Jump Start My Blog!

Okay so the song is Kickstart my Heart (by Motley Crue), not Jump Start, but hey it was the tune in my head as I wrote the title. *grins*

So I promised myself I’d write a blog post on Friday (Jan. 4), edit it on Monday (Jan 7) and post it on Tuesday (Jan 8), but I didn’t find much motivation. At least not until I kicked my own butt in to gear and opened the file to do it.

You see, I seem to have run out of blogging steam. Combine that with the explosion (metaphorical) at the day job to super busy,  NaNoWriMo and the Holidays and my quietness can be explained. On top of all that is the business transition that my company is going through which will likely result in the fact that I’ll have worked for three different companies before 2013 is done. The last one of those jobs I’ll be hunting for. But my resume been updated and thoroughly proofed by my hubby (after all he’s looking to maximize his ‘return on investment’ *grins*). I just need to send it out and wait for the calls to interview.

But let’s not worry about that right now shall we? Let’s worry about my blog instead. I don’t want to see it die, which is what it was doing these last three months. So after a little jump start, thinking about goals and life situation I came to a decision. I’m going to cut back to monthly.

The plan is to post something on the second Tuesday of every month, aka Microsoft Tuesday*. Why that Tuesday? Because it’s handily marked on all the calendars I get from my hubby’s work. Plus I know when it’s coming around due to the amount of work my hubby has to do for it.

*It is labeled this because this is the day Microsoft publishes its monthly patch for updating its software to all users who have it, specifically related to their programs’ security.

As to topics, well this is labeled a Diary so I’m not going to tie myself down to any one subject, though it will likely be related to reading, writing, crafting or my family in general. And speaking of such things, I do have a book review for you!

 

“No Place Like Home” by Anne R. Allen

Camilla Randall thought her life had become perfect. She works in a book store owned by her best friend’s fiancé, she even has a little cottage that’s all her own. Okay so there wasn’t a hunk of a man in her life, but that wasn’t a make or break it thing. But of course life doesn’t stay perfect, and when a cute quirky suited tourist starts flirting with her and asking about homeless guys things go up in smoke. Suddenly paychecks are bouncing and her one employee accuses her of withholding money. But it’s not her fault, her friend is going bankrupt and he has to sell the store to a posh rich woman who redecorates Camilla’s house right under her nose!

But that’s not the worst of it! Beyond the missing homeless man our suited friend seems to care about, the mansion near Camilla’s friends’ house has gone up in flames, leaving the Doria, founder of Home Magazine, under suspicion and her husband potentially deceased. And it all starts with Doria going into surgery for a tummy tuck!

Anne does a great job alternating between Camilla and Doria, pulling their threads together in just the right way. My suspicions would be arouse and then confirmed or denied just a chapter or two later. It was great, Including the reappearance of a character from the second book (Ghostwriters in the Sky). Yes, ‘No Place Like Home’ was definitely worthy being a two am book (aka the latest I stayed up to read it without noticing the passage of time). I even managed to read it shortly after it came out! I think that’s a first for me. So there you have it. It’s another fun Camilla Randal mystery added to my shelf. Hope it doesn’t mind its fantasy companions.

 

Toodles (till next month)!

:} Cathryn Leigh
P.s. this was supposed to post itself on tuesday and didn't soo sorry!

They are Men, Manly Men!

But they aren’t men in tights*. Nope they are the men of Sherwood Ltd. and Camilla’s gotten herself all wrapped up with them. Okay, just the one, but her taste in men is slowly improving...

Last night I stayed up till midnight to finish reading the last book of the Camilla Randall Mysteries Set; Sherwood Ltd. by Anne R Allen. I loved it! But here's a more detailed review. *grin*

It starts off with Camilla being penniless, it seems to be something that plagues Camilla a lot. And of course, shortly thereafter, her ability to attract danger rears up its ugly head; again. Her ex-husband, Jonathan, has disappeared with no hope of retrieving the money that should have been hers from him. Desperate, she crashes at her friend Planet’s SF Apartment while he’s away and meets an intriguing English Man in the alley below.

