Hello. I’m back. I was out of town showering a dear friend with baby gifts (ok, loafing at her house, eating her food, and attending a baby shower for her sure-to-be adorable evil spawn).
It was a five hour trip each way which means I had ten hours to read! I meant to bring more books, but I only had time to get two–Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews and Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran. Since I really enjoyed both of these books (with some reservations) I read them both waaaaay too fast, which left me with a couple of nice two-to three hour chunks for editing (yay!) and math homework (boo!).
I’ll write more about the books when I get a chance–both of them did good things with their genres, and I’d love to read more books that are as well-written. For now, I’m going to try to keep myself on East Coast time by going to bed early (midnight, PST = 3 am EST so I go to bed early, but feel like I’m staying up late).
Did you miss me? I’m sorry I told you to get lost three hours and forty-two minutes ago, but I wasn’t in my right mind. I had just opened my mailbox to find Private Arrangements waiting for me, and, of course, I had to read it.
Now that I’ve read it, I wish I hadn’t liked it quite so much. Perhaps then I wouldn’t have read it so quickly. And if I hadn’t read it so quickly, I would have had more time to enjoy it.
Private Arrangements is a grand book. Really, that’s the only word I can think of to describe it, except, perhaps, “delicious” and Delicious happens to be the title of Sherry Thomas’s next book, which I will be buying the day it comes out in August, 2008, so I really should conserve that word for further use this summer. And speaking of this summer, expect another terse blog post telling you to go away. I apologize, in advance, for my future rudeness, but if today was any indication, I won’t be in my right mind.
I should start by saying, this is not a review. I’m lousy at reviewing, and I’m suspect, besides, since Sherry Thomas wrote a lovely double review of my novellasEmber and Like a Thief in the Night for Dear Author back in January which probably sold more copies of Like a Thief than all of my confused, sorry little attempts to promote the story, combined. But please don’t think I am biased just because I have reason to be, because if you do, you will miss out on one of the best historical romances ever. Ever!
But come back on March 25th when I’ll give away the copy of Private Arrangementsby Sherry Thomas that I would have bought, if I hadn’t been so lucky as to win a copy in the Dear Author contest.
Rust, mold, mildew. Corrosion, erosion, collapse. Writers have imagined a thousand ways in which humanity will end, but no one has ever offered such a well-researched and startlingly specific idea of what happens after as Alan Weisman’s engrossing book, The World Without Us.
The World Without Us presents houses, cities, museums and monuments–the man made environments we imagine will last centuries after we are gone–as fragile, perishable creations that endure only through our constant vigilance and care. We are ants, ever building, patching, pumping, and shoring-up our constructions. Without us, the passage of decades would wear down even the greatest cities, bury them in greenery, or wash them away like sandcastles in the rain.
This book is a must for anyone who reads or writes sci-fi. I just started reading, and only 6 chapters in, it has reshaped the baker’s dozen of post-apocalyptic futures sitting in limbo on my hard drive. This book rocks. Get it, read it, love it. The World Without Usby Alan Weisman.
Ann Aguirre has given me money. Not to review this book, but to make a promotional bookmark. Grimspace had been on my Must Read list for quite a while, and I was so eager to read it that I asked Ann to include an ARC as part of my payment. That’s me. I Will Work for Good Reads.
The lovely cover of Grimspace may appear innocuous, but don’t be fooled. It is made of flypaper. Pick it up, and it will be glued to your hand until you turn the last page. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I’ve tried to write my thoughts on Grimspace without going off on a tangent about the Romance genre, what it is, where it’s going, and what it should be. I tried, really, but this addictive, fast-paced picaresque sci-fi action-adventure novel is also a damned good romance novel. And for me, it highlights things I want from Romance, but don’t often get.
The Book The episodic plot of Grimspace follows interstellar navigator Sirantha Jax as she is broken out of prison by a rag-tag band of mercenaries out to end the Farwan Corporation’s monopoly on interstellar travel by setting up their own navigator academy, with Jax as the instructor. The group travels from place to place, usually leaving destruction in their wake. But as the book progresses, the action-packed journey through space becomes secondary to Jax’s emotional journey from the crash that killed her lover–a crash for which she has been blamed and imprisoned, and for which she blames herself–through grief, peace, and into love with her new pilot, March. March and Jax are both broken people in the process of putting themselves back together after tragic events and misspent lives. The touching thing about their story is that they know each other’s faults and strengths, and fall in love not despite this knowledge, but because of it.
