This will probably be a short post, since I’ve read all of these books before except for two. I started re-reading Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books again for fun. I really love these books. I’m just in awe of Ms. Evanovich’s talent for humor. Seriously. These books inspired a desire in me to right something funny as well. (NaNo 2008, anyone?) If you haven’t read them, you should. The accident-prone, car-destroying heroine is fabulous, as are her love interests, Joe Morelli and the tempting Ranger.

I also re-read the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyers, in preparation for the fourth and final installment in the series, Breaking Dawn. These books really blew my mind when I read them the first time. I found myself just as sucked in on this read, like I had no idea what was going to happen next, even though I did. Everyone I’ve seen either loves or hates these books, and I weigh in firmly on the “loves” side. I went into Breaking Dawn hoping that Bella would end up with Jacob. (I love Jacob. Not that I dislike Edward, but I just adore Jacob. He’s so…cute.) I knew she wouldn’t, but I couldn’t help but hope. Without giving too much away, can I just say that I found Ms. Meyers’ solution to this conundrum acceptable? (Hey, if I couldn’t have what I wanted, could I at least be satisfied with what I got?)

I also read The Host, by Stephenie Meyers. Quite a change from the Twilight books, I must say. But I liked it. I cannot even fathom how difficult and strange it would be to have my mind in someone else’s body, and be fighting that body’s mind for possession. Oh, and trying not to fall in love with someone my body’s real mind loves. Very interesting read. I found the first third or so a little slow, but then I got into it. I hear there are supposed to be two more of these books, and if so, I look forward to them.

Instead of doing one huge post on what I’ve read since last time, I’m going to break it down into smaller groups. This one is the books I’ve read by Conestoga authors. I had already read P.C. Cast, Rachel Caine, and Deborah Leblanc, but Michelle Bardsley and Dakota Cassidy were new to me (though I had heard of their books).

I love P.C. Cast’s Goddess Summoning books. I’ve always liked mythology, and I love how these books combine it with modern day life into charming romances. Goddess of Spring is about Hades, and how a modern woman from Tulsa switches bodies with Persephone and goes to live in the Underworld to help the spirits of the dead. Of course she falls in love with Hades, but the Lord of the Underworld is a big stickler for honesty, and finding out she’s been lying to him puts a damper on things. She also has a great relationship with animals, and the “dread steeds” of Hades are devoted to her, which adds a great touch of humor.

Goddess of Light was also good. It’s about Apollo, who visits the modern city of Las Vegas and falls in love with an interior designer. His interfering twin sister is also with him, and of course she causes trouble.

My absolute favorite of the Goddess Summoning books so far is Warrior Rising. It’s about Achilles. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will. This is set during the Trojan war, and the siege of Troy. Hera, Athena, and Venus are tired of the never-ending war, so they decide to find a modern-day woman to distract Achilles. They settle on Kat, who is a counselor, but before they can proceed with their plan, Kat and her best friend Jacky are in a terrible car accident. The goddesses snatch up the souls of the two women, and put them into the bodies of a princess of Troy and her maid. Then the fun really begins. Two middle-aged women from Tulsa who are suddenly young and lovely Trojan maidens? Not only that, but in her first life, Jacky was African American, and now she’s white, which doesn’t make her all that happy (and also adds some hilarious moments). Kat must cure Achilles of his beserker rage to keep the oracle’s prophecy of his death from coming true. This book is one I will definitely read again. Probably quite soon.

I had read Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampires series, but not the Weather Warden books, so I picked up Ill Wind. I’m so glad I did. This is about a Weather Warden, Joanne, who’s running for her life. She has a demon taint and is accused of murder, so she’s trying to find Lewis, the most powerful Warden. Too bad she has to deal with Djinns, other Wardens chasing her, and a nasty storm that’s been following her for days. I was really excited to find out how many other books in the series are already out. And I just ordered the second one.

I had read one of Deborah LeBlanc’s books before (Morbid Curiosity). I was a little unsettled by it, and I hadn’t really planned to read anything else of hers. Then I sat in on one of her panels on paranormal investigation, and another on thinking outside the box. She mentioned a friend of hers who was convinced the house he’d grown up in was haunted, so Ms. LeBlanc went with him to check it out. That house wasn’t haunted, but the spoke to the contractor, and found out the house was actually half of a larger house. So, of course, she went to the other half of the house and spoke to the woman who lived there. Turned out that half of the house was haunted. And the story idea for A House Divided was born. Of course I bought it. The first couple of chapters scared the crap out of me (What can I say? I’m a chicken.) The two halves of the fictional house both end up on the same street. One of them is a beauty salon, the other a café. And something is trying to get the two halves together. This is a pretty good ghost story, with some cool twists. I couldn’t read it at night, though. Too afraid something was going to get me.