But is Peter Sherwood, a Peter Pan or a Robin Hood? It’s hard to tell, but what’s clear is that Camilla starts falling for him, even though she knows how bad her luck is with guys. But, he gives her an offer she can't refuse and thus her journey to England begins. Upon landing Camilla has hopes for a bright future, until she reaches her destination.

And so begins a complex unraveling of what is truly going on at Sherwood ltd., where nothing is as it seems. But, somehow, thing are unraveled and the story ends; perfectly.

But what intrigues me most is the fact that this book and the second one, Ghost Writers in the Sky, were inspired by events in Anne’s own life. Just goes to show that if you work hard and find your creativity, you can turn what might be a mediocre event into an extraordinary story.

Which reminds me...

The first place my husband (then boyfriend) and I rented together turnout to have been the sight of a triple Murder suicide. And we’re not talking a decade earlier, we’re talking the people who lived there before us. The rental company didn’t tell us, my husband found out with his awesome internet hunting skills (back when Google was in Beta). The event explained why the front hall stairs, and front bedroom/office/closet (it was 5’ x 10’ if that) had brand new carpet and why the back bedroom’s wood floors were painted maroon.

Nothing spooky happened to us, though the downstairs neighbors kept asking if we heard or saw things. Living there gave us street cred too. An important thing when you’re two young white people living in a somewhat Hispanic neighbor hood, with the projects two blocks away.

I suspect if I wanted to, I could turn that into a good story. Obviously something would have to happen, but that’d be the fun of using my imagination. Of course, now that it's out there and you want to run with it – feel free. I won’t make you pay me 50% for the idea. *wink*

 

:} Cathryn Leigh

*Robin Hood: Men In Tights – directed by Mel Brooks. Delightful film, and I got to see it twice in the movie theater.

Two Books in One Week? It’s a Mystery!

I had the rare opportunity this month to read two books. Even stranger I got to read them both in the span of a week. And each one only took two days. Yes, I can be a fast reader when I have the chance.

The first book was “Dragons in the Water” by Madeleine L’Engle. The opportunity to read this book came as bitter sweet. Fiona was sick, and I read while snuggling her and watching her sleep in case she threw up. She only did once, but I read until 1 am that night just to be on the safe side.

The book was a nice return to the world of Madeleine L’Engle. I haven’t read all of her books, but certainly more than most non biliblophiles. “Dragons in the Water” was about a boy, just into his teen years, having set to sail to South America with his newly acquainted middle-aged cousin. They travel by freighter and Simon meets Mr. O’Keefe and his two eldest children, Poly and Charles.

The children amuse themselves upon the boat as only children with vivid imaginations can, until things begin to happen, including the murder of Simon’s cousin. The incident snowballs them all into a loop lies, deceit and corrupt policemen when they arrive at the Port of Dragons, Venezuela.

As a young adult mystery, I found “Dragons in the Waters” very enjoyable. Not to mention it’s renewed my vow to purchase, or at least read, more of Madeleine L’Engle’s tales. Especially since my favorite odd ball couple, Megan and Calvin O;Keefe and their family feature is a few of them (like this one)!

Next up on my reading list was Anne R. Allen’s second* Camilla Randell adult mystery, “Ghost Writers in the Sky”. I started this one under happier circumstances. I began it while waiting outside for my husband to pick me up from work. I finished it sitting in my backyard on our half day Fridays**.

Poor Camilla is having a rough time of it again, as we move twenty years forward in her life (she’s now older than me *giggles*). A marriage gone to hell, an alienated best friend, and once more not a penny to her name. Oh, and slander about her in the papers (again). Camilla just seems to be a trouble magnet, poor thing. But, like in the last book, she faces her problems with aplomb, drawing upon her ‘inner great aunt’ for strength.

In the hope of escaping the paparazzi, Camilla travels to California to attend a writers conference, and do a talk, for a no show celebrity. I’m not going to go into all that happens, though. Suffice to say, it’s a whirl wind of craziness on a dude ranch gone wine, with a rising body count. Is it one murderer or two? It couldn’t be her friend Plant, could it? Or the sexy widower cowboy Camilla has the hots for? And what is with the Camilla doppelganger, she keeps seeing?

