Sunday, October 30, 2016

Guest Post by Newton Frohlich, author of 1492 #Giveaway

WINNER - ROBIN 


Some years ago, I was sitting in my law office in Washington, D.C. when a businessman with a love of sailing, who had constructed a replica of Columbus' flagship, the Santa Maria, walked in. He had exhibited the boat at the World's Fair but when the Fair was over he owed a lot of money to his bank and brought the Santa Maria to Washington to exhibit it there. Only just then, the Martin Luther King riots devastated the city, tourism ceased and he needed help. I did some research, discovered a little known Admiralty Law and I arranged an auction of the Santa Maria to the highest bidder. The City of St. Louis and one of the Rockefellers were the two bidders. The City outbid Rockefeller and the winning g big paid all my happy client's debts, The next morning he came into my office with a check plus a present, a two-volume work on the litigation of the Columbus family to collect what he was owed by the Crown, including one-eighth of the land he discovered and the profits from the resulting trade.

About that time, I decided to take my wife and two children, retire from the 16-man-and-woman law firm I helped to found and become a writer. I had just published a book on negotiating a divorce. Now I wanted to write historical novels and we went off to the South of France, and Israel where I browsed the two-volumes and discovered that at the very time Columbus signed his contract with Ferdinand and Isabella, they expelled all Jews from Spain. The combination of events intrigued me and I began research under the guidance of an expert on the Spanish Inquisition. The result is 1492, the story behind the discovery of America.

The story begins long before 1492 does, when Rome ruled the world and many Jews went to the western reaches of the Empire we now call Spain. They helped to build the cities, and traded. Over the next three hundred years their population was buttressed by an influx of Moslems from the Arab world and, together, this tripod of Jews, Moslems and Christians lived in Spain, prospering, trading and farming in what many call a Golden Age. Then, a priest decided that Jews must convert to Christianity and if they didn't they should be killed.

Many Jews converted -- they were called Conversos -- but many did not and either remained in Spain or migrated to other parts of Europe or went back to Israel. But now the tripod was shaky and the instability continued until Isabella and Fernando, the Queen and King of Spain, decided it would be better if all Jews and Moslems were evicted. In the process, they confiscated their property to finance their war against the Moslems. The method they chose to accomplish all this was the Inquisition, a largely unused procedure whereby the Catholic Church investigated how authentic a conversation was The investigation was conducted by torture -- mostly water boarding -- and culminated in burning at the stake.

Into this nightmare stepped Christopher Columbus whose family fled Spain about 50 years before the Inquisition. He was living in Genoa, Italy, loved the sea, and had sailed down the coast of Africa and discovered that if a sailor then sailed due West he could reach land somewhere out there. Then, after he reached land, he could sail north, pick up the "trade winds" that blew due East and sail back to Europe. His only mistake was he thought the voyage would be shorter than it was and the mathematicians who advised the King of Portugal advised against backing him. So, of all places, Columbus turned to Spain to gain royal backing. His wife dead from childbirth, he took their son, Diego, with him. 

Now, you know the story behind the story. The rest is in my book, a labor of love that took eight years to research and write, has been translated into Dutch and Spanish and now, appears in a new edition prompted by the recent decision of the governments of Spain and Portugal to right the wrongs they did 525 years ago. 

So, no, Queen Isabella did not pawn her jewels to pay for Columbus' voyage. But yes, Columbus did discover America though as a result of a far different process than the fairy tale you heard as a child. We seem to need myths to get through life, but I hope you will agree that truth is better. Besides, as a priest told me when I went to Columbus' library in the Cathedral of Seville when he brought me the workbooks Columbus studied to prepare for his voyage, " Young man, I'm so glad you know who Columbus was. As the great philosopher Santayana once wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

I hope you enjoy 1492 as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you want to know more about it, and other novels I've written or am writing, please browse my website, newtonfrohlich.com.


