New Blog Look...Again

Seems I have a need to change up my blog look every season or so. Found one I liked so I thought I would try it out. I still need to find a couple of other things to add to the site, but I did at least get my blog roll back up, so I thought I did pretty good. Please let me know what you think if you have a chance.

Re-reading favorites

So I have pretty much just been re-reading books from JD Robb's In Death series for the majority of this month. Actually, other than reading Demon Ex Machina at the beginning of the month, and a manuscript not yet published, I've only read books from the In Death series. I managed to re-read the first three books in the series in the past week and it made me remember how much I absolutely love Eve Dallas, Roarke, and all the other characters we get to meet in this series (not that I ever really forget how much I love these characters). I could very easily re-read the entire series and be completely happy. However, I have so many books in my house that I haven't read yet, I'm going back to my mountain of books I haven't read and picking something.

I decided to read a YA book for a change, since I haven't read one in a while. One of my favorite YA series I've read is The House of Night series by PC Cast & Kristin Cast. Based on a recommendation by my friend Paula, I moved the 2 books I have yet to read to the top of my TBR pile. I love the Zoey Redbird and her friends and am so excited to get back into this series with Tempted. I held off reading Tempted until now and already have Burned, the next book in the series on my bookshelf. Already totally sucked back in to the series and can't wait to see what happens over the next 2 books.

I also still need to post my thoughts about Lover Mine. Honestly, I don't know that I could actually say anything about LM that hasn't already been said. I'm still trying to get my thoughts together so I say more than just I totally loved this story, but not quite there yet. Hope to find time over the long holiday weekend to post.

Demon Ex Machina

Demon Ex Machina is the latest book in the Tales of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner. From the back cover.~

In between demon patrols and teaching self-defense classes for local moms, Kate has to deal with a teenage daughter, who is gung ho about being a demon slayer in training, and a toddler son entering a tantrum phase that rivals anything from the pits of hell.

To make matters worse, ever since her current husband, Stuart, learned about her secret life, he’s been practically smothering her with attention. That wouldn’t be so bad, except now Stuart’s fired up to learn everything he can about demons, and that kind of research can get a former desk jockey killed.

It’s a lot to juggle. And on top of it all, Kate has to find a way to release the demon possessing her first husband, Eric, without destroying the man inside. Because if the demon within Eric gets free, it just might be more than this seriously stressed suburban mom can handle…

Julie Kenner gives her fans another winner with Demon Ex Machina. I absolutely love the characters in this series. Kate is such a strong and amazing woman. She manages to juggle her family and her demon hunting job and even find time to teach self-defense classes to the local moms. With the research help of her best friend Laura, Kate searches for a way to release the demon from her first husband Eric, without killing him. With each passing day, it becomes evident that the demon in Eric is becoming stronger. Allie, Kate and Eric’s daughter is also coming into her own as a demon hunter. Of course the fact that she is only fifteen years old doesn’t ease her mother’s worries for her. Stuart, Kate’s current husband decides he needs to train to help her kill demons as well as help keep their son Timmy safe. Everything heats up as Kate must battle to kill the demon inside Eric, without killing her daughter’s father in the process. Kenner gives the reader an edge of their seat ride as the book progresses.

I really enjoy this series and look forward to each new installment. Demon Ex Machina actually was released in October 2009, but I was just able to get it from the library in the last couple of weeks. I love the fast-paced story of Kate and her family and friends and hope there will be another book in this series soon.

Music City Keeps On Playin'

Right now GAC is doing the Music City Keeps On Playin' benefit concert to raise money for people in middle Tennessee who were effected by the floods on May 1 and 2. To make donations, you can call 877-768-NASH or go to www.gactv.com/help. Every penny that is raised through this telethon/benefit concert will stay in middle Tennessee to help all the victims in this area. Nashville is getting the most attention right now, but there are so many smaller towns and counties that still have areas under water now.

