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What’s Keeping Me Busy Right Now

January 24, 2015AngelaLeave a comment

I am currently reading, for my own pleasure, “An Irish Country Wedding” by Patrick Taylor, M.D. This is one of several books in his Irish series, and the 5th one I am reading, out of 10 currently in the series. Patrick Taylor is a licensed Medical Doctor, retired, as well as a former Professor.

These are great stories about 2 Doctors who live and work in the Irish town of Ballybucklebo. They are set in the 1950’s and further on, depending on the story you are reading. There is a lot of back story information about the political issues that have happened in Ireland since the 1930’s, and it lends a good deal to the story without being overwhelming.

It does not take long into the first story of this series to fall in love with the Doctors, their housekeeper Kinky Kincaid, and all the various characters throughout the quaint village of Ballybucklebo. If you are a fan of all things Irish, the political history of Ireland, or like stories that accurately reference medical terms and issues, while teaching you something at the same time, I would highly recommend you give Patrick Taylor’s books a try!

I am also in the process of editing one book that I am nearly finished with, and should be starting on another book editing job tomorrow. I am really loving getting to be on this side of the literary world, while helping authors publish the best possible story they can!

Are you reading anything at the moment that you can’t put down?

The Magician’s Nephew – The Chronicles of Narnia – C. S. Lewis

January 21, 2015Angela12 Comments

Out of all 7 of the stories in The Chronicles of Narnia series, I think “The Magician’s Nephew” is my favorite one! I never read these stories during my childhood (I have no idea why!) but I have read them several times in my recent past. This is a series that I get to share with my girls, and they like it as much as I do.

My copy is a bit tattered and worn, or as I like to think of it; very well loved!

Well, maybe not as much, but they like it none-the-less!

The Magician’s Nephew takes you through how Narnia came to be, along with Aslan, the White Witch, and Professor Kirke, or Digory Kirke in this story. The first tree that gets planted in Narnia has significance in future stories as well.

The Uncle is soon to show his true colors!

Digory is staying with his Aunt and Uncle, due to his mother having a severe illness. Extremely upset by this situation, he goes in the backyard, crying, and meets the neighbor, a girl his age named Polly. It does not take long for them to decide to start exploring the attics of the townhouses they live in. They are all connected through the roof, so they can get from one end to the other.

Leave it to Digory to sneak right into his own townhouse, and right into his Uncle’s secret room. This is where things get really interesting.

His Uncle sees Digory and Polly as the perfect pair to test out his magic rings. And let me be clear on this; these are real magic rings. As soon as Polly puts a ring on and disappears, Digory quickly sees what a coward his Uncle really is. Digory has no choice but to put a ring on himself and see if he can find Polly and bring her back.

Digory finds Polly, and they begin their amazing adventures into many different worlds. One world holds the White Witch, whom Digory and Polly end up bringing right back into their world.

The uncle is thrilled, Digory is furious, and someone had better figure out how to fix this mess, and quick!

I will not go further into the story with spoilers, but this is indeed how we got our Narnia. There are many situations that will test Digory’s morals, and with the help of Aslan, he attempts to put things right again. Or as right as possible considering he has unleashed the White Witch unto the world.

This is just the beginning of one of my very favorite series, and I have read these books to my girls until they were able to read them themselves.

Do you have a favorite Chronicles of Narnia book?

Books I Wish Were Made Into a Series

January 19, 2015January 19, 2015Angela7 Comments

You have read a book so wonderful that you just could not wait to read the next one, right? Me too. Then I search and ask, only to find out that there is not another book to follow up the one I just read.

What?

How could this book not have had a follow-up story? You want to know what happened to the characters beyond the last page of the last chapter, but it was never written.

I would have loved for Harper Lee to have written a follow-up book for “To Kill a Mockingbird“. What did Scout do when she grew up? How was her life changed by what she experienced from that court trial? What happened to Boo Radley? What about Jem and Dill? I am still amazed that this is the only novel Harper Lee ever wrote.

“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte is another story. Catherine, Edgar, and Heathcliff had a rough go of it, but what happened to Mr. Lockwood?

“The Catcher in the Rye“, “The Bell Jar“, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower“, and I could go on all day long!

Did you have a story that when you closed the book at the end, you wondered what happened to the characters with whom you had just invested so much of your time and feelings?

Editing For Dialect

January 18, 2015Angela8 Comments

My biggest concern when editing a story that uses a specific dialect, is that not everyone may understand that is what is going on, and think I am a terrible, hack-job editor.

I am currently editing a story that uses dialect different than you find in the majority of English written books. The dialect being used is not a heavy accent that portrays someone who lives in the Deep South, or New England, or the likes. It is not a play on the words so much, as it is that there are words missing.

