Reality Break!

Passion For The Game
Sylvia Day
Publisher: Brava (June, 2007)
Paperback: 320 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

Two noblemen have set two notorious criminals against each other, certain that one will betray the other to save himself. Yet the noblemen do not count on the pair finding such a startling affinity for each other, nor on the audacious pair's scheming solution to their common problem. Will the lady betray the pirate to see him hang? Will the reverse be true? Or will those two noblemen find the tables turned upon themselves?

Passion For The Game is a fast paced historical romance with a touch of mystery and adventure with a bit of violence included. I recommend it only for ages 18 and up due to some explicit scenes. This novel can be a welcome break from reality for consenting adults. The author captures the reader's interest and holds that interest hostage from the beginning to the end. Romance readers may find this story a change of pace from their usual fare.

Set Your Creativity Free

A Writer's Book of Days:
A Spirited Companion and Lively Muse for the Writing Life
Judy Reeves
New World Library (November 1999)
Paperback: 240 pages
Rated 5 Stars of 5 Possible

A Writer's Book of Days is full of inspiring and challenging prompts to get you started in your own writing. There is also practical instruction (ignore that critic in your head) on how to get past the stumbling blocks that every writer encounters at one time or another, and encouraging, supportive advice on making writing part of your daily life. Daily prompts culled from hundreds of writing workshops taught by the author help open the door to your own creative process.

What does the beginning writer need?  Just a pencil and paper! Everybody has those, or can easily get them at their neighborhood store. Judy Reeves recommends going back to paper and pencil to discourage you from editing your work as you go. The main thing about writing practice is to get it down on paper. Spelling, grammer, and punctuation are all secondary and should come AFTER that first draft is complete.

I'll admit that edit as I go has been my writing style since I started using computers oh so many years ago... I don't write that way in my practice notebook though. I just write - and I don't even worry about how sloppy my writing turns out.  With the solid advice contained in this book, my writer's block is broken...and my creativity has been set free. I have seen my writing improve day by day,and you can too!

Work through the book day by day (my personal goal for 2008) or skip around as I have been doing this year. Do not forget to read the author's excellent advice. There are sufficient daily prompts to keep you busy writing for an entire year, plus extras in case you should need them; but you shouldn't need the extras. You can use each prompt multiple times and get different results each time, so when you've gotten through the book the first time, you will probably find you are nowhere near finished. I highly recommend A Writer's Book of Days.

Vampires In Your Dreams?

Vampire Plagues: Paris, 1850
Sebastian Rook
Scholastic Paperbacks (September, 2005)
Paperback: 208 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Rated 2 stars of 5 possible

An ancient evil. A ritual gone wrong. The vampire plague is threatening like never before...

Jack wants to believe it is only a dream, that the vampires are gone, that they've been banished by an ancient ritual which sent their leader to the depths of hell. But he isn't so sure... Soon, Jack, along with his friend Benedict Cole (aka Ben), and Ben's older sister, Emily discover that the vampires are indeed not just in Jack's dreams. Can our heroes defeat the vampires once again and escape with their lives?

A little bit reminiscent of Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events, the Vampire Plagues trilogy finds our heroes losing their guardian just about every time they turn around. The difference is, in The Vampire Plagues, the youngsters are fighting a different type of evil. The middle book of this trilogy feels a lot like reading the middle third of a much longer book. There are plain references to the first volume, mostly incorporated in the first third or so of book 2 which don't help this volume stand alone very well.

Reading the Vampire Plagues trilogy should be an all or none proposition. If you read and liked the first installment, then by all means buy or borrow the second and then the third... this is an interesting story that should not have been broken up into a trilogy, but instead published as one longer novel.

Advice From An Experienced Writer

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King
Scribner, October, 2000
Hardcover: 288 pages
Rated 5 stars of 5 Possible

Stephen King, master of the macabre, tells some of the events in his life which, he says, turned him into the writer he is today. Partly autobiographical and partly good advice, On Writing is a quick, enjoyable read, that, unlike the average text book, isn't full of difficult to comprehend and otherwise useless data. King likens the process of writing to archaeology and digging up fossils... he uses "What if..." to define the situations and discover the fossils that become the novels King is famous for writing.

On Writing isn't a text book, yet, the teacher in him couldn't resist including just one writing exercise near the middle of the book. King shows the wanna-be writer a fossil and encourages that writer to explore the situation and expose more of the fossil. This is the master's technique for turning out novel after novel after novel. 

King claims that his novels are created from story, not from plot. King says the huge difference is that "story is honorable and trustworthy, plot is shifty, and best kept under house arrest." I think using King's advice, I will be able to turn my fiction onto a better path by using more situation, exposing more of the far too often over-looked fossils, and keeping that shifty plot where it belongs.

A Purrrfect Detective Story

Rex Tabby, Cat Detective
Daniel Kirk
Scholastic Paperbacks (November 1, 2005)
Paperback: 140 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Rated 5 stars of 5 Possible

When I first picked this novel up, I could not help thinking of the old Dragnet television series and Sargeant Joe Friday.  School Library Journal compared Rex Tabby with the old cartoon character Dick Tracy. Either way, it's cops and robbers with a cute twist; all of the main characters in the story are feline. Rex Tabby is also educational since most chapters end with a detective lesson.

I highly recommend this for young readers. I think even adults looking for a brief escape would enjoy reading Rex Tabby, either for themselves or to children not yet old enough to read. Don't miss out on the cutest detective novel on the market!

