Everything but the kitchen sink

I had a rather nasty (for me) experience this morning. My virus software kept popping up that I needed to update it for the past several weeks. It was one of those things I kept meaning to do so today was the day I decided to actually do it. I went to the website and downloaded the package I chose. Then I tried to download it - and ran into download hell. Windows kept popping up telling me I didn't have this installed, I needed that installed. I downloaded and that opened up more windows. I began to panic and started looking for a number to call for help. I went all over the damn website looking for tech support. All they seemed to have was more stuff to install. After looking around for half an hour - just trying to find a phone number, I finally located one and called it. By this time I was frantic. They guy on the phone kept telling me to calm down if I wanted him to help. I hate when they do that - it only get's me more worked up. Finally he clued in and said sorry for the problems I was having. That worked. That's all I wanted - someone to acknowledge that those of us who aren't as savy in that area need help. He gave me another number and I called it. This guy had me deleting old programs. I always cringe when I hit that final delete button. Then I was transferred to a very nice woman who took over my computer and installed the newest version. By this time I was fine and now I'm all set with my updated computer anti virus protection.

I was hit on last week. Yep - that's right. I sometimes go over to the mall with a book and have lunch in the food court while I read a book. This guy came and sat at the table and started talking to me. I knew him by sight. I've lived in the neighbourhood for 25 years now and worked in the area grocery store for 9 years some years back, so I recognize a lot of people on sight. Now my sisters will confirm I have a hard time not being to polite to people. They still give me grief about the time I said hello to a homeless person in Toronto quite a number of years ago and he ended up following us for blocks. They were so mad at me for that one!! Later of course we all thought it was a riot - but I still can't get over that being polite to people thing. Anyways, this guy started talking to me - wanted to know what I was reading and other stuff. He made me uncomfortable, but it got even worse when he wanted to know my last name and where I lived. Then he started flattering me. At that point I wondered how the hell I was going to get out of this situation. Finally he got up and left and said he would see me around again soon. NOT!! Now I feel like I can't go back to the mall for lunch anymore. And I used to like that. *sigh*

I had a job interview the other day. It seemed to go pretty good, but afterwards I was trying to figure out how to tell them I wasn't interested (it's that being nice thing again). The wage they were offering was $5/hour less than what I was making before and while I don't mind not making as much - $5 is a bit too much. Plus it was a small office and cluttered to the max. I would have gone stir crazy working in that much chaos. It was a couple of days ago now and I haven't heard back so I'm kind of hoping they don't call. But just getting that first interview under my belf felt good.

I am so not a photographer. Since I still have Ryan's digital camera, I thought I would take some close up's of some of my books. I always like being able to read the titles when I see other bloggers collections.
Beware of the following - they aren't very good pictures.





They all have either too much light shining off the background, or they have this reall wierd slant to them. I shan't give up though!

I went out yesterday and picked up two half bookshelves. I think I will probably need at least four more, so I can get the rest of the books up. I did get the number of boxes down from 9 to six though. I took a lot of weeding.


I finally finished a book!! It's been quite a while now. The book I finished is Emmal Holly's All U Can Eat. I quite liked it and hopefully will give a more detailed review shortly. In the meantime, maybe the damn is letting up.

And for those who watch it, tonight's the night for Rock Star Supernova!!!! I still don't know who I want to win - but I'm kind of going with Lucas. I loved the sparly blue eye shadow he wore last night - and didn't that fact surprise me *g*.

'til later

I'd Hammer in the Morning, I'd Hammer in the Evening

subtitle

The continuing adventures of Kristie and Lisa - Bookshelf Builders

and this time we have pictures!!

Well - Saturday was the day. We did our test run to Home Depot to check out the supplies we would need. We spent the following Saturday morning driving all over getting the supplies we needed, then getting more supplies, then getting more. We had our sample shelves built so I spent the week going to the different places picking up what we needed to finish the job.
I ended up driving all over the city. The Home Depot near us didn't have enough and wouldn't get getting another shipment in until Monday - too late. So I had to drive a half hour away to pick up the rest at a different Home Depot. I did manage to return the brackets we decided against. I ordered the lumber - all different sizes last Tuesday. They were busy and said it probably wouldn't be ready until Friday. That was fine I told them, as long as it was done by Friday.
So early Saturday morning we were ready to start.
At this point, this is what the intended book room looked like







Hindsight being 20/20, it would have been much better if I had left the boxes of books outside the room we were working in!!
Before we started, we of course had to eat first. So once again we headed to MacDonalds for breakfast (their coffee is awful but I love their hash browns). It was much better this time though since we had all the supplies waiting in the basement! (that's our sample shelf in the background).



It was amazing how much quicker it went this time. For a while. We got all the bracket holders up, the brackets on - and then.......
The wood wasn't all the right lengths!!! We had 5 pieces that were too long and we were completly short one whole piece.
You know what this meant - yuppers - a return to the lumber store. I wanted to take back the 5 pieces that were too long, but Lisa, being an independent kind of a girl (woman) had found an electric jig saw and announced we could cut them ourselves. Now I was nervous enough just cutting the metal pieces with a hacksaw!!! When she decided to use a power saw, well, my imagination went wild!! She measured them, found a pair of safety glasses and was ready to begin sawing. She needed me to hold the pieces. It was kind of hard doing that while looking the opposite way - but I managed it. I tell you, my heart was racing and I think I barely breathed for the entire time it took her to cut them. Just quick breaths while she put one piece down and picked up the next one. But she managed to do it without cutting off a finger or an arm or any body part whatsoever!
So now it was time to get that last piece we needed! The guys at the lumber store recognized me and asked how it was going. Remember that a week earlier, I had explained all about what we were doing in a "why say in 10 words what you can say in 100" conversation. I told them about the 5 pieces that were too long and they said we should bring them back. I looked at Lisa and then back at them and said that's what I wanted to do, but she cut them herself. I then went on to say if we had brought them back I wouldn't have been so traumatized. At that moment Lisa kind of hit me.
We stopped for a late lunch on the way home as it was now after 3:00 pm and we needed to feed again. We are nothing if not creatures of habit. The week before we had MacDonalds for lunch and Hawaiin pizza for lunch. Again we had Hawaiin pizza for lunch yesterday.
So - now we had all our lumber and our bellies were full. We set about to put it the lumber up on the shelves to see how it would work. Of course, the brackets weren't in tight yet and a few times the whole balancing act of lumber and bracket came tumbling down. But we got them back up again. We had been putting little screws on the bottom so they wouldn't go flying off the brackets. Rather than take down a section at a time to add the bottom screws, we took them all down. And then couldn't remember how they went up again. A few curse words came out of my mouth right about then let me tell you.
But - we got it!!

