I made it through the funeral. Right up until we got there I wasn't sure what other song I was going to choose. Like I said, the words in Follow the Sun are very good but it's a very upbeat temp. Not that that's a bad thing, but I didn't want them dancing up the aisle or bopping their heads along with the music *g*. I was tempted to use I've Just Seen a Face but that one is too personal. I finally - about 3 blocks from the funeral home, went with The Long and Winding Road for going in and In My Life for going out.

This is what we put in the memorium cards. I'm sure most everyone has read it at one time or another.

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you.

I was so proud of my boys!!!!!! Both stood up in front of everyone and gave very moving tributes to their dad. It was the first time I had seen Ryan cry since Ron died.

I've been pretty numb up until tonight. The person in the casket wasn't Ron, well, it was, but it wasn't. I don't know the protocol of these things but I had them put his wedding ring on because I know he loved me so much I couldn't not leave it with him. I also left another ring I bought him many, many years ago. When I bought it, we didn't have much money so I didn't spend that much for it. It was all bent out of shape and must have made his finger uncomfortable to wear it, but he always did unless he was working. Not too long before he died, it had fallen off his finger during the night because he had lost so much weight and he was panicked that he couldn't find it. I found it in the covers the next morning and he was so relieved. Brent, our oldest, put his ticket stubb from the Blue Jays game that we went to in June in Ron's suit pocket.

I said that Ron didn't come from a home filled with love the way I did. He has a brother who is six years older than him. They have had very little contact over the years even though they live close. I think that his brother did something very damaging to Ron when they were young but Ron would never tell me what it was. Ron's father passed away last June and at the time his brother came up to him and said that they must become closer as brothers; that the separation had lasted far to long. When Ron was first diagnosed in September, his mother called his oldest brother to tell him. His brother never called. Finally in December Ron reached out, despite whatever his brother did when they were young and called him. In all the time Ron was sick and getting sicker and could have used his big brother, his brother called him a total of 3 times. Three! Therefore when we put the notice in the paper the boys and I all agreed not to mention Ron's brother. He was no brother to Ron. His brother and his wife came to the visitation last night and then to the funeral today and to the reception after. His brother said not one word to me the entire time. Not one. His wife finally came up to me today just before the service and with phony crocodile tears said she was sorry she never called, she wanted to but she was to upset to call. And she was glad that the brothers had made up. Her husband was so happy that he had talked to Ron and she knew Ron was happy too. Bitch!! I am normally a very forgiving person, but I will go to my grave without ever forgiving them. I refrained from saying anything to her to avoid upsetting or hurting Ron's mom who lost her son, but they are dead to me. They are the only people I have ever thought that of. But after tonight I will never even think of them again. To do so is too destructive and I won't let them have that power over me.

But again, I'm afraid to go to bed. The pain I've been mostly holding off, is like a living thing, just waiting to grab me the minute I relax.

I think tomorrow will be another busy day. We have to go to the lawyers and the bank and all that other stuff that comes next. The funeral cost over $15,000. I had no idea it would be that much, but there is a life insurance policy that will pay for it. Ron has left me very well provided for, I think he started saving for his retirement when he was 18. I would ask if he wanted to take a trip somewhere especially in the last few years and he would always say that we would when he retired. He was due to retire in three years. I don't have to return to work if I don't want to, but I've always enjoyed working so I'm planning on returning in a couple of weeks.

The minister did a wonderful job. We had never met him - not being church going people, but he came over on Sunday to talk to us. I know he didn't know Ron, but I wanted him to get a sense of what he was like from us. And he did. When he mentioned what a huge Leaf fan Ron was, I heard chuckles in the background from quite a few people - both the Leaf lovers and the Leaf haters. He gave a very touching service and even used Ron as an example of how to live your life.

I plan on continuing our life together. It's been wonderful for me going over the past. I've been falling in love with him all over again. We had some very tough times, but because we both loved each other so very much, we worked through them and in the last few years were closer than ever.

to be continued

It will have to wait until another day until I continue. Today is Ron's funeral. I don't want to say goodbye.

Thank you to Wendy and Giselle for suggesting In My Life by the Beatles for the song to play. I have been listening to it this morning and it is perfect - just perfect. I picked Follow The Sun as the other song - I think, it is rather an upbeat temp - but the words are so appropriate.

I asked Serge and Rob to be two of the pall bearers. Serge is one of his oldest and although we haven't been in touch much lately, one of his best friends. And Rob is the one who Ron coached with and was just as excited as Ron to get a chance to coach in Roger's Centre (Sky Dome).

