Carolyn's Books for October

There are several late September books, to begin with:


1.  The Young Blood (No Better Angels Book 4)
     Author: Erin Satie
     Publisher: Little Phrase
     Release: September 27, 2016
     Price: $.99

He's a rake. She's his reckoning.

Sabine Banchory is a sensible, intelligent, and unhappily married woman. She was once a dutiful young lady but years spent trying to curb her husband's excesses have hardened her heart.

She'll have no trouble resisting the charms of the notorious rake, the Earl of Kingston. One despicable wastrel in her life is quite enough, thank you very much.

Seducing the coldly beautiful Sabine won't be a challenge for Kingston. It's true that she slaps him on the face soon after they're introduced but all relationships have to start somewhere. With the right attention, she'll fall into his bed and insist she'd come up with the plan.

A terrible crime interrupts this game of cat and mouse. Caught in its wake, Sabine and Kingston are forced to rely on one another. To trust one another. And, if they dare, to build a loving future together.

I like Erin Satie's books; she has unusual characters and plots. She's just enough different to make it enjoyable.


2.  The Leopard King (Ars Numina Book 1
     Author: Ann Aguirre
     Publisher: Self Published
     Release: September 28,2016
     Price: $2.99

Proud. Imperious. Impassioned.

Until three years ago, those words applied to Dominic Asher, the leader of Ash Valley. His family has ruled the feline branch of the Animari for hundreds of years, guiding the pride through perilous times. Unspeakable loss drove him into seclusion, a feral beast nobody can tame. Now he's wrecked, a leopard king in exile, and he wants nothing more than to die.

Fierce. Loyal. Determined.

Fortunately for Dom, those words still apply to Pru Bristow, his dead mate's best friend. She's had her heart broken too, but she never quits. With the conclave approaching, alliances with the Pine Ridge pack and Burnt Amber clans on the verge of collapse, she's prepared to do whatever it takes to drag their leader back, before his second can start a war.

At best theirs seems like a desperate alliance, but when their mate bond turns hot and fierce, there's no end to the questions and the doubts. Neither of them expects to fall in love. But sometimes people don't know what they're looking for until they find it.
Proud. Imperious. Impassioned.

Until three years ago, those words applied to Dominic Asher, the leader of Ash Valley. His family has ruled the feline branch of the Animari for hundreds of years, guiding the pride through perilous times. Unspeakable loss drove him into seclusion, a feral beast nobody can tame. Now he's wrecked, a leopard king in exile, and he wants nothing more than to die.

Fierce. Loyal. Determined.

Fortunately for Dom, those words still apply to Pru Bristow, his dead mate's best friend. She's had her heart broken too, but she never quits. With the conclave approaching, alliances with the Pine Ridge pack and Burnt Amber clans on the verge of collapse, she's prepared to do whatever it takes to drag their leader back, before his second can start a war.

At best theirs seems like a desperate alliance, but when their mate bond turns hot and fierce, there's no end to the questions and the doubts. Neither of them expects to fall in love. But sometimes people don't know what they're looking for until they find it.

I like Ann Aguirre's writing. I haven't read all of her books, but this one sounded interesting and I would like a new series to follow.


3.  The Goal
     Author: Elle Kennedy
     Publisher: Self Published
     Release: September 26,2016
     Price: $4.99

New York Times bestseller Elle Kennedy brings you a sexy new Off-Campus novel that can be read as a standalone… 

She’s good at achieving her goals… 

College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick butt in law school, and land a high-paying job at a cutthroat firm. Her path to escaping her shameful past certainly doesn’t include a gorgeous hockey player who believes in love at first sight. One night of sizzling heat and surprising tenderness is all she’s willing to give John Tucker, but sometimes, one night is all it takes for your entire life to change. 

But the game just got a whole lot more complicated 

Tucker believes being a team player is as important as being the star. On the ice, he’s fine staying out of the spotlight, but when it comes to becoming a daddy at the age of twenty-two, he refuses to be a bench warmer. It doesn’t hurt that the soon-to-be mother of his child is beautiful, whip-smart, and keeps him on his toes. The problem is, Sabrina’s heart is locked up tight, and the fiery brunette is too stubborn to accept his help. If he wants a life with the woman of his dreams, he’ll have to convince her that some goals can only be made with an assist.