Don’t worry the mystery gets solved by then end, though it seems impossible given the sheer number of loose ends. Anne does it, and does it well. I definitelyy enjoyed this read. I even remembered that the end would be at 66% of the way through the trilogy. *grin*

How did she manage to write them so similar in length?

*Second chronologically, but I think it was the first one she wrote. (Hoping Anne will stop by and correct me if I’m wrong.) :}

**My day has given us a very nice summer perk of letting us leave the office at 12:30 pm every Friday from June 1 to August 31. So far, I’m loving it.

:} Cathryn Leigh

P.S. I'll be moving my posting date to Thursday or Friday, due to the fact that, at least for the summer, Wednesday night is mine and I'm dedicating it to my writing tasks.

A Dog, a Pageant and a Play?

Oh, my word, this week has felt crazy!

• I finished reading this months novel
• I had a short story published
• I spent the day at the Zoo with my daughter’s kindergarten class
• I’ve participated in an afternoon of dance rehearsal
• We’ve adopted a puppy

And that’s on top of taking care of the kids, the husband, the house, going to work and all that. Yeah, I’m feeling a bit exhausted. Somehow, I will survive. I have before. It’s just one of those deep breath nights. Now, let me expand on the first two topics. *grins*

Review:  The Best Revenge by Anne R. Allen

I purchased this book on my Kindle as part of the Camilla Randall Mystery Box Set. Having just gotten used to figuring out how to judge where I was in a book, reading a book in a set threw me off. Somewhere around 25% of the way through I had to put the book down because I wasn’t certain I could handle it if Camilla’s life got any lower. Once I started it again, I quickly finished The Best Revenge (at 33% through the set).

What a relief.

Anne's writing pulled me in so deep that every time I came out of the book I’d be shaking from the emotional ride. Poor Camilla, debutant of the high society, thrust from her innocent world into one of sex and drama. Is she a darling in need of protection as playwright Plantagenet Smith believes? Or is she a spit fire young woman who can take on the world as reporter Jonathan Kahn believes? Oh and did I mention there’s the mystery of who killed the rocks star and some other sneaky mysteries lurking in the background ? Like I said, Camilla is put through a lot, but I’ll let you read to find out how she gets through it all.

I’m PUBLISHED! SQUEEEEEEEEE

Okay, so this is the last topic for the night. (I need some sleep before I have to wake up and tend to the potty needs of puppy and son.) That’s right, I’m an officially published author! After submitting a short story to Mark Williams, a few months ago, he took it and ran... Okay not quite. He did surprise me with an e-mail that included this link. And there is was, “The Harvest Pageant” by Cathryn Leigh a MWiDP single! (Can I also squee because they are the same people who published that box set above? *giggles*) It’s up on Amazon UK too.

Saffina Desforges wrote the intro (which is also posted on the Amazon page) I like the last paragraph best:

“Traditional fairy tales can sometimes be dark and brooding, and overly-stretched, while modern day fairy tales are often written in a modern style that ill-fits the setting. In The Harvest Pageant Cathryn Leigh achieves a delightful balance, with exotic settings and names, classic fairy tale themes, and a sound moral base, all told in a single short story that’s just right for bed-time reading.”

Wow, I would have never have thought about that story as kids bedtime story. After all, it’s the same setting as my Phoenix Trilogy, which isn’t a children’s book at all. Maybe I can write kids tales. I don’t know, but I’ll be trying my hand at more short stories. Now that my name is out there, I feel the need to write and polish more!

*GINORMOUS HUGGLES* Saffina and Mark – You made my day! (and potentially my week, maybe month, not likely year though, that’ll come when I finally get a novel out *giggles*)

:} Cathryn Leigh

Anca in Auschwitz

Tuesday I was wondering what I was going to blog about. I thought about seeing if I couldn’t outline how I was going about my edit process for Watching by Miriam Joy. Then I thought about posting up some responses to Beautiful People. But, after I got home and had the kids in bed there was only one thing I wanted to do...

Finish reading Anca’s Story by Saffina Desforges (Amazon US). And now, I’m going to relay it to you as I fight back the tears.