About the book
1492 opens in fifteenth-century Spain, which was, by any standard, a terrifying place. Throughout the Inquisition, torture, betrayal, and unexpected courage were expected elements of day-to-day life. The Muslim world struggled to keep the West in an economic vise, the Christian world fought back against their control of its trade routes, and Jews were caught in the middle: tortured if they assimilated, expelled or killed if they clung to their heritage.

1492 centers on a man who had one foot in the Jewish world, the other in the Christian world, and the radical idea that he could sail West to reach the East: Cristoforo Colombo. But contrary to what history books have led us to believe, Queen Isabella did not sell her jewels to fund Cristoforo’s voyage. The truth involves the Jewish investor, Luis de Santangel; Columbus’s Christian wife, Filipa, who gave him social acceptance and valuable contacts; and the beautiful and talented Jewish woman, Beatriz, who entered his life several years after the death of his wife.


About the author
Newton Frohlich is the award-winning author of The Shakespeare Mask: A Novel, as well as 1492: A Novel of Christopher Columbus, the Spanish Inquisition & a World at the Turning Point and Making the Best of It: A Common-Sense Guide to Negotiating a Divorce. A former lawyer in Washington, D.C., he devoted eight years to the research and writing of 1492. He has lived in Washington, D.C., the south of France, and Israel and now makes his home on Cape Cod with his wife, Martha, a musicologist.

Connect with Newton Frohlich on Goodreads and at http://newtonfrohlich.com/.

1492: A Novel of Christopher Columbus, the Spanish Inquisition & a World at the Turning Point is currently available on Amazon, and is available in paperback and e-book formats wherever books are sold.

Reviews
“Captivating, extraordinarily vivid first novel. . . . This is a convincing, detailed re-creation of the Old World on the brink of discovery.” — Publishers Weekly

“Frohlich shows a fine gift for storytelling… The sheer power of the historical events is likely to keep the reader engaged.” — Booklist

“A rollicking, readable and fascinating story… For a grand, sweeping tale of the history of Spain at the end of the 15thcentury, 1492 is hard to beat.” — St. Louis Post Dispatch

Giveaway
Please leave a comment regarding what interests you about this book and be sure to include your email address so I can contact the winner. Open to U.S. entrants only. Giveaway ends on Saturday, November 5 at 11:59pm CDT.

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Friday, October 28, 2016

Arisa White's You're The Most Beautiful Thing That Happened - Review


My thoughts
Fearless and powerful. That's the only way to describe this. An important volume of poetry, especially in light of what continues to happen hear in the U.S., and worldwide, in regards to the LGBTQ community. I commend Arisa White on her bravery and poignancy.

Of course, I am drawn to poems centering on family and injustice. My first favorite was "Auntie." The story of a family member whose "sexuality" is secreted away and always glossed over or embellished.

Auntie

I listen for you in these moments of touch,
declare through your friends what is not said.

I inventory looks, languishing on the sweet end 
of a woman's backside, her body, their eyes silk over
air we just breathed, blink and their lids rest
like water to shore, relishing as one does a kiss.

This orchestrated silence is viral; it heats
all parts until my throats fevers.
How do you manage this, auntie?

When your friends are around, your hands language
near her to confirm she's close: on her forearm,
the small of her back, you hold often, 
fingering notes to release perfect sound.

Together since the year of my birth,
yet you are pantomime in the wings
of our family's speech.

Why do you arch in shadows,
accept the shade eclipsing her face?

The holidays would be more gay
if we didn't ghost in dead air,

in wooden boxes, letters folded over and over again, in locked rooms

where shames are secretly arranged--

My second favorite "Gun(n)," which is dedicated to Sakia Gunn, a 15-year-old who was murdered for being gay in Newark, New Jersey in May 2003. I hear of such things occurring in our world and it breaks my heart. If Sakia would have had a gun, "I wold not know you" (line 2).

Gun(n) 
for Sakia Gunn

Sakia, if you had the weapon of your last name,
I would not know you. This steady scrape
against paper to transport fecund lament, never.
If in your hands the pearl-handled gun

my stepfather kept in the broom closet--
I'd give you the aim I practiced at twelve.
"Home is where the heart is"marks an
average man's forehead and the trashcan
is somewhere near his jewels.