When we were making funeral arrangements the other day, the funeral director asked us if we wanted to bring in some of Ron’s favourite music to play in the background. I immediately thought of the Beatles. He loved the Beatles and had all their CD’s. He would play them every Sunday. E.V.E.R.Y. S.U.N.D.A.Y! It wouldn’t have been so bad if he just played Help and Rubber Soul – my two favourites, but no. He was very methodical and started at their first album and played them through in order - every Sunday. Even if he had hit random it might not have been quite so…….predictable. After about 3 months of this I asked if maybe he could play something different just once in a while. But when Serge came over yesterday, he reminded me of when we all used to listen to Al Stewart’s Year of the Cat and Time Passages



I thought that was even better. There were six of us that used to hang out a lot together when we were young; Serge and Marg, another couple Paul and Anne and Ron and I. We used to get together every weekend and Al Stewart was always on the record player. I think all three couples owned their own copies. We all liked his music but I think Ron liked it best. I remember a few years ago when he noticed the albums came out on CD he rushed to the store about 9:00 at night to get them and was so excited that he had them again – Record players and albums had long gone out of style. Gerry Rafferty was another artist we listened to a lot.

And another one of my favourites was Chris De Burgh. Ron liked him too; Spanish Train and Crusade were our favourite albums.

I put the CD’s on later in the day and played the Al Stewart CD’s and the memories just started to flow. I don’t think a night went by when we were all together that we didn’t listen to these CD’s over and over. As I listened to it today, again the tears began to flow. One thing I did note though is how timeless his music is. It’s perfect to play in the background at his funeral. When we were discussing what music to bring before I was reminded of Al Stewart, I couldn’t help but say with a laugh that Help might be a bit inappropriate or Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.

Paul and Anne and Ron and I seemed to get together the most. We would get ourselves in a somewhat altered state and play canasta . For the life of me I don’t remember how to play it anymore, but we would play it for hours and hours on end; Ron and Paul against Anne and I, and listen to Al Stewart.

Another thing Ron and I would do sounds a bit nuts as I write it. I haven’t seen these for years, but back then you could buy these large sized outlines of different scenes such as hot air balloons and butterflys and other things like that. The kits also included coloured felt markers and you would fill in the outlines with whatever struck your fancy. We would spend hours together letting our imaginations soar with our unique talents. (This is a less nutty way of saying we coloured together) Then we would hang the finished pictures on the walls. I wish I knew where they disappeared to as we were quite talented. We were also quite mad for Lord of the Rings books and both read them a number of times and every year we would buy the gorgeous calendars that came out. At the end of the year we would pick out the best illustrations and Ron would frame them. When the Lord of the Rings trilogy came out, we were ecstatic and since they came out around Ron’s birthday, for three years in a row, it was a special birthday for both of us. We also made a small addition to our family. I had always had a cat when I was growing up and wanted one of my own. Ron wasn’t allowed to have pets but he also really liked cats and had always wanted one so he readily agreed. At that time he became the official pet namer and we got Char, our first cat.

While for the most part things were wonderful between us, every so often Ron would get these rather dark moods where he wouldn’t talk to me for a few days. While it bothered me, at the same time I managed to shrug them off and when he got over them, things would be wonderful between us again.

After living in a very small apartment with no halls and a single bed for three years, we had saved enough money for a down payment on a condominium and the next phase of our life was about to begin.

to be continued

I've Just Seen a Face by Lennon, McCartney

I've just seen a face,
I can't forget the time or place
That we'd just met, he's just the guy for me
And I want all the world to see we've met
Na na na na na na

Had it been another day
I might have looked the other way
But I had never been aware
And as it is I dream of him tonight
Na na na na na na

CHORUS:
Falling, yes I am falling
And he keeps calling me back again
I have never known
The likes of this, I've been alone
And I have missed things and kept out of sight
But other guys were never quite like this
Na na na na na na

CHORUS:

I've just seen a face
I can't forget the time or place
And we'd just met, he's just the guy for me
And I want all the world to see we've met
Na na na na na na

CHORUS:

Lyrics slightly changed

Listening to this on the CD - story to follow

Before I went any further, I wanted to find some pictures so I can show how hot he was (at least I think so). We weren't really picture taking people. I wish now that we had taken bundles of them. But I managed to find the pictures we did take.


This first one shows how long his hair was when I first met him. Not the best picture of him, but it does show the 'long haired hippie freak' look he had going.

Now this one is a weird kind of a pose, but I think he looks gorgeous in it :) This is my Ron.

Anyway - on with the story.

Now if real life were a romance novel, I would have ended where I did. Of course I would have made it much longer and included lots of sex. Not that there wasn’t. Lots of sex that is. We were both hot. For each other. But since this is me and not some romance heroine, I’m not going to go into detail.

But real life isn’t a romance novel and it is real lives and not the HEA.

Ron and I got married on August 29, 1975. It was a Friday night. He just wanted something very small and since I was so in love and hadn’t lived in the city long enough to make a whole lot of friends, that was fine with me. I had just turned 21 a couple of weeks earlier. We got married in this tiny little chapel with just our best man, maid of honour and our immediate families.

This was the days of disco, David Bowie and Elton John. Ron rented his tux and bought a new pair of shoes. Platform shoes and that means high. Shoes that he hadn’t really gotten used to. It was a little tiny chapel with little tiny doors. I was standing at the front with my dad waiting for Ron to come in the little tiny door at the side in platform shoes he hadn’t adjusted to. Everyone went “ooooofffff” and winced when his forehead met the little tiny door very, very hard. I heard them. I was just concerned and glad that he hadn’t knocked himself unconscious. Some memories stay with you for life and that’s one of them.