Picture time - a few before!





The shelves were built and it was time to unload. We had half the books unloaded before it dawned on us that we were going to need a lot more shelves!!! I knew I had a lot of books but good golly Miss Molly - my addiction is worse than I thought!!!
The top part of the walls were full, so now the next project is to get half book cases and put them together to hold the rest of the books. I'm thinking this will be next Saturday's project.
We got quite a few unloaded before it was time for Lisa to leave. I continued puttering around for the rest of the evening. When I finally headed for bed, I looked at the clock and it was 5:00 this morning. I'm headed for bed soon but before I do - I leave you with the after. There is still work to be done - but this is what it looks like so far!!
















Ryan and his girlfriend Laura came over today and I proudly showed him the room Lisa and I worked on. He seemed sort of impressed but said he wouldn't read any of these books. He then pulled this one out of the shelf and showed Laura and said "See! This is why I wouldn't read any of my mom's books" He, of course had to pick one with one of the salicaious of covers. *sigh* Half naked man with woman popping out from between his legs. Could he have picked a worse one?? I'm thinking not!! (it is a good book though!)

And here are a few pictures of why we aren't done yet. Nine of these I have left! Nine!!!



And then after we get the rest of the shelves ready????

Alphabetizing!!!

'til later

Western Alert! Western Alert!

Sybil has Maureen McKade visiting her today. Now you all know how much I love a good Western. But for those who haven't tried a Western yet, Wendy gave A Reason to Live a most excellent review. Rosie also read and thought it was a great book. I've been looking for this one myself for well over a week now.

Be sure to visit Sybil!

Boy she has some neat guests!

And guess what???? I won me a book on her previous author spotlight with Karen Kelley- another author I've been wantint to try. It's a copy of Texas Bad Boys. Whooo Hooo


'til later

I'm Part of the In Crowd, I Go Where the In Crowd Goes

So - I joined what seems like the rest of the reading world tonight and bought myself


Now all I have to do is read Lover Eternal


And while I was at it, I also got




Although they still don't have




'til later

Another one has fallen

Yes fellow romance readers, another one has fallen under the spell of Dreaming of You and is now Dreaming of It. Nath of The Life of a Dumpling has experienced the joy, the thrills, the love that is DOY.

One of these days I really must compile a list of all the reviews this book has gotten recently :)

'til later

If I Had a Hammer - Part 2

subtitle

The continuing adventures of Kristie and Lisa - Bookshelf Builders

By the time Kristie and Lisa made it back to Kristie’s it was almost 3:30 and it was getting close to feeding time again. There was one thing that had made Kristie’s day though. When she opened the back door of the car to put in her purchases, she spied her prescription sunglasses that had been missing for months. There they were, just sitting on the floor on the back. She was so pleased to find them, she put them on, even though it was raining very hard. They somehow made the day seem even gloomier, but she didn’t care!

They had missed lunch due to their travels, but they decided that since it was the day to start the bookshelves, they should at least make an attempt at building them first. Lisa had suggested earlier in the week that a power drill might be helpful in getting the screws into the wood. Kristie had looked at the workbench in dismay, not knowing where to begin as she really had no idea what one looked like. When she was telling her son Brent earlier about the project they had planned and that she wanted a power drill, and once Brent had stopped laughing and laughing and laughing, he said he had three of them and would bring them by.

Kristie had called Brent early in the day before Lisa had arrived to see if Brent could bring them over. Unfortunately she only got his answering machine and so left her message. At their first stop at the house in between visits to lumber stores, Brent had left a rather irate message on the phone. He was annoyed that Kristie had called so early in the morning and he was busy that day so did she really still need it. Kristie shook her head at the message rather annoyed herself. Brent later called back and Kristie was home briefly in between visits. This was when she had discovered the originally planned brackets wouldn’t work. Kristie said that yes, she did need the power drill and Brent reluctantly showed up sans power drill. He went and looked at the work bench and there was indeed a power drill on the bench but it needed a chuck. “What the hell is a chuck?” Kristie wondered. This wasn’t surprising as she didn’t even know what a drill was. Fortunately it was reasoned that they could get by without one for now. Brent left after shaking his head at the planned project. It should be noted that Brent needed Lisa’s help in figuring out how to put air in the tire of his car. The apple apparently doesn’t fall far from the tree.

So, with all the paraphernalia needed, Kristie and Lisa were ready to begin. Kristie had been hoping that Lisa measured wrong and the 46” bracket holder wouldn’t be too long, even though she had purchased a hack saw, but no, Lisa had measured correctly and they would have to do some metal cutting. They found a sturdy surface and Lisa began cutting. Back and forth, quicker and quicker went the saw until low and behold, the extra length came off. Lisa then started on the next piece. When it was finished they looked at each other in satisfaction. They were reading to screw the brackets into the wood which was spaced perpendicular every couple of feet around the stucco covered walls. Kristie idly wondered why the wood wasn’t evenly spaced, it would have made things easier when purchasing the lumber, but as the former owners of the house had done it, it was idle speculation. Working together, Lisa and Kristie carefully measured so things would line up and began to each place a screw in the centre. Then Lisa got out the power drill for the next screws. She turned it on, loaded the screw and zip, quicker than a flash the screw was in the wood. Kristie looked on in amazement. “Power tool”, Lisa replied succinctly. Kristie thought that maybe men were really onto to something and had to try this for herself. She loaded the screw, turned on the power tool and zip, in went the screw. “Kewl” she thought. They finished screwing the brackets on, counted the slots on each one and added the holders. Then they carefully set their first piece of lumber on the brackets. They were even. The wood shelf was level. They grinned at each other and looked back at the first shelf. Then they took a closer look. The bracket stuck out considerably over the shelf. Lisa picked up another bracket and looked closer. The bracket was 8” wide and the shelf was 6” wide. Why hadn’t they considered that? They realized with dismay it would mean another trip back to Home Depot. But since neither of them felt like making a fifth visit that day, they decided to go ahead and finish putting up the bracket holder anyway along with the brackets, just to see how it would look.