Jax is a complicated, twisty pragmatist. She’s not lovable, noble or sweet, but she’s real in a way that makes her story compelling, and the ending emotionally satisfying. We see the action from inside her head in first-person present tense. You may think you have problems reading first-person present tense, but Aguirre’s novel will convince you that you don’t. The narrative style is much like Jax herself–tough, unflinching, immediate, and marbled through with lovely threads of imagery and phrasing that linger in your mind after you’ve turned the page, after you’ve closed the cover.
Possessor of the mysterious and rare “J” gene, Jax facilitates interstellar travel by guiding ships through grimspace with the help of a pilot. During the trip through grimspace, the pilot and navigator are mentally linked, bound up in each other’s heads, privy to the other’s private thoughts. When I closed the cover on Grimspace, I felt like Jax was tangled up in my thoughts, too. Great characters stay with you like that, and right now, Jax is sharing space in a corner of my brain with some of my other favorite first-person narrators like Hammett’s nameless Continental Op, Mosley’s Easy Rawlins, Baird’s Cass, Banbury’s Jill, and Carey’s Phedre. (They all hate each other, of course, but pass the time playing poker while they wait for me to reread their books.)
Maybe I’m just a sucker for flawed heroes and heroines, but characters like Jax and March are something I’d like to see more of in the romance genre. People do not have to be perfect to fall in love. Heroines do not have to be selfless martyrs to be worthy of love, heroes don’t have to save the day every time to be macho or attractive.
But for all my talk of romance, Grimspace, still works as a straight-up sci-fi genre novel. Aguirre’s imagined universe is a diverse, vast, violent, wide-open wild west of a setting, corrupt, confusing, and stuffed with possibilities. Good genre novels are often praised as “transcending genre” which is a backhanded complement if ever I’ve heard one. Grimspace doesn’t transcend the genre, it expands it. It fucks with gender stereotypes, and genre expectations, providing both the kick-ass action adventure you’d expect from a traditional action sci-fi tale, and emotional introspection, and a newfangled type of romance.
With its flawed, fascinating protagonist, its science fiction setting, and its blend of action, adventure and romance, Grimspace is not for strict genre traditionalists, for readers who like perfect heroes, or for the faint of heart*. It’s not perfect, but I thought it was one hell of a read–engrossing, entertaining, exciting. Aguirre has written a sequel, and I’m already brainstorming ways to get my grubby mitts on an advance copy. *edited to clarify who “everyone” might be.
An irresistable blend of action and attitude. Sirantha Jax doesn’t just leap off the page–she storms out, kicking, cursing and mouthing off. No wonder her pilot falls in love with her; readers will, too.
This book is one of my top five awaited reads for 2008. I wanted to read this book so much that when Ann asked if she could hire me to do a bookmark for Grimspace, I said, “Love to, but you have to give me an ARC.”
And now my ARC is here, in all of its pristine, white paper covered glory. So, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go read.
Paperback Writer’s 2006 Free eBook Challenge This here is a big, mama-jama list o’ free fiction. Lynn Viehl (she of the Stardoc & Darkyn novels) challenged her blog readers to write original free stories for their readers. Also, check out the sidebar for links to Viehl’s outstanding freebies.
Meeting in Darkness by Imogen Howson Clicking around on the Drollerie Press site, I came across the cover of Ms. Howson’s forthcoming YA novel, Frayed Tapestry. It is a thing of beauty. And the hook is cracktastically hookalicious. That book’s on my list. Meeting in Darkness was Howson’s contribution to the Romance Divas Free eBook Challenge. It’s short, sweet, and I adore her writing style. Also, her freebie, Helenis available at Drollerie Press.
One Night Stand by Dionne Galace What happens when they stay for breakfast? (Good gory fun. This story is not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach.)
All right. That’s it, y’all. It is time for me to go forth and shop. (Yes, I know it’s Christmas Eve). Here’s hoping your Christmas is full of peace, love, and many, many good reads.
P.S. This list is by no means complete. Mostly, it’s what I could think of off the top of my head. If you have recommendations for good free reads, please post them in the comments.