I really don't think the floods in Nashville and middle Tennessee really got the attention the people in this area deserved. Tennesseans were out as soon as the waters started to rise helping one another and trying to get anyone in the flood areas to safety. In fact, so many volunteers going out in their own boats to do rescues is one of the biggest reasons the casualty numbers are so low. Thanks to all the country music people in the area, we are starting to get the attention of the national media. However, FEMA and the insurance companies won't be able to cover everything for the people in this area, so please if at all possible, please donate to help the flood victims of middle Tennessee.

Latest treatment from my doctors...for now

So I went to see my medical oncologist last Wednesday. After waiting for well over on hour to be taken to a room and then waiting another 30 minutes in the room, I finally was able to see the doctor. However, in the 6 weeks since I last saw her, she had not bothered to get with any of my other doctors to find out what course of treatment we were going to take. Unfortunately for the doctor, she asked how I was feeling and I literally held nothing back. I let her know how inconsiderate I felt they were to not only keep we waiting for over 1 1/2 hours, but not rescheduling the appointment when they hadn't talked to my doctor yet. She let me know she would get with my doctor and call me once they had decided what treatment would be our best bet.

She finally gave me a call on Monday and we are trying me on Tamoxifen, while staying on BCP to see if it will work much like Tamoxifen and HRT. I have to stay on Tamoxifen for at least 6 weeks and then get an appointment with the doctor to run blood test and go over any major side effects. The doctor did tell me if I have any side effects we would scrap the trial and look into other ways to monitor the tissue. Since I'm already scheduled to have mammograms at least twice a year, I'm not sure what other type of testing would be done each year. So I'm on a wait and see pattern again, as I try a new medicine.

JR Ward Book Signing at The Bookstore

So my cousin Gina and I went to the JR Ward book signing in Radcliff, KY tonight at The Bookstore. I love going to The Bookstore(always find at least one or two new books to buy) and they really know how to host a book signing. We had the best time and even managed to get our picture taken with the WARDen, as well as having a picture signed for my cousin Beverly who missed out on the signing for her prom(JR was so super sweet). Thanks to my cousin Gina, I have lots of notes from the signing. In fact, she emailed me all the notes she took and I've posted all question and answers below.

Notes from the Lover Mine book-signing:

Was Rehvenge at the wedding? Yes

Do the brothers find out about Darius? No, it would upset all of the relationships.

Rhage and Mary and a child, Wrath and Beth and the birth of the King – Slices of Life purchased by her publisher for a paperback publication (not going to be available for at least 18 months, not even written yet).

Will Tohr have a new mate? Yes

Who matched Tohr and Wellsie? “I wouldn’t know that, would I?” big smiles and lots of sarcasm

Qhuay book? Lots of thoughts on that, but really seems like it would be best written into a (BIG!) novella. She wants to do it right for the story but doesn't want to offend any readers. Most likely name will be Blay & Qhuinn, so readers will know exactly what they will be getting.

Will the training center be reopened? Yes, definitely (“They need that now.”)

Will the previous books be reprinted in hardback? Maybe, really an unknown

What about the coffins? Can’t tell, really don’t know yet. Theory: coffins are in Caldwell and the Tomb is in Caldwell coffins = remains of the original brothers

Will John be joining the brotherhood? Yes, and maybe even Xhex (openings for Slices of Life)

You mentioned a werewolf on the boards or someplace. Will there be a werewolf in the series? “I can’t say a word about werewolf. And no Alpo jokes!”

Speaking of the coffins, Wellsie’s in the tomb, right? No, Vishous has her remains until Tohr can deal. (The Scribe Virgin needs to get her act together.)

Next book: Payne and Manny

Are you going to fix Jane? Nothing wrong with her, nothing to fix, but there will be lots of V and Jane in Payne and Manny’s book.

What about Darius coming back to take care of Beth? He still does, just as John Matthew, seizures and everything. “Besides, Wrath’s doing a pretty good job, if you ask me.”