Lisa picked up the next metal bracket holder, set it on the work space, picked up the hack saw and handed it to Kristie. Kristie looked at her in horror. “Your turn,” Lisa nodded encouragingly. Kristie kept looking at her in horror. Kristie, you see, doesn’t even like changing light bulbs. The thought of actually using a saw to cut a piece of metal terrified her. She imagined slicing off a finger if the metal slipped. The carpet is red, but still the blood would be a real bitch to get out. And how would she type if part of her finger were cut off? And even little paper cuts hurt like the dickens – imagine a cutting off the whole finger! Kristie has been known at times to have a wee bit of an overactive imagination. And Lisa has called her a *air quote* darama queen *air quote* a description Kristie laughs at but admits might have a ring of truth. But finally Kristie put aside her fears and gingerly picked up the hacksaw and prepared to saw. She wasn’t nearly as good at it as Lisa though and sawed a bit on the slow side, being careful to keep her fingers well back. Lisa finally took over the sawing and Kristie drew a silent breath of relief. They got the next bracket holder and gleefully arranged some books on the shelf so they could see what it would look like. In the immortal words of Billy Crystal who spoofs the immortal words of Ricardo Montabaln – it looked marvelous!! Simply marvelous. Amazingly enough by this time it was roughly 4:30. Six and a half hours to get the shelving material and one hour to put it up.

Of course Kristie had to be held back from going up and start alphabetizing. That would have been useless though since the sample books were across the alphabet and they had started in the middle. Still, she had a very hard time seeing one Karen Ranney book on one shelf, another one further over on a different shelf and still two more on the next section.

So, they decided that during the next week Kristie would get the rest of the building materials they needed and they would finish next Saturday.

At this point in the story I was hoping to have pictures. I asked to borrow Ryan’s digital camera which he was quite happy to bring over on Sunday. But – he neglected to bring over the cord so I could connect the camera to the computer and download the pictures. It’s that apple and tree thing again. Hopefully I should have some shortly.

'til later

Another blogging experiment

I read about this blogging experiment by Anne Frasier some time ago and knew I wanted to participate. I have one of her books in my TBR pile and plan on getting this one. I've read and loved her romance books written under Theresa Weir.
But now she is writing thrillers. I think I've read enough romantic suspense now to spread my wings - genre wise.

If I Had a Hammer

Subtitle:

The adventures of Kristie and Lisa – Bookshelf Builders

When last we heard from these two intrepid bookshelf builders they had just done a scouting visit to Home Depot to get a look see at what they needed for Project Bookshelves. That was last Saturday and they had set today as the day to go “live”, to actually purchase the list of things they needed to build said bookshelves

Wood

Screws

L-shaped brackets

It was a gray and overcast morning that threatened rain. They planned to start early in the day. Lisa suggested that they just start with two sections of shelves so if anything went wrong – lumber the wrong size, too heavy etc, then they wouldn’t be out that much money. Lisa lives out of town, about 45 minutes from Kristie. She called Kristie at 9:00 – she was on her way, and how about stopping off for breakfast first. That sounded like a fine idea to Kristie. Lisa arrived and they set out for breakfast. By 10:30 they were ready to head to Home Depot. It is important to remember once again that Kristie is a novice at any kind of home repair or building. She mostly just nodded at Lisa’s ideas, not really sure what Lisa had in mind.

They arrived at Home Depot, bellies full, all ready to begin the project in earnest. But this is Home Depot we are talking about. Try and find anyone available to help on a Saturday morning. They passed a row of screwdrivers and Kristie decided to get herself one because she couldn’t find any around the house. They passed the aisle with brackets and picked up twelve of them, the number they would need for the two rows of shelves, four on one section, three on the other. Then they found the aisle with the screws. After wandering around for a while, they finally found an employee who wasn’t off rushing to help someone else. The employee confirmed that yes; wood could be special cut for them. Lisa had thought that 2X6X8 would be the right size the week before on the scout out visit. Kristie nodded her head. Today Lisa had rethought her earlier decision and figured 1X6X8 would be better. Kristie nodded her head. Unfortunately the wood didn’t come in this size. Instead the closet they could find was 1X6X12. Because of the longer length, Kristie needed to track down one of those funny cart-like things. This meant having to go outside where it had started to rain. She finally made it back in the store, only to look on in dismay as they closed off the section that contained the particular wood they wanted. At this point Kristie became somewhat annoyed at the lack of service and suggested a smaller lumber store might be the place to go. They paid for their purchases and off they went to a Home Hardware store to get the lumber. They arrived and no sooner did they walk into the store when a store employee asked if they needed any help. What a difference they thought!!! Kristie began to explain the project they had in mind; a somewhat scrambled explanation since Lisa was the brains behind it really. But the employee managed to understand what Kristie was looking for. Lisa later pointed out that dear rambling Kristie didn’t really need to give the poor store employee a complete rundown of what they had planned. But Kristie replied in her oft heard reasoning “Why say in ten words what you can say in one hundred.

The lumber was somewhat more expensive there but the excellent service more than made up for the slight price increase. It was at this time Kristie decided she needed a hammer since she couldn’t recall seeing one. She asked for one with a pink handle but didn’t think the store employee had read To Die For by Linda Howard as he gave her a rather confused look. They loaded the lumber into the car and happily headed back to Kristie’s. Lisa had wanted to stop at Canadian Tire first to get something she wanted. Kristie decided to do a bit of price comparison while there and was happy to see that she had gotten the better deal for L-shaped brackets at Home Depot. Once they had arrived back at Kristie’s and unloaded the car of the brackets, lumber, hammer, and screwdriver, they realized that the bracket idea wouldn’t work. Lisa had thought staggered bookshelves would look sharp but the L-shaped brackets were too large to allow four shelves on a section. Back to Home Depot they headed. They would rather have gone to the smaller lumber store but they had earlier checked prices and they were much less expensive at Home Depot. Kristie realized, once they were half way there, much to her dismay that she hadn’t thought to bring the earlier purchased brackets for a refund. By this time the threatened rain had indeed become a reality and the parking lot was much fuller than it was several hours earlier. In their previous visit they had thought of an alternate way of hanging the shelves but as it would be more costly, they had decided to go with the less expensive method. But now they knew they would have to pay more in order for their plan of alternating book shelves to work. For this plan they would need (and this would be in Kristie’s words) the long metal thingie that has slot holes all down it to put the bracket holders in.
They found them and looked at each other in dismay. The length they needed was 45” but they only came in 72”, 46” 35” and 12” lengths. They once again looked around some time for someone to help them and finally managed to stop a store employee to ask if they could get the metal thingie’s cut. The employee answered that unfortunately, no, the store doesn’t do that kind of thing anymore but informed them they could probably cut them themselves with a hacksaw which could be purchased relatively inexpensively. “Oh dear sweet heavens!” Kristie thought to herself. “Cut metal with a hacksaw myself??? What the hell do I know about this kind of shit. I don’t even hammer stuff!!” But thankfully she managed to keep from blurting that out loud. They managed to find the saw aisle and then stared rather blankly at the numerous saws available. Yet again they had to seek out a store employee to help them pick out the right size and type of saw. Just a little further down Kristie noticed the measuring tapes and decided to get one as she hadn’t been able to locate one before. By this time the store was much more crowded and the check-out lines were quite large. Lisa noticed a self-serve check out line and thought that might be quicker. Ha!! Kristie had never used one of those before and stood there for a few moments trying to figure out how they worked. She began but immediately made a mistake and had to wait for help. She rang a couple more items through and again made a mistake and had to wait for help. This happened twice more to the poor girl. In the meantime, people were beginning to line up behind her and of course that made her more flustered than ever. However, she finally finished the purchase and Kristie and Lisa made their way back to the car parked way at the back in the pouring rain. This had been their fourth time today in a lumber/hardware store. Once in the car, they looked at the clock and burst into laughter. It was after 3:00 and they hadn’t even begun with the shelves yet. So much for getting an early start.