Words are missing because the characters in the story use English as a second language. I am sure we have all had the pleasure of meeting an interesting person who did not use English as their main way of communicating. So you have a conversation that seems almost abbreviated, with the ‘extra’ words that are used in the English language not being used when someone is using English as their second language.

Have you heard that the English language is the hardest language to learn? It is true. More than any other language, the English language has so many “rules and regulations” concerning the use of it, that it can be difficult for pretty much anyone to use it correctly, even if it is the only language they know.

So for an example, what you might read is the following; “She found him at bus station.” If I were writing the story, I would say “She found him at the bus station.” I see nothing wrong with writing a story this way, when it is necessary to set the scene and make it authentic.

I am currently editing a story by a very talented author, and it took about 3 sentences into the second chapter where the characters were having a conversation for me to realize that what I thought were errors, were intentional. The main characters use English as their second language. I think if the author did not write it using this dialect, it would take away from the story.

Which brings me back to my main concern; will everyone who reads this story understand that it is supposed to be written in that style? I think I am pretty safe, as it is a very in-depth story and one that will interest a specific genre.

If you are a writer, do you use dialect in specific novels you write to lend authenticity to your story?

Mr. Mercedes – Stephen King

January 17, 2015Angela11 Comments

I absolutely loved this book! I can honestly say this is one of my favorites by Stephen King. I have not read all of his stories, but I have read most of them. I still think my all-time favorite of his is “From a Buick 8”. Have you read it? If not, you need to go to your local library and check it out (pun intended)! From what I understand, this is not the only story we will be seeing involving Bill Hodges. That makes me a very happy reader!

photo courtesy of www.liljas-library.com — photo courtesy of http://www.liljas-library.com

Bill Hodges is a retired detective, not coping well with sitting at home. When the perp (perk if you’ve read the story) decides to send him a letter, it gives Bill a new sense of purpose. This is one that he cannot let go, nor turn over to his former partner.

He goes back over everything he did involving this case, and the things he ignored that he shouldn’t have. You get to see Bill come to terms with the mistakes he has made, both at work and in his personal life. He tries to right the wrongs, when he can.

Brady Hartsfield (the jacket sleeve said Brady Hartfield, the spelling error surprised me. On the sleeve? Really?) is a brilliant mind from a troubled childhood. Still living at home with his alcoholic mother, he works two jobs while planning his next big kill.

Bill has two unlikely people working with him, which makes this story even more interesting. It is full of suspense, mystery, and even a few laugh out loud moments. I was literally holding my breath more than once while reading this! There were a couple spots where Mr. King mentioned two of his previous books; it fit right in with the story and was a nice touch.

If you haven’t read this, I highly recommend it. If you have, I would love to hear what you thought about it!

Library of the World’s Best Mystery and Detective Stories – Edited by Julian Hawthorne

January 14, 2015January 14, 2015AngelaLeave a comment

One of my favorite things about older stories, especially short stories, is that there is always a lesson in morals. Sometimes it is obvious, and sometimes you never see it coming. But either way, they are fun to read, and you are more than likely to learn something while you are at it!

I will be highlighting some of these great short stories included in this book over the next couple of days. I hope you enjoy the reviews as much as I enjoyed the stories!

HENRI RENÉ ALBERT GUY DE MAUPASSANT (1850-93)

The Necklace – A charming twist on a story of trying to deceive. A woman loses her friend’s diamond necklace. Instead of being honest, her husband and herself buy another one, and spend the next ten years living in poverty as they struggle to pay off the loan. Finally feeling free by having the loan paid off, Mrs. Loisel tells the friend of the burden they had carried for 10 years.

Her friend tells her the diamond necklace she lost was paste, and only worth mere change compared to what they spent on the replacement necklace.

An Uncomfortable Bed – A man, fearing he is going to be the victim of the pranks of his friends on an overnight stay, decides to sleep elsewhere for his own safety. In doing so; he manages to set himself up for a thing exactly as he was trying to avoid.

Ghosts – Not so much a ghost story, as it is a story about how some people will go to great measures to swindle others out of financial or material gains that they have no right to.

The Confession – 2 sisters devoted to each other spend their lives unmarried, living together, rather than have one of them be alone. The great sacrifice made by one sister becomes even more apparent when the other has a death-bed confession to make.

The Horla, or Modern Ghosts – The final short story by Maupassant, it is a journey of psychosis, particularly the author’s own. Is this story true, partly true, or strictly a great dream out of the mind of this great writer? You will have to read it to decide for yourself.

Per his biography page, he did suffer from psychosis brought on by syphilis he contracted as a child. He attempted suicide by cutting his throat with a knife, and was committed to a hospital where he later died.

Tuesday’s Thought For The Day!

