Feature and Follow - Preferred Reading Format

I can't help it. I love the feel of the paper in my hands. The fact that it is a physical act to turn the page. I also am frequently doing research in which case I will have three or four books open, at the same time, comparing passages and making notes (on my laptop or phone).


I am not averse to the e-format, I read frequently on a screen; it is just not preferred. All things being equal I also prefer the hardcover though I must admit the paperbacks are much more convenient for casual reading.

Staying Connected

When I was a small child I can remember telephones with rotary dials and party lines, things that at least half my followers never experienced. So I find it "progress" that I feel compelled, as Google purports to shut down Google Friend Connect (GFC), to encourage everyone to also follow me on one (or more) of the following : Bloglovin', Google+, or an RSS feed of your choice. Buttons for the first two can be found on the right panel.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
I have taken to following people on Bloglovin'. If I am not following you there yet, I will be.

On an entirely different note, I have been selected as a featured seller on Abebooks for the month of July. My entire inventory (about 19,000 books) will be 15% off on Abe from July 2 to July 31.

Midsummer Poetry Night

If anybody is on Long Island next week...

One from me:

Boys

Springtime and it is raining

Not hard

But enough to be wet

And for the mud to BE

Without being too much.

I run over the wet grass

Then dive

For the dipping frisbee

Skittering along full out

Acquiring a thin skin of mud

A splotch dots my cheek

Just right

A badge of honor without

Needing to taste it

Or wipe any off my face

Hours later, blue from cold

Soaked through

Mom will make me stop

Just inside the front door

To remove all I've gained

I'll smile an inward smile

Shivering

And shed the outward banner

But keep the inner pride

Having done so very well

In the mud and rain there is

Much more,

Than winning and losing the game

A separate score, unmentioned

Total mud and water accumulated

 

Immortals Cover Reveal

TEASER:

Nothing can stop Raine Cooper when she wants something… Raine finally knows that her gorgeous neighbor, Torin St. James, is a legend straight out of Norse mythology but that doesn’t stop her from falling hard for him. Torin is crazy about Raine too, breaking the one rule he lives by: Never fall for a mortal. The problem is he no longer remembers her or that she saved him by making a deal with Norns—Norse destiny deities—the same Norns who have now erased his memories of their past together to punish her. So Raine comes up with a plan... She will make Torin forget his one rule a second time and fall in love with her all over again. But before Raine can put her plan into action, the Norns return. This time, they demand she protects Eirik Seville, her best friend since childhood, from an evil so dark even the Norns are scared. But you know what they say about well-laid plans… Caught between protecting Eirik and convincing the stubborn, cocky Torin St. James that the two of them are meant to be together, Raine's life slowly unravels. Friendships are tested. Enemies become allies. Desperate, Raine makes choices that could not only tear her and Torin further apart, but lead to the destruction of everything and everyone she loves.

 

Release Date: August 5th 2013 by Firetrail Publishing

 

About the Author:

EDNAH WALTERS grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and dreaming of one day writing her own stories. She is a stay-at-home mother of five humans and two American short-hair cats (one of which has ADHD) and a husband. When she is not writing, she’s at the gym doing Zumba or doing things with her family, reading, traveling or online chatting with fans. Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released by Pill Hill Press in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, will be released April 2013. She’s working on the next book in the series, FORGOTTEN. Ednah also writes New Adult paranormal romance. RUNES is the first book in her new series. She is presently working on book 2, IMMORTALS. Under the pseudonym E. B. Walters, Ednah writes contemporary romance. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense, was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Since then she has published four more books in this series. She's presently working on book six. You can visit her online at www.ednahwalters.com or www.ebwalters.com. Connect with Ednah: Website: http://www.ednahwalters.com/index.html Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4188120.Ednah_Walters Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdnahWalters Twitter: https://twitter.com/ednahwalters Vote For Torin St. James at The YA SISTERHOOD Crush Tourney on June 17th. Rafflecopter Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feature and Follow - Spine Poem

I have to admit this is a creative one that has caused me muse a bit. I am a lousy photographer so you'll have to do with just the poem:

A Tale of Two Cities
on one end rules
The Lord of the Flies
and on the other
The Lord of the Rings

The Catcher in the Rye
spews sarcasm at
Wuthering Heights
while lying on
Leaves of Grass

i sit playing
Hunger Games
as neighbors in the
Glass Castle
flip the calendar

to
1984

(Ok so I have a lot of classics and pseudo-classics on my shelf...)

Feature and Follow - Abandon a Series?

 

This week's question is Have you ever abandoned a series and why?

I don't read many series, mostly because I don't want to get hooked and be frustrated because I don't have the time. That said, I have never abandoned a series. I have taken years to finish, like the Hornblower series by C. S. Forester, but never abandoned.

Throwback Thursday - G rated for adults

I was listening to the radio this afternoon and there was a story on about the movie rating system and how almost everything BEFORE there were ratings would have been G rated and that everything, even movies designed for children (with very few exceptions) is now rated at least PG. The reason, clearly, to both the radio host and to my children, is that G rated stuff MUST be BORING.

My brain segued that into thoughts of books, of course. There the trend is similar. The mysteries of Christie, Chandler, and Queen are very mild compared to Robert Parker, Janet Evanovich, and James Patterson. Romance novels show an even wider difference between Betty Neels and Anne Mather on the early end (or Jane Austen, even) with Thea Devine and Sylvia Day.

But are they BETTER?

They are certainly different, but I can't say they are better. That is not to paint either extreme with a wide brush. I don't mind a graphic sex scene or an expressly violent scene if it adds to the plot or characterization in the story. Lisa Scottoline weaves sex and violence into her stories very well, as does Linda Barnes and many others. It is purposeful and well done.

On the other hand just because a story does not have graphic sex or violence definitely does NOT mean it is boring. Mitch Albom's works are some of the best I've read. Larry Doyle is excellent.

And I'd like to add one more. May Nicole Abbey writes historical/time travel romance. It is pretty G rated. It is exceptional. Her first book is The Dreamer. Her second, The Scholar, is recently released.