For something a wee bit different

You may have noticed the lack of reviews lately. I'm still having problems getting back to reading so I've done very little of it lately. Of course that doesn't stop me from still buying them! I'm so backlogged in my TBR books now....Thus the lack of reviews - but - one of my more favourite books has always been The Outsider by Penelope Williamson. I've loved all her books - well, I've yet to read Heart of the West even though I know it's one of Keishon's favourites. But she is one of those authors who can write well in many different genres. The books of hers I have read are wonderful. Once in a Blue Moon and Keeper of the Dream along with The Outsider are my favourites. So when I saw that The Outsider had been made into a movie for Showtime and was available on DVD I had very mixed emotions. I'm not one of those who wants to see favoured books made into movies. Nope! Not at all. They did that with Morning Glory and I still have that awful aftertaste. Some people liked it, but I thought they did a horrible job - changed the entire atmosphere of the book. But then I saw the Lord of the Rings movie and saw that it is possible to convert books into movies successfully. When I saw that Tim Daly who I've always thought was hot!hot hot! was cast in the role of Johnny Cain though, I thought "hhmmm - now that could be worth watching". So some months ago I asked a friend if she could pick up a copy for me since they were selling them at a video store in her end of the city. She did and I later went to her place for dinner and to watch the movie - since she loves romance books too and had read this one. At the time, I didn't get the full measure of the movie. There were interruptions and when I want to really watch a movie, I like to get completely involved in it.
I hadn't had a chance to watch it again until last night. I turned off all the lights, put on the surround sound, made myself comfortable and settled in for a two hour, completely absorbed in it experience.


WOW!!!!
This is one heck of a good movie! They did make a couple of changes I didn't quite understand. Johnny Cain became Johnny Gault and Rachel Yoder (played by Naomi Watts) became Rebbecca Yoder. And because they can never put everything into a movie that is in a book, there is a lot of secondary characters and storylines that aren't really covered, but the main story - the love between Rebbecca and Johnny is very well done.
For those who haven't read the book or seen the movie, this is a love story between Johnny, an injured gunslinger who stumbles, nearly dead, onto the property of Rebbecca, a young Amish woman. Rebbecca's husband has been hung near the beginning of the movie by the bad guys. There is a fued between the Amish, who raise sheep, and a local evil cattle barron.
Rebbecca nurses Johnny back to health and along the way, although their cultures are completely different they fall deeply in love. Johnny is a wounded hero type with dark shades of gray to him.
Because it's a made for TV movie, the love scene isn't that explicit but man - is it hot anyway. Naomi Watts does a wonderful job as Rebbecca. And Tim Daly. Oh man - is he to die for in this movie. Mmmm mmm mmm mmm mmmmm. This is an incredible movie based on an incredible book, that I highly recommend. I think I might just watch it again tonight - just to get the parts I missed last night. *grin*

Grade: 5 out of 5

'til later

This one is a mish mash

There has been a bit of a revival in blogland in recent days on buying new or buying used. Keishon has blogged about it, Dear Author has blogged about it and so has Karen and Bev - she even includes drawings :). I’ve offered my opinion on each one so I’m not really going to give it again here – except to say I buy probably 85% new – mostly new and mid list authors.

Then I was at Sybil’s blog and she posted a couple of upcoming books published by Zebra.

Now one of the arguments against buying new is the high cost of books these days. A shout-out to Zebra however who has done something rather different for some of their new and mid list authors. They offer books at a really reduced rate; $3.99 or $4.99 – slightly higher in Canada. I think this is a fabulous idea and I’ve bought quite a few of them in the past. Some have been good, some not so good. But at least I don't fell as ripped off at those prices for the not so good ones. I checked out their website earlier and here are some books coming out with new or almost new authors that to me scream “buy me! I’m cheap”

So – without further ado, here are some upcoming books from Zebra selling at great prices!

Dark Whispers by Samantha Garver
Samantha Garver delivered a wickedly sensual debut in One Night to Be Sinful. Now she weaves an intriguing new tale of unlikely lovers unraveling a mystery shrouded in danger and dark desire...
Uncommonly tall and extraordinarily independent, Harriet Mosley regularly rushes in where other ladies fear to tread. Indulging her taste for adventure, Harriet's friends pay for her to visit a house of spirits, rumored to be haunted by figments of its tragic past.
Bow Street Runner Benedict Bradbourne is reeling from the loss of his business partner, who was murdered. Bradbourne's quest for vengeance has taken him from London's bustling streets and shadowy alleyways to a country estate whose corporeal residents may prove even stranger than the ghosts who supposedly dwell there.
Intrigued by the bespectacled, mysterious Benedict, Harriet begins to feel the first flames of desire course through her blood. But in the dark hallways of the ramshackle manor, something more sinister than ghosts stalks--and will do everything in its power to keep Harriet and Benedict apart forever.


What a Gentleman Needs by Caroline Linden
Marcus Reese, Duke of Essex, has spent most of his life pulling his twin brother out of trouble. An occasional thank you would suffice; instead, his resentful sibling forges his name to a marriage license and presents him with an unwanted wife. She’s a vicar’s widow with a mind of her own who may be the first person in Marcus’s well-ordered life to make him feel…completely out of control.
Hannah can’t help but curse her own idiocy. Dire straits have led her to the altar with a gentleman she hardly knows. Played for a fool, she’s embarrassed, furious, and worse, married to an equally outraged stranger—an exasperating man who unleashes all manner of emotions in Hannah, not to mention unwanted desire. Reluctantly, she agrees to play the wife until he can sort out the mess. But the nearness of the undeniably attractive Duke and the passion in his black eyes unsettles her well-guarded heart—making her want to do so much more than “act” the role of blissful bride…


Good With His Hands by Alexa Darin
Man who uses his mind instead of his hands--someone who can “wow” me and hold a decent conversation. Someone who knows that a dinner date consists of more than a six-pack and a bag of chips. Beer-guzzling, power-tool using jerks need not apply…
Pepper Bartlett has always been a woman who knows exactly what she wants--except when it comes to men. With a body to die for and classic girl-next-door good looks, she’s never had any trouble finding a man, but finding one who doesn’t cheat, lie, or run in the other direction at the thought of commitment is another story. Determined to swear off hot, sweaty, sexy men with blue collars and blue jeans, Pepper places a personal ad with just one requirement--No Blue Collar Guys need apply. What she wants is a man to turn her inside out and make her crazy with desire--but not drive her crazy. What she finds is the answer to her dreams. Jake Hunter is smart, sensitive, hotter than hell, and an architect. With jet black hair and a beautiful body she’d like to get to know a whole lot better, Jake is the one man who wants to wait. Just what is he hiding? And when Pepper finds out what it is, will she swear off all men forever?


