.

7. Your days may not be glamorous - but they sure are busy!! Were there any authors or books that influenced you growing up?

A: My parents read to me a lot, but none of those books ever stuck with me. Then, once I began reading on my own, I gravitated more toward comic books - especially Sgt. Rock and G.I. Joe comics, rather than YA novels. By the time the reading bug really took hold in jr. high and high school, I jumped right in to reading a bizarre mix of military sci-fi and popular adult novels by people like Stephen King, Tom Robbins, and Salman Rushdie. Once I grew up and hit college and grad school I was all about Ernest Hemingway, Ken Kesey, Jack Kerouac, Philip Roth, Michael Ondaatje, John Berger, and Lawrence Durrell.

8. I read a lot of Stephen King growing up also. What books are you currently reading?

A) I’m close to finishing “The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea” by Yukio Mishima. I’ve also recently started reading “Sometimes We’re Always Real Same Same” by Mattox Roesch, “Absolutely Eden” by Bobbie Louise Hawkins, and “The Complete Poems of Gaius Valerius Catullus” translated by Ryan Gallagher.

9. I recently got Sometimes We're Always Real Same Same - am curious as to how you are liking it. Are you working on another novel?

A) Yes, I am. I have a novel titled “By The Still, Still Water” that I’m making final adjustments to before I send it to Fred Ramey at Unbridled. I also have a project that I’m resurrecting, which is something my editor encouraged me to do.

10. Is there anything more you would like to tell my readers?

A) Just a sincere thank you for taking the time to read my long-winded answers. And, of course, a special thank you to you, Kristi for your wonderful questions and making space for me on your blog.

Thank you Jason for joining me today - Readers - you can find Jason at Myspace, Facebook, and on his web page!

Teaser Tuesday 10-20-2009

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!

The leader spat on the ground and squinted one eye as he looked at Gray, then back down the trench line before he spoke.
"He said they shoot at them every time they come down for the bodies. They have a sniper near here in a very secret position." (p103, The Evolution of Shadows)

Please stay tuned for an interview with Jason Quinn Malott -
author of The Evolution of Shadows!

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

ARC Arrival: Elynia by David Michael Belczyk

Elynia by David Michael Belczyk

About the book: Elynia is about humility. It examines four generations of characters diverse in time and place whose varied struggles distill a unified expression of human need. The characters are interconnected in unusual but intimate ways, for example: the immigrant shoe-man works his life away in a dying town to see his son wrongly arrested by a man whose shoes he shines; as a student, the son watched his friend betray the memory of a departed mother by stealing her makeup for a drunken gag; the friend marries a waitress who secretly loves a man atoning for his past by refurbishing a house; a man whose paintings were rejected by his love, the granddaughter of the woman who boards the shoe-man after a fire. Elynia is the only named character in the manuscript but appears only in reference by others. The other characters occupy iconic roles, each representing a stage or state in life. The reader's second-hand knowledge of Elynia mirrors the search for identity that haunts the unnamed, tactile characters and blurs their distinctions. (back cover)

About the author: Elynia is David's first inventive and rawly expressive recreation of the traditional novel. He wrote Elynia on the golden plains of the northern midwest, sailing on the great lakes, in Chicago, D.C., London, and on the canals of France. These diverse places and the struggles of their people give Elynia its compassionate pulse and proud and stately sense of decay. David, an engineer and lawyer, is also the author of two forthcoming poetry collections. He currently writes in his hometown of Pittsburgh, where he is producing his next work of fiction. (back cover)

Kid's Korner: The Belly Button Fairy (Book Review)

Title: The Belly Button Fairy
Author: Bobbie Hinman
Illustrator: Mark Wayne Adams
Publisher: Best Fairy Books


I won this book at BestFairyBooks.com. The book comes complete with an audio CD. There is only good to be said about it. It is colorful, humorous, and tells us where our Belly Buttons came from! (You didn't know that fairies gave them to you did you!) Ms. Hinman also has two more books in this line - The Knot Fairy - (the fairy responsible for tangling our children's hair at night) and The Sock Fairy (this little guy is the one that steals our socks and also gives us the occasional hole!) My son has enjoyed reading this one as well as The Knot Fairy that we received earlier this year. You should go check these books out over at www.BestFairyBooks.com! I guarantee, if you have a little munchkin - they will enjoy these little fairies!








