Teaser Tuesday's - Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:


- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.
My teaser this week is from page 3 of J.D. Robb's Celebrity in Death:

"How can you tell it's me? I've got so much crap on my face I could be anybody under it."

Book Review - My Wicked Little Lies by Victoria Alexander

My Wicked Little Lies is the second book in Victoria Alexander's Sinful Family Secret's series.  Evelyn Hadley-Attwater appears to 'have it all'; the loving husband, wealth, ball gowns and ever-so-elegant parties.  This wasn't always the case, though.  Eve was once a spy for the crown of England and she wants desperately to keep that secret from her husband.

Adrian Hadley-