Tamara Morning

The Summer My Life Began

The Summer My Life Began is Shannon Greenland’s newest novel, set to release on May 10th. With summer vacation just around the corner, this novel would make an excellent beach read, or if vacation is beyond your reach, a great way to pretend you’re on vacation.

Elizabeth Margaret has always done what’s expected of her. Straight A’s. Admittance into Harvard. A planned career as a lawyer. But when she graduates high school and discovers an aunt she never knew about, her life takes an unexpected turn. Soon she’s left her younger sister and her stuffy, controlling family behind for a month on an island with her free-spirit aunt.

Free to do what she likes for the first time in her life, Em indulges her love of cooking as she grows to love her aunt and island life. Then there’s Cade, whose easy-going surfer attitude compels her. She feels more at home than she ever did with her family, and starts re-thinking her options for the future. But her newfound happiness is rocked by her discovery of family secrets she never suspected, and she has to decide who she wants to be: Elizabeth Margaret with her safe, planned life; or Em, risking it all to follow a dream.

Em is a great character, full of confliction over what is expected of her, and what she wants. Her love for her family motivates her to do things she doesn’t like, but she’s aching to push the boundaries of her life and find out more about herself. Her aunt’s breezy take on life shines through on the page, and Cade’s laid-back mode of living brings island life to shining, shimmering life in The Summer My Life Began.

The Sausage Maker's Daughter (BiblioFile Press)

The Sausage Maker’s Daughter is the debut novel by Ags Johnson, a woman who grew up surrounded by other women, and this familiarity is evidenced by the complicated tangle of relationships that fill the pages of The Sausage Maker’s Daughter. If anyone ever wondered what it would be like to grow up with sisters, this novel might make them re-think any desire they ever had to be part of such a family.

Part journey-to-the-past and part soap opera, The Sausage Maker’s Daughter tells the tale of Kip Czermanski, accused of murdering her brother-in-law…who just so happens to be her ex-lover. Set in the 1970s, the novel flashes back to Kip’s rebellious childhood in her tiny Wisconsin hometown, a childhood which always had her at odds with her beautiful, blonde, perfect older sisters. It also recounts her wilder college days as a member of the Counter Culture movement, protesting everything from war to women’s rights.

Her troubled history now comes back to haunt her as she finds herself accused of murdering the first man she ever loved: her former professor turned brother-in-low, who ended up naked—and dead—under circumstances Kip cannot quite recall. Her widowed sister, Sybel, who has always hated Kip, does nothing to help the case, concerned as she always has been of maintaining the family’s prominent image.

The Sausage Maker’s Daughter flows seamlessly between the present—Kip’s trial for murder—and the past, bringing to life Kip’s childhood, and making the reader understand her overwhelming desire to cut all ties with her family. The sisters’ relationships are vivid and complex, tangled with truths and old animosities. The trial itself is full of painful memories as well as a surprising twist that leaves everyone—Kip included—reeling.

A Perfect Blood, by Kim Harrison, hit shelves a few weeks ago.  The tenth book in The Hollows series is another exciting blend of action, magic, and a little bit of romance.   Ms. Harrison is finishing up the book tour for A Perfect Blood (sadly, no stops in Texas), but she’s also working on a new young adult series, and there is a chance The Hollows could end up on television—bringing a new twist to the current crop of vampire shows.

Rachel Morgan has finally accepted who she is:  a demon.  She’s accepted it, but she hasn’t made peace with it yet, having cut herself off from her magic.  The real world hasn’t accepted her yet, either.  She’s no longer shunned, but demons have no status as citizens, and she can’t even get her driver’s license renewed.  As if dealing with bureaucratic red tape isn’t bad enough, bodies have started showing up all over Cincinnati, bodies that have been mangled and twisted into demon-like shapes.

Called in to help investigate, Rachel soon realizes a terroristic hate group is responsible; intent on creating their own demons to wipe out all Inderlanders.  And her demonic blood makes her a prime target.  With vampire Ivy and the pixie Jenks at her side, she’s eyeball-deep in the investigation, and determined to put a stop to the horrific deaths.  But being cut off from her magic leaves her almost defenseless, and she finds herself turning to elven businessman Trent for help.  Is he helping her to alleviate his own guilt for her situation, or is there something more going on?

A Perfect Blood is full of Harrison’s wonderful details that bring the Hollows to life.  From humans’ fear of tomatoes—and, therefore, pizza–to Jenk’s Tinkerbelle-based cursing, the whole world is vividly detailed and imagined.  The book is full of action as Rachel manages to wedge herself ever-deeper into trouble in her quest to help others…without getting herself killed in the process.

Okay, so 2012 is underway, the first week already done and over with, and I realized something: for the first time in…well, ever, I didn’t make any resolutions. Or set any goals. None. Nada. Zilch. That’s new for me. Normally, I’d be twitching and foaming at the mouth at the very idea, since I’m nothing if not an overachiever with a never-ending to-do list. But…I find myself okay with it. For now, anyway. That’s not to say that I don’t intend to accomplish some things this year, but I don’t have any clear and concrete expectations in mind.

I’m not sure if this is due to a change in my outlook, or if it’s more because of the shift my life has taken over the past few months. Lately, my focus has been on school and work, and also….the adventures of Fatburger, Milkshake, Spare Rib, and Sweet Tea. (Yes, those are code names. No, I’m not making them up. Yes, it’s actually quite funny.) I haven’t had time to write or revise for months, but I did start a new story a couple of weeks ago, and I’m on the verge of revising the werewolf story again. I’ve been so focused on school, even reading has fallen by the wayside, much less blogging.

But I intend to remedy that. Along with the writing and revising. And reading. And working out. But still, no goals. Just…intentions.

You are Petunia! Congratulations! You are a lonely little Petunia in an onion patch… a sweet delicate flower, sweetening the air around you. Being a Petunia means that you love life, laundry and the pursuit of cleanliness! You don’t just love your laundry, you roll around in it, sleep in piles of it and have vivid, epic dreams about YOUR LAUNDRY. You care deeeply about the public’s hygiene. Which Wench Are YOU? Find out at http://www.washingwellwenches.com

We saw the Washing Well Wenches comedy act at the Ren Faire today, and they were great! Hilarious! If you ever get the chance, you should definitely see them. I took the quiz to find out which wench I am, and these are my results.

So, I was going to post about what I’d been reading lately, but instead I started reading some blogs I’ve been neglecting for far too long.  And I saw the most intriguing link.  I actually saw a headline about it yesterday somewhere, but didn’t follow through on it.  Basically, you paste a section of your writing, and it tells you who your writing style is similar to.  I pasted the first chapter of last year’s NaNo story, and got this:

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Yeah. Don’t I wish?