September 2009 Reads

Did pretty well. Of course I bought most of this month as well. *sigh*

1. Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder
2. Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder
3. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
4. Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
5. Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
6. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
7. Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
8. Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
9. Alpha and Omega novella by Patricia Briggs
10. Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh
11. Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
12. Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs
13. Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
14. One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
15. Dream Warrior by Sherrily Keynon

And I'll get around reviewing these...

soon-ish...

still have August reads to review. All this moving and unpacking and starting new job has made me choose between reading and reviewing...

one guess on which I choose ^_^

Books!

Look at what the nice UPS man brought me today!


One guess as to what I'll be doing today! *g*

He also kindly brought me MY very own copy of:

Elena Deveraux from the Hunters Guild is over at the Book Smugglers. Make sure you drop by and say hi for a chance to win a copy of Angels' Blood from Elena's pal, Nalini Singh (contest runs until the 7th of March)!

Much book happiness today.

Excellent book day!

Today is an excellent book day and just in time for mom's birthday... I get presents on my mom's birthday... right?!

Anywhoo... Released today are three must-have for me:

The next exciting chapter in the Gabriel's Ghost universe, Hope's Folly!

This is Phillip's story. I was lucky to get an ARC copy awhile ago. See review here.

I have to say that after reading Gabriel's Ghost and Shades of Dark, Phillip wasn't exactly hero material to me, but after reading Hope's Folly I've had to change my mind. He's a totally hawtie!


Also out today is the sequel to Anton Strout's Simon Canderous debut book Dead to Me, my review of Dead to Me here.

Okay so poor Simon is in for even more trouble than before as he continues in his job at the DEA (that the Department of Extra-ordinary Affairs!). What exciting new adventure await for Simon? Here's the blurb from Amazon.com:

It’s been 737 days since the Department of Extraordinary Affairs’ last vampire incursion, but that streak appears to have ended when a boat full of dead lawyers is found in the Hudson River. Using the power of psychometry—the ability to divine the history of an object by touching it—agent Simon Canderous discovers that the booze cruise was crashed by something that sucked all the blood out of the litigators. Now, his workday may never end—until his life does.


Last, and definitely not least, is Nalini Singh's e-book Angels' Pawn, the bonus novella in Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter world.

Check Nalini's blog for where to buy. A nice little appetizer to get all ready for Angel's Blood which will be out in early March (the 3rd to be exact!).

So many books... it's so hard to choose which to sink my teeth into first!

Yum!

Yeah! The book fairy came by (with the help of the USPS and mail carrier Ray) and sprinkled some yummy new books in my lap. Thank you book fairy!

And check out Mel's new cover! WOW doesn't even cover it.

Angel's Blood

I just have to have these!

Update

Okay so I have been silent for about a week. Am totally depressed about the whole not working thing (especially when having to pay bills or balance check book)

The job hunting continues. Have I said how much I hate it recently? Not working totally sucks because bills add up and there is no influx of cash. Why can't I win the lottery or something so that money wasn't such a problem? Mind you I don't mind working, but not having to worry about money would be nice. Anyone want to donate to the poor Aymless fund?

On a bright note (well maybe not so bright), I cashed in my change and added it to my Amazon account so I can at least get books without added expense, but this also means that the fatcat bank is now empty *pout*

Got my BDB handbook. Haven't browsed it yet but it will at least take time away from the moping about not working.

And there is always the very large TBR pile which doesn't seem to shrink. Maybe if I actually picked things off it to read it would, but lately I've been interested in reading some old favorites. Lately been going through Marjorie M. Liu's Dirk and Steel series getting ready to read the latest (Wild Road)

And then there are the much wanted books... Nalini Singh's Branded by Fire, Anne Bishop's Shadow Queen and CL Wilson's Queen of Song and Souls (and the excerpt for this one not even available to drool over), to name a few.

Where is my time machine? I really need to get into making one, anyone want to help? I'll even let you use it *g*

Banned Books And I Love Your Blog Award!

