A New Year for BOOKS!

When mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down. It seems the book contains secret knowledge-and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side-leaving Mercy to cover for him, lest his own father declare Sam's life forfeit. All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she might not have many more to live...

Click here to pre-order.


I cannot wait for this book! I've been waiting for a year after reading Bone Crossed in a single day. Its terrible how I manage to do this to myself, but fortunately I have a wealth of books lined up to read to keep me busy in the mean time.

Right now I'm reading Peony in Love by Lisa See. See wrote Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I'd read that some months ago and I enjoyed it immensely. This is a more recent novel of hers and it is gut wrenching to say the least. Its along the same lines as The Lovely Bones, but set in China like her previous novels. So far its been nothing but a page turner. I have to strain to keep my eyes open because I simply do not want to put it down.

Next on my list is The True Story of Hanzel and Gretel: a Novel of War and Survival by Louise Murphy.I'm not entirely sure what made me pick this one up. I have a rather predictable habit of stopping in the book section at any grocery store I happen to be shopping in. This time Wegmans had the spotlight. Armed with a shopping basket full of soda for dinner and Oreos for dessert I walked around the book shelf stopping periodically to read a synopsis or two. Wegmans suprises me with the small but wide variety of books they have. Almost every time I stop I spot a book I want to buy. This time the temptation was just too great.

In the last months of the Nazi occupation of Poland, two children are left by their father and stepmother to find safety in a dense forest. Because their real names will reveal their Jewishness, they are renamed "Hansel" and "Gretel." They wander in the woods until they are taken in by Magda, an eccentric and stubborn old woman called "witch" by the nearby villagers. Magda is determined to save them, even as a German officer arrives in the village with his own plans for the children.

Combining classic themes of fairy tales and war literature, this haunting novel of journey and survival, of redemption and memory, powerfully depicts how war is experienced by families and especially by children, and tells a resonant, riveting story.

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2010

Its a new year and it doesn't feel much different than it did yesterday. Its still snowing, the economy is still in bad shape, and things just aren't looking to bright for the upcoming year. Where's the optimist? I'm afraid she's been buried under some poor choices as of late.

However that can't stop me, not entirely in any case. I've picked up my camera again and despite the odd ups and downs of Upstate New York weather I've gone out and gotten a few photos I'm rather proud of. However, the feeling is simply gone. I had always taken short "road trips" with at least one friend in tow. Having lost my main photographing partner in a motorcycle crash in April of this past year I simply don't feel the joy and the magic that I had before. The memories I create now are my own and they're lonely ones. I'm going to have to take my photography in an entirely new direction. I'm going to have to revamp it and look at it another way. My photography had always reflected someting I've felt...and i can see the loneliness in the photos I've taken recently. Even the happy snapshots of the family are proof enough. I'm hanging in the background watching and capturing their happy moments, but never truely getting in on the festivities.

I'd stopped reading for a few months...I had tried going out and having some adventures...but knowing few people and having no sense of direction I quickly got lost. I think I need to take it a step at a time and go back to reading a bit more and looking to fill some voids a little less. So I've picked up a few new books from my now favorite place: Barnes & Noble. I've gotten a new Photography book, a biography of a Wiccan laywer, and a tragic love story too keep my mind where I want it-in a world full of education, fact, and fiction. A remedy that can soothe the aches and pains of a troubled heart and mind. (To quote Don, "Take two 'a these and call me in the morning!")

That was a lot of ramble to get on to my point. That is my mind set as of right now...and I've decided that I want to dedicate this year to findning and creating myself. I want to transform and mold myself into who I want to be. This is most and formost something I wish to do for me, however, I also think the people around me will beniefit just as much.

So Blessed be to everyone who stumbles upon this meager blog and have a blessed new year.