His Dark Kiss by Eve Silver
Saint…
Set high atop a hill, Manorbrier Castle is shrouded in darkness and savage rumors: No servant has ever survived for long…Stay away from the Round Tower…There’s death there… And then there is the dark lord of the manor himself…a monster, they say, and a murderer…
Sinner…
Emma Parrish isn’t easily frightened by hearsay. She’s escaped a far worse fate in order to take a position as governess at Manorbrier. Caring for Lord Craven’s young son offers her a last chance to build a life for herself. She will not flee, even when she feels eyes watching her, hears strange, haunting laughter—not even when she is tempted by the alluring pull of Anthony Craven’s seductive, dangerous beauty…
…Or Cold-Blooded Killer?
A whisper of evil crawls through the shadowy halls and locked rooms of the crumbling estate. At night, Emma sees a mysterious light coming from the Round Tower. She has been warned never to set foot inside it—just as she has been warned not to fall for Lord Craven’s wicked charms. But some curiosities—and deepest desires—must be satisfied. And as Emma draws ever closer to a man she cannot resist or deny, she moves nearer to the terrifying truth of his darkest secrets…


Midnight Eyes by Sarah Brophy
During the turbulent, decadent reign of William II, a royal mercenary finds himself caught in the throes of an unexpected passion—and played as a pawn in a treacherous game...
The bastard son of a Norman nobleman, Robert Beaumont has blossomed into one of England’s fiercest killers—and has found himself well paid for his talents. But now the time has come for him to set aside his sword. The king has agreed to reward him for his last service with an estate...on one condition: Robert must marry the sitting tenant—the infamous Lady Deformed.
For years, Imogen Colebrook has lived in the ramshackle Saxon keep, the virtual prisoner of her cruel, sadistic brother, the man responsible for her deformity—and for wedding her to a dangerous man. Yet, on Robert’s arrival, Imogen nearly brings the hardened warrior to his knees. For she is a vision of unparalleled beauty—living in a world without sight. Drawn to her courageous spirit, Robert gently draws Imogen out of her tortured past. But with her brother always lurking in the shadows, Imogen’s newfound sanctuary in Robert’s arms is in danger of being destroyed—unless her salvaged heart can find a way out of the darkness...


My Wicked Pirate by Rona Sharon
First He Gave Her A Wicked Kiss . . .
Azure-eyed Alanis was by far the most exquisite treasure ever claimed by the black pirate known as the Viper, but his motives went deeper than his silken promise to ravish the feisty Yorkshire heiress. Commanding the waters of the Caribbean was his means to an end: reclaiming his birthright—and his blood debt against those who had betrayed him.
Then He Gave Her Nights Of Wicked Pleasure . . .
Comfortably betrothed to a nobleman, Alanis never imagined the heady emotions involved in the true games of seduction—games this blackguard seemed to thoroughly enjoy playing with her. Swept up into an adventure that soon revealed a gentleman and kindred spirit beneath the ruthless veneer of a privateer, Alanis began to soften towards her enigmatic captor, as her pride and her heart fell under his erotic spell...


O'Roarke's Bride by Barbara Dan
A Bride’s Deception
Pampered, beautiful, and clever enough to outsmart her matchmaking father, Kate McGillacutty coyly agrees to marry a man of the lumberjack baron’s standards: a “real” man unafraid of hard work. Daring to call his bluff, Kate picks her candidate from the dregs of Virginia City’s rough-hewn timber men, certain she can convinced the ruggedly suitable, undeniably charming Peter O’Rourke to play along for a price, until she can get her annulment, her freedom, and a one way ticket back to the civilized world.
A Groom’s Desire
A down on his luck Irish actor, Peter is no stranger to hard work, nor the ways of the world, and happens to be more than captivated by the spoiled hellcat who thinks she can beat men at their own games. He’s not above conspiring with Kate’s father to gain steady employment even if it means wedding, bedding, and taming his willful daughter. Soon, Peter has dreams of his own for his beautiful bride, and they don’t include letting her out of his sight. Because he’s never met a woman like Kate, and he’s determined to claim her heart—no matter how elusive it may seem…


Surrend to Sin by Tamara LeJeune
Nothing Tastes Sweeter …
To escape gossip in London due to a broken engagement and a stolen diamond, heiress Abigail Ritchie changes her name to Miss Smith, and leases a house in the country. Along with her chaperone—a hypochondriac accompanied by a full-time nurse—the trio escape to Hertfordshire. But once there they encounter mayhem, mishap, rustic fortune hunters, and a dangerously seductive but deeply indebted lord of the manor, Cary Wayborn.
Than a Night of Sin …
Scandal continues to welcome Abigail with open arms … and so does Cary. When the two find themselves inadvertently surrendering to one night of white-hot passion and desire, Cary, a true gentleman, insists on marriage. Yet Miss Smith refuses his offer. Now, sorting through a gaggle of gossips, mischief, and conspiracy, he remains fearless and determined to claim a love as irresistible as the lady herself …


Veiled Desires by Tracy MacNish
Tracy MacNish’s deeply romantic sequel new novel reveals the untapped power of a woman’s heart—and how fiercely she dares to protect it…
Emeline’s entire life is controlled by men. She’s just been won in a wager by Jeffrey, the Duke of Eton, who keeps her under lock and key. And her cruel stepfather, Simon, wants nothing more than to dominate her entire future. What she wants is a man who’ll set her free . . . and Rogan Mullen, heir to the dukedom, just may be the answer to her dreams …
Rogan is more than eager to have Emeline in his care, but his urge to protect her grows into a yearning to possess her—body and soul. Surrendering completely to love, they cannot foresee that something very sinister threatens to destroy them, for Simon will stop at nothing to control his stepdaughter’s fate . . . and only the most fervent passion can endure against such relentless odds . . .
“A lushly written, richly detailed Georgian historical [that] pushes the boundaries of the genre.”—Booklist