Enjoy her writing.

                                              *******


And now on to October. There's not too many and some are iffy as to whether I'll keep them on the list.


1.  In Safe Hands (Search and Rescue Book 4)
     Author: Katie Ruggles
     Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
     Release: October 4, 2016
     Price: $4.61

He was her hero,
But one wrong move ended their future before it could begin.
Now he'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe,
Even if that means turning against one of his own.

As a member of the Field County Sheriff's Department, Chris Jennings is used to having it rough. The Colorado Rockies aren't for the weak-of-spirit, but he's devoted his life to upholding the law—and to protecting the one woman he knows he can never have. He'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

Daisy Little has lived in agoraphobic terror for over eight years. Trapped within a prison of her own making, she watches time pass through her bedroom window. Daisy knows she'll never be a part of the world...until the day she becomes the sole witness of a terrible crime that may finally tear the Search & Rescue brotherhood apart for good.

In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder...

I've read the previous books in this series and enjoyed them all, so I preordered this one. I like her writing and the Search and Rescue is different from the usual. 

2.  Taming the Vampire

     Author: Various

     Publisher: The Raven Books

     Release: October 31,2016

     Price: $.99

Featuring OVER 25 All New Alpha Vampire Tales from NYT, USA Today and National Bestselling Authors! Limited Time Boxed Set!

From sinfully sexy, charismatic bad boys with a thirst for more than blood, to toe-curling hotties with rough edges just waiting to be tamed, these vampire tales will burn the pages and melt your heart. Over 25 of today's top selling authors have come together to form a collection that is filled with magic, mystery, mayhem and most importantly happily ever afters.

Anthology Includes: Vampires, Nightwalkers, Werewolves & Shifters, Immortal, Slayers, Hunters, Demons & Devils, Paranormal & Urban, Military,  Alpha Male, Fae, Genetic Engineering, Psychics, Telepathy, Witches & Wizards, Contemporary, Ghosts, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Suspense, Special Forces, Dragons, Demons, Billionaires, Magic, Fantasy, Futuristic, Historical, Angels, Blue Collar, Gargoyles, Valkyrie, Berserker, Multicultural, Norse Mythology, Dark Magic, Vampire Hunters, Vampire Slayer, Dhamphir, Bikers, BBW, Time Travel, Motorcycle Club, Friends to Lovers and so much more!

I got this one because Jennifer Ashley has a story in it, but there are some other names I recognize. Just hope it's not erotica.  :-)  Willing to take a chance for this price. 

3.  Otherworld Chills

     Author: Kelley Armstrong

     Publisher: Penguin Group

     Release: October 4, 2016

     Price:  $11.99

Embrace the obscure. In the final installment of the Otherworld anthology series, New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong once again opens the gates to the Otherworld. This collection of rare and never-before-published novellas and short stories brings the clever wit, dark twists, and intense suspense Otherworld readers have come to expect. Favorite characters return, secrets are revealed, and several important storylines reach their conclusions. 

New Kelley Armstrong novellas? A no brainer.

And, that's it for October. I believe November is more prolific (at the moment).

Enoy your reading, no matter what or where.  :-)

Give Peace a Chance

Annual Peace Parade in Honokaa. It was a small parade but so enjoyable to be in town and realize that in a couple short years, most of the people I saw I knew by sight.

Watched some young women do hula in a quiet, fully dressed, soft way and was enchanted. So beautiful: the small movements with such grace. Such large meaning.

I have signed up to receive 2 Beauty Boxes. One from Ipsy and one from Walmart. They're both cheap -- the Ipsy one is $10/monthly and Walmart is only $5/quarterly. It should be fun to get creams and beauty supplies and nail polish... I love nail polish.

Writing again. Stopped for about 2 weeks but now going strong again.

Real tired. Tomorrow has a few chores but Mollie and I are planning a quiet day together with a big delish dinner just the two of us. We're meatloafing and doing the mashed potato. Brownies for dessert.