Look what happens when one hides in one's cave for awhile.

I got tagged by Alice (for the Banned Books).

And CJ gave me an AWARD *faints*!


Okay first the banned books... in honor of the banned books month (ah... I think it was actually last month *g* oh how the time flies). I've colored the ones I've read in RED.

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson I was on such a roll...
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna Its a really naughty picture book *giggle*. My mom bought it for my sister then gasped at what she had actually purchased for her teenaged daughter. Hmm... maybe she should have fingered through it first.
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel okay... this is assuming it's that Clan of the Cave Bear series
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes oh so sad... *sniff*
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein oh my... really? If that one then I thought Uncle Shelby's Book of ABZ's would be on this list for sure...
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) Erotica at work on a classic... hehe
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King uh... probably read it but don't remember there for not colored
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl okay so don't get this one
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume Really? It's a must read for all teenage girls!
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle and What's Happening to Me?
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford hmm... This one confuses me. What's so objectionable about this book?
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell haha... I remember this one.
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Okay there were some surprises on the list (like Where's Waldo? Still a bit confused on that one, and who knew Judy Blume was so objectionable) but then on the other hand some people will ban anything. It does bring to question whether or not they've actually read it before banning it.

I think there are some notables that seem to not have made this list but I just have the feeling that they've been banned SOMEwhere...
a. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown maybe its just too new to have made it onto any official list
b. 1984 by George Orwell
c. Animal Farm by George Orwell
d. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
e. And Tango Make Three by Peter Parnell, Justin Richardson, and Henry Cole
Just to name a few...

Now the question of who to tag...
I vote for CJ of the Thillionth Page!
and whomever else wants to do this!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And WooHoo! CJ of the Thrillionth Page awarded me an I Love Your Blog award. My first every. Thanks CJ! So honored! I'm so happy, giddy even. It was a really nice thing to wake up to.

The rules for this award are that you need to:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs!

So I'm officially awarding this award to:
Alice of Peaceful Days and Dreamy Nights... my first blogging friend!
Ana and Thea of the Book Smugglers... my other book-crack dealers
Ciara of Ciara Stewart... 'cause she always has something interesting to read and ponder
DIK Ladies of the Desert Island Keepers... 'cause I can't blog without you all
To whomever runs Judge a Book by Its Cover... 'cause its always good for a laugh
Kristie and Kate of the Ramblings on Romance... my favorite book-crack dealers
Nalini Singh... not only does she write great books, she runs a great blog too!

Have You Read...

This looked like a cool idea... Uh... copied from Christine who go the idea from Kristie(j) who got the idea from Naida...

So here's the list of the 100 most popular books per LibraryThing.