The cover, and of course my post title gives away the fact that this is a Holocaust story. The author’s don’t hide that fact from, nor the fact that it’s about three children who smuggle themselves into Auschwitz, that concentration camp that anyone who has paid attention to history class should know the name of. And from my recollection it was touted as the worst of all of them.

The story doesn’t start there of course, but rather in mundane classroom of the modern age, supped up with high tech gadgets, and a frail old lady asked to come in a relate her tale to slumped teens who probably all think Vampires should sparkle *scoff*. That is until Anca asks them if they have lost a parent and then tells them that she lost hers at the age of 12. Her father was executed in front of her and her mother... well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out.

Make sure you bring tissues. I suspect if I hadn’t taken three separate occasions to read the whole book I’d have been bawling by the end.

The Holocaust isn’t a pretty time in our history. But it is something that must be remembered. I’ve been horrified and fascinated by it since my Fourth Grade teacher read Devil’s Arithmatic by Jane Yolen. I followed that up by reading, and then watching, The Diary of Anne Frank in middle school.  In high school two busloads of kids, including me and my friend, the Rabbi’s daughter, were shipped to the theater to view Schindler’s List.

Now I add Anca’s Story (Amazon UK) to my list. I am glad I did and I hope they get a movie deal with a director who knows what they are doing. That way those who won’t read can be exposed to the tale. A tale I feel worth every tear I cried, and all the ones I didn’t.

:} Cathryn Leigh

Between Time and Place

Packing’s been the name of the game this week. Tomorrow I hop on a plane for Texas to attend a friend’s wedding, sans kids. Then on Sunday I hope another flight to Florida to meet up with the kids at in-laws for a week of fun in the sun!

But enough of what I’m doing. 

I’ve finally gotten around to reading The Time Baroness by Georgina Young-Ellis; A book graciously given to me by Mister International Mark for reading and reviewing. He chosen well, yet again (though I have to confess I liked A Thousand Glass Flowers better). But, the cool thing about the time baroness is that it proved to be valuable research for my Phoenixes.

How, you ask? Well it’s simple Cassandra ends up in a similar situation to Sarah. Only Cassandra’s a bit more, okay A LOT more prepared because it’s scheduled time travel and Cassandra has a return date. She’s been studying the time period – that of Jane Austin – she’s had a few pieces of clothing made – she’ll buy the rest when she gets there – and her turn has now come.

Choosing to go three years after Jane Austin passed away, Cassandra embarks on a one year journey into the life style Jane’s books embodied. She’s there to observe and take notes, to write a paper about her experiences. But, just being an observer is hard than she thought, as she’s drawn to the upper, and lower, class circles. Finding herself in her own Austin like tale, Cassandra must face increasingly difficult challenges as her year long stay comes to a close.

In a way Sarah’s jealous, since Cassandra has a way to return home to her family and friends, but I suspect that in some ways Cassandra might be jealous of Sarah – especially if you discount everything that goes on in book 3. Anyway back to how this is research. Well Georgina probably did a lot of research and her portrayal of Cassandra’s acceptance, how she both is and is not, was something for me to take note of.

Looking at those notes I’m thinking Sarah may be disguising herself as a man sooner than I thought. Now won’t that put Jason in a funny pickle. It certainly will put an interesting spin on book 1. I’m kind of looking forward to it.

Now it’s well past my bedtime, so I say 'Adios', and if you all like next Wednesday I’ll post up my, technically Sarah and Jason’s, responses to the 2012 March Beautiful People questions. Unless you want me to regale you with tales of the wedding and Florida.

*giggles and grin*

:} Leigh, Cathryn

Hearts, Ghosts, and War, Oh My!

I read “Water’s Purple Heart” by Catherine Ryan Hyde in about two weeks. That’s a slow pace compared to some people I know and how fast I used to read, but I’ve got a lot more responsibilities than I used to. That’s why I left the book at work until last weekend. Then I devoured the remaining two thirds on Saturday, snacking on it here and there until I got to gobble it up as dessert after the kids were in bed.