Now this is a rotten picture of me, but I like it because of the way Ron is gazing adoringly at me.


Another real crummy one of me but I like how handsome Ron looked.

Now this one I do like of the both of us. We were so happy. I think there has been only 4 or 5 pictures taken of me that I've ever liked, so just ignore me in most of them, but this one is one of the few good ones.

It’s important to say that I had such a good upbringing with my parents and my sisters. My dad adored my mother and showed it in so many ways and she adored him. The thing that stands out most about my childhood is laughter. We were always laughing, all of us. I had these two really annoying younger sisters that I loved very much despite some of the nasty things they did to their (obnoxious - so they say) older sister. I didn’t realize until much later how fortunate I was being raised with so much love and laughter. Not many people have that. Ron didn’t. And it came into play later in our marriage.

So we settled into married life. Things were different back then than in many cases today. We both worked, I worked in an office and Ron worked for the railroad and we lived in the back section of a two story duplex. There were no halls in that apartment. One room just flowed into another room. And the bedroom was so small there was only room for a single bed. Of course that didn’t matter to us *ahem*. In one of those weird twists of life, we would have been neighbours anyway. The night I met him he was planning on moving into this apartment which was just a few houses down from where I was living. I would have passed his place every day on my way to work (it was close enough for me to walk – after I met him and established he was the guy – he had a few days off after he moved to his apartment, I would walk over at lunch for a *cough* nooner. He seemed to be always up for it ;)

He had friends, Serge and Marg who lived in the upstairs part of the house, that's why he moved there. They are a couple who have drifted in and out of our lives at various stages throughout our lives together. We hadn’t seen them for a while, but when Ron first got sick I called Serge to let him know. He called Ron and dropped in to see him but then Ron got so sick he didn't want to see anyone. I called Serge again yesterday to let him know Ron had passed away. He and Marg dropped in to see me today, and he was telling me he still remembered the day Ron told him about this most incredible woman he had just met. He had never seen Ron so excited before. That made me cry when he told me. In a good/sad way. Maybe Ron was planning all along on proposing to me! I just beat him to the punch.

to be continued

'til later

Ron lost his battle early this morning. We did get him into the hospital after all, in the palliative care ward. Along with the cancer that had spread throughout his body and the blood clots, he had also developed pneumonia. I’m not sure which one it was that took him - it was just all too much. He was a fighter right up until the end though. He died very peacefully in his sleep. We had had many long talks and I think we had reached a peace with what was coming.

But I want to share some of what made Ron so special. I want this to be a celebration. The name of my blog is Ramblings on Romance so I want to tell my romance. To tell a story of two ordinary people who met, fell in love, married and loved each other for over 30 years – warts and all.

I think when we first meet the guy who we think might be “it” we give him little tests. Ron passed them all with flying colours. First of all and most important – I thought he was hot. Now remember, these were the days when long hair on guys was popular and having been raised by a father who was a CO for Air Cadets where long hair on guys was an anathema. “There was no way any daughter of his was going out with some long haired hippy freak!” I can still hear him saying. Well, of course that made it all the more attractive to me! And Ron had long hair – almost as long as mine. First test – aced. I said he was an open reader. The book I had just finished reading the night I met him was Alice in Wonderland. Now it’s a completely different book when read as an adult than as a child. I was telling Ron this and he seemed very interested in reading it. I could tell he was sincere. I mean a guy – who was willing to read Alice in Wonderland to impress a girl? Second test – aced. And later he did indeed read it – and liked it quite a bit. Now the third test was not very smart of me in hindsight. I lived on my own with Lisa my middle sister who was finishing up the school year. My parents had just moved back to the city I grew up in and I stayed as I had a job and it was time to spread my wings. I invited this guy I had just met in a bar back to my place. Very dumb. We stayed up until 4:30 in the morning talking – books, music; my favourite group at the time was Styx, and he hadn’t really listened to them. But he listened to my albums and liked them. Then when left, he didn’t make a move – well he didn’t kiss me. Instead he gave me the biggest, warmest hug. Then he walked about 8 miles home. (Not only did I invite him back to my place – dumb – I drove and he left his buddies who’d given him a ride behind to come with me. Ace, ace, ace! He called the next day and we talked for hours on the phone. He asked me out for a date. I don’t remember exactly how long after that we had our first date – it’s been over 30 years now but it was the oddest date I’d ever been on, not that I had that many to compare it too, I was only 20 and very shy with guys. He somehow talked me into donating blood with him and then going out to dinner after. I had never done it before but he was a regular donor. I think things work differently here in Canada. All blood is donated, not sold. I didn’t really want to do it - ick, but I figured if the guy liked my music and was willing to read Alice in Wonderland, I could do something he wanted me to do. I was trying to impress him too after all. And he was hot!! He really scored major points for being civic minded. At the end of the evening he kissed me, but just a little one. Left me wanting more. Our third date was a test for both of us. He asked me to go swimming. Now this was a major hurdle for me. I’ve always battled weight problems and while when I met him, I had lost some weight, I was still in double digits size wise and very self-conscious. Very! Self!-Conscious! When I stripped down to my one piece bathing suit, I was waiting for him to call a quick end to the date. But he didn’t. Low and behold he thought I was hot. And he was hot. We were hot together. We were in the water swimming and playing around when he came up behind me, grabbed me and really kissed me this time. Lord have mercy I thought lightning had struck that water!!!! I felt tingles ‘all over my body’. He felt them too, I could tell (heh heh) And mama not only did he ace that test, little did he know it, but that day he was a goner. Ropped, tied and hornswaggled in all but deed. THIS was the man I was going to marry!!!! Poor guy – he never had a chance. We met in June, I proposed in July – yep, you read that right, I asked him to marry me – and he accepted – and we got married in August.