Was Tohr a pretrans in the flashbacks in Lover Mine? Not a pretrans, just newly transitioned.

What does Saxton look like? “Remember, in the Great Gatsby, with Robert Redford? Like that. Well-kept, elegant, lovely, not a pansy.”

You mentioned 3 European dudes? When will they appear? Unknown, though they’re there, somewhere along the line, and will join the Brotherhood stories eventually (possible Slices of Life).

iAm and Trez will each have their own book.

Lassiter gets his own book.

Was Tohr mated when he and Darius rescued No’One? No, engaged/betrothed but not mated and haven’t even met yet (Tohr’s mother set their relationship up...she let it slip later in the Q&A).

Is losing Payne the Scribe Virgin’s wake-up call? Something in Payne’s book will kick her into gear.

Will Muhrder come back for Xhex? Can’t say yet (face all O.o) Muhrder does get his own book, though.

Was Xhex definitely not pregnant by Lash? Yes, yes, yes!

Will Claire and Michael show up in the Brotherhood world? Really didn’t know.

Will Brotherhood show up in the Fallen Angel books again? Yes, in the 3^rd book. Crave is set in Boston, but the 3^rd book will be back in Caldwell.

Payne and Manny’s book will be out in April.

Angels book will be out a month earlier than anticipated.

“Isaac [main character of Crave] has a way of saying ‘Ma’am’ that makes you want to drop your pants.” = sexy Southern drawl.

Does Bella going to South Carolina involve Muhrder somehow? Yes, in some way...

Did Saxton have anything to do with Qhuinn being disowned? No, definitely not.

Lash has Qhuinn’s brother.

Where did the Brotherhood come from? They exist in her head, like a movie that can be rewound and fast-forwarded. Not based on anyone and not influenced by anyone. Also, when we’re reading the newest book, she’s already 2 to 3 books ahead of us (she’s very nervous about public reaction to something in Payne and Manny’s book.).

How far do you outline? As it comes time to write, only when it’s time to “pull the trigger.”

Layla: much love for Layla. She has a theory about Layla that she wouldn’t share, despite much dithering and pleading with her mods/publicists.

Did No’One have another name before having Xhex? Yes, but it’s going to be revealed as part of her story.

Qhuinn’s brother’s frozen? “Well, he’s not moving a lot...”

Did Symphaths just happen to evolve from vampires or were they a mistake? “Law of unintended consequences” and mutations and inbreeding and a bad branch of vampires

Have you considered taking the Brothers from books to movies? LOVES the idea of casting call. “Yeah, your resume is great and your repertoire is awesome. Now, drop your pants.” (big uproar in the Bookstore) But she’d have to give up intellectual property rights and there would be some loss of control and she’d need tons of leverage to keep the stories untainted and the characters protected (cited JK Rowling as a great example of book-to-movie management) “Tom Cruise cannot be Wrath; Tom Cruise can’t even be Fritz!!” Lots of uproar and excitement. Did reveal that she’s been approached about making movies.

At the end of Lover Avenged, Wrath installs Rehv as the king/leader of the symphaths, with the idea that he’ll manage the colony. How is he at the mansion? Lives at the mansion with Ehlena. “Wrath isn’t a retard.” Wrath is using him to try to make alliances with the colony and family is very important to him (Bella and his niece are both at the mansion) and, anyway, he’s not going to try to mess with the self-involved aspect of symphaths too much.

How can Xhex go out into the sun? In the same way that Beth can go out in to the sun and Rehv can’t and Butch can’t dematerialize. It’s all a part of their biology and how half-breeds have different characteristics of each part.

Why does Payne know V and V not know Payne? Because Payne’s been with the Chosen and she’s had access to the seeing bowls and she knew that the Scribe Virgin sent V to live with the Bloodletter (that’s why she killed him).

Is Payne the lie that makes V upset at the WARDen? The lie isn’t Payne and there are still issues between the two.

Will there be more of Nahlla? Yeah, possibly even a Slice of Life eventually detailing her story.