If you brought me roses in high school,
wrapped in newspaper to protect me from thorns,
I would take them, and wash ink from my fingers
in the jeans and jersey flood of your girlboy body.
Let me be your girl.

4-evah 2 eternity onto my back.
Your finger's ballpoint end, again and again
practices the hear over i, and into the morning
we stash whispers where over thread, thread crosses.
I promise

I have impeccable aim.
Pulling a trigger loosens mustangs
in your veins. Piss into my mortar--an old war
recipe makes bullets complete. Let your shower
wash an asshole from the streets.

If you're shocked you life requires this exchange,
come into my arms, Sakia. Come into my arms.


As described below, the titles of these poems are from words used internationally as hate speech against gays and lesbians (there are notes at the end of the book explaining each definition). White's re-envisioning of the language to share "art, love, and understanding" is a touching tribute to a community that deserves so much love. Bravo!

About the Book
Angular, smart, and fearless, Arisa White’s newest collection takes its titles from words used internationally as hate speech against gays and lesbians, reworking, re-envisioning, and re-embodying language as a conduit for art, love, and understanding. “To live freely, observantly as a politically astute, sensually perceptive Queer Black woman is to be risk taker, at risk, a perceived danger to others and even dangerous to/as oneself,” writes poet Tracie Morris. “White’s attentive word substitutions and range of organized forms, lithe anecdotes, and disturbed resonances put us in the middle of living a realized, intelligent life of the senses.” You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened works through intersectional encounters with gender, identity, and human barbarism, landing deftly and defiantly in beauty.

Early Praise
This is what I’m talking about. The fierce truth, the gorgeous loneliness, the late-night bravery and the tender, tender heart. It’s the poetry of Arisa White and it’s divine in every sense. Let’s all talk about it.” – Daniel Handler, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

“Swiss army knives, scuttling crabs, pinball machines, HIV/AIDS, the West Side Highway, daisy breasts, racial slurs, kitchen sink scorch marks, and mustangs running through veins: through all the kaleidescoping nouns of White’s new collection, the starring roles are played by lust and roving hands and lovers and beloveds. These poems are nearly unblurbable: delicate yet tough, visceral and cerebral, innocent yet experienced, loving and longing, grotesque and hopeful: “…I drag our placenta behind us. Together/ can be restored with a blink.” Come for the lyrical mastery, stay for the god-level Eros. The third full-length collection by one of America’s most promising poets, You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened is required reading for anyone who’s ever loved, been loved, or forgotten how.” – Amy King, The Missing Museum

“Arisa White’s You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened is a book whose true engine is love, and whose every poem, in all kinds of ways, reaches toward love. That in itself is astonishing, and to be praised. But add the formal playfulness, the rich music, the storytelling, and, perhaps especially, the sense of justice and humanity, and you’ll realize you’re holding a truly beautiful book in your hands.” – Ross Gay, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude

“Arisa White sharpens her words against this unpredictable world we live in, with the poems in You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened. In verse that is exhilarating and unexpected, White writes of race, of women loving women, of these all too human bodies we wear, of cities, of landscape. You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened is an assured and memorable book of poetry, one that provokes thought as much as it provokes a depth of feeling.” – Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist

“Whether remembering a neglected friend or experiencing a sensual touch, Arisa White’s poems will take your breath away. They nestle into rich language then burst up and out like birds taking flight; so close you feel their heat and wings inside you. She traverses many landscapes, both physical and emotional, sometimes evoking a melancholy longing, at other times an eager passion. In either case, these are exquisite, finely crafted poems that are irresistible.” – Jewelle Gomez, The Gilda Stories: Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition

“Arisa White’s You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened makes us sweat, reflect, cry, and discover. With a deft utilization of prose poetry, lyric essay, and verse, White delivers a guide to learning our freedoms. You will probably have to reconfigure your definition of beauty after you read this book.” – Willie Perdomo, The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon

“There are not enough books like or near Arisa White’s new collection, You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened, addressing what it is to be young, Lesbian and Queer and Black and tender and unapologetic and erotic. In these poems, I hear Pat Parker’s wit and challenge, and the insistence of Audre Lorde demanding that we look, listen, celebrate and change.” – Pamela Sneed, Imagine Being More Afraid of Freedom Than Slavery

Photo Credit: Nye’ Lyn Tho

About The Poet
Arisa White is a Cave Canem fellow, Sarah Lawrence College alumna, an MFA graduate from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and author of the poetry chapbooks Disposition for Shininess, Post Pardon, and Black Pearl. She was selected by the San Francisco Bay Guardian for the 2010 Hot Pink List and is a member of the PlayGround writers’ pool; her play Frigidare was staged for the 15th Annual Best of Play Ground Festival. Recipient of the inaugural Rose O’Neill Literary House summer residency at Washington College in Maryland, Arisa has also received residencies, fellowships, or scholarships from Juniper Summer Writing Institute, Headlands Center for the Arts, Port Townsend Writers’ Conference, Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Hedgebrook, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Prague Summer Program, Fine Arts Work Center, and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Nominated for Pushcart Prizes in 2005 and 2014, her poetry has been published widely and is featured on the recording WORD with the Jessica Jones Quartet.


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Thursday, October 27, 2016

Cat Thursday #Halloween - Vintage #Cats with #Witches #catthursday


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

I know it's several days away, but since Cat Thursday won't come around again until it's over, the girls and I would like to wish you a very happy and safe Halloween. May the tricks be fun and the treats be sweet! 

I love vintage images! Many of these are from vintage greeting cards and postcards. They just don't make them like this anymore. 










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Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Arisa White, author of You're The Most Beautiful Thing That Happened, on Writing Habits


I recently read an interview on Rumpus with fiction writer Laurie Foos, and when asked about her writing habits, part of her response was “I wish more writers would be willing to talk about the not-writing periods.”

In reflection, I realized that, technically, I am always writing. Even if it’s just a line I eked out while cooking dinner. Or images I jot down while watching Judge Judy or some magnificent thought comes to me during a Netflix binge. So I had to feel my way through the various kinds of writing I do.

When I am Writing, it is from an idea that came to me that I now get to nurture into something. I have been pulled in by the unconscious and I’m going. I’m on the journey—it’s me and this thing and I’m free to express. Something about that Writing feels private and intimate, it isn’t concerned with audience or how it sounds or if it’s understood. It is shaping itself into form and I’m being fulfilled deep down from a joyful source. This Writing makes me feel connected, like I took root, plugged in and now I’m energized.

Lately, I’ve been in what I would define as a not-writing period. With managing my teaching load, a gig to write a children’s book in verse, this is the not-writing where my writerly output is satisfying the needs of someone or something else that has little do with my inner creative desires. And this isn’t a “good” or “bad” thing; it is what is.

For instance, the children’s book I’m co-writing meets a desire of mine. I’ve wanted to try my hands writing for children. This particular project requires research on the life of Biddy Mason, who was born a slave in Georgia, petitioned for her freedom in California, and later became a wealthy landowner in Los Angeles. Much wasn’t written about her earlier life as a slave, and writing verse for a lower 4th grade reading level has presented hair-pulling challenges. These rhetorical restraints force me to employ a whole other set of skills that I don’t often use. I’m encountering a new writing persona of mine, and I’m self-conscious about her presence, unsure how she functions, fear that she will fail. The risks involved don’t make writing a safe and free space. In this case, the writing is public, the content is based on a historical figure, there is an intended audience and the writing must meet their needs.

In these moments when I’m going and going, and not much time for myself, watching movies is like a vacation. It’s how I bring pleasure back into my life—the indulgence in a good movie, or drama series, with my favorite bag of chips and the company of my wife is restorative. This also goes for making a meal, after picking out the ingredients in the market, or hanging out with friends, dissecting the word play on Battle Rap. The not-doing makes it possible to do later. Most important, the not-doing allows you space to see yourself more clearly.