To be continued

‘til later

PS - thank you all for your comments in the previous posts! I've read them and they have meant a great deal to me in a time of sorrow.

We had a horrific experience at the emergency department of the hospital on Tuesday. After waiting 14 hours for Ron to be admitted, they said they didn't know when a bed would be available. They said there were 12 other people waiting ahead of us. I decided to no longer wait there and brought him home. It took another 3 hours for a doctor to allow us to leave. They had done tests and he has blood clots in his leg and lungs. The cancer has also spread to his liver. They called the next day for me to bring him back but also said there was now a waiting list of 18 people and only two beds had opened up since I left.
I will be doing everything I can from home now, but I don't have the time, the energy or the heart for blogging right now. He is bedridden now and in very bad shape.
Although I'm going to miss terribly blogging and all of you, I just can't. I've still been reading everyone's blogs when I get a chance and enjoying them - the romance readers ring that Dylan and Fiona have set up is a wonderful idea and I want to join - when I'm up to it, but I probably won't be commenting much. But I'm still with everyone in spirit.
I'll be back when I can.

A review - sort of

When I first met him, one of the first things that attracted me to Ron over 30 odd years ago, other than the overwhelming bolt of lust that hit when he asked me dance, was the fact that he was a ‘reader’. Since reading has been a passion of mine from the moment I first read See Dick Run, it was very important that the ‘special guy in my life’ shared a passion in reading. Not only was he a reader, he was an open reader, willing to try books I had enjoyed – this was before my romance days. In the early days of our marriage we shared many the same books, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, all of Terry Brooks Shannara stories, Piers Anthony Ursala LeGuin Stephen King and many more. Then slowly over the years our tastes started going in different directions. I started reading more and more romance and he read more and more horror with a bit of suspense thrown in and I think it’s been years since we read the same book. But we’ve both always remained avid readers.

Well, with the advancing disease and the massive amounts of meds Ron is on these days, he’s not really able to read much at all anymore and I know this has been eating at him. I offered to start reading to him and he jumped at it. I used to read a lot to the boys when they were small and really enjoyed it. And I’m pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself. I always loved it when it was my turn to read out loud in school. So our next decision was what book I should read. He recoiled in horror when I suggested a romance. I thought of the In Death books, but knew I would blush and stammer through some of the rather explicit love scenes – plus he hates that they have those in the books I read. He was trying to read a mystery book but that was out since he is still able to read some, so I’d forever be missing parts and he’d already read some of it and I think he still wanted it to be ‘his’ book. Then Lisa (my sister – I can mention her by name since she never reads my blog and she’ll never know I named her unless my other sister who does read my blog squeals on me) brought over two Janet Evonvitch books for me to read. Now Lisa hates all things romance book, but we agree on Ms. Evanovitch. We both love her books (as well as sister number 3 – what the heck – Nancy). Lisa had Metro Girl and Eleven on Top, neither of which I’ve read yet. The light dawned!!! I could read him Eleven on Top. He and Lisa both have very similar tastes in books and Lisa loved it. And her books are very funny.

So we started. Every day I would read a chapter or two of the book. I wasn’t sure if Ron was enjoying it or not. I’d ask every so often if he was and he would say “it’s good” in a rather nonchalant way. Part way through he asked what it was about. I kind of wondered about that for a moment and realized that since this was his first one and it does meander a bit, that could be considered a good question. I thought for a moment and answered well it’s kind of like Seinfeld, a lot of real funny stuff about nothing really. That answer satisfied him. I wasn’t sure if he was liking it, but he kept asking every day if I was going to read today so I think he did. In this one, Stephanie has decided to give up bounty hunting. Instead she decides to get a regular job in the button factory. Of course Stephanie being Stephanie, this job didn't even get off the ground. Her next attempt was working at the Kan Klean dry cleaners. Again, job issues, this time in the form of Grandma Macaroni. And then there was Cluck in a Bucket.
There were a few places I had to stop reading so I could laugh. The scene where Grandma Mazur and Grandma Morelli get into it at Stiva’s Funeral Parlor was one of them. I didn’t think I would be able to get past the scene where Stephanie is working at Cluck in a Bucket. Especially once her boss taped the headset onto her greasy hair. Took me about 5 minutes before I could start reading again. And the whole cello bit was a riot. This is vintage Stephanie Plum, with her car being blown up, hanging with Lula. I was tempted at the end to ask that most frequently asked question – Ranger or Morelli? But since he hadn’t had the whole background, plus he would think I was off my rocker if I even asked, I let it go. I’m a died in the wool Morelli fan myself. Ranger is a fantasy but Morelli is real. I was impressed when Stephanie came home sans underwear and Morelli believed her. Although I must admit a couple of moments there I almost went to the Ranger side. But nope – I’m loyal to Joe.

