Birthdays: Charles Perrault (1628), Edmund Burke (1729), Laura Adams Amer (1874), Jack London (1876), Margaret Danner (1915), William Nicholson (1948), Haruki Murakami (1949), Walter Mosley (1952), David Mitchell (1969), Julia Quinn (1970)

Charles Perrault is noted for being the originator of the fairy tale genre.

Laura Amer won the 1932 Newbery Award winner for “Waterless Mountain”

Quote: “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London

Tip: Be sure to give your characters conflicts to struggle against—both internally and externally. Basically, what do they want? Why do they want it? Why can’t they have it?

Jumpstart: Create a new creature for a fantasy world. What does it look like? Large or small? Furry, scaled, hairy? Legs? Wings? Would it be of use to humans? In what way? What does it eat? Where does it live? Be specific.

I read a lot of Jack London when I was in high school. Some of his works are still favorites. But Charles Perrault is the one who gave us tales we’ll remember forever – like Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Puss in Boots, and more.

Today is National Thank You Day (among other things). So I am going to say thank you to all of you who look at this site. Thank you for checking out the books and authors I spotlight. Thank you for checking out my reviews. And thank you authors for sending me your work to review and spotlight. And finally, thank you to the authors for their creativity and hard work putting out those amazing books.

Other national “days” today: Splash in a Puddle Day (have had plenty of chances to do this of late!); Hot Toddy Day (great drink to have this time of year, especially when you have a cold. I drink the non-alcoholic kind, but still a great drink on a cold night when you aren’t feeling good); Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day (…- .. -.-. -.- -.–) A very long time ago, I had a friend who was into ham radios (and still is) and he taught me Morse Code. I don’t remember much of it, but I do remember some. The most commonly known code? SOS: … — …

Have a good day!

f you haven’t read any of this authors series, you really need to. She writes action/adventure romances, sometimes with a touch of the paranormal. But this Victory series is seriously good. Give it a try!

If you have a problem no one else can fix, Victory can. Its clients can be found not only in the highest reaches of government and society but also the most ordinary of neighborhoods. Only one commonality has existed—if Victory takes your case, they will succeed.

Until someone with a vendetta sets out to destroy Victory and everyone who is part of it.

Website: https://nataliedamschroder.com/

Dedicated to You By Andrew Grey

Fiction, M/M Contemporary Romance, 236 pages

4****

Blurb: Dillon Fitzgerald is a famous singer. He’s also exhausted. Too many shows in a too busy schedule have left too little time for him to write or relax. He feels like the music is being strangled out of him. Some time is just what the doctor ordered, so when his friend offers him a week on a cruise, Dillon gets right on board. All he has to do is grow a little beard and hope no one recognizes him. Financial advisor Tio Smythe-Barrett has been friends with Dillon forever. When the latest in a long string of girlfriends turns out to be a cheater, Tio offers her spot on what would have been a romantic vacation to Dillon instead. After all, why wouldn’t he want to spend a week with his best friend? As Tio and Dillon share close quarters, the boundaries in their friendship shift like the ocean currents. Spending time with Tio has Dillon’s creative muse singing, and he can no longer deny that his feelings for Tio go beyond friendship. His heart soars when Tio responds to his flirting—but is he willing to risk what they have for the chance at true love?

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this story. The characters are believable and their conflict realistic. Dillon is out and proud, but he’s never had a real relationship. His life doesn’t allow much time for that. Tio is bisexual jumping from one woman’s bed to another, but never finding one who really draws him in. Dillon has always been a friend, but when they go on a cruise together, Tio discovers that there is a lot more to explore than “friendship”. Between fending off Dillon’s fans and Tio’s ex, there’s a lot going on for this cruise. 

While I did enjoy the story, there was one thing for me that I questioned. Tio’s ex, Carole. I really would have loved to have seen her taken off in handcuffs. Something needed to be seriously done about her. I didn’t care for the way that seemed to be left hanging. 

Recommendation: Recommended. This is a hot M/M romance with a satisfying ending.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Birthdays: Wilkie Collins (1824), Linnie Marsh Wolfe (1881), Storm Jameson (1891), Dennis Wheatley (1897), Peter Taylor (1917), Charles Tomlinson (1927), Alexandra Ripley (1934), Stephen Hawking (1942), Terry Brooks (1944), Nancy Bond (1945), Karen Tei Yamashita (1951)

Linnie Marsh Wolfe won the 1946 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for “Son of the Wilderness: The Life of John Muir”

Peter Taylor won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “A Summons to Memphis”

Alexandra Ripley is best known for her book “Scarlett”, a sequel to “Gone with the Wind”

Quote: “I have always held the old-fashioned opinion that the primary object of work of fiction should be to tell a story.” – Wilkie Collins

         “I still approach each book with the same basic plan in mind: to put some people under severe stress and see how they hold up.” – Terry Brooks

Tip: Keep at it. And grow a thick skin. Writing is not easy and rejections and bad reviews hurt. A lot. Learn to take it. You can spend a day wallowing, but then, let it go. You have to or it can stall you. Keep going.