Will Saxton have a book? “You do not want me to answer that.” “Awwwwwww...”

Will there be another compendium for the Slices of Life? Anthology type thing, printed in paperback.

Where is Boo? Just kinda around. BTW, Boo and George get along great (“because Boo is smarter than George. I’m a dog person, I’m not a cat person. And, I think Boo’s more than he appears to be.”).

Since Phury isn’t ‘servicing’ the Chosen, will there be another Primale? Can’t answer that. A lot of unknowns because the Chosen keep going back and forth to our world.

Why is V mad? V just honestly doesn’t care (and there’s a lot of him in the next book, she’s not looking forward to it).

In the interview, he gives her a dagger. Is that an attempt to make amends? Left unanswered in favor of the previous question. Then the book-signing commenced.

We were told we couldn't post anything on the yahoo boards or the BDB boards, but not told anything about our personal blogs, so I had to share with everyone. Thanks to Jerry and The Bookstore for hosting the event and the WARDen for being so super cool and nice. When we left it was an hour and a half in to what was supposed to be a two hour signing and at least another 100-150 people were still waiting to have books signed. The WARDen had promised to stay and sign every book when she started the Q&A portion of the night and as wonderful as she was to us, I know she stayed way past the original two hours.

Tut tut it looks like rain

So since yesterday, Nashville has had over 13" of rain. I had no idea when I was driving home yesterday afternoon how bad things were on the interstate. Luckily, I had decided to exit and take back roads home from the book signing, or I could have been caught in the biggest flooded area on I-24. TDOT pulled over 125 cars off the interstate that were caught in the flood waters. Of course, I still ended up driving through some high water, but was lucky enough to make it home with no problems.

I've been watching the weather almost non-stop since yesterday afternoon just trying to keep up with all that is going on. I did take some time today to watch a few shows on my DVR when I became too frustrated watching all the flooding. Needless to say, I didn't get any reading done this weekend nor any reviews written for my blog. I had also planned on trying to change up my blog this weekend, but was so freaked out about the weather, I just watched the news. Prayers going out to everyone in the flooded areas.

Gena Showalter Book Signing

Gena Showalter had a book signing today at Sherlock Books in Lebanon, TN. Since it was only about a 30 minute drive, I had made plans to go as soon as I saw the schedule. The fact that there is so much rain falling from the sky Noah should be here building an ark didn't stop me . I got there early so I could buy Gena's new book for my oldest niece, Amanda, and my friend Paula, as I had bought my copy earlier in the week. I also had all my Lords of the Underworld books with me to be signed, as well as Gena's YA book Intertwined. Gena is so nice and I just can't say how much I appreciated her taking the time to sign all of my books. I really tried not to go too fan-girl, but not sure I pulled it off. If you ever get the chance to meet Gena, it is so worth the trip. BTW Paula, she totally remembered you when I told her you said hi.

Books Read in April 2010

I thought I would start keeping a tally of my books read each month. I’ve kept a spreadsheet of my books since last year, but never put the total number read each month on my blog. I managed to read 8 books in April and was lucky enough to enjoy each of the books I read. My books read from April are as follows:

Mind Games by Carolyn Crane (debut novel)

If Books Could Kill by Kate Carlisle

Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare (debut novel from 2009)

Surrender of a Siren by Tessa Dare

A Lady of Persuasion by Tessa Dare

Cold Sight by Leslie Parrish (ARC)

Kiss Me If You Can by Carly Phillips (ARC from Net Galley)

Lover Mine by JR Ward

I have written up my thoughts on both Cold Sight and Kiss Me If You Can, but since both books come out in July, I’ll wait until closer to their release dates to post full reviews. I will say the readers are given winners once again by both Parrish and Phillips. I hope to get my post up about Lover Mine (spoiler free) by the end of the weekend. I will say now, that the WARDen totally delivered and Lover Mine goes on my list of favorite books by Ward.