I know some readers have tired of this series; that Stephanie is still the same old, same old, that the Ranger-Morelli triangle is getting old. But this one worked. For both Ron and I reading it has been a light in a tunnel of darkness and for that I’m very grateful!

Next up on our Stephanie Plum reading list – Seven Up

‘til later

SQUEEEEEE!!!!

La La La, La La La - guess what's in the store near my house, La La La, La La La - Guess where I'll be tomorrow!!




Good thing I checked Chapters on line after I posted on RomanceLover's blog!!! It's not out at Chapters but it is at Smith Books. Now I don't have to cuss no more!

La La La, La La La

Aren't I annoying?

And yes, I realize the irony that Scandal in Spring is an Avon.

'til later

Dang! I wish she had a website

So that we could find out more about this one

Drop Dead Gorgeous by Linda Howard

Good news/Bad news

Good news - it's in paperback
Bad news - we have to wait until November

I know it's more about Blair and Wyatt, Blair is planning her wedding and someone is after her but I want excerpts!!!
Oh well - at least now I'll have to go back and read To Die For again sometime before November to refresh myself :) I like that idea! One can never read To Die For enough times. Unless of course one didn't like Blair. Then once is more than enough. But I loved her so......
And how about this cover?!?!?!?!?
While the picture of the couple is not bad although I think she needs to comb her hair - or wash it or something - I surely hope they don't stay with these colours 'cause man are they bad!!! It hurts to look at it without sunglasses. It's brighter than an errupting volcano, or a blazing fire or the even the sun for petels sake! And what is with the font? I think Bam needs to get hold of this one.

'til later

Thoughts and Ponderings on a Publisher

To be honest with the exception of one, I’ve never paid that much attention to publishers until lately. In my never ending tinkering with my book spreadsheet (and I think I’m going to have a question for Rosario on that one now that she’s back) I’ve recently added a column for publishers. I thought I’d run a comparison on who publishes most of my favourites. In light of that there is one publisher that I seem to be buying quite a few books from lately. And that one is HQN. They are a fairly new division of Harlequin and publish full-sized mass market romance. And I must say I’m quite impressed with them. I’ve read a number of very good books they’ve published; some by Kasey Michaels(I loved her Romney series) some by Susan Mallery and at least one by Gena Showalter. Julia Justiss wrote one I really enjoyed, the Courtesan, although I was pretty disappointed that her web site is sadly out of date. I have a Catherine Mann in my TBR pile. I hear she’s pretty good. I also have a Helen Kirkman on the TBR pile and I’m thinking of getting some more. What impresses me about them is the wide variety of genres they are publishing. They range from the paranormals of Gena Showalter to military suspence of Catherine Mann; contemporaries of Susan Mallery, Leanna Banks to the Viking stories of Helen Kirkman and the medievals of Margaret Moore. They have some old favourites such as Diane Palmer and Bertrice Small and some newcomer Nicola Cornick.

While looking around their site, here are a few interesting things I found.

Susan Mallery has the cutest website! Check it out.

Pamela Britton does have plans for another historical or two – Yea! While I know some may like her Nascar books, I’m not one of them. I do like her historicals though.

I haven't read many books by Margaret Moore. I'm not exactly sure why, she writes Medievals which I like, and she's from the home Country. I know Erika thinks she's hit or miss, but I really ought to try some more.

She first started with Harlequin - not bad covers.

She then moved to Avon where the covers were.......different
Now that she's moved to HQN, I think her covers are much better.





Nicola Cornick I must admit, is an author I'd never heard of before. Somehow she slipped through my radar. But I think this cover is gorgeous!


I didn't realize until looking through her site, how many books she's written, many for Mills & Boon (which we don't ever see here) and a number for Harlequin Historicals.


I'm going to have to keep my eye out from now on.

Of course all is not perfect with their web site. They aren't very good with future releases or updating. I couldn't find anywhere that Susan Grant's newest is an HQN book.

Anyway - that's my publisher spotlight for the day.

'til later

Something to make Sybil happy

Amarajja just read Devil in Winter. She loooovvvveeess Derek Cravan, but she thinks she loves Sebastian even more.

And Jennie - don't think I've forgotten about you *g*. You're on the list now.

'til later

"How can you fail at a meme?"

The Voice asked increduously.

"I don't know" Kristie (J) wailed. "But I did, I am. Gonna fail that is. But I got tagged by Holly and I have to do it."

"But it's a simple one. It's about music. You love music."

"I know" came the sad reply. "But I haven't been listening to it much lately. And I'm not sure what a play list is. Is it like music you have on one of those IPod things? Because I don't have one of those. I'm even more scared of them than I am of cell phones. And that's embarrasing to admit. I had to use my sisters cell the other day when we were out in the store. And I didn't even know how to turn it on. I had to ask Lisa. And everyone around me was looking at me funny when I did that. They must have been wondering how could anyone be so dumb and probably they were all probably laughing."