Green = Read
Blue = TBR
Red = Wishlist

1. Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone by J.K. Rowling (32,484)
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) by J.K. Rowling (29,939)
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) by J.K. Rowling (28,728)
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) by J.K. Rowling (27,926)
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) by J.K. Rowling (27,643)
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) by J.K. Rowling (27,641)
7. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (23,266)
8. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (21,325)
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J.K. Rowling (20,485)
10. 1984 by George Orwell (19,735)
11. Pride and Prejudice (Bantam Classics) by Jane Austen (19,583)
12. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (19,082)
13. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (17,586)
14. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (16,210)
15. The lord of the rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (15,483)
16. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (14,566)
17. Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics) by Charlotte Bronte (14,449)
18. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (13,946)
19. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (13,272)
20. Animal Farm by George Orwell (13,091)
21. Angels & demons by Dan Brown (13,089)
22. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (13,005)
23. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (12,777)
24. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Oprah's Book Club) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (12,634)
25. The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1) by J.R.R. Tolkien (12,276)
26. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (12,147)
27. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (11,976)
28. The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, Part 2) by J.R.R. Tolkien (11,512)
29. The Odyssey by Homer (11,483)
30. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (11,392)
31. Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut (11,360)
32. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (11,257)
33. The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, Part 3) by J.R.R. Tolkien (11,082)
34. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (10,979)
35. American Gods: A Novel by Neil Gaiman (10,823)
36. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (10,603)
37. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (10,537)
38. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (10,435)
39. The Lovely Bones: a novel by Alice Sebold (10,125)
40. Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1) by Orson Scott Card (10,092)
41. The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1) by Philip Pullman (9,827)
42. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman (9,745)
43. Dune by Frank Herbert (9,671)
44. Emma by Jane Austen (9,610)
45. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (9,598)
46. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Bantam Classics) by Mark Twain (9,593)
47. Anna Karenina (Oprah's Book Club) by Leo Tolstoy (9,433)
48. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (9,413)
49. Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides (9,343)
50. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (9,336)
51. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (9,274)
52. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (9,246)
53. The Iliad by Homer (9,153)
54. The Stranger by Albert Camus (9,084)
55. Sense and Sensibility (Penguin Classics) by Jane Austen (9,080)
56. Great Expectations (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens (9,027)
57. The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel by Margaret Atwood (8,960)
58. On the Road by Jack Kerouac (8,904)
59. Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt (8,813)
60. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery - (8,764)
61. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (8,421)
62. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (8,417)
63. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (8,368)
64. The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition) by John Steinbeck (8,255)
65. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (8,214)
66. The Name of the Rose: including Postscript to the Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (8,191)
67. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (8,169)
68. Moby Dick by Herman Melville (8,129)
69. The complete works by William Shakespeare (8,096)
[The complete works? Uh... Hamlet, Orthello, MacBeth, King Richard III, Much ToDo About Nothing, Julius Cesar, Romeo & Juliet, MidSummer Nights Dream, Henry V and I did see the Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abbreviated by the Abbreviated Shakespeare Company - that counts right?]
70. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond (7,843)
71. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (7,834)
72. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (7,829)
73. Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library) by William Shakespeare (7,808)
74. Of Mice and Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) by John Steinbeck (7,807)
75. A Tale of Two Cities (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens (7,793)
76. The Alchemist (Plus) by Paulo Coelho (7,710)
77. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (7,648)
78. The Picture of Dorian Gray (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics) by Oscar Wilde (7,598)
79. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk (7,569)
80. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (7,557)
81. The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2) by Philip Pullman (7,534)
82. Atonement: A Novel by Ian McEwan (7,530) TBR Pile
83. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (7,512)
84. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (7,436)
85. Dracula by Bram Stoker (7,238)
86. Heart of Darkness (Dover Thrift Editions) by Joseph Conrad (7,153)
87. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (7,055)
88. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (7,052)
89. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (7,043)
90. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Penguin Classics) by James Joyce (6,933)
91. The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel (Perennial Classics) by Milan Kundera (6,901)
92. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (6,899)
93. Neuromancer by William Gibson (6,890)
94. The Canterbury Tales (Penguin Classics) by Geoffrey Chaucer (6,868)
95. Persuasion (Penguin Classics) by Jane Austen (6,862)
96. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (6,841)
97. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (6,794)
98. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt (6,715)
99. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (6,708)
100. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (6,697)

Pretty good for an engineering science nerd: 58 read, 3 TBR and 5 wishlist. Though by default some of these are duplicates aka if you read the Chronicles of Narnia, you would have read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

I want to know why there is no Dr. Seuss, Rudyard Kipling or Stephen King!? No Scifi greats like Asimov or Heinlein either but Douglas Adams made it? Strange.

Lost Days

The evil of migraines have struck again. I have been the victim of debilitating migraines, since I was 17. Currently there is no cure for them, just preventative medications. The mediation gives you some relief. Life goes on while you curl and deny you existence. On the plus side, I managed to read some of the Lora Leigh's Breed series (in low light).