We like those few times we get to be alone. We really just like each other.

Not The Same

A few random thoughts:

At my job we have a couple of patients who are called "professional patients" because they're very hyper-aware of everything moderately medical and spend much of their time taking care of their various ailments. Which isn't to say they don't have legitimate complaints but rather, they're just annoying.

And female.

It occurred to me the other day when I got a phone call from another doctor's office about a patient who was in their office, there's another of our professional patients! But then I realized it was a man. And when I started thinking about it, had to recognize that the majority of our professional patients are, in fact, men.

Which then got me thinking about how much I dislike the p.p. women and thinking about it I recognized that I dislike the men just as much and all this time I never realized how sexist it was to point at the women only when the men are as bad or even worse. Also, the women are usually single. The men are often married and their wives are in on the action.

Which then reminded me of something wonderful I read that said in comparing Hillary and Donald, one can't compare because they are not the same. It's not picking the lesser of two evils when one is slightly icky because her ties to big money and changing sides on certain issues and the other is a racist, misogynist, xenophobic narcissist capable of starting WW3.

Nope, not the same at all.

And for those who love to bring up Bill and Monica: Trump cheated on wife #1 with wife #2 and has made inappropriate comments about his own daughter. I'll take Bill over that.

And on top of all this, I realized that one of the hardest things I ever did was ask for a raise because the work I do and how well I do it deserves greater monetary compensation. And being told no, then devalued me. And feeling devalued has changed how I feel about my job and my boss and I hate work now.

What a fuck fest.

Well damn...

You know that moment when you figure out what's been getting in your way forever?

I was writing a story and at 30,000 words it fizzled. Completely stopped. So then I put it aside and started something that's been writing itself. Until I hit 30,000 words.

30,000 words is my killer. So I decided to look at it in a logical way and figured out that instead of trying to power through or make myself crazy, I should accept 30,000 as my magic number.

So I wrote 30,000 words of the new story and love it. Part One is done. Now I'm starting Part Two which will have the second part of the story and be another 30,000 words.

Voila.

Lemons, meet lemonade. I'm thirsty.

Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle

Lou is a hurricane. 
A walking disaster. 
And with her, Callum's never felt more alive...even if keeping her safe may just kill him.

Lou's new to the Rockies, intent on escaping her controlling ex, and she's determined to make it on her own terms...no matter how tempting her ice dive captain Callum Cook may be. But when a routine training exercise unearths a body, Lou and Callum find themselves thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who'll stop at nothing to silence Lou and prove that not even her new Search & Rescue brotherhood can keep her safe forever.

In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder...

I completely enjoyed this book. 

The story was told in third person from the heroine's POV only. Somehow, it only made Cal more loveable. The reader got to witness his surrender to the inevitable from a more remote viewpoint than being in his head, and yet I knew what he was feeling and even thinking sometimes, just by his interactions with Lou. And Lou - ah Lou!

I do like feisty, independent heroines, but when they get idiotically stubborn, so that they're a danger to themselves and others, well, that's when the book hits the wall, metaphorically speaking since I use a Kindle Fire. This heroine was NOT like that. She was a sheer joy. She was mature and grownup and recognized Cal's need to protect her and she grew adept at reading beneath his grumpy exterior to the loving person underneath. I truly admired her for that, because strong relationships are built on give and take - compromise - and Cal did his giving too, recognizing her need for independence.

The characters grabbed me so, the plot was almost incidentental. Okay, that's an exaggeration, the plot was pretty good, had me skimming so badly that I'll probably have to reread to get all the details. But the characters are just a joy to read, expecially Lou (and you know I'm not heroine-centric).

An example: Lou's money earning job is as a waitress at the local diner. Cal started keeping her company in the evenings, since she's alone and nefarious things have been happening and she's gotten into the habit of saving him a fancy scone. This particular evening there is a couple having coffee and the lady wants a scone ...

"Excuse me." The female half of the eavesdropping couple took a step closer to the counter. "Are there any more of those scones?"

