Book Review Club ~ November

Either consciously or coincidentally, I have lately found myself reading fiction set in the 1920’s and 1930’s.  I’ve recently read A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell (a mystery thriller set in 1930’s Berlin), Stalking Ivory by Suzanne Arruda (a mystery set in British East Africa in the 1920’s) and Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen.  And I would recommend any of the three.  But for this month’s review, I’ve chosen Royal Blood.
Royal Blood is book four in a series that began with the very enjoyable Her Royal Spyness.  The premise is that Lady Georgiana (Georgie), while being thirty-fourth in line to the British throne, is very near penniless and living in 1930’s London.  She’s not interested in marrying any one of the moneyed acquaintances, family friends, or distant cousins being thrust upon her, and yet she’s not cut out to work as a commoner (not to mention the fact that jobs are scarce).  She is, however, a favorite of Queen Mary, and occasionally given the odd job that throws her into glamorous company and very often, a murder mystery.

In Royal Blood, the queen requests that Georgie attend the wedding of a princess of Romania, who just happens to be an old school friend of hers.  A chaperone and maid are quickly lined up (Georgie doesn’t have the funds to keep a regular maid), and off they set across the Channel and then across the Continent on The Orient Express.  Shortly after arriving at the castle in the wilds of Transylvannia, the group is snowed in and strange goings-on start to put Georgie, her maid, and her companion (and her companion’s companion) on edge.  There’s been a man climbing up the castle walls in the dark, a man leaning over her in her bed, and one lurking in the shadows of the castle.  Amid the unsettling rumors of vampires and werewolves in the area, a murder occurs and things take a turn for the even-stranger.

I don’t wish to give anything anyway,  but this book–the whole series, really–has an excellent line-up of characters, a unique backdrop (sturdy British royals in Transylvannia!), a clever mystery, a dash of romance, and a dollup of humor.  Very highly recommended.  (And I LOVE the covers!)

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@Barrie Summy
Posted in book review club, royal blood on 11/03/2010 10:36 am | 13 Comments

Round 2 and 2 Minions

This afternoon we hosted our 2nd Annual Halloween Muggle Quidditch Match, and although it was touch-and-go there for a little bit with all the last minute sick cancellations, it really turned out great. The whole concept is foreign, and the requirements are pretty awkward, what with the capes and the pool noodles and the water/air filled beach balls getting tossed around, but the kids totally run with it, and it is really very fun to watch.

Still, at 85 degrees out there today, and sunny, it was hot, and those kids were pretty sweaty. I’ll need to give those capes a little freshening up before I put them away for another year. And who knows…this could be the last year my fifth grader is willing to don a cape and run around with a pool noodle between his legs, so I snapped lots of shots. And, of course, the memories are priceless.

And then… for our second movie adaptation of the day, they both donned Despicable Me minion costumes and went out for a sweaty round of trick or treating.

And….we’re done for another year!
Posted in Halloween, muggle quidditch on 11/01/2010 12:46 am | 6 Comments

Feeling lazy & fighting it

Next year around this time I’ll either be really panicked or extremely relieved.  Because at this time next year, my next book is due to my editor.  That’s right…I committed to one book in one year, despite my previous best time of one book, give or take four years.  And because I am a little nervy about this, my agent and I decided to parcel out the committment.  The first 100 pages are due by December 1st. 

Oddly enough, I am sitting pretty because I already have them done!  (How’d I do it, you ask?  A little thing called pre-planning that I’ve not done before in my writing…that’s how!)  And I think there’s a good chance that I’ll keep a lot of them!  I’ve even gotten the go-ahead from my agent to go forward…hooray!  My next 100 aren’t due until March 1st, so honestly, I feel like lounging about in a chair like this, my glossy TBR stacks circling around me, whiling away the afternoon with a book.

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By I’m not going to do that.  I can’t get complacent.  These coming months are the busiest of the year for me, so I need to keep brainstorming, plotting, writing, and editing.  I can do this…without stressing myself into a puddle.  And I will reward myself with reading time in a comfy, cozy chair.

Posted in reading, writing on 10/28/2010 06:36 pm | 7 Comments
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