I found them to be enjoyable but not riveting. It starts with a short story in Hot Spell (The Breed Next Door), then Megan's Mark, Harmony's Way, Tanner's Scheme, and Dawn's Awakening. Overall I found them to be enjoyable but not something I would highly recommend to friends. they were fluff reading, something to kill time.

The Breed Next Door was delightful. Full of romance and a great storyline. It tells the tale of unlikely neighbor getting together. For a short story it was stellar.

Megan's Mark was a wonder story that managed to incorporate story line along with the heated romance. It was also believable. No hello I'm so-so let's hope into bed. Lots of tension and fun though out the story. I would recommend this to others.

Harmony's Way was a typical story of man meets woman and they get together. A one night stand that turns into something else. The story line was a bit week. but the love scenes were hot.

Tanner's Scheme again the story was trite. The heroine was kidnapped and taken to a secret location, where she and the hero go it on with very little build up. It happed quite quickly and was a bit unbelievable .

Dawn's Awakening tells of a chance missed. If the "mating hormone" is so powerful, why didn't the hero spend time with the heroine at the beginning. Instead they wait 10 years! He is in the process of attempting to propose to another woman when the heroine shows up to throw a wrench into the mix. Again quite unbelievable.

Overall the stories were enjoyable but I was left with wanting more. Overall rating 3.5 out of 5.

HLO Pleads to DIK to Free the Heroes

Now that the DIK draft has been completed, the HLO sends a plea out to the DIK to release their "captive" heroes and allow them to return to their storybook homes and heroines (after a short stop at the Hero Shelter/Get-Away to recover from their ordeal... or think of excuses as to what they did on their vacation ^_~). We would welcome our DIK sisters with open arms (and we would share our books, chocolates, rum and vacationing heroes).

All over the storybook worlds, evil is running amok without the heroes to fight the ongoing forces of evil. The headquarters of the HLO (Get-Away Island) is over-flowing with heroines who have lost their heroes. Extra shipments of chocolates have been ordered to keep the heroines (and founder Alice and myself) calm. Some of the hero creators (Nalini Singh and Meljean Brook) have joined in our cause to help "liberate" their heroes from the clutches of the DIK.

The list of heroes who have been "drafted" and who they are serving is thus:

• Ana - Bowen MacRieve (Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night, Kresley Cole), Sebastian St. Vincent (Devil in Winter, Lisa Kleypas), Royce Westmoreland (A Kingdom of Dreams, Judith McNaught), Conrad Wroth (Dark Needs at Night's Edge, Kresley Cole), Logan a.k.a. Wolverine (X-Men Comics), Fox Mulder (X-files spin-off books), King Leonidas (300 Graphic Novels)

• Bridget Locke - Mr. Jules Cassidy (All Through the Night, Suzanne Brockmann), Bones (One Foot in the Grave and Halfway to the Grave, Jeannie Frost), Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen), Judd Laurens (Caressed by Ice, Nalini Singh), Simon Hunt, (Secrets of a Summer's Night, Lisa Kleypas), Theodore Westgaard (Years, LaVyrle Spencer), Cadeon Woede (Dark Desires after Dusk, Kresley Cole)

• Carolyn Jean - Eric Northman (Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris), Joe Morelli (Stephanie Plum, Janet Evanovich), Ranger (Stephanie Plum, Janet Evanovich), Michael (Guardians Series, Meljean Brook), Adrian (The Spymaster's Lady, Joanna Bourne), Han Solo (Star Wars Novels), Captain Kirk (Star Trek)

• Christine - Acheron (Dark Hunter series, Sherrilyn Kenyon), Qhuinn (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), Vishous (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), Butch O'Neill (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), Belial (Guardians Series, Meljean Brook), Gaelen vel Serranis (The Tairen Soul series, C.L. Wilson), Clay Bennett (Mine to Possess, Nalini Singh)