Revision is another one of my pleasures during my not-writing periods. To return to pieces that I once thought were blah—my current feeling toward the new stuff I’m writing—with a pair of fresh eyes, I better see its potential and can work my craft to bring about it’s life. Revision quiets the inner critic who pesters me about writing more and hates on the quality of what I do produce. Revision says to that doubting, self-conscious self, that I, the writer will not abandon you.

During this shift in my relationship to time, I’m wondering how to access that “in-the-pocket” feeling I get when I’m with my writing, uninterrupted. How can it happen on the Bart ride from Lake Merritt to Daly City? From Oakland to Sunnyvale? For an eight-hour day? Then there is the practice of returning to a piece each time—how to start again and again? This habit of seeing myself has been invaluable. Noticing my behaviors, my responses and seeing how my series of actions contribute to what I put forth in the world, gets me comfortable with the writer I need to be when I can’t retreat.

I’m better at letting it be. Not stressing out on what I should, could or would be doing if…. Realizing that each of these different kinds of writing is keeping me in shape. I’m challenged to integrate my poetic voice in my prose, dramatic writing, essays, because without it, my writing lacks truth. It doesn’t have a center and the primary sound from which my voice builds. This broadens my definition of poet and acclimates me to knowing my voice in other ways so its timbers do not intimidate me.

About the Book
Angular, smart, and fearless, Arisa White’s newest collection takes its titles from words used internationally as hate speech against gays and lesbians, reworking, re-envisioning, and re-embodying language as a conduit for art, love, and understanding. “To live freely, observantly as a politically astute, sensually perceptive Queer Black woman is to be risk taker, at risk, a perceived danger to others and even dangerous to/as oneself,” writes poet Tracie Morris. “White’s attentive word substitutions and range of organized forms, lithe anecdotes, and disturbed resonances put us in the middle of living a realized, intelligent life of the senses.” You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened works through intersectional encounters with gender, identity, and human barbarism, landing deftly and defiantly in beauty.

Early Praise
This is what I’m talking about. The fierce truth, the gorgeous loneliness, the late-night bravery and the tender, tender heart. It’s the poetry of Arisa White and it’s divine in every sense. Let’s all talk about it.” – Daniel Handler, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

“Swiss army knives, scuttling crabs, pinball machines, HIV/AIDS, the West Side Highway, daisy breasts, racial slurs, kitchen sink scorch marks, and mustangs running through veins: through all the kaleidescoping nouns of White’s new collection, the starring roles are played by lust and roving hands and lovers and beloveds. These poems are nearly unblurbable: delicate yet tough, visceral and cerebral, innocent yet experienced, loving and longing, grotesque and hopeful: “…I drag our placenta behind us. Together/ can be restored with a blink.” Come for the lyrical mastery, stay for the god-level Eros. The third full-length collection by one of America’s most promising poets, You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened is required reading for anyone who’s ever loved, been loved, or forgotten how.” – Amy King, The Missing Museum

“Arisa White’s You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened is a book whose true engine is love, and whose every poem, in all kinds of ways, reaches toward love. That in itself is astonishing, and to be praised. But add the formal playfulness, the rich music, the storytelling, and, perhaps especially, the sense of justice and humanity, and you’ll realize you’re holding a truly beautiful book in your hands.” – Ross Gay, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude

“Arisa White sharpens her words against this unpredictable world we live in, with the poems in You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened. In verse that is exhilarating and unexpected, White writes of race, of women loving women, of these all too human bodies we wear, of cities, of landscape. You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened is an assured and memorable book of poetry, one that provokes thought as much as it provokes a depth of feeling.” – Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist

“Whether remembering a neglected friend or experiencing a sensual touch, Arisa White’s poems will take your breath away. They nestle into rich language then burst up and out like birds taking flight; so close you feel their heat and wings inside you. She traverses many landscapes, both physical and emotional, sometimes evoking a melancholy longing, at other times an eager passion. In either case, these are exquisite, finely crafted poems that are irresistible.” – Jewelle Gomez, The Gilda Stories: Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition

“Arisa White’s You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened makes us sweat, reflect, cry, and discover. With a deft utilization of prose poetry, lyric essay, and verse, White delivers a guide to learning our freedoms. You will probably have to reconfigure your definition of beauty after you read this book.” – Willie Perdomo, The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon

“There are not enough books like or near Arisa White’s new collection, You’re the Most Beautiful Thing That Happened, addressing what it is to be young, Lesbian and Queer and Black and tender and unapologetic and erotic. In these poems, I hear Pat Parker’s wit and challenge, and the insistence of Audre Lorde demanding that we look, listen, celebrate and change.” – Pamela Sneed, Imagine Being More Afraid of Freedom Than Slavery

Photo Credit: Nye’ Lyn Tho

About The Poet
Arisa White is a Cave Canem fellow, Sarah Lawrence College alumna, an MFA graduate from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and author of the poetry chapbooks Disposition for Shininess, Post Pardon, and Black Pearl. She was selected by the San Francisco Bay Guardian for the 2010 Hot Pink List and is a member of the PlayGround writers’ pool; her play Frigidare was staged for the 15th Annual Best of Play Ground Festival. Recipient of the inaugural Rose O’Neill Literary House summer residency at Washington College in Maryland, Arisa has also received residencies, fellowships, or scholarships from Juniper Summer Writing Institute, Headlands Center for the Arts, Port Townsend Writers’ Conference, Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Hedgebrook, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Prague Summer Program, Fine Arts Work Center, and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Nominated for Pushcart Prizes in 2005 and 2014, her poetry has been published widely and is featured on the recording WORD with the Jessica Jones Quartet.
 


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Saturday, October 22, 2016

Dewey's 24 Hour #Readathon - Plans and Updates

UPDATES AT THE END OF THIS POST


Wow! I just realized this is my seventh year participating in this 24 hour readathon. Time sure does fly. I love the Fall version because I just happen to think spooky reading is perfect for a 24 hour readathon. Scary books keep your blood moving, and that means staying awake (in theory). HaHa!

Pre-Readathon notes
I usually do not start at my official start time which is 7:00am. Not sure if I will this time either. I'll keep that up in the air. Also, as it's Saturday, I will be doing my normal outing with my mom. Lunch and a movie. We're going to see Ouija 2. I love my scary movies! I'm also going to early voting. Not sure when I will be back, but I as soon as I'm home, it's on!

I've decided to forego mini-challenges and follow Andi's advice on this post. These two things will be my focus to maximize my readathon (although the pull of social media is strong, I will try):

  • Set a timer of 5 minutes to check the challenges/Facebook/Twitter/Instagram so you can get back to reading – when you are done, move your phone to another room or at least out of sight.
  • Take breaks from reading in a comfy spot. I find as the later hours come on, if I’m too comfy, I get sleepy. Sit in a firm chair in those moments or read while standing up. (Note on this...if I get sleepy, I'm going to read on the recumbent bike. I'll get some exercise in while reading and I'll stay awake)

Books
These are the books I'll be choosing from. All horror!




Snacks
I went all out this time with snacks! A wide array with pumpkin well-represented (pumpkin latte mix, Krispie Kreme pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice cupcakes...yum!).


Not sure how much I will update, but if I do, I'll use this post. No need to make it sticky, as I don't plan on posting anything else here this weekend.

How about you? Are you participating? What are your plans?