Wow, Part 1: Demon Night I just finished the ARC of MelJean Brook’s Demon Night that I won from Dear Author. I’m still gathering my thoughts on it–there’s a lot of plot, and backstory, and detail. I don’t know quite what I think of Demon Night but I am certain of two things:
Meljean Brook can write. Really. The opening of chapter one was a marvel of pacing and deftly placed detail. It sucked me in, and made me want to reread it a few more times just to admire it.
I want to read Brook’s other books. Not just because this book was jam-packed with characters from earlier novels, but because I want to read something that’s not quite so full of characters and ongoing plot and backstory. As a newbie reader jumping in on the third (?) book, I gotta say, Brook handled all those elements extremely well. But her big, complex world full of angels, demons, guardians, vampires, secret government agencies, prophecies, and conspiracies is like a hot bath–it’s enjoyable, but it’s also something you want to ease into.
Wow, Part 2: Sundial I picked up my copy of Carrie Lofty’s Sundial a couple of days ago. It’s a novella, and a damned good deal at $3. Sure, it’s only 67 pages, but there is at least 250 pages worth of longing, tension and angst packed into those pages. Plus, vespas! Also, a hero with a little moral ambiguity, 1950’s Italy, and the loveliest final line I’ve read in a great long while.
I ought to get some blogging mileage out of the eBooks I’ve read. But, I’m lazy, and I procrastinate. Sometimes it just so difficult to put my completely arbitrary and fickle opinions in print. So here’s part 1 of a round up of eBooks I’ve read lately–Short and Sweet. Or, pleasantly tart. Or, like aspartame , with an aftertaste that some people don’t mind but other people find foul. Anyway, short.
Up this round: Natural Law by Joey W. Hill, Blackberry Pie by Bonnie Dee, Boundless by Dean, Dee, & Galace, Hunk of Burning Love by Veronica Wilde.
Natural Law, by Joey W. Hill I’ve heard so very, very many good things about this book, I had to give it a try. If you’ve been under an even more obscure rock than the one I was under, and haven’t heard of this book, I’ll warn you, it’s a BDSM Romance. Given that my stories tend to be a little–shall we say, violent?–you may think it strange when I say that while I found this book to be wildly romantic, I did not find it hot. Ok, maybe a little.
Thing is I’m not fond of rules in books, because that makes for a lot of ’splaining. And these BDSM people, apparently they have rules, rules, rules. Which, given the sorts of things they do with (and put into) each other is probably a very good thing. Anyway, Hill manages a pretty non-intrusive primer on the subculture her characters inhabit, but that sort of exposition is a stunt which less talented writers should not practice without benefit of a spotter and a net.
So, teh secks? Not so much. But the romance–the Romance!! Joey W. Hill rocks. The two main characters, they have to get all psychological and shit, finding each other’s boundaries, and learning to trust. And there’s a BDSM psycho killer on the loose. But never mind the psycho killer. It’s the boundaries/trust/emotion thing going on with the protagonists that makes this book riveting, emotional, wildly romantic, and–dare I say it?–sweet. Rating: Sweet as Pure Cane(d) sugar.
Blackberry Pie by Bonnie Dee* It takes some kind of chutzpah to set a short, sweet, hopeful romance in poverty-stricken 1930s Appalachia. And let me tell you, friends, Bonnie Dee puts the C&Hin chutzpah! Not only did she set her romance in rather depressing (pun intended) era, she made it an erotic romance. And then, girlfriend made her hero a minister! Oooh. Ladies and gentleman, can the Amazing Ms Dee pull off such an astounding feat of Romance-writing daring-do?
She sure as hell can. And then some. Dee has the chops to back up her nerve. Blackberry Pie is sweet, emotional and hot. Rating: (You knew this was coming) Sweet as Pie.
Boundless, by Dean, Dee, Galace Usually, anthologies are like a box of assorted chocolates–there’s at least one you won’t like. Not so, this anthology. It was like a box of Godiva Truffles, where even the confection I liked least, was still very tasty.Seven Days by Annie Dean My favorite of the bunch was Annie Dean’s Seven Days. Theresa, an aspiring nun about to take her vows when a sexy devil named Dev tries to tempt her to forgo her vows, and with them, her immortal soul. What a gem! Like Godiva’s Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, every element of this story came together to create a treat of pure perfection. Short stories often seem too short, but Seven Days was just right–sweet, nuanced and rich.