• Ciaralira - Ethan McCabe (Demon Night, Meljean Brook), Hugh Castleford (Demon Angel, Meljean Brook), Westley (The Princess Bride, William Goldman), Lord Robert Andreville (Robin) (Angel Rogue, Mary Jo Putney), Kieran vel Solande (Tairen Soul Series, C.L. Wilson), Garret Langham, the Earl of Mayne, (Pleasure for Pleasure, Eloisa James), Dr. Samuel Cornick (Mercy Thompson series, Patricia Briggs)
  

• JenB - Vane Kattalakis (Night Play, Sherrilyn Kenyon), Angel (Angel, Johanna Lindsey) Rule (The Demon You Know, Christine Warren), Kade (Riley Jenson Guardian series, Keri Arthur), Challen (Warrior's Woman, Johanna Lindsey), Calvin Morissey (Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie), Heath Boscastle (Wedding Night of an English Rogue, Jillian Hunter)

• Katie(babs) - Alexander (The Bronze Horseman, Paullina Simons), Rehvenge (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), James Diaz (Cry No More, Linda Howard), Gabriel "Sully" Sullivan (Gabriel's Ghost, Linnea Sinclair), Rain Tairen Soul (Tairen Soul Series, C.L. Wilson), Jack Prescott (Dangerous Lover, Lisa Marie Rice), Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Sir Arther Conan Doyle)

• KristieJ - Derek Craven (Dreaming of You, Lisa Kleypas), Dax Silverbrake (Sky Pirate, Justine Davis), Ciaran Tamberlane (My Forever Love, Marsha Canham), Branden Kel-Paten (Games of Command, Linnea Sinclair), Gray Rouillard (After the Night, Linda Howard), Wizard (Driven, Eve Kenin), John Thornton (North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell)

• LesleyW - John Matthew aka Tehrror (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), Jeremy Danvers (Women of the Otherworld series, Kelly Armstrong), Vayl (Jaz and Vayl series, Jennifer Rardin), Curran (Magic Bites and Magic Burns, Ilona Andrews), Richard Tremayne High Lord of the Darkyn (Darkyn books, Lynn Viehl), Duncan Reever (Stardoc books by S.L. Viehl), Lucivar Yaslana (the Dark Jewels books, Anne Bishop)

• Lisabea - Adrien English (Adrien English series, Josh Lanyon), Colin Ames Beaumont (Demon Moon, Meljean Brook), Jake Romero (With Caution, J.L. Langley), Nate (My Fair Captain, J.L. Langley), Savitri Murray (Demon Moon, Meljean Brook), Derek Knightly (At Love's Command, Samantha Kane), Captain Jack Sparrow (some spin-off book surely, Disney)

• MaryKate - Roarke (In Death series, JD Robb), Lucas Hunter (Slave to Sensation, Nalini Singh), Maximillian Pesaro (Gardella Chronicles, Colleen Gleason), Cameron Quinn (Sea Swept, Nora Roberts), Jacob Green (Vampire Queen Servant series, Joey W. Hill), Captain Jack Seward (All Through The Night, Connie Brockway), Hawke (Psy/Changeling series, Nalini Singh)

• Naida - Edward Cullen (Twilight, Stephanie Meyers), John Atlantis (Entangled, Kathleen Dante), Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion, Jane Austen), Aragorn aka Strider (Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien), Tristen (Legends of the Fall, Jim Harrison), Mark Darcy (Bridget Jones Diary, Helen Fielding), Ian (The Host, Stephenie Meyer)

• Samantha Kane - Doyle/The Queen's Darkness (Merry Gentry Series, Laurell K. Hamilton) Cat, a young pirate (The Windflower, Laura London), Chief of Police Jack West (All U Can Eat, Emma Holly), Tom Paoletti (Unsung Hero, Suzanne Brockmann), Angel a.k.a. Angelis (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Angel Chronicles, Nancy Holder and or Angel: After the Fall, Brian Lynch and Franco Urru), Rhys (Merry Gentry series, Laurell K. Hamilton), Jack Reacher (Jack Reacher series, Lee Child)