I adore Terry Brooks books. Especially his “Shannara” series. Found out though that while I can read them, I can’t handle watching the series. However, his “Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold” is and will always be one of my favorite fantasy books.

Birthdays: John Remsburg (1848), Zora Hurston (1891), Cresson Kearny (1914), Robert Duncan (1919), Gerald Durell (1925), William Blatty (1928), Edwin Torres (1931), Kay Chorao (1936), Hayford Peirce (1942), Ben Fong-Torres (1945), Nicholson Baker (1957), Billy Merrell (1982),

Quote: “Poetry is prose in slow motion.” – Nicholson Baker, The Anthologist

Zora Hurston was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on hoodoo. The most popular of her four novels is “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, published in 1937. She also wrote more than 50 short stories, plays, and essays.

William Blatty is best known for his 1971 novel “The Exorcist”, for which he won the Academy Award for the screenplay of its film adaptation and was nominated for Best Picture as its producer. The film also earned Blatty the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama as producer.

Edwin Torres is best known for his book “Carlito’s Way.”

I tried reading Blatty’s “The Exorcist” once. Nope. Nor the movie. Kind of freaked me out.

Birthdays: Carl Sandburg (1878), Khalil Gibran (1883?), John Holmes (1904), Wright Morris (1910), Alan Watts (1915), E.L. Doctorow (1931), Allen Appel (1945), Barry Lopez (1945), Carolyn D. Wright (1940), Elizabeth Strout (1956), Nigella Lawson (1960), Antonya Nelson (1961), Ree Drummond (1969), Karin Slaughter (1971)

Carl Sandburg is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

Kahlil Gibran is best known for his 1923 book “The Prophet”

Wright Morris is a two-time winner of the National Book Award for Fiction

Carolyn Wright won the 2010 National Book Award for Poetry

Elizabet Strout won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “Olive Kitteridge”

Quotes: “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” – E.L.Doctorow

“Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work.” – Carl Sandburg

Tip: Use all five senses in writing. If your character walks past a bakery, let the reader smell the aromas. Her perfume? Have him inhale deeply. How does the wind in the trees sound? How does his clammy shirt feel on a hot day? Give us details that put us there with the characters, but be careful not to overdo.

Jumpstart: You character is a secret agent with many aliases. Select five names to represent his or her different personalities and describe how the character dresses or changes his/her appearance, job, and background information to become each persona.

I remember reading Carl Sandburg’s books on Lincoln with my dad when I was growing up. I also read a lot of his poetry.

Birthdays: W.D. Snodgrass (1926), Umberto Eco (1932), Robert Kinloch Massie III (1929), Florence King (1936), Seanan McGuire (1978), Stella Gibbons (1902), Tananarive Due (1966), Rudolf Christoph Eucken (1846),

W.D. Snodgrass won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for “Heart’s Needle”

Tananarive Due won the 2002 American Book Award for her novel “The Living Blood”.

Rudolf Eucken won the 1908 Nobel Prize for Literature

Umberto Eco’s most famous English book is “The Name of the Rose” but he has written many more.

Thought for the day: “I love the smell of book ink in the morning.” – Umberto Eco

Tip: When writing, be sure to ground the reader in the setting of your story. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but give us a time of year, and let us know where and when we are. If we’re in a house or apartment, show us what the place looks like.

Jumpstart: Come up with a list of names for your hero and/or heroine and villain for a variety of genres — historical, science fiction, fantasy, romance, etc. Why did you choose those names? Write a brief character sketch for each.

I haven’t been around much lately. 2024 is not off to a great start for me. Between the unexpected death of a good friend and illness that has kept me pretty much down and out, it’s been a rough couple of weeks. But… I refuse to let this taint the rest of the year. There are new stories to write. New books to read and review. New challenges to be met.

Speaking of new stories to be read… I just finished critiquing one for a friend. She will be publishing it some time in February. The author’s name is Misty Simon and this particular series is called “Magically Suspicious”. The stories take place in a RenFaire where all the people who work there are misfit paranormals. Each story finds them facing a new problem. The stories are short, quick reads that will entertain you and have you laughing (as all of this author’s books do).

Don’t like paranormals? Then pick up one of her other mystery books — she has several series and you’re sure to find one that you like. Her writing is quirky, funny, with hints of romance and mysteries to be solved. Start your year off right with a fun read.

Hi folks. It’s been a heck of a couple of weeks. I know I haven’t been around much – after all this time, the nasty bug COVID finally caught me. And it has been a challenge just to get out of bed. So not much got done, including this blog. But hopefully, starting Monday, that will change. Bear with me as my web designer does some things around here over the months of January/February. Hopefully, we’ll make this a better site for everyone.

Meanwhile, I hope you have a wonderful New Year! Here’s to better times in 2024!