Back With A List

It has been several months since I posted anything. Time has a crazy way of slipping by without being noticed. Sneaky little bastard.

Lots of changes, lots of books. I am now in Washington! Finally moved back home. Spent most of my life living in Arkansas or Missouri just trying to get back to the Pacific Ocean! And here I am, surrounded by my mountains, tall evergreen trees, and very near my beloved Pike Place Market!

As for my book ... well, no progress being made there. I only sold eleven or twelve copies so far. I have several ideas for children's picture books, I'd like to start editing the second Cottage book, and I have some cover art to work on ... soon as my room is finished and I'm able to unpack. For now, I'm just reading as much as I can, spending time with family, going to the movies to see Maleficent! (EPIC! Amazing! But, was there ever any doubt? No!!)

 

 

The Uninvited by Steven LaChance. At first I liked it, thought he was a good person taking care of his kids when his wife abandons them ... but that doesn't make him a great person. Women do that all the time, but people just shrug. Oh, look, she's being a mother. So? But when a guy does it, it's all, "Oh, he's just amazing, raising those kids on his own ..." Nonesense.

 

Anyway, I realized I was doing just this, swooning at him raising the kids on his own. Sucks that he has to raise them alone, but they're his kids, so ... yeah. Do what you're supposed to. About halfway through the book, I just started seeing him as a douche and an asshole. (Sorry about the language. I'm an adult and refuse to sugarcoat my vocabulary.)

 

Then there was all the "possession" and religious aspects of the story. Gag. Boring.



I don't really believe in possesion. Not the demonic crap Catholics like to spew on about. However, I do believe that a ghost or entity or energy or whatever term you'd like to use can touch a person and emotionally change them for a bit. I've seen this happen, and it is scary. Like the person becomes someone or something else. But it fades after a bit.

This book ... I think I gave it two stars. I was trying to be nice.

 

 

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke. Well, not really a secret that she's one of my favorite children's authors! I love the Inkheart trilogy, Dragon Rider, and The Thief Lord. Here's another one that doesn't disappoint. Five stars, of course.



 

 

Lucas by Kevin Brooks. This one surprised the hell out of me! There I was with a huge box full of books I was desperately trying to read in a month before I move so that I could get rid of them and not have to drag them across the U.S. with me.

 

And I couldn't part with this one. Kept it. It's in a box somewhere in the garage with the rest of my stuff until I get around to sorting it out. Great story. Five stars. Yup. Love it. Every now and then you find an obscure book that you've never heard of before. You think it's just going to be one of those filler books until something epic comes along ... and it morphs into a beloved treasure. That's this book for me.

 

 

Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers. I had been wanting to read this for several years. Finally did. The movie is one that I spent my childhood loving. And while in the middle of this book, I saw Saving Mr. Banks. Amazing movie, and I fell in love with this book even more. I honestly wasn't that fond of the book until after I saw the movie. It's good, but not one of my epics. But the movie about Disney and Travers and the magic that brought about the making of the movie with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke ...

 

I have to give the book at least three and a half stars. 

 

 

Tough Customer by Sandra Brown. Decent read. I liked it. Was sucked into the story instantly, read it pretty quickly, but not an epic. I did manage to part with this book when I moved, though part of me was debating that. Three stars.

There are several others I read in the past few months, several I'm still reading. But I'll save them all for another day.