• Sarah - Clay (Women of the Otherworld series, Kelley Armstrong), Nathaniel (Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Series), Barinthus ( Meredith Gentry), Lucas (Heaven Sent Series, Jet Mykels), Jericho Barrons (Fever Series, Karen Marie Monings), Katou Youji (Haru wo Daiteita/Embracing Love, Nitta Youka), Taylor MacAllister (Dangerous Ground, Josh Lanyon, Hot Tub, Splish Splash)

• Sarai - Jake Riordan (Adrien English series, Josh Lanyon) Gage Travis (Sugar Daddy, Lisa Kleypas), Vaughn D'Angelo (Visions of Heat, Nalini Singh), Zarek of Moesia (Dance with the Devil, Sherrilyn Kenyon), Jonas (Breed Series, Lora Leigh), Sterling "Harvard" Chase (Kiss of Crimson, Lara Adrian), Cam Rohan (Mine Til Midnight, Lisa Kleypas)

• Shannon - Sam Donovan (Mr. Perfect, Linda Howard) Sam Starrett (Troubleshooter series, Suzanne Brockmann), Max Baghat (Troubleshooter series, Suzanne Brockmann), Adam Hauptman (Mercedes Thompson series, Patricia Briggs), Captain Malcom Reynolds a.k.a. Capt. Tight Pants (Firefly/Serenity franchise & comics, Joss Whedon), Izzy Teague (Code Name series, Christina Skye), Stan Wolchonok (Over the Edge, Suzanne Brockmann)

• Sula - Rhage (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), Asa McIntyre (Promises Linger by Sarah McCarty), Dain (Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase), Ian Witherspoon (At Love's Command, Samantha Kane), Nathaniel Bonner (Into the Wilderness, Sara Donati), Keir of the Cat (Warprize, Elizabeth Vaughan), Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood, Russell T. Davies/BBC)

• Thea - Jamie Fraser (Outlander, Diana Gabaldon) Joscelin Verreuil (Kushiel's Legacy series, Jacqueline Carey), Jacob Black (Twilight Series, Stephanie Meyer), Batman (some spin-off book by someone), Remy LeBeau a.k.a. Gambit (Uncanny X-Men, Chris Claremont), Roland Deschain (Dark Tower books, Stephen King), Tyler Durden (Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk)

• Tracy - Zsadist (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), Phineas Tucker (Welcome to Temptation, Jennifer Crusie), Dorian (Psy/Changeling Series, Nalini Singh), Wrath (Dark Lover, BDB series by JR Ward), Caine Allen (Caine's Reckoning, Sarah McCarty), Daemon Sadi (Black Jewels Trilogy, Anne Bishop) Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. aka Indiana Jones (spin-off book somewhere)

• Tumperkin - Mick Tremore (The Proposition, Judith Ivory), Michael McNeil (Wild at Heart, Patricia Gaffney), Christian, Duke of Jervaulx (Flowers from the Storm, Laura Kinsale), Graham Wessit (Black Silk, Judith Ivory), Sebastian Verlaine (To Have and To Hold, Patricia Gaffney), Charles Audley, (An Infamous Army, Georgette Heyer), Sydnam Butler (Simply Love, Mary Balogh)

To see the complete draft history go to the following sites:
ROUND 1: CarolynJean's.
ROUND 2: Sarai's
ROUND 3: lisabea's.
ROUND 4: MaryKate's.
ROUND 5: Christine's.
ROUND 6: Katie(babs) & Kristie(J)'s.

ROUND 7: Sula's

Some heroes who were residing at the Shelter/Get-Away were drafted. These heroes are at the top of the "liberation" list.

• Daemon Sadi aka The Sadiest (The Black Jewels novels by Anne Bishop)
• Hawke (Psy-Changling Series by Nalini Singh)

Again the HLO pleads to the DIK to "release" their heroes. The heroes will be spending some time at the Get-Away to recover their skills to fight the forces of darkness and to regain some dignity after being place in an apron and forced to dust (no names to be named ^_^).