Hero Worship by Dawn Calvert
Fantasy VS. Reality
One moment Andi Lofton-Hale was an English teacher worn out by another bad blind date, tucked in with a Regency romance. The next, she’s face to face with the magnificent hero of Wedgfeld Hall: tall, black-haired, sinfully sexy Nathaniel Chamberlain. Is he real? Does she care? Nathaniel is the man of her wildest dreams.
However, there is a catch. Andi is a minor character, not the heroine destined to win Nathaniel’s heart. He tells her it’s lunacy to come between an author and her plot…anything might happen! But Andi’s determined to rewrite her life, scandalize all of London, and make a brilliant match, before she can seize everything temptation has to offer…between the covers.
“Unique…an imaginative premise. Anyone who has ever wondered where authors get their ideas will get a huge kick out of Dawn Calvert’s Hero Worship.” —USA Today bestselling author Amanda Scott

So - there you have it. Some interesting books by new or nearly new authors at great prices!

And just out of curiosity, all the books have something in common except the last book. Can anyone guess what that is? And nope, it's nothing to do with the cover model although he does seem to pop up in a number of then doesn't he?


'til later

Ect. Time

For the past few weeks I've been watching the most astonishingly good show!!!! I've watched American Idol for the past few seasons but about 3 weeks ago I started watching Rock Star Supernova and I'm amazed at how good it is. Dave Navarro drives me bonkers and every week I think "do up your shirt dude - you really aren't all that even though you seem to think you are" and whatever I say about Tommy Lee would make me eligible for slander. Jason Newsted is rather boring but I quite like Gilby Clark. My sisters would say it's because he has long hair (and they are probably right *g*). And while Brooke Burke is a bit bland, she certainly is attractive and much much less annoying than Ryan Seacrest *shudder!*
Watching this show makes American Idol or it's sister show Canadian Idol pale in comparison. What makes it so good is the amazing talent of the rockers trying out for the lead singer job. These people, at least the ones I've seen are really really good!!! Their voices, each and every one of them are fantastic. In watching AI there are always singers that aren’t all that good, but each week I’m thinking I don’t want to see any of the performers go on Rock Star. Their stage presence and presentation, their energy is phenomenal. When I watch the first performance I think I want to see that one win. Then I see the next one and think the same thing. And then again and again with each one. What is also so good to see is how they really seem to appreciate the talents of the other singers – well except for Dilana’s rant, but since I missed that part it didn’t bother me.

And their music selection!!!!! Nary a Barry Manilow or Neil Sedaka in sight. Rather I find it an excellent mixture of rock music I used to listen to; The Police, Billy Idol, Areosmith with the current rock music of today. What I find most astonishing is that even with many of the current songs they sing, I may not know the title or the group, but I’ve heard the song before. I guess it paid off to have to listen to the music my sons listen too.

When Brent and Ryan found out I was watching American Idol, they groaned and rolled their eyes and teased Ron unmercifully that I was making him watch it. But when I happened to mention to them in passing that I was watching and really liking Rock Star Supernova, it turns out they watch it too. We’ve had a few real good talks about who did the best job, who should win etc. I didn’t think I would ever really agree with them music-wise. It’s been most enjoyable. I don't know - watching this show somehow makes me feel like I'm not quite as old as I sometimes think I'm getting!

I didn’t watch the first one with INXS even though J.D. Fortune, a Canadian, won and now I’m wishing I had.

I know I’ve gone overboard with superlatives here, but this is one heck of a good reality show!!!

As to whom I want to win, well, Lucas. Or then again Magni is great. Of course Ryan is excellent, as is Delanna. Storm can really belt out a song. Toby is first-rate too!

‘til later

*ETA*

What I forgot to mention is also how much I appreciate the international flavour of the show. Lucas is from Canada which is relatively speaking, just up the block, but Magni is from Iceland. Iceland!! Fancy that. And Toby is from Austalia and Zayra is from Puerto Rico. I really like that aspect. And as far as the voting goes, it seems to be that it's based much more on talent or compatibility with the band than on what state/province or city the one trying out is from. That always drives me nuts about the Idol way - that you should vote for whomever lives closest to you rather than on talent. I've never been tempted to vote in Canadian Idol or American Idol (although I don't think I can vote on that one) But I did try to vote on Superstar via their website. I couldn't seem to figure it out though. Of course I wouldn't have known who to vote for anyway. I probably would have voted for every one of them which would have negated my votes really.

Today is my anniversary. It would have been 31 years married. I don’t even know if I should still say it is my wedding anniversary since Ron isn’t with me anymore. He was always the one to remember the day. Half the time I don’t know what the date is so it was always a good thing he would remind me and ask where I wanted to go for dinner and if were getting each other gifts. We always said no we weren’t going to get each other anything but he always got me flowers anyway. He always said he hated cards, but he would get me the most romantic ones anyways. Since he had such a hard time telling me he loved me, I think he let the cards say it for him, but he would always add something special to them.

The grief is getting worse. I put on a Jays game the other day and watched about 3 innings before I stared crying and had to turn it off – and they were winning! But we spent so much time watching them that I can’t watch them now.

I spent hours on the weekend doing housework. That set me off because I’ve always been lousy at it and now he’s not here to see what a great job I did. I even washed walls!!

I’ve moved into the other bedroom – after I cleaned it – because I can’t bear to look over and not see him next to me.

The boys have offered to come over and help me go through his things but I can’t even think about doing that yet.

I still have his voice on the answering machine. It’s quite disconcerting for people who call and get it, but I can’t change it because it’s the sound of his voice.

I’ve barely been able to read. I guess that isn’t unusual, but for me it seems like another loss.

I find myself withdrawing. I’m ok when I’m around people; it’s when I’m alone it gets bad. It’s the getting out that is becoming difficult. If I had the job to go back to it would have been better, but now it’s gone too and I don’t know if I have the readiness to go out and look for something else. There are people I want to call and talk to, but it’s so hard for me to reach out at the moment. I haven’t even been calling the boys the way I should.

There is so much stuff I have to do, but I just don’t seem to have the energy. Today was the first day I cooked dinner just for myself and it was awful. When it was ready, I didn’t feel like eating it.

So instead of going out to dinner with Ron tonight, I’m going to spend the night at my sisters. And hope I make it through the day.

I don't plan on saying much about how I'm feeling, I mean let's face it, it would get pretty depressing after a while and for large chunks I'm doing alright. This is place to go for enjoyment. But then some days are harder than others and this is going to be one of the hardest.

