Sheila's Guests and Reviews

 I got these two books for my birthday last year but found them hard to hold with a broken wrist. They stared at me from the not-read bookshelf, enticingly. And eventually I got them down, reading both in the space of three or four day. Long books, but great reads, especially if you like time travel contradictions, or just like London. Blackout by Connie Willis Historians in 2060 Oxford, England, are researching the past. It’s a kind of hands-on research whereby they travel into the past, with strict instructions (and many protections) to avoid their changing anything. Of course, things go wrong. Travelers visiting different locations, times and events of WWII find themselves trapped. Time-travel interactions might mean a certainty that someone will survive, combined with uncertainty about oneself. And multiple viewpoints have the reader tracking back and forth till the threads start coming together. And the fears. The characters quickly become very real, and the world of WWI...

 It's been a crazy year, and it's been almost a year since I broke my wrist and stopped being able to write or type. I could still read, of course, but holding a book in my hand and turning pages was... a pain. So... a crazy year. Anyway, somewhat earlier this year I received an intriguing book through the post. The title, Sgt. Ford's Widow, and the cover image, dark clouds, a man on a horse, and almost a face looking out, certainly caught my interest. And the story, once I started reading, kept me truly enthralled. It's a curious blend of history, culture, mystery, and romance. Sgt. Ford was stationed in Vietnam. The widow was a married woman with a husband, a life, a home. And the war turned both their lives around. Now widowed, the woman has been rescued from abuse by both sides and brought back to Wyoming's very different land. She keeps house  for her rescuer because... what else could she do? Though soon it's clear, she can "do" very much more th...

Billed as a Hellscapes novel, Stephen Zimmer’s Days of Darkness portrays the gradual descent of a slightly futuristic earth-scape into something of growing horror. First comes the darkness, and a protagonist busy trying to keep things going as normal because, well, what else would you do? The protagonist is relatively wealthy, successful, and not the sort of character to care too much about those he deems beneath him. Yet the author makes the reader care, desperately, about him and about everyone else, with pages turning frantically as the world falls apart. Surely there must be a way out of this—isn’t that what we always think? And surely there must be some redemption for a character who isn’t quite as bad as his neighbors… who might become good, somehow… surely… Days of Darkness is an un-put-down-able read, vividly imagined, thought-provoking even, and truly haunting in scope. Echoes of Steven King. Echoes of the book of Revelation. Echoes of nightmares for sure. And the ending is to...

I love the light - anyone who knows me will know that. But I love to read about "the dark", so when I invited celebrated author Stephen Zimmer to my blog, there was one burning question I had to ask: Why do we Read and Write about the Dark. Here's his answer, and welcome to the blog tour for his new Hellscapes novel, Days of Darkness. (Watch this space for my review, coming soon!) Why Write and Read About the Dark? By Stephen Zimmer   The question of whether or not to write and read about the Dark boils down to a few stark realities, in my view. Life isn’t fair, far from it, and there is a harsh, merciless side to it that everyone, sooner or later, experiences.  Death looms at the end of life’s road, intractable, and genuine evil not only exists, but, I would argue, is pervasive. What encompasses the Dark is an unavoidable part of every living being’s life experience, in terms of this mortal, and often difficult, world.  It is not something that goes away if we refuse to ...

  A while ago I read and reviewed Sy Garte's The Works of His Hands :  https://www.amazon.com/Works-His-Hands-Scientists-Journey/dp/0825446074/  I loved it. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3155866467 Faith and science are both a big deal to me of course. Growing up Catholic in England, I was barely aware of any suggestion that they might not be in perfect harmony with each other. After all, weren't the first Western scientists Christians, believing the world consistent enough to be worth investigating because the God they believed in was consistent? Then I came to the US. Suddenly friends in church were asking how anyone could be Christian if they "believed in" evolution. What's to believe in? It's the world God made, revealed in the science that studies what God made. Luckily I was able (I know not how) to convince them that I am a Christian. Meanwhile I also have to convince scientist friends that I'm a scientist - math degree from Cambridge Univer...

 I won a book! If you play with Goodreads often enough, you'll find the place where authors offer books to readers. And if you look at the number of copies of each title offered, and the number of people "requesting" it, you'll know you're never likely to win. Hence the exclamation mark.  I won a book! Of course, I was out of the country visiting family in the UK when I got the email. So I knew I wouldn't be around to receive the book. But, thank to the US postal service and the fact that we'd placed a hold on our mail, the book was waiting in a (rather large) basket with lots of other things when we arrived home. So... Well, there was mail to sort (of course), washing (lots of it), dog-sitting (always a joy), catching up on emails (a nightmare), house-cleaning (ditto)... lots of things got in the way, but I did eventually find time to enjoy the fact that I'd won a book. The book in question is Second Shot by Cindy Dees . It's the first in a series...

  Today I'm delighted to welcome author Lea Rachel to my blog. You may have seen my review of her book, Seeking Forgiveness, yesterday:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5077271568 . I read that the book is "semi-autobiographical," so I was eager to ask the author some questions, starting with the question about how Lea became the white mother of an adopted African American child.   How difficult is it to become qualified to adopt or foster? I believe that fostering-to-adopt is regulated at the state level, so what is required will differ depending on where you live. But regardless of the state you live in, becoming certified generally takes time and effort. Classes are required, homes have to be certified, background checks done… It took us around two years to become certified, and then another year and a half after that until we had a placement.   Did you always plan to adopt, or did something happen that made you decide to adopt, rather than just fos...