the end so fastly approaches

The end of the month, that is. Where does the time go? I mean, wasn't my birthday practically yesterday?
Well, I'm on track to finish editing my superheroes novel this weekend. That allows a few days to work on the query letter and synopsis, and then it's submission time. I'm excited to get this one out there; it's a stronger piece than the first one I submitted, and I got a good response to that one, so we'll see how it goes this time.
More books:
14) The Drowning City by Amanda Downum. This is the second fantasy novel this year to really draw me in. I love the writing, and I love the world that she created. The characters are gritty and real and make mistakes. The culture of Symir is different, lush, and draws you in. I really enjoyed the religion that Downum built for this series. And Isyllt is a unique character, a force to be reckoned with, a strong woman but a flawed one. I liked this so much that I bought the sequel last week, and will be reading it soon. If you like fantasy, or good writing, check out Amanda Downum's work!
15) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. This YA novel is a Groundhog Day scenario: The main character, Samantha Kingston, has seven tries to get one particular day right. It's not a bad premise, and a lot of what happens over the course of those seven days is interesting. One day is downright funny. I had a hard time moving past the cliches, though. Wildly popular but secretly insecure girl with shallow friends and a boyfriend she's not happy with even though she liked him for years slowly learns that there is more to life than she knows, that her friends and boyfriend are not who she thought, that the geeky boy in the corner is actually adorable and her soulmate, and that everything we do or don't do affects the world around us. I feel like that's been written any number of times before, which is fine, but I didn't feel that this version stood out from the crowd. I also had a hard time with the overt drinking and smoking throughout the story. Yes, I know that some kids do that. But I had a hard time with the fact that the parents seemed to either not notice or not care about the substance abuse running rampant in their childrens' social circle. Anyway, I enjoyed the read, once it got into the meat of the story, but this is not a keeper for me.
16) Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. I loved this biography. Schiff approaches Cleopatra carefully, stripping away the mythologizing of the last two thousand years and presenting Cleopatra as a woman with a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, whose life was entwined with that of two famous Roman men: Caesar, and Mark Antony. Schiff presents a factual account of what happened throughout Cleopatra's life, and also discusses what previous people have written about it. I found this to be an engrossing read. It's a great book for anybody interested in history, or Egyptology, or just wants to know what really went on with Cleopatra. Definitely a keeper.
So here's a question for you, readers: What would you like to see more of on this blog? More discussion about writing, in terms of process and ideas and such? More fiction writing? Lengthier book reviews? More dreams? Other things entirely? I'm wide open to suggestion, and want to take my online presence up a notch, so any input in terms of making my blog more interesting/fun is greatly appreciated.
On that note, I'm off. My partner-in-crime has to work all day today, so I'm going to take full advantage of the alone time. Some editing, some exercise, watch a movie, etc.
Happy Saturday!

Happy Ostara

Well, a day late, but better than not at all. Happy Ostara, everyone! This is a time of renewal and rebirth, and heralds the beginning of spring. It's a good time to plan your garden.

We didn't do a ritual this year. Instead, we gave ourselves a nice mellow Sunday with a fancy dinner to celebrate, since I had to work Monday. I hope everyone is enjoying the feeling of spring that is in the air!

Goodbye, Roman

At about 12:35 PST this morning, Roman passed peacefully away, cradled in my sister's arms. He was a gentleman cat, with a big voice and a kind but fierce heart. He was my sister's best friend and companion for fourteen years, and there will never be a cat like him again.

Wherever you are, Roman, know that you are loved and missed tremendously. You will always be in our hearts.

not a lot and too much all at once

I wish I could say that something crazy exciting has been going on, but it wouldn't be true. I've been quite social over the last couple weeks, and really need to cut back on that, for my pocketbook as well as my writing time and my sanity. I am freelance-free for this month, which is exciting, partially just for less to do and partially for having time to finish editing Superheroes, which I'm taking WAY too long to get through. Ah, well. March = birthday and book submission this year. It's cool. and then, because I'm crazy, I'm going to try to novelize Emmelina in April. That's right. One month. Then May is research, and then June is the beginning of writing book one in my witch/ghost series. It'll be a good writing year, if I can make it all work somewhere close to that timeline.

In other news, I'm sick again. Second time this year. The big symptom for this one seems to be total exhaustion and weakness. NOT FUN. But it's slowly getting better. Today is day number three of it, and I think I'll make it through a whole day at work today.

A couple more books to report:

10) Clementine by Cherie Priest. Loved it! This is the third book in her Clockwork Century series that I have read, and they are just solid fun. Alternative Civil war history, spies, mad scientists, stolen airships . . . The action just kept coming. Maria Isabella Boyd is a fabulously tough heroine, and I liked Hainey the first time I read about him. This series is great American steampunk, and I highly recommend it.

11) Titania's Magical Compendium by Titania Hardie. This was a fun book of magick based on the full moons throughout the year. I read it as research for an upcoming series I'm going to write, and while there were some interesting tidbits in it, I don't know that it'll be a keeper once I'm done working on that series. I don't see myself revisiting it. It was fun to read, though.

12) Huntress by Malinda Lo. This is a companion of sorts to Ash, which I read last year. It takes place in the same world, but several hundred years earlier. I enjoyed the characters and the writing and the quest, but (without giving anything away, since this hasn't been released yet!) there's one section at the end that felt rushed to me. Overall though, fun book, a keeper, and I recommend it.