Aaaahhhhhh

Yet another romance reader has fallen under the spell of our man Derek. Dylan over at Sanctuary's Finest, despite efforts not too, has joined the evergrowing list of those who have come to experience the power of The Craven!
And - can you believe it?!?!? There are still more who haven't yet experienced the power. KateD of Damned Scribbling Women has confessed to not reading this one!! You know what this means. Another name on the list.
Also Nath - you do realize you're on it too.

Bwahahahahaha


'til later

Moving right along on the book shelf front

Egads, I went to *gasp* Home Depot today!!!! Now that is a momentuous thing for me. While I worked in a lumber store a number of years ago, I never actually paid attention to their product. I just rang it through and noticed some of the rather *ah* good looking contractors. But rather than book cases, Lisa suggested we just build shelves against the wall. See halfway up, the walls are stucco and there are columns of wood running up them every few feet. So we are going to run wooden shelves from one wood column to the next. That way we won't have to try and nail into stucco. The advantages to this are the room will look a lot more open than if it was just book shelves. We figure we can fit quite a few on the shelves. Then if I need them, I can put shelves along the bottom. And the cost will be considerably less this way. I told Brent what we were planning on doing and he laughed and he laughed and he laughed. Now I have to do a real good job just to show him!
So we went to Home Depot to pick out lumber - we didn't buy it yet, we just looked, brackets and other stuff. Wow - that was surreal.
The lighting in the basement isn't that great so I also got a floor lamp ("which I put together myself" she said).
I'm going to take pictures this week for a before and after thing now that I have descent lighting in there.

*Update*

I went looking for the old Kleypas books 'cause some of you wanted to know which ones I had.
Where Passion Leads
Give Me Tonight (I think that's the western time travel/reincarnation one
Forever My Love
I'll do a reread since it's been a long, long time since I read them and review them - keeping in mind I don't think Ms. Kleypas really acknowledges them anymore :)

Of course they were in about the 7th box I looked in and I also brought a few other upstairs too. MUST! STOP! DOING! THAT!


'til later

I had me one busy day yesterday

I decided in preperation for the library I want to build, to move all my books into one room. And since a great many of the books were here in the computer room, I would take them all downstairs where it's going to be. Now the computer room was also supposed to be a spare bedroom. It has a bed in it, but it was entirely useless. The bed was covered in books and clothes and other assorted odds and ends. When Ron went on afternoons last year, he was still asleep when I left in the morning so the bed still had clothes on it. And books, and bags of books and boxes of books lay on top of it. This had proved to be a problem in the past when Lisa needed to stay over for one reason or another. She lives out of town and works here in the city so sometimes she needed a place to crash. I would do this half-assed job cleaning up, but it was never really finished and I'd go to sleep guilty, knowing the room was still a mess. And I haven't mentioned the boxes of books under the bed!!
So, I went out the other day in order to get ready and bought 2 of those plastic 3 cabinet shelf units at Walmart, 3 more of those deep tubs and a laundry basket.
I haven't catalogued or even really made note of the books I have for years. I knew I had a rather large TBR pile but it wasn't until yesterday I saw it was *and I so hate to say this* out of control. I both the plastic cabinets in no time at all. I wanted to keep those ones upstairs. Then I started piling TBR books on top of them. Then that was full. So I started using one of the tubs I bought. I tell you I was starting to get a bit nervous at how large the pile was.
The books in the boxes and bags went downstairs - thank goodness Brent showed up for a bit so I put him to work carrying some of them down. I didn't open the boxes too much except to make sure they were filled while trying to reduce the number of boxes and convert the books in bags to boxes. That was a real tough job let me tell you! Every box I opened had at least one or two books I needed to reread. I found Lord of Scoundrels for example and the Hellion. Not only that, but I found 3 very very old Kleypas books that she wrote when she was first starting out. Most people have never even heard of them before - I'll be anxious to reread those puppies! There were a whole lot more I was very reluctant to assign to the basement. There were also boxes and boxes and bags and bags of books under the stairs. Now many of these were those huge plastic bins that hold three rows of books and man were those suckers heavy! At one point, after I uncovered yet another box of books in one of the closets, I actually groaned and thought "nooooo, not another box!"
So! Now I have all my books located in one room except for the TBR's. Next giant taks - ALPHABATIZING!!! I have a feeling that's going to take a couple of days as I uncover some of the best of the best. I also managed, and this was just a brief cull, to pull out 2 small boxes of books for trade. I know there are a lot more where those came from!!
Grand total *drum roll please* 42 boxes, 3 bags in the basement, 1 box of TBR,s and 2cabinets full of TBR's upstairs!! Yep, I have an addiction all right! *Oh - and one very sore back!*
I need to get those book shelves going - and fast! I'm planning to take before and after pictures.


'til later

I cut the grass today

Ron and I had this deal. He took care of the outside work and I took care of the inside work. Of course it was rather a lopsided deal on my end because he was better at housework than I was so he ended up doing all the outside work and a good part of the inside work as well. Never really seemed fair and he did object sometimes, but overall it wasn't that big an issue. So far this summer the boys have been cutting the grass and the flowers didn't get planted. Ron kept saying he wanted to go to a garden centre and get some but he wasn't well enough to go and I don't know nothin' about no stinkin' flowers (I'm so not a gardener!!! People who know me know this. I'm not even sure the difference between an annual and a perennial. I know that one you have to plant every year and the other comes out year after year but I don't know which is which)
But Brent abdicated the grass cutting (I won't go into that issue) and Ryan has his own house now with his own lawn. He's also working full time, taking accounting classes in the evenings and he has a girlfriend. He's been taking care of the financial details so I don't want to rely on him too much.
So - it was left to me to cut the grass. I don't think I've cut it in about 3 or 4 years - probably ever since we got the electric lawnmower which I loathe with every fibre of my being. We live on the corner of a crescent so the lawn is larger than most, what with front, back and sides. I got the back cut without too much trouble and then moved to the back side section when I noticed the wing nut (I'm guessing that's what it is called) had come out of the one side of the handle and part of the handle was hanging loosely. I walked all over but couldn't see it anywhere. Since I could still run the lawnmower I continued with the damn thing listing. Of course then the damn, frickin' cord became a real issue. I had to stop constantly and move it out of the way since I haven't figured out how to mow the lawn without it getting in the way.
I finally finished, put it back away in the shed when I noticed the flower boxes Ron always planted that never got done this year. I started losing it then. I made it into the house, and once I did, the pain really hit.
This is the first big thing I've had to do since Ron died. In years past, the few times I cut the grass I would proudly announce "I cut the grass. Aren't you impressed?" and wait for Ron to be suitably impressed. He never really was enough to my satisfaction *g* though. But when I got in the house, he wasn't here to boast too.
But I'm going to say it anyway.
"I cut the grass Ron, aren't you impressed?"