The Straw Man by Bonnie Dee A thirty-something rural woman’s unwitting wish transforms a scarecrow into the man of her dreams for a single night, but they want to stay together forever. Short and sweet. Despite the brief timespan of the novel, Dee manages to make the Romance believable. This one was like Godiva’s Dark Chocolate Truffle. Tasty and sweet, it hit the spot.
Waking Kitty by Dionne Galace I have to admit, I was hooked by this story way back when Bam posted the first chapter in the writing samples section of her website. When hard drinking, skeptical old fashioned reporter Jack meets pink-haired waitress Kitty, strange things start happening. The first chapter is a knockout, but the rest of the story feels rushed. Of the three, this is the story I felt should have been longer. The love story kind of gets squashed in between Kitty’s journey of self-discovery and all the crazy happenings. It’s kinda like Godiva’s Dark Chocolate Key Lime Truffle–the delicious tartness is often too much for the thin shell of chocolate surrounding it.
Hunk of Burning Love by Veronica Wilde* You may not know this, but I ::heart:: Elvis. And I ::superheart:: Elvis impersonators. But now that you do know this, you won’t be surprised when I squee! like a thirteen year old fangirl after a pack of pixie sticks about Veronica Wilde’s Hunk of Burning Love. But please don’t write the book off because of my fandom. Hunk of Burning Love is a fun, well-rounded short story. You should read it. Rating:Fried Peanutbutter and banana sandwich, with honey on top. Mmmm!
Up next time: The Dragon Knight by Summer Devon, Hard to Guard by Nina Mamone and Blood Will Tell by December Quinn.
*Just to note, in addition to my usual arbitrary biases, my first novella, Like a Thief in the Night will be part of Samhain’s Strangers in the Night anthology along with stories by Bonnie Dee and Veronica Wilde. For me, this is cause to celebrate because my story is appearing alongside the work of two such mahvellous writers. For you, you may decide this compromises the integrity of my review.
If so, please remember the following:
I never claimed to be impartial.
I am being honest about how much I like those books.
The weekend before last, I was working on my tan. Now, I’m staring out at rain. Rain! In September! Usually things are on fire right about now. I can’t complain, though. We need the rain. But I can look back on…the way we were.
Actually, I’m just looking for an opportunity to post a few pictures I took this summer.
Here be Dragons My husband and I were driving through Chinatown a couple of weeks ago and we passed this dragon troupe finishing up their day. The troupe was spread out over a whole block. The second picture is the stragglers at the rear. They looked a little tired, and I can’t blame them. It was hot!
Despite the heat, it was a beautiful day to be in downtown. The air was very clear and the sky seemed as high and wide as my imagination would allow.
I like to joke about the smog, but the sad fact is, in the summer it often hangs around and gives everything a dingy brown cast. I’m sure that smog is doing something awful to my lungs, but the good days remind me why I couldn’t live anywhere else.
Every time I look at this picture (left), I’m amazed it was taken in Downtown LA during late summer–and I took it!
Shoutouts Shoutout to Kate who reminded me that I’d best get blogging. I was unexpectedly out of town this week and busy, busy, busy. But that’s no reason to neglect the blog.
I’ve also been spending my downtime (Travel is great for downtime. Thanks, TSA!) writing a freebie story for my website which the lovely and talented Dionne Galace (a.k.a. Bam, who Swears It’s Not Chick Porn) will debut on her site (thanks!).
But here’s the problem with doing the author website thing: I have to walk my talk. I love it when an author includes one or two short stories on their web site amongst the usual excerpts and multi-paragraph teasers. Which means, I need to write a complete story for my site.
Write Now I started up last weekend, and I’m 11,500 words into a 12k to 15k story called “Ember”. Problem is, the damned thing’s running long. I always start off worried about making my word count, and end up running over it. So I’m editing. I firmly believe you should “Kill Your Darlings” but they’re so hard to kill when you only wrote them a day or two ago.
I think I need to find a writing/critique group.
In addition to the writing, I’m reading Wings to the Kingdom by Cherie Priest, who Kate linked to a few days back (see what you did?). I finished the previous book, Four and Twenty Blackbirds before I even got back to town. I was kicking myself for only packing the first one. At the time, I thought I wouldn’t even have time to finish Blackbirds, but I forgot that a good book makes you make time for it–usually at the expense of sleep.
This just occurred to me: Rainy weekends are perfect for reading and writing. I think I like the rain, now.
by Alan Weisman.