13) The Dust of 100 Dogs by A. S. King. I love the concept of this book. Seventeenth-century girl pirate gets killed and cursed to be reincarnated as a dog one hundred times before finally coming back as a human again, with all her memories intact. I love the dual unfurling of Saffron's story (our twentieth-century heroine) and Emer's (Irish pirate girl). I love the grand love between Emer and Seanie, and the contrast of Saffron's total lack of anything like that. I love the tragic ending to Emer's story, even. But . . . I had some qualms with this one. And no, surprisingly, it wasn't the violence or the rape that bothered me. I mean, those things aren't fun, but they were pretty correct and appropriate for the time that the story was happening in. My qualms were more story related. Here's my big one: Fred Livingstone. He's the crazy guy who owns large swaths of Jamaica, where Emer buried her treasure. Fred turned the corner from unhappy to crazy very quickly. But still just seemed crazy. Then, when he encountered Saffron while she was digging up Emer's buried treasure, all of a sudden he's the reincarnation of the Frenchman who raped Emer. I really didn't feel like there was any foreshadowing of that at all, which frustrated me. And then, what was the deal with Fred's live-in handyman/lover, Winston? I never really understood what he was doing there. Also, I was never really clear if Saffron WAS Emer, or if they were separate entities sharing a body, or what. Both were implied over the course of the book. So, there's that. I enjoyed reading this, and would be willing to pick up something else by this author, but this isn't a keeper for me.

And with that, I should go get some work done. Happy Tuesday, everybody!

another month falls away

I can't believe how quickly February has gone. It's nearly March already. Nearly birthday. Nearly spring. I always mourn the winter a little as it leaves us. I'm definitely a winter girl; not in the skiing/outdoorsy sense, but I enjoy the cold snap in the air, the clean feeling of the snow, the comfort in a cup of tea to warm up after a sojourn outside. I love the twilight colors in winter. Everything just feels more crisp, more clear, somehow. I feel more crisp, more clear. But it's all cyclical, and the winter will come back to me again. I just wait as patiently as I can through the long heat of summer.

Another book to report in on: 9) Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr. This is the third installment in the Wicked Lovely series, and I quite enjoyed it. The series as a whole has been good so far. The writing is good, the fey world is well constructed, and the characters are easy to empathize with. This one, as an Amazon review pointed out, was a little thin on plot and a little heavy on Aislinn's inner conflict. but I think that's necessary, as setup for later plot. Sometimes the emotional end of things needs time and space to be fleshed out; not everything has to be about the forward motion of the plot all the time. So this one's definitely a keeper for me, and I can't wait to read the remaining two books in the series.

A question for you, o readers: Should I say more about the books I read? Less? I wonder what the right balance is. Let me know if you'd like to see me approach my mini book reviews differently.

The Borders location at Park Ave. and 57th Street is closing, so the whole story is on sale. I used my lunch break to go peruse the store with a friend. An hour and forty minutes, I left there with three new books, two magazines, and a bag of peanut butter M&Ms. I practiced restraint! Of course, I'll probably go back in a day or two, since I ran out of time before I made it through all the sections I wanted to hit. It's early days yet in the closing sale, so you should all go take a gander, maybe buy a book or two. They've got an awful lot of inventory in there still.

Well. I meant to write more, but today totally got away from me. I'll try to get back here soon. Happy Thursday, everybody!

she was a light in our lives

A little over two years ago, my partner-in-crime and I lost a very close friend here in New York. He reminded me a little while ago that today was her birthday. She would've been thirty-eight today, I think. Two years already . . . How does the time go by so fast? I miss her at odd moments. I know my partner-in-crime does, too; losing her was harder for him, as they were closer. He doesn't talk about it much. We're still close with her kids and with her partner, and for that I'm grateful. She was a great friend, and we're blessed to have known her, and I hope that wherever she is, she's happy and healthy and loved.

grey would be the color

My work computer is dead. I still feel busy-busy all the time. And lately, I've just been frustated by my life. Lack of time, lack of money, lack of space, everything. I'm trying to ignore it and just get things done so I can feel less stressed. One day at a time, one task at a time, and eventually I'll feel like I'm in control of my life again.
Without further ado, here are the next three books I've read this year:
6) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin. This book took me by surprise. I'm not as into epic fantasy as I used to be. In fact, it's safe to say that these days I prefer fantasy of the urban variety. So the fact that this book just sucked me in and kept me enthralled until the end was pretty exciting. I like the characters, the court intrigue, and the religion, and the descriptive language is lush and well done. I will recommend this to anybody who likes fantasy books, or just good writing. A keeper, for sure, and I'm looking forward to the next one!
7) Foiled by Jane Yolen. This is a cute graphic novel about a girl who doesn't really fit in at school. She's a talented fencer, and spends most of her time outside school at practice for that. But over the course of the story learns that faery folk exist and she's been chosen as a Protector. I enjoyed this, and if it's the start of a series I'll read the rest, but I don't think it's a keeper for me.
8) Heat Wave by Richard Castle. This book was SO MUCH FUN. It reads like a long episode of Castle, which I also adore, so I had a great time with this and can't wait to get my hands on the next one. Definitely a keeper, and definitely recommended to everybody!
Anyway. Time to move on to the next thing on my work to-do list. Hopefully by the end of this week I'll have things under control again. Blogging may be pretty intermittent as I deal with computer issues at work and lack of consistent internet at home, but I'll try to be back soon. I've got a post about the writing life percolating in the back of my brain.
Happy Tuesday!