Tagged

I've been tagged by Devonna on 20 things that annoy me (today).

1. My neighbour and his damn generator
2. My neighbour and his damn generator
3. My neighbour and his damn generator
4. My neighbour and his damn generator
5. My neighbour and his damn generator

(I was really annoyed with him this morning!)

6. Ridiculous reviews on Chapters web site
7. I would say the price of gas, but it's down right now. But what does annoy me is thinking that 95 cents a litre is "down"
8. The price of parking downtown
9. Having to turn the air conditioning on at 5:00 'cause it's too hot in the house
10. Electric lawn mowers
11. Looking at really long grass
12. Trying to get open the shed that is probably full of spiders, not being able to and then deciding to cut the grass with an electric lawn mower another day when it will be even longer
13. Losing yet another pair of glasses!
14. Summer construction that is on all the roads you need to travel on
15. Spam email - I really don't need a penis enlarger thank you
16. Settling down for a night of TV watching and discovering there is nothing you want to watch
17. (not so much annoying as scary) looking at the piles (and piles and piles) of books I have to organize
18. Putting a book that I'm almost finished down and not remembering where (also goes along with 13 - that forgetful thing
19. Finishing a really good book
20. Trying to decide what to read next when there are piles and piles of books that are calling to me, each one yelling louder than the next "pick me! pick me!"

Let's see now, who else might be annoyed

OK - anyone who has a mad on.

'til later

Recent Read

One Forbidden Evening by Jo Goodman

I seem to be getting my fiesitiness back and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Right now for example, I’m holding myself back from bopping our neighbour on the nose! I wanted to sit on our deck for my morning tea and he has had this generator running all morning. The really loud generator that is disturbing the peace of the morning!

So I came in and decided to write this.

I was checking out the Chapters website for the picture when I noticed this review

If I could give this book less than 1 star I would. This is the first book by Jo Goodman that I've read and it will be the last. The characters spend so much time talking that you get bored with the book and you just quit caring. If you want a guaranteed good read, grab a book by Lisa Kleypas or Julia Quinn, both great writers that keep you interested up to the very last sentence.

Booo, hisss! Someone left this review on the website. I objected to the whole thing. Being a great fan of her work, I thought, “characters actually talking to each other and getting to know each other – how dare Ms. Goodman write such a thing!!” Well, I just couldn’t let that stand!!! So I counteracted her review with one of my own.

I have long been a fan of Ms. Goodman and this is another excellent read.

Christopher Hollins, Earl of Ferrin was approached and propositioned by a mysterious woman at a masked ball. Not content to just let her go as she requested, he sought her out. Cybelline, a young widow, was a young woman who had secrets that she didn't want to share.

When Ferrin finally tracks her down, we slowly begin to see that neither of them are what the other thought.

Jo Goodman has a way of slowly, carefully unveiling her characters a little bit at a time until we come to know them intimately. Her writing is rich and deep and very, very good. To me she is one of the "hidden gem" authors of the genre. She is one of the few authors that I linger over, enjoying every word and nuance on every page. I highly recommend this book for those who are tired of the trite, lite historical romances that are so prevalent today. Her writing is sensuous and evocative. If you are looking for something deeper with character, she is a 'must read' author!!

I’ve just finished this book and as per all her work, it’s wonderful. Yes! Her characters ‘talk’ to each other. That’s because her characters are intelligent, have depth to them and don’t suffer the annoying “Big M”. When a problem arises between the Ferrin and Cybelline, they talk it through it and work things out.

I love how Ferrin is introduced as rather hardened rake but instead he is an entirely different character. He is compassionate, intelligent, in fact an inventor. He treats Cybelline with respect and honour. He doesn’t push her or force his thoughts onto her, rather he allows her to come to her own conclusions. When we first me Cybelline, we see her as rather wanton, seducing a perfect stranger at a ball. But once Ms. Goodman unveils her true character, we see a young woman deeply hurt by betrayal of one she trusted the most. Her reasons for doing what she did make perfect sense.

If you like your historical romance only on the lite side, then this one might not work. But if you like depth to a romance, then this one is one to be added. I think Jo Goodman ranks right up there with the best of them, Ivory, Kinsale and the other big names of the genre.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Yes! Another one!

Yet another reader has discovered the wonder, the joy, the lure of - yes, Derek Craven!

Kris of The Reading Spot is a reader blogger I discovered through Sybil's blog. And she even spells her name right :)

It get's so difficult sometimes to get that "K with an IE at the end" in time when someone goes to write my name down.

I've also updated my blog roll and added a few more reader blogs. Angie of Angie's Romance Reviews, Rosie of Nobody Asked Me and who it looks like will be celebrating her first blogiversay soon and Stacy of Stacy's Place on Earth, who it looks like also likes "Girl's Just Want to Have Fun"

Anyone else?


'til later

A most excellent read!

Beyond Paradise by Elizabeth Doyle

Now that I seem to be entering pirate mode again, I wanted to blog about a book that I really enjoyed reading a while ago but didn’t get around to blogging about.

I first took note of this one when I read Mailyn’s glowing review. Then Dancechica read it and reviewed it and loved it too and since both reviews sounded so good I ordered it from Amazon. And what an excellent choice it was!! I loved this one just as much as Mailyn and Dancechica. They both covered the outline and plot pretty good so I’ll just say what I enjoyed so much about this one. The hero, Jacques is beyond wonderful. I won’t give away what his disability is because neither Mailyn or Dancechica did and I don’t want to ruin it, but it was wonderfully handled. He was just so wonderfully yummy. He’s a beta hero which seems odd for a pirate, but a terrific beta hero. I want to go on and on about him, but I strongly urge anyone interested to get this one and see for yourself. Slyvie, the heroine is also a wonderfully drawn character. I wondered and worried at the very beginning if she was going to turn out to be twit. She did appear that way at first, but no she isn’t. She is a naïve yet incredibly astute young woman. I loved their story and I loved this book. Mailyn and Dancechica both rave about this one and now I’m joining in too! For those looking for a most excellent pirate book, and I know who some of you are *g* be sure to check this one out. It’s definitely one of the best I’ve read.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Does anyone know if she is still writing? At first I got her mixed up with Elizabeth Boyle, an Avon writer, but then I found her website but it doesn’t look like it’s been updated in quite some time. I know Mailyn tried and quite disliked another book of hers but it looks like she has a few in her backlist, including *yes* another pirate book I’d love to try. I can’t tell if she is still writing or not.