The Haunting of Reindeer Manor – Concluded

AngelaLeave a comment

Kevin Guests' books as a series
Kevin Guests’ books as a series

Remember how I said yesterday that this story was fairly light on the blood-and-guts gore and I would have no issue with my teenage girls reading this?

Yeah. Never mind about that. Apparently all the blood-and-guts gore is in the second half of the book. It suits the story, and is a necessary part of setting the scene as this story comes to its conclusion. There is no need to be concerned about reading violence and brutality that is added just to add it; it is a part of the story and its conclusion and is just as necessary to the flow and feel of the story as the characters themselves are.

So, I generally try to not give any spoilers about books, and this one is no exception. It ended just as strong as it started, and this is certainly a book that needs to be put towards the top of your Read-by-Halloween list! What I can and will tell you, is that the 5 characters in this story were haunted more by their own demons of their past behavior compared to anything the entities in the house could do to them. Maybe that is the true moral of the story; the things that haunt us on the outside is due to the things we bury on the inside.

Next on my Halloween list!
Next on my Halloween list!

Since this book had a forward that stated it was part 1 of “The Haunted Houses of Anderson”, after the final chapter there is a teaser section for part 2 of “The haunted Houses of Anderson”, which is titled “The Chronicles of Foxwood.” I hope to be able to have this read before Halloween arrives, and any others that are in this series.

More to come!

The Haunting of Reindeer Manor – Kevin Michael Guest

AngelaLeave a comment
This appears to be one book of a series of books about haunted houses
This appears to be one book of a series of books about haunted houses

Looking for some more quick Halloween reads, I found The Haunting of Reindeer Manor, by Kevin Michael Guest. Reindeer Manor is a real Haunted Attraction in Dallas, Texas.

 Reindeer Manor

A professor looking to end his career with the publication of 9 hauntings, Professor Anderson forms a team of 4 others to investigate, not letting them know the history of the house, Reindeer Manor, so he could get their honest feelings, input, opinions. Jessie is a college student who has no Psychology or paranormal experience. Professor Anderson also has his secretary/mistress Mary attend, for no reason other than his own comfort I would imagine. Professor Fletcher is hard up for the money, and the Dean promised him a full time job if he does this favor for him and Professor Anderson. Amy is a medium with very strong powers that seem to be blocked by some entity in the house. These 4 comprise the team along with Professor Anderson, and convince the current owner of Reindeer Manor, who is using it as a Halloween Haunted House attraction, to restore it to its original form so they can examine it for 5 days and nights. For the sum of $100,000.00, the owner knows the dangers, and that he should refuse, but money wins out.

I am halfway through this story, and it is great reading so far. It is full of suspense, frights, and nothing too blood-and-guts gory that I would be concerned about my teenagers reading this and freaking themselves out! I will have this finished by tomorrow, and give my final report.

Fireproof – Eric Wilson

AngelaLeave a comment

Such an amazing, powerful story! The movie is just as good as the book, and for me to say that is pretty much a miracle!

I love reading books that are based around religion (I am of the Lutheran faith, a denomination of Protestants). This story really touches home on how to save a marriage, when most are willing to go to the lawyers, sign some papers, and try to make it disappear.

A firefighter is losing his marriage; his wife is done with being ignored, and he is done with her not taking care of him. So his father gives him a pact to follow for a month, no matter what. Do what this journal says, and if it doesn’t work, then you should probably get divorced.

Fireproof cover

We watch as he does everything required, yet is met with brick walls from his wife. He has a major issue with his mother anyhow, so he is curious to see how his father made this work.

I am not one big on giving spoilers, but when he realizes his mother was actually the one to give this “contract” to his father, he finally understands some of the many components of making a marriage work.

This book is a must read; it is not filled with religious overtones if that is not your thing. It definitely shows you the important things in life. How to live your life, how to forgive, and how to be great!