"There, there" The Voice soothed. "I'm sure there are other people out there who are afraid of cell phones and IPods and other newer technical equipment."

"You think so?" Kristie(J) asked hopefully.

"Of course" The Voice answered, but inwardly thinking "not!" "But just answer ten songs you really like".

"But most of them are older songs, a lot from the 80's" replied Kristie(J)

"That's OK, 80's is good."

"I don't know if I can name 10 songs".

"Just do what you can then." came the reply.

"Alright" Kristie(J) sighed. "I'll try".

Bed of Roses by Bon Jovi
Wicked Games by Chris Issak
Anything by Great Big Sea - I saw them you know. Twice now.
Orinoco Flow by Enya
Runnin' Down a Dream by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (that's the one Krisite runs to with her lean mean body, blond hair flowing in the breeze, her feet pounding to the music)
The Highwayman by Loreena McKennit
The soundtrack from Pirates of the Caribbean - The Black Pearl
I Wanna Know What Love Is by Foreigner
All Souls Night by Loreena McKennit
Film Cuts by The Chieftans - a compilation of soundtracks from various movies including Far and Away and Roby Roy

"Well, I got 10 in" Kristie(J) said with a sigh. "But it's a very odd list. And everyone will think I'm odd."

"That's OK" replied The Voice "You are odd!"


'til later

Recent Reads - and a reread

Well – our cable seems to momentarily down so I can’t blog hop - either that or Blogger is acting up again. I might as well do some reviews I’ve been behind on.

First up:

The Ultimatum - Susan Kearney

Once again, this fit my main criteria these days. She’s a new to me author, I like the genre; Futuristic and while I don’t find the cover all that great, it’s not too bad. I’ve seen Ms. Kearney’s name around a bit lately for winning awards. I was perusing the bookshelves not too long ago and saw this one and decided to give it a try.
Dr. Alara Calladar is a scientist working on fixing a most peculiar problem the women of her planet face. It seems they go into heat on a regular basis and if not ‘satisfied’ by their mates, they die. This happened to her mother. As a result, the men of her planet see no reason to put any effort forth into being decent husbands – the womenfolk need them anyway. She also has other talents – such as being able to read DNA. Because of this, her help is needed by star pilot Xander in locating the DNA of the old-timers and saving the galaxy from certain annihilation. Alara is very reluctant to help, but with the help of the leader of her planet, who sees her as a trouble maker, she is kidnapped by Xander and his crew. Thus begins a race to find a cure and save the universe.
I liked this book. I liked it quite a bit. There are two previous books in this series and it probably would have helped if I had read them first since I got lost a few times, but I found my way again and went on to enjoy this one. I really liked the character of Alara. She hates being bound by her body chemistry and is determined to find a cure, yet once she realizes the severity of the entire galaxy, she is willing to fight for it. Xander also makes quite a good hero. He’s noble and brave and is willing to do whatever it takes.
I like the twist of making Alara a slave to her ‘biology and needing Xander to save her life. This book is hot; which I like. When I was halfway through, I went to the bookstore to pick up the next one in the series and I know I’ll be looking forward to the previous two. She kind of reminds me a bit of Robin Owens without the annoying cats (and remember – I am a cat lover)
Grade 4 out of 5

Next one up

Swan’s Grace - Linda Francis Lee

This one was in a bunch of books I picked out and ordered from Amazon. It hadn’t been one of the better days so when I noticed a box o’ books sitting at our back door, well I did a little happy dance there.
I’ve long been a fan of Linda Francis Lee. This is the second book in a three book series. I read Nightingale’s Gate a number of years ago (and may I say that Mrs. Giggles and I completely disagree on it. I loved the book, while she……didn’t.). Ever since I read it, I’ve been on the look out for the other two of the series, Dove’s Way, the first one, and Swan’s Grace. I fond Dove’s Way a couple of years ago, but couldn’t find Swan’s Grace. Thus the happy dance when I got this one.
This book takes place in 1892. Sophie Wentworth is a successful cellist in Europe when she is called home to Boston by her father. She thinks it’s because her father misses her and wants her home, but in reality it’s because her father has betrothed her to Grayson Hawthorne, the man Sophie has been in love with most of her life. Although she is in love with Grayson, when she finds out the truth, she is dismayed and refuses to marry him. She has changed since she was that young and naïve girl who ran away and so has Grayson. Now he is a very successful, very stuffy lawyer.
This book is wonderful – truly, truly wonderful! Sophie is one of the best heroines I’ve read in a long while. She headstrong, she’s a lost soul, she’s complicated and she’s a diva. She hides behind a mask of confidence, but really she is still an insecure woman. She’s fabulous. Grayson is no slouch in the hero department either. Kicked out of his home at age 16 and expected to fend for himself, he relied heavily on the small kindnesses of Sophie years ago. He’s never forgotten her in all the years and he refuses to let her out of the betrothal. He’s much more than the stuffy lawyer he appears to be. The other two books in this series are who knows where in the house, but I’m looking forward to finding them, reuniting them and reading them all over again – in order this time.
Linda Francis Lee is now writing contemporaries. I don’t know if she has plans to go back in time; the market isn’t really publishing many of these days, but *sigh* at least there are these ones to reread.
Grade: 5 out of 5