The book was an easy read with it’s simple and yet poetic prose... Okay maybe not poetic, but succinct or concise sounds too cut and dry (and makes me think of the documents I write and review at work). But what is poetry anyway but lyrical prose striving to be succinct and precise, but in a pretty. So yes, in my mind the prose was poetic. Not once did my eyes wander ahead trying to skip dialog or descriptions.

Walter, the central character in “Walter’s Purple Heart”, is trying to come to grips with the fact he’s dead and life moved on without him. Killed at the end of World War II, he’d left his mother’s lemon pie and a fiancée to enlist with his best friend Andrew. Reincarnated in Michael, a twenty-one year old drifting pot-head, Walter manages to reconnect with Andrew and Mary Ann (the fiancée). Together the four of them sort out Walter’s life, death, and the feelings he hadn’t quite worked out.

Amazingly enough I finished the book right at bedtime, with my husband’s head on my lap. (Poor guy was exhausted from riding his dirt bike - fyi, the link is a video.) It was quite fitting, given the theme of love that ran through the book. (Real love too, not that stuff they try to pass off as love these days.) I definitely like this book. There are so many things in it that I can relate to.

• Walter / Michael’s different ways of feeling love – I’ve been through the transition of I do this because it’s expected to needing to hear my loved ones voice at least once a day.
• The Purple Heart – my grandfather earned one, but he never talked about it. My grandmother had to eves drop on his conversations with his army buddies to figure it out.
• Walter’s love of lemon pie – my grandfather's mother was a working woman (in a time of few) and to show her boys love, she'd stay up late and bake. My grandmother continued baking for my grandfather, though it was slowly killing him, because that's how he understood love.

Anyway, the book is sadly out of print (maybe she’ll get around to an e-book?) but if you go to her website page for it, she’s got some links to where used books can be found. Catherine Ryan Hyde is also the author of that amazing story “Pay It Forward”. I’ve seen the movie, now I feel need to read the book.

And since we’re on the topic of books, Charley R put up my guest post on her blog, Leaning Tower of Plot, yesterday. It’s all about the books I grew up with and how they’ve influenced me as a writer.

:} Cathryn Leigh

A Shattering Review or Two

Review One: “A Thousand Glass Flowers” by Prue Batten


This is one of those books that feeds my reading addiction like pellets for my stove. Seriously you buy the pellets, feed them into the stove and they heat our family room like nobody’s business. She did the same thing with her book, lighting my mind with the passion to read. The only reason I remembered to make dinner is because my husband reminded me to.

I started reading this book on January 29th, thinking I was getting a head start on my February novel. Yeah, that little percent read mark, well it made it to 100% before midnight on January 31st. That’s okay I’ll read “Walter’s Purple Heart” by Catherine Ryan Hyde this month. But what made “A Thousand Glass Flowers” so good that I had to read it whenever I had the chance to?

It was most definitely the characters. It starts with Lalita who is a young scribe; a profession normally reserved for men. She is a strong woman, raised by her loving aunt and uncle, suddenly thrust into a world of lust and greed. Opposite her is Finnian who is a Færan or magical being that is ‘Other’ than human. At first it’s hard to form an opinion of him, but as his story unfolds you feel deep sympathy for the man who grew up without love.

Their connection was painted with such skill that by the end of the second chapter, I had to read two more; hers and his. Continuing on two chapters at a time I waited with baited breath for their paths to cross. But, there is more at stake than their meeting as they race to find the Cantrips of Unlife. Sometimes working together sometimes apart, each with their own reason for the hunt.

Besides the characters, there is the rich and varied world though which they travel. “A Thousand Glass Flowers” takes us on a tour of the Mediterranean coastlands. The names of places are slightly changed, but familiar enough that only a minimum of description was required to immerse me in it. A feat Prue pulled off well.

But in the end, it was the characters I cared about, wondering if they would ever trust each other enough to work as a team and how their quest would end. I’ll warn you that the end had no happily ever after, but it was satisfying. So satisfying I’m not even trying to imagine what happens next. And that’s pretty amazing since I have a tendency to imagine more.

Review 2: CHARLEY’S PUBLISHED!