Join the Heroes Liberation Organization (HLO)

The Heroes Liberation Organization (HLO) was founded by Alice and myself in response to the mysterious disappearances of heroes. Many of romances best heroes had started to disappear and their heroines, in growing concern, needed aid to find and reunite with their heroes.

After some investigation, it was discovered that an organization known as the Desert Island Keeper (DIK) had "drafted" heroes and brought to the DIK island where they were being taught un-hero-like tasks. Instead of fighting evil and the forces of darkness, the heroes were being taught how to give massages, dusting furniture and performing other un-hero-like activities. The hero draft continues:

ROUND 1 (completed): CarolynJean's.
ROUND 2 (completed): Sarai's
ROUND 3 (completed): lisabea's.
ROUND 4 (completed): MaryKate's.
ROUND 5 (completed): Christine's.
ROUND 6 (in progress): Katie(babs) & Kristie(J)'s.

Next...ROUND 7: Sula's!

After witnessing the horrors of the island, brave island insider Alice as joined me to found the HLO. Our manifesto is to:

1. Create and maintain the Desert Island Keepers Hero Shelter and Liberation Get-Away.
2. Protect and shelter heroes from DIK
   
3. Liberate the heroes from their bondage.
4. Reunite the heroes with their heroines.
5. Help heroes readjust to the sane world.
6. Drink foo-foo drinks made from our natural spring water.

For the Get-Away Island rules please see Alice's blog.

As previously stated by Alice, the following heroes have come to the island for "protection" and shelter:

• Hari (Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu) - For both Amy and Alice (yes, we share!!! ;p)
• Morgan Grant (Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas) - For Alice
• Julian of Macedon (Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon) - For Amy
• Nick Gentry (Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas) - For Alice
• Daemon Sadi (Black Jewel Trilogy, by Anne Bishop)- For Amy
• Rafe McCay (The Touch of Fire by Linda Howard) - for Alice
• Wren Tigarian (Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon) - For Amy
• Haku/Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi/Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki)- For Alice (I want him for my child, I want him to be with Chihiro and them as my children!)
• Hawke, Riley, and Drew (Psy/Changeling by Nalini Singh) - For both Amy and Alice
• Douglas, Duke of Ethingham (Lessons in Seduction by Melissa Schroeder) - For Alice

In hearing about the shelter, the following heroes after also arrived at the island:

• Drustan and Daegus MacKeltar (Kiss of the Highlander and Dark Highlander by Karen Moning) - For Amy
  

In order for the rescues to be attempted, we need help. Please join us to liberate the heroes and reunite them with their heroines. Get-Away island membership is included with membership to the HLO!

A Beginning

Well here goes another attempt to writing a blog. It's like the diary you start every year but then forget it is there and the next thing you know it is June and you've made one entry so you toss it in a drawer/bookshelf with all the others.

So what's up with me. Well currently unemployed and looking for a new opportunity. I think the cosmos is telling me to start a new career. What that new career should be is still a mystery to me. The migraines are still there. Some days are better than others but usually it all depends on the stress and amount of sleep. The more I stress about not working and not being able to find work, the less sleep I get which than all equals more migraines. Not having a routine is also increasing the frequency of the migraines, but it is hard to set up a routine when there is no place you have to be on any given day.

I have been spending my inadvertent vacation catching up on my reading. It started with the To Be Read (TBR) pile that all avid readers probably have next to their beds. Then came the reading of blogs, since I was already on-line looking for work I started searching for authors I enjoy and found Nalini Singh's blog. Thanks to all those other blogger and commentators, my TBR pile has grown so much that I had to buy a new book case just for them. I have also meet some very nice people. People who are as crazy about books as I am. Glad to know I'm not the only one crazy about romance novels.