and then the reread

The Lion’s Daughter by Loretta Chase

It’s no secret that Lord of Scoundrels is one of my all time favourite books. I read it years ago and after I did, I went in search of her other books. Luckily I found both Lion’s Daughter and Captives of the Night. This was all years ago and while I’ve read Lord of Scoundrels many times, I’ve only read The Lion’s Daughter once. While I remember liking it, it didn’t have the same impact as LOS. Since my tastes have changed so much over the years and the came out with a reprint I thought I would read this one again to see if I liked it any better. I’m happy to say that yes, I like it much better on the reread.
Esme Brentmore is the daughter of Jason Brentmore and a Albanian woman. Jason (the Red Lion) was banished from England many years ago when he lost at cards and was disgraced. He met and married and fathered a daughter while working for the leader of Albania. She has since grown into a very wild young woman. Jason decides in the view of all the political intrigue going on, that he would be more effective if he was dead so he faked his own death. Unfortunately he didn’t really make plans on what would happen with Esme. Through a round about way that would be too complicated to summarize, she lands in the hands of Varian Edenmont, a real wastrel in every sense of the word.
While Esme got on my nerves a bit with her stubbornness and affinity for getting into trouble, the real enjoyment of this book is with Varian. He starts out, simply put, a jerk. Too handsome for his own good, he depends on the generosity of others, never doing anything of value with his life. At the beginning of this book he’s a very dislikeable hero. But what makes this book so good is his transformation into a worthwhile and compassionate character. It takes a rare talent for an author to do this believably and Ms. Chase pulls it off so by the end of the book I was fully captivated by Varian. When I first read this one years’ ago, I didn’t fully appreciate what she had accomplished with his character, so I’m so glad I decided to give this one a reread. The next book in the series, Captive of the Night is another one I read years ago and is Ismal, the charismatic villain of The Lion’s Daughter. I’m going to start reading this one later tonight I think (while I watch the Jays and hope they don’t blow another one) (I did - they did - aarrrggghhh)
Grade: 4 out of 5 (5 for the hero, 3 for the heroine)

'til later

Tagged by Fiona

1) When did you first start blogging and why? I started in February of 2005. I started because I didn’t want to look for a job (but I still did anyway and I found one). I’d started visiting other blogs and it looked fun. Also it appeased my need for writing since I don’t think I’m going to write That Great Romance Novel I contemplated writing for years. Now I can honestly say I’m no longer a frustrated wannabe writer. Because now I have my blog :)

2) What don't you talk about? Religion and politics. I think I would horrify too many people if I gave my thoughts on those subjects and the majority of people would disagree with me. Then I’d have to defend my beliefs and the whole thing would degenerate from what I want this blog to be about. Other than that the sky is the limit. Hey – I even blogged about my underwear once.

3)Are you and your blogging persona the same person? Absolutely. Like Fionna said what you read is who I am.

4) How do you use blogging to build friendships? By reading and commenting on other romance geared blogs I realize that no matter how different so many of us seem to be, we have something very strong in common – a love of a good romance. So even though we are from totally different backgrounds, countries, age groups, even taste in what kind of books we like, we all share something that is very important in our lives. That’s a very good basis for friendship. I’m still awed and amazed at the really neat and wonderful friends I’ve made.

5) How would you describe your writing style? Well, my early English and grammar teachers would probably be horrified, but I tend to write as I talk which means non-words, made up words, terrible grammar and lots of slang.

Tagging:

Romancelover (where’s my hero) because she complained on time that she never gets tagged (heh heh)

Renee: The newest bloggiversary blogger. I think we know question #1 but the rest will be interesting

RJ(Devonna): because she’s a newbie blogger

Keishon: because she’s one of the first bloggers I started visiting.

Cindy: because I know she loves writing late at night

'til later

Spreading my reading wings

Years ago I used to read books right across the board from every genre - horror to biography, true crime to sports, I read anything and everything. But then I gradually started sticking more and more to just good old plain romance. Well, once again I've been willing to stretch my wings a bit and try other genres again. I started with the series by Naomi Novik and bought two of them. They've gotten excellent reviews in the romance reading community and the premise sounds fascinating.


I found them in the Fantasy section of the bookstore. I suppose I should read these first two before I get the third one.

Then I was over at Bev's Blog the other day and she was posting about Linnea Sinclair's next release. I followed her links, thought the books looked interesting, checked out Chapters to see if they had any and they did so yesterday I went out and bought these two.



I found these ones in the Science Fiction section. I thought they both looked quite interesting as I love a good futuristic. I wonder what the difference is though between futuristics and science fiction romance.

Between those two new departments and the general fiction department that holds the JD Robb books, I'm starting to learn my bookstore.

'til later

And just when you thought there were none.....

low and behold, I've found another reader who needs to discover the power of the Craven!

