Sheila's Guests and Reviews

I started writing this on a Thursday afternoon. "Tomorrow" I would do the next edits on a book. Tomorrow, the day after, I hoped to play board games with sons. Tomorrow, the day after that, I'd be at church. And tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow... all leading to an uncertain future, globally warmed, socially falling, maybe... So then I stopped and read a science fiction novel, and the possibilities are endless - not all good, but definitely endless. Here are some reviews of the science fiction novels that fill our my tomorrows: With coffee, of course. Primordial Threat by M. A. Rothman is "hard" or classical science fiction, set in the not too distant future. We're colonizing the moon. We're watching the stars. And we're still living in our separate nations, unsure if we're quite safe together when suddenly we find, we'll be even less safe apart. As threat approaches from the sky, a discredited scientist might have to be trusted, a deathl...

I love cozy mysteries; they're usually light, crisp reads, like eating an apple neatly cut up on the plate. But I love dark mysteries too, messy and sharp, like plums dripping juices like blood. Sometimes I just want an easy, quick read, then I'll pick up my kindle and start one of those easily downloaded cozies, or raid the library or bookstore for a pretty cover... And sometimes I want something meaty and long, to draw me away from the present day and trap me deep in someone else's problems. Those are the dark mystery days. On a dark day, I'm too far from here to write reviews. On a light day, a couple of hours off from reading and imagining seem light as sun on flowers (yes, it's not yet winter), and book reviews get posted post-haste, before the weather can change. So here are some mystery reviews for your enjoyment. Drink more coffee! Starting light: The Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series: 1-3 by Anna Celeste Burke offers the first three in a series with m...

Today I'm delighted to welcome Nancy Gray to my blog. She's the author of the thrilling middle-grade horror Spine Chillers, and I'm sure my sons would have loved her books when they were young. (So would I!). Big Bad Wolf has just come out, with a very cool cover, and you'll find an excerpt lower down this post. But first, please join me in welcoming Nancy, who is now going to tell us ten things about herself, since TEN is a delightfully significant number: Ten Things You Might Not Know About Nancy Gray 1.       Nancy Gray has been writing for ten years. She has a young adult fantasy trilogy called Blood Rain . The series was inspired by a very strange but true story about a storm raining blood on North Carolina in the 1850s. After reading about this story she had a dream about a blood splattered lighthouse which also compelled her to write. The setting in the beginning of the book was also inspired by the video game Bethesda’s Morrowind . 2. ...

So much to do. So much to catch up on. So much to prepare for things to look forward to. So much... and so many books to read. So how do you make time (or find time) for serious reading? My recent technique has been to read and walk while waiting. While the kettle boils, while the microwave turns, while the timer ticks on the oven... while I wait for the washing to finish, or search for the missing sock (yes, I can read while searching for socks - I pace and my pacing takes me somewhere real or imaginary. If real, find sock. If imaginary, turn the page). I read when I have to go out in five minutes, or when I've got back but haven't quite got the energy yet to put the shopping away. I read while my husband shaves or puts on his shoes. I read when he's not yet ready to leave for work, but I still want to be there to see him leave. (Read, and walk from kitchen to dining room and back, and back, and back.) I read while getting dizzy, but practice has taught me to walk my cir...

Darkest Before Dawn is the newest book in the Sergeant Windflower series, written by Canadian author Mike Martin, and coming soon... Since I'm hooked on mysteries set in different places, I just thought I'd give it a shout-out. Darkest Before the Dawn by Mike Martin, Mystery, 280 pp. Title : DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN Author : Mike Martin Publisher : Ottawa Press and Publishing Pages : 280 Genre : Mystery Darkest Before the Dawn is the latest adventure of Sgt. Winston Windflower, a Mountie who finds himself surrounded by a new family and a new life in tiny Grand Bank, Newfoundland. There are signs of trouble that may disturb his pleasant life, including a series of unsolved break-ins and the lack of supports for young people in the most trying time of their lives. But there are always good friends, good food and the sense that if we all pull together, we can find a way to get through even the darkest days. Ghosts...

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Marty Roppelt to my blog with a game of myth, legends and numbers - that seems to hit most of my favorite things, though I must admit, I'm English--baseball will never be my game! However, you're welcome to try to convert me, Marty. MORTAL FOE'S GAME OF MYTH, LEGEND AND NUMBERS The novel Mortal Foe has the game of baseball as one of its themes. The game might turn some potential readers off. I can understand that. It's been said that baseball is a game of numbers. Anyone listening to a radio broadcast of a Major League game would be hard-pressed to argue. Announcers often make the game seem like a deluge of statistics interrupted every now and then by some action. As if that wasn't enough, every once in a while a new statistic is created. Players' performances are measured by numbers, then compared to other players' numbers. A new or casual follower of the game can go numb in a hurry. But there...