January 13, 2015Angela1 Comment

Hope Reborn – Caryl McAdoo

January 12, 2015January 11, 2015AngelaLeave a comment

Another fantastic story by Caryl; if you have not had a chance to read some of her novels yet, you have got to pick one up and read it, as soon as possible.

Yes, like right now. You should get on your Amazon account, search her name, and just pick a book. Any book will do. They are all great, and it is a perfect day to start a new story.

Okay, back to the story…Hope Reborn is a historical romance novel, set in Texas in the 1850’s. It centers around Millicent May Meriwether, but do not call her Millicent. She writes romance novels, and decides to make her way to Texas both to research for future novels, as well as help a family friend.

Receiving a warm welcome into Texas, May and her personal assistance and Man-of-All-Things-Needed, Chester, end up taking temporary residence at the estate of Henry Buckmeyer. A widower with a brood of children, and a staff to help run his estate, May is afraid she may have indeed found what she has been looking for; a man to spend the rest of her life with. Afraid because she has lost and suffered so much already.

May and Henry both seem to have secrets to hide, and May needs to decide if she can give her whole self to this man who lost so much when he lost his wife. A man of Faith might just be the undoing of May and her hopes and dreams. She never could understand why anyone would believe in fairytales like God and Jesus.

As storylines intertwine, May and Henry are not the only ones who find answers to questions long asked. More than one situation finds the resolution needed and desired.

As I try to never give away spoilers, this is one book you will need to read for yourself. It is well-written, clean, and has you hoping and cheering for everyone involved.

You can get this story free on Amazon for the next 5 days! Do not miss out on this great opportunity here: http://www.amazon.com/Hope-Reborn-Texas-Romance-Book-ebook/dp/B00RASZWEY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421018283&sr=8-1&keywords=Hope+Reborn+Caryl+McAdoo

Don’t Miss Out On This Free Book by Caryl McAdoo!

January 11, 2015Angela1 Comment

Another fantastic story by Caryl McAdoo, Hope Reborn is a Texas Romance set in the mid 1850’s. I read this story and really enjoyed it, and if you like historical novels, romance novels (clean romance novels!), or just a story that will make you feel good, you should give this one a try!

You can’t beat free, and once you get a taste of one of Caryl’s stories, you will be wanting more! Stop by tomorrow for my review of this book!

Get your copy from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Hope+Reborn+Caryl+McAdoo and be sure to let me know how you enjoyed the story!

Any Day I Get To Read Is A Day Where I Achieved Something Positive!

January 9, 2015Angela8 Comments

After a Thursday I would rather forget, and a Friday spent at home that I was not happy about, I managed to get motivated and get some things done around my house.

Yesterday we had a Winter Storm Warning starting at 11 am and I seriously considered leaving work to beat the storm, since I had to stop and get cat food and milk. Against my better judgment, I stayed for my whole day, and left work at 3pm. By now we had 50 mph winds, white-outs, and as I was cleaning my car off to leave work, my driver’s side wiper broke off my car. Already frozen after 4 minutes outside (wind chills were about -15) I was in the parking lot, cussing up a storm, holding my windshield wiper in my hand.

I am in Muskegon. It is a blessing being this close to the lake in the Summer, and a curse in the Winter.

I found someone who was able to zip tie it onto the arm, and scared out of my mind, I began my treacherous journey home. I was afraid to leave the wipers running for fear it would break off while I was driving, so I would turn them on when I absolutely could not see anything, which was basically like leaving them on non-stop.

I got to the nearest auto parts place about 30 minutes later, and half-way to my home. I bought a new set of wipers, but they could not put them on for me. He really wanted to help me out, but it was against company policy. So by now I am in tears, frustrated, stressed, and angry. I get back in my car and continue my journey heading home, still knowing I have got to stop and get milk and cat food.

After that horrible journey home, I just needed to hug Benny!

After an hour and a half, I made it home. I can get home from work in less than 15 minutes on a warm day. So after only working 4 days in this new year, I had to use a vacation day for today. I would not be able to get my new wipers put on before today, and I was pretty sure my car would be snowed in anyhow (it was).

So after avoiding doing anything for the majority of the morning, including getting out of bed, I figured I had better get some use out of the day. After doing some cleaning and organizing, I was able to finally begin reading Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King. I am not very far into it, but I am loving it so far. I have read mixed reviews about this story for the past few weeks, but until I get further into it, I will not have a good idea of what I really think about it.

So my chores are done; unfortunately for my girls, who have had school closed for the last two days, I cannot say the same 🙂 I am making a big pot of spaghetti and garlic bread, and then I have nothing to do the rest of the night except continuing to read Stephen King!

If you are under a Winter Weather Warning yourself, I wish you warmth, comfort, and a great story to keep you busy!

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