A Different Side of Asimov

A Whiff of Death
Isaac Asimov
Publisher: Lancer (1958)
Mass Market Paperback: 210 pages
Rating: 5 stars of 5 possible

Some of you may know that Isaac Asimov was famous for his science fiction novels and short stories and that he wrote other books, also mostly science related. A Whiff of Death is both different and not different than Asimov's usual books.  It's different because it is not science fiction, nor is it straight science as were so many books he wrote. It is a murder mystery.

It's not too different though because, like most of what Isaac Asimov wrote, A Whiff of Death has a background in science too; in this case, chemistry.  Now, I've never studied chemistry myself so I don't know how solid, how accurate the science is in the book; but it seemed very plausible to me.  There is a lot of suspense and many of the typical red herrings buried in this story.

I was rather surprised at the end because I had believed someone else was the culprit.  All in all, I have to say I liked A Whiff of Death.  It was refreshingly different than most of what I've been reading lately.  Though it is old (published in 1958) it was a worthy addition to my reading list.

Meet The Keeborn Cats

Race For Doroon
Gloria Jean Hartman
Robert D. Reed Publishers (September 2001) 
Paperback: 204 pages
Rating: 5 stars of 5 possible

"Here lives a displaced race, once so entwined and dependent upon one another that each sect had its place in the perfect system of life. Their world had long before mysteriously died but not before each sect in their order had time to leave for other worlds. The Keeborn Cats are the Guardian Sect of this once upon a time Kee Nation. Time has denuded memory of their counterparts. This then is the beginning of the Kee's stories.

This is a story of the Keeborn Cats, which begins the inevitable reunion with the other Kee kinds. Race discovers Satin, the future queen of Doroon, in a colonist's trap and he develops a loving bond with her. As the gentle guardian nature of the Keeborn flow over to include the humans who become involved with them."

Race for Doroon is a wonderful book. It has all the suspense, action and adventure of a best seller, and a touch of romance too. I couldn't put it down because I kept wanting to find out what was going to happen next! Race for Doroon will keep you turning pages until the end of the story. There just aren't words enough in any language to say how I truly feel about Race for Doroon. It is one of those "Must Read" books for adventure fans and science fiction fans alike.

This is the author's first book, but if she hadn't told me herself when I met her online in her Delphi forum, I'd never have known. It is very professionally done!

Not Your Usual Vampire Story

Twilight
Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers (October, 2005)
Hardcover: 512 pages
Reading level: Young Adult
Rating: 5 stars of 5 possible

"About three things I was positive.  First, Edward was a vampire.  Second, there was a part of him -- and I didn't know how dominant that part might be -- that thirsted for my blood.  And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."

Usually, the first thing I do with a new book is to read the back cover, and, if included, reviewer comments, which are sometimes printed on the first few pages inside, so I started Twilight that same routine way. My copy of Twilight has no reviewer comments, but almost immediately, I discovered I didn't need them.  The above quote - lifted from the back cover - was all it took to get me hooked;  if I had needed more, the Preface would have done that job equally well.  

Stephenie Meyer writes a strong beginning to her novel and doesn't lag in the middle or at the ending either.  I found Twilight very difficult to put aside. When I was getting close to the end of the book, I didn't want it to be finished, yet I felt compelled to continue reading right up to the last word.  I had to know...

Now that I have read Twilight, I know it is not your usual vampire story. Edward and the other vampires in this story aren't at all what I expected them to be; they are far different than Bram Stoker's Dracula or the vampires in Stephen King's story, Salem's Lot.  It's a refreshing difference and one that I am glad I discovered.

An Interval For Learning

Dragon's Kin
Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey
Del Rey (November, 2003)
Hardcover: 292 pages
Reading Level: Young Adult
Rating: 5 stars of 5 possible

The first mother-son collaberation in the Dragonriders of Pern series begins late in the second interval, just 16 turns before the third pass of the Red Star. This novel, which is also aimed at young adult readers, explores a portion of Pern's history that we have not previously visited, and we learn quite a bit about the mysterious watch-whers, who are, after all, Dragon's Kin.

Despite the fact that, in this time, there is no Thread falling for the dragons to battle, the story is suspenseful and has all the action and appeal of earlier tales, as well as some humor. I especially enjoyed the interaction of Kindan with the young watch-wher and how he found out about miner Natalon's secret early in the story. I was trying to read Dragon's Kin slowly, to savor the story; but approximately 1/3 of the way through the novel, I just couldn't put it aside. 

I adore dragons, and the novels I like best are those that grip me with such ferocity that putting the book aside is out of the question.  When I can have both dragons and the intensity, well, that's the best of both worlds!

Artfully Believable

Darwin's Children
Greg Bear
Del Rey (April, 2003)
Hardcover: 400 pages
Rating: 5 stars of 5 possible

Darwin's Children by Greg Bear is a hard science fiction novel that explores the controversial science of genetics, the ability to alter the genetic pattern of humans, and the struggle for survival of the genetically enhanced people.

Besides being a compelling novel that I found hard to put aside, the volume also contains some very helpful addenda at the end, including a short Glossary Of Scientific Terms and a short Biological Primer that helped with understanding the science in this story.  It was very thoughtful of the author and publisher to include those items.

I like both the characters and the rhythm of Darwin's Children, a fairly fast-paced, enjoyable story that included some action as well as some scenes that make the reader stop and think.  This novel stands alone well. I did not read Darwin's Radio, the initial volume in this series, and I don't feel that I need to do that to understand this one.

In short, I recommend this book to those who enjoy reading science fiction, and if you have stayed away from hard science fiction because the science was not well explained, you may change your mind after reading this novel and studying the addenda that were so thoughtfully included.