The Belly Button Fairy
Publisher/Publication Date: Best Fairy Books, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9786791-3-2
32 pages
Reading Level:Ages 4-8

ARC Arrival: Cherries in Winter by Suzan Colon

Cherries in Winter:
My Families Recipe for Hope in Hard Times
by Suzan Colon

Publisher: Doubleday

About the book: When Suzan Colon was laid off during the economic downturn of 2008, luxuries she'd taken for granted, like shopping at gourmet markets and even owning a car, were suddenly outside her budget. She decided to save money by cooking, and her mother suggested, "Why don't you look in Nana's recipe folder?" In the basement, Suzan found the tattered treasure, full of handwritten and meticulously typed recipes, peppered with her grandmother Matilda's commentary in the margins. Reading it, Suzan realized she had found something more than a collection of recipes - she had found the key to her family's survival through hard times.

Suzan began re-creating Matilda's "sturdy food" recipes for baked pork chops and beef stew, and she began uncovering the stories of her resilient family's past. Taking inspiration from Matilda, who was the sole support of her family as a teenager during the Great Depression (and who always answered "How are you?" with "Fabulous, never better!"), Suzan starts to approach her own crisis with a sense of wonder and gratitude. It turns out that the gift to survive and thrive through hard times had been bred in her bones all along.

Cherries in Winter makes you want to cook, it makes you want to know your own family's stories, and, above all, it makes you feel rich even when you're feeling poor. (back cover)

Cherries in Winter
Publisher/Publication Date: Doubleday, Nov 2009
ISBN: 978-0-385-53252-5
224 pages

Purchased Pages: Shadowland (Book 1 ot The Mediator Series) by Meg Cabot

Shadowland by Meg Cabot

Publisher: HarperTeen

I purchased this book at Book Ends, my library's used book store.

About the book: Suze is a mediator - a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won't leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn't seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it's not that easy. There's a ghost with revenge on her mind. . . and Suze happens to be in the way. (back cover)

Shadowland
Publisher/Publication Date: HarperTeen, Dec 2004
ISBN: 978-0-06-072511-2
304 pages
YA

It's Monday! What are you reading? 10-19-2009

What are you reading on Mondays? is hosted by J. Kaye at J. Kaye's Book Blog. This is my first time doing this event, even though I think about it every Monday! I have decided it is time to start giving a little more effort to some of my posts! If you would like to participate, please leave your link with Mr. Linky at J.Kaye's blog - but you can also leave me a comment - I would love to know what you are reading!

I am currently reading 3 books that I am having a heck of a time finishing! None of them have really "caught" me (and I have been feeling a little under-the-weather) so I haven't been in a reading mode.

1. 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton - I have heard nothing but good things about this book - and I was supposed to have it done awhile ago - but there isn't enough action in it for me at this point. I am over 1/2 way through though, and it isn't very long - so I am hoping to finish it this week.
2. Ginger High by Melissa Burmester - The author of this book is only 14 - which is amazing - but so far it has been too "jumpy" and I am having a hard time making sense of it. Again, the book isn't real long so I will probably stick with it. I am also going to have my 15 year old start it to see if she can give me a YA perspective on it.
3. Stretch Marks: A Novel by Kimberly Stuart - This one I think I will actually like once I am able to get past the first chapter!
4. A Highlander's Temptation by Sue Ellen Welfonder - I had a hard time getting in this as the Scottish dialect was hard for me to grasp - Now that I am into it though, I really want to find out what happens.
   
5. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff - I am listening to this one in the car, and am not quite sure what I think yet. I wasn't prepared for some of the story line so it has taken me by surprise - especially since it is a YA book.
   

Books I am going to be starting this week:

1. The Evolution of Shadows by Jason Quinn Malott - I have an interview with Jason tomorrow, so be sure to stop by and visit.
2. Kiss Me Again: Restoring Lost Intimacy in Marriage by Barbara Wilson - This is on a blog tour this week and I really want to read it to "spice" up my relationship with my husband!

Books I completed last week:

1. All About Us #5: Tidings of Great Boys: An All About Us Novel by Shelley Adina - I finished this one last night and will be posting a review soon. It was book 5 in the All About Us Series and I can't wait to read the next one.
2. The Sound of Sleigh Bells by Cindy Woodsmall - Another good Amish read.
   

So what are you all reading this week?