Does Anything Eat Wasps? And 101 other Unsettling witty Answers to Questions You Never Thought You Wanted To Ask – New Scientist

Angela2 Comments

Does Anything Eat Wasps CoverThis is one of the most informative, and funny books, I have ever read. New Scientist began publishing in 1994, answering questions of everyday science. This book is a compilation of the random questions they received, and the answers that helped these curious science wonderers. The chapters vary from our bodies, plants and animals, domestic science, our universe, our planet, weird weather, troublesome transport, and the best of the rest.

It appears to be an unimportant book, but it will give you information about things you were curious about, but never realized you were.

It will tell you if it really is toxic to eat the green potato chips (oh my goodness, I remember hearing this!), how long it takes your dead buried pet to actually turn into nothing more than a skeleton, and the all-consuming question, “Does anything eat wasps?”

You will find information concerning the foods you eat, the animals you care for, and so many random things that you will only be smarter for reading this book!

It is an easy read, funny and entertaining, and educational all to boot. If you can find this book, read it! It will not only leave you smarter, but also leave a smile on your face!

“Murder Off the Beaten Path” Excerpt

AngelaLeave a comment

Looking forward to picking this new release up this week!

M. L. Rowland's avatarM. L. Rowland's Weblog

Below is an excerpt from my book, “Murder Off the Beaten Path,” published by Penguin Random House under their Berkley Prime Crime label, and releasing Tuesday, October 7, 2014.

MurderOffTheBeatenPath

Lenny’s yell split the darkness. He fell backward onto the slope, yanking Gracie forward off her feet. She landed on the litter with her shoulder in the basket. Ribs knocked against the raised metal railing. Pain snatched the breath from her lungs.

The litter pendulumed below Lenny, dragging Gracie along with it. She dug her knees and feet into the rocky soil. “Stop!” she bellowed into the radio.

A long whistle blast sounded faintly from above.

The litter stopped moving. A scrabble of pebbles rolled down the hill. No sound, but two rescuers breathing heavily.

“Litter, sitrep,” Ralph said over the radio.

Grunting against the pain, Gracie pushed herself up off the litter and crouched on the steep hillside, propping herself…

View original post 147 more words

The Lightning Thief (book 1) – Rick Riordan

Angela2 Comments

You may have likely saw the movie, but hopefully that did not prevent you from reading the story. We all know that books are always better than their movie counterpart, right? Although I do thoroughly enjoy the movie version, I have read The Lightning Thief several times. It is that good.

It is funny, it can be sad. It will make you laugh out loud, and make you angry. You will certainly be rooting for the success of Percy Jackson on his mission. Being the son of Poseidon, Percy has a lot to learn about thy mythology side of his life, while trying to save his life.

Grover and Annabeth, best friends and residents of Camp Half-Blood join Percy as he tries to find the stolen lightning bolt, and save his mother’s life at the same time. You’ll meet Medusa, Hades, Athena, and many more Greek gods.

This is a lengthy series, but one you do not want to miss. Once again Rick Riordan delivers characters and storylines that you want to read again and again!

Enough Of That Fiasco!

AngelaLeave a comment

I (hopefully) moved all of my blog information back to wordpress.com, and am hoping for a fairly quick reply from Bluehost to refund me my money from my 3 year hosting plan that I paid, minus of course the 5 days of stress when I attempted, unsuccessfully, to use it.
For those of you that have managed to migrate your blog to a self-hosted website, I am beyond impressed. This experience was so stressful to me that I do not know that I would ever attempt it again. And that is really too bad because my control over my blog is again limited.
If you have self-hosted and found an amazing hosting site that did not find it necessary to charge $19.99 just to talk you through the process of moving your domain name, let me know. And no, I did not pay them anything to help me; it did not appear very user friendly right from the get-go.
So, after today, hopefully I can get back on track with my daily blogs, and I apologize for all the errors and non-existent webpages you were likely directed do.
Have a Happy Tuesday!