RJ of Good Reads has this one next on her list.


heh heh heh

'til later

*ETA*
UPDATE:
RJ isn't very far into it yet, but she is already experiencing the Power of the Craven. It doesn't sound like it's going on vacation with her.

heh heh heh

See - they don't have to be bad

In order to spare the damage that may have happened to the retinas in anyones eye's in case you've checked some of Bam's cover snarks lately, and to prove that the covers of ebooks can indeed be beautiful, here are a few I found that I thought were gorgeous!!
Since I buy a number of books based on covers (and don't buy a lot based on covers) I can see me getting any one of these ones.







See - they don't have to be those frightful covers that are so dreadful yet hilarious to look at that a certain ebook publisher is infamous for!

'til later

Recent Reads - a couple of very good ones

Since I'm not firing on all cylinders these days, I'm going to cheat a bit here and rely on the description of others for these reviews.

The Gate to Eden – Cathy McDavid

Back cover blurb: Maddie Campbell was not your ordinary thief. A widow and mother, she liked to think her wealthy victims were merely "donating" to the many others of the mining community who had been left with nothing. Maddie was quite good at what she did…until a former lawman arrived in Eden to investigate the recent spate of crimes. He didn’t need to say a word; his piercing gaze arrested her on the spot. Despite her efforts to throw him off track, he was determined to draw out all her secrets in the most exquisite ways—soft caresses, passionate kisses, and exploration of her most intimate places. But when confronted with the truth, would he choose love or the law?

I bought this one because it was a Western, I liked the cover and it was a new to me author. And you know what? Sometimes it pays off big time to take those chances. I loved this book. Maddie is a great heroine. She does what it takes to take care of her daughters and others. She is a Western Robin Hood type. She’s brave and imperfect and wonderful. Scott McQueen is an honourable tortured hero who made a decision he felt was the right one years ago and has been haunted by it ever since.
I really get a case of the warm and fuzzies when I find a good book and this one gave me a good case of them.
Grade 4 ½ out of 5


The Nightingale's Song – Kathleen Eschenburg

Amazon blurb: Against the evocatively drawn backdrop of Baltimore and Virginia 10 years after the Civil War, first-time author Eschenburg spins a gentle romance rich with emotion and vivid detail. Haunted by his inadequacies as a father, Dr. Gordon Kincaid, a hardened war veteran and widower from the South, is determined to find a mother for his son, Gordy, and his recently discovered illegitimate daughter, Clara. Gordon has his sights set on a frivolous, high society miss, but when he meets Maggie Quinn, Clara's Irish schoolteacher at St. Columba's orphanage, he begins to believe in second chances. Maggie soon finds herself torn between the safety of a future in a convent and the terrifying exhilaration of her attraction to Gordon. At the same time, Maggie's socially unacceptable Irish-Catholic heritage and Gordon's hardheaded search for an instant mother threaten to tear the two apart. Brimming with tangible historical details, sensitive prose and a wealth of poignant scenes, Eschenburg's love story easily escapes the sometimes confining predictability of the romance genre and breathes a fuller life into it.

For the life of me I have no memory of buying this book or why I did. I must have bought it new when it first came out because I found it in a box of books downstairs. At that time I wasn’t as into trying new authors as I am now. But am I ever so glad I picked this one out of the box and decided to read it. The blurb says it better than I can. This is a rich and very well written story of the redeeming power of love. At the risk of gushing, this book is awesome! It’s warm and tender and heartbreakingly good. I see she wrote a prequel four years after this one. I’m certainly going to track it down!
Grade: 5 out of 5

It was so refreshing to read to such wonderful historical books that had a different setting.

'til later

*ETA*
After reading Wendy's comment, I checked her review at The Romance Reader for Nightengale's Song. When I said I didn't remember when or why I got it, the light dawned. It was after reading her review I got it. That's a long time to be in a TBR pile. Here is her review said so much better than I did.

Book Alert

Gifts of Love by Lisa Kleypas and Kay Hooper
We know about A Scandal in Spring. We know about A Man for All Seasons; Cam Rohan's story. We even know a little about Sugar Daddy, her first contemporary. But does anyone know about this one? Is it new? Is it a reissue? I couldn't see anything about it on her website but according to Fiction DB it's due out in November.






The Gladiator's Honor by Michelle Styles. Now while the model doesn't really do anything for me, Russel Crowe would have been better, it is wonderful to see a book in this time period coming out. Kudo's to Harlequin for giving us choices!








Wanted by Pam Crooks
And kudo's again to Harlequin. I love this cover. Plus, look Sybil, a Western. I give Harlequin high marks indeed for their continuing improvement in covers!!! I just wish another publisher who I shan't name at this time but everyone knows who I mean, would make the same kind of improvements with their covers.





And speaking of Lisa Kleypas, there is a pretty good review for A Scandal in Spring at Romance Reader at Heart. (I wish I knew how to directly link to it! AngieW knows how - I should have asked her before) Daisy is American. It looks like the hero is American. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing now that Ms. Kleypas is no longer with the same publisher whose name I didn't mention before; now that she is with St. Martins, if she were to write a book or two set in early America?

til later