I bought Dakota Cassidy’s The Accidental Werewolf and Michelle Bardsley’s I’m the Vampire, That’s Why because of a panel I sat in on called Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (about mixing action with romance). I liked the things they had to say, so I bought their books (plus they had a pretty cool goodie bag). The Accidental Werewolf was pretty funny, about a makeup saleswoman who gets nipped by a werewolf when her ankle-biter dog attacks him. She’s in complete denial, even though her blonde hair is now brunette, and she has to shave her legs multiple times a day. Then she gets kidnapped, and everything just gets worse.

I’m the Vampire, That’s Why takes place in Broken Heart, OK, a small town with a high divorce rate which gets taken over by vampires. There’s a crazy vampire/werewolf hybrid running around “killing” people, except they turn into vampires. But at least having friends in the same situation as yourself makes it easier to deal with little issues like how to get your children to do their homework when you’re sleeping like the dead during the day. You should definitely read this book. I just ordered the next two books in the series.

So, a few weeks ago, my best friend and I went to Conestoga, in Tulsa, OK. (Okay, it’s been almost a month ago. What can I say? I’ve got a lot going on. Plus I procrastinate.) This is our second year to go, and we hope to make it a tradition. If you ever get the chance to go, I recommend it. It’s a good learning experience: not so big as to be completely overwhelming, but not too small, either. (Of course, it’s the only con I’ve ever been to, so take this with a grain of salt.)

I came back with a list of authors I want to try. Sitting in on panels listening to these people made me (in some cases) want to buy their books. In any case, here are my stats from the trip:

-number of authors at Conestoga I had already read: 8 (PC & Kristin Cast, Rachel Caine, Rachel Vincent, Marie Brennan, Deborah LeBlanc, Jeanine Frost, Shanna Swendson)

-number of authors whose books I bought there: 2 (Dakota Cassidy and Michelle Bardsley)

-number of authors my best friend bought there (and whom I therefore get to read): 3 (Patrice Michelle, Talia Gryphon, and Jaci Burton)

-number of authors I will buy: 5 (Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Ken Lorey, Mark Henry (OMG! The zombie lubrication teaser is enough to guarantee I buy his book.), Tiffany Trent, and Diana Gabaldon)

-number of authors I will probably buy: 2 (Melissa Marr, Steven E. Wedel)

-number of authors whose books aren’t out now but who will be in my TBR pile: 2 (Sarah Rhees Brennan, Devon Monk)

-author I was most impressed with: Jennifer Lynn Barnes. She seems so young when you first lay eyes on her. Then she starts speaking and you realize just how smart she is. (She’s even more impressive when you find out her education history.)

-author I was most intrigued by: Sarah Rhees Brennan. Okay, so at first, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of her. Some of the comments she had were made in this almost-fake British accent (the comments that were her spoken thoughts). But the more I listened to her, the funnier she became. BTW, her blog is in the same tone, which I find hilarious.

-most interesting workshop: How To Write a Sex Scene Without Blushing by Diana Gabaldon. Quite funny, actually. Especially since her first piece of advice is to wait until after your parents are dead, so you won’t have to deal with that embarrassment.

-only book so far from a con author that I couldn’t finish: Key to Conflict, by Talia Gryphon. I tried. Really I did. I plowed through 150 pages before surrendering, and that took me a week! I just couldn’t find make myself care about the characters. A paranormal counselor, twin vampire brothers, a mysterious ghost, all of these things are great. But the writing killed it for me. There was way too much telling of events instead of showing (sometimes I know that’s a necessity, but in this case, not so much). And I felt so removed from the MC that I just couldn’t do it anymore. Although, now that I think about it, that ghost was the most interesting thing. I’ll have to make my best friend tell me what was up with him.

So, those are my stats from Conestoga. Sorry for blathering on for so long. I know it’s been a while since I blogged about what I’ve been reading, so I’ll have to break that down into a more manageable size. Soon, people, soon. I promise.