Intro Survey

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?  Nashville, Tennessee, USA
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Hmmm, that's a tough one. Probably The Jersey Devil or The Awakening.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? The pumpkin pie!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I'm a mom of two teen boys, I'm writing my first novel. I love cats. I'm the owner of a massive home library...3000+ books. I love horror novels and movies...my sister blog is a horror blog. Castle Macabre. I'm a Christmas fanatic and have a blog dedicated to that...Christmas Spirit. I host 4 readathons and 2 special readathons yearly at Seasons of Reading.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? Try to focus more on the reading and less getting online. Wish me luck. lol

Update and Mid-Event Survey

I only did some brief reading this morning...really nothing to talley...because I had to get ready for my Saturday outing with mom. We went to lunch, stopped at Target to pick up some birthday presents for my son (and I snagged some cute Halloween tags to use as bookmarks - see pic below), I voted (Yay!) and then we went to see Ouija: Origin of Evil. Pretty good. Not as scary as I thought it would be. I loved the first Ouija movie. I've probably watched it at least 20 times. This one did have a good story and it helped explained what led to what happened in the original. So, pretty good.


1. What are you reading right now? Trying to finish up a section of Salem's Lot for my read-along, then it's Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror and Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum.
2. How many books have you read so far? zilch (see above)
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? The Jersey Devil, Hunter Shea
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? see above...lol
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? No surprises so far.

End of Event Survey

Well folks, I didn't do as well as I had hoped. I made it to the 22nd hour...and promptly fell asleep. I didn't start until the 13th hour so I maybe read for 9-10 hours, in between wasting time online, which I said I wasn't going to do, but since when do I follow any rules. lol

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?  22
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Definitely Salem's Lot and I recommend horror short stories as well.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season? No
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I loved the genre polls!
5. How many books did you read?  I read 70 pages in Salem's Lot, Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror, Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum (short stories)
6. What were the names of the books you read? see above
7. Which book did you enjoy most?  Salem's Lot
8. Which did you enjoy least?  N/A
9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?  I'm sure I will participate next time. I can't resist readathons. I will be a reader again.


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Friday, October 21, 2016

Karin Slaughter's The Kept Woman


Title: The Kept Woman
Author: Karin Slaughter
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Format: Ebook/Paperback/Hardcover/Audio

Husbands and wives. Mothers and daughters. The past and the future.

Secrets bind them. And secrets can destroy them.

The author of Pretty Girls returns with an electrifying, emotionally complex thriller that plunges its fascinating protagonist into the darkest depths of a mystery that just might destroy him.


With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop.

Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn’t belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished . . . and who will die soon if she isn’t found.

Will is already compromised, because the site belongs to the city’s most popular citizen: a wealthy, powerful, and politically connected athlete protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers—a man who’s already gotten away with rape, despite Will’s exhaustive efforts to put him away.

But the worst is yet to come. Evidence soon links Will’s troubled past to the case . . . and the consequences will tear through his life with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc for Will and everyone around him, including his colleagues, family, friends—and even the suspects he pursues.

Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, peopled with conflicted, fallible characters who leap from the page, The Kept Woman is a seamless blend of twisty police procedural and ingenious psychological thriller — a searing, unforgettable novel of love, loss, and redemption.





Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 36 languages, with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her sixteen novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant New York Times bestselling novel Pretty Girls. A native of Georgia, Karin currently lives in Atlanta. Her Will Trent series, Grant County series, and standalone novel Cop Town are all in development for film and television.

Visit her at http://www.karinslaughter.com







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Thursday, October 20, 2016

Cat Thursday #Halloween - Unhappy costumed #cats #catthursday


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

I've barely had time to stop and post something each week! This October is running away with me. My birthday was this past Saturday and the weeks leading up to it went by in a whirlwind. I'm not getting all the reading done that I planned to this month. *pout* And I'm behind on visits. Forgive me. I appreciate those who stick with me each week, despite my shortcomings. I could stop doing this, but I just can't. I adore cats too much! 

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Fall!






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Thursday, October 13, 2016

Cat Thursday - #Halloween Week Two #cats #catthursday


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)








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Thursday, October 6, 2016

Cat Thursday - #Halloween Week One #cats #catthursday


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

It's time for Halloween month! Yay! One of my favorite times of the year. -^o^-








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