Okay, Okay, this isn’t a review view but I just had to do some squealing for her. Those of you readers who are from Protagonize will know her best as SpookOfNight. She’s probably said hi to everyone on the site at least once. Anyway, she’s taken the plunge, submitted a short story and voila! Publication in “SaffinaDesforges Presents... (The Kindle Coffee-Break Collection Vol.2)” – that’s the Kindle US link, Charley’s got the Kindle UK link on her blog. I’m sure other platforms will follow for every country possible.
The i in MWiDP doesn’t stand for international for no reason!

I think I might have to see if I can get in the next edition, so we can get a running streak – Miriam in Volume 1, Charley in Volume 2 and Me in Volume 3... But what in the world would I submit?

:} Cathryn Leigh

Reading to Memory Lane

Today I think I’ll talk a little bit about what I’ve been reading. I’ve been doing very well with that goal actually, and I think I could read more than one novel a month, but I think it’s best, for the time being, to stick to that rate. I’d hate to kick up my addiction and lose all my time to it. Still having the Kindle is nice. I can get a little bit of reading done anywhere, like when waiting for the hubby to pick me up from work. But I am digressing.

The novel I read this month was A Storm Hits Valparaiso by David Gaughran. It is an epic tale of South America’s struggle for freedom as told from seven perspectives. He starts with a barmaid in Valparaiso and then takes us back and forth across the Atlantic. It was fun trying to figure out who would cross paths with who. Sometimes the moment was brief and other times the paths became interwove. It ends, full circle, with the barmaid, returned to Valparaiso. War, no matter what kind, changes everything and David captures that well in this book.

Now, I bought this book because I’d found David Gaughran’s blog in my gathering of places to find information about publishing a book. In addition, South America fascinates me. My father was born in Paraguay to missionary parents and he first came to USA when he was 15. So, despite the fact he carries a very American name, he’s Hispanic. My step-mother is from Columbia. I don’t know of anyone with a bigger family. She has nine older siblings and how many nieces nephews who have kids too I don’t know, but they all seem to keep in touch.

Memorial to Simon Bolivia
in Santa Marta Colombia

I was very fortunate, in that, when I was 16, I got to visit both countries. We went to a family reunion of sort for my step-mom for New Years. Quite the change from the cold New England climate I came from. We even spent a day at Simon Bolivia’s memorial. Then that summer we returned, this time to go to Paraguay and visit my Abuela y Abuelo who’d returned to where my dad grew up to visit the church they’d founded. We even skipped over to Brazil to see the Iguassu falls.

Iguassu Falls, from the Brazilian Side

I could probably write a post or two just about those trips, complete with the pictures I took. At least I know I have pictures of Paraguay; there's one of the falls that rivals the professional ones. Of course I’d have to find the photographs first, and if I couldn't find them I'd have to ask my step-mother if I could borrow hers, at least until I got them all scanned. Those were the days before before digital cameras. At least, before affordable personal digital cameras were available.  

:} Cathryn Leigh

Am I Worthy?

Last week I mentioned something about having Guest Posts on my blog. Well apparently, the time was right as my two good friends Charley and Miriam immediately volunteered. Of course they won’t do it for free, but at least it’s only words they are asking me to write in return. So look for Charley and Miriam to appear here and in exchange I’ll appear on their blogs.

In addition, on Monday, Saffina Desforges had a facebook status looking for un-published author’s who wouldn’t mind showcasing their work on her blog. I volunteered. I must have been the first response because she e-mailed back saying if I got something to her by January 25th, I’d be the first. That’s a “Yikes!” and “Oh My Gooses” all at once. I wasn’t sure I had anything worthy, but thanks to Charley and Miriam , I have a good candidate, if my revising doesn’t then make it unworthy. *grin*

"We're not worthy" - Wayne's World

And since we are talking about guest blogging, I must mention Mark Williams. After I got my Kindle for Christmas, he kindly gave me two books, with my promise to do a review. He said if it was fairly lengthy and in depth he might consider posting it to his blog. I don’t know if I can write a review worthy of that but I’ll give it my best shot. The least I can do is post a condensed version to Amazon. I ought to be worthy enough to do that.

So am I worthy?

Yes, I am and you can be too. You just have to work hard, believe in yourself, and have a few cheerleaders to remind you that you got what it takes.

:} Cathryn Leigh