Lou pasted a regretful smile on her face. "Sorry, no. This was the last one."

"I didn't see it in the display." The woman scowled. "I specifically asked if you had any scones, and you said you were out."

"I had to hold this one back. It was defective."

"Defective?' Her eyes darted between Lou's expression of fake sympathy and the small bite of scone Callum hadn't eaten yet. "It looked fine."

"I licked it." Lou heard Callum choke on the last piece of scone, but she couldn't look at him or she would start laughing. If his airway was blocked, he was going to have to give himself the Heimlich.

The woman's suspicious expression didn't ease. "Why did you let him eat it then?"

"Oh, his tongue is in my mouth all the time," Lou said sweetly, and Callum's coughing increased. "I didn't think he'd mind my germs."

With a sound of frustration the woman stormed out of the shop, followed closely by the male half of the couple. The bells rang merrily as the door closed behind them, as if celebrating their absence.

"Sparks," Callum rasped once his coughing died down. "You're going to kill me."

"But what a way to go."

"True." Grabbing her hand, he pulled her closer and leaned across the counter. "Now give me some of those germs."

There's a novella that preceeds this story, On His Watch, free at Amazon and I presume most other sellers. Lou and Cal both appear, but the story is of Derek, part of the Search and Rescue team, and how he found his romance and HEA.

And I'm on to read the next in the series, Fan the Flames, the story of the beautiful Ian. And, y'all, I have to say there are some really different characters and eccentrics in these books. Ian himself is one, a firefighter and also in a local MC. His heroine, Rory is another. From what I can gather her parents, who are dead now (haven't found out when or how yet) were a little bit on the wrong side of the law and she has inherited their business. Will try to do a non-review on this book too. :-)

So, in case you didn't pick up on this, I like this book and this series. It's not great literature, but it is entertaining literature with likeable characters and lots of eccentrics to warm my little heart. 

Totally recommended.

With Sadness

You start to become aware, in your thirties and forties that the people in your parent's generation start dying. The movie stars of their childhood, the musicians and politicians and ultimately their parents, aunts and uncles and sometimes, even their older siblings.

But our generation will live forever. Until they don't anymore.

It's one thing to lose a Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston from drug abuse. Shocking to lose Prince. But then Glenn Frey of the Eagles and it started to feel really close to home.

Now people around us are losing those that are dear to them and it's a clarion call in the night. We are now that age. We are now losing our generation and soon our older siblings and childhood icons will pass.

In one week, two women Carolyn and I both care about lost their mothers. Carolyn just went through the loss of her beloved.

We're all so fragile. And time has such a strong way of reminding us how much.

I'm in Lurve

If you've known me for a while, or even for a day, then you know I got my novel writing experience from writing fan fics.And whether you love or hate them, I unabashedly love them and am proud of some of the fics I wrote (and those I wrote with Carolyn).

I enjoy writing but I haven't had the same level of pure enjoyment in writing once I stopped writing fan fic. And I had a lot of reasons I assumed it was but recently I found out the truth.

Because I haven't been in love with the hero.

When I wrote fan fic, I was in love with my hero. I looked at his picture, I fantasized about him (and those fantasies became part of what I wrote), I felt giddy. When my heroes became characters I created with a little fandom shaping them, I wasn't as in love and the writing missed something.

I discovered this because I'm writing right now and I am in love with my hero. Utterly crazy about him. I want to write all the time so I can spend time with him. I want to know what he's going to do next. How will he win the heroine who is adamantly declaring herself unwinnable?

The secret about my hero is.... I'm writing a fanfic. I just spent the last couple of months binge watching House on Netflix and became completely immersed in that world. And I 100%, utterly and completely think Wilson is a hero. And in the realm of living in the afterglow of the show, I'm in love with Wilson.

So my character is Wilson. He's a little bit perfect but he has limits. He's sincere. He's the second banana and willing to remain so. And he's a perfect romance hero.

I'd write more about him but right now he needs to go fight with the heroine a little bit more. Then I have to figure out if it's going to be a gift of a cat or a hamster. But I trust Wilson will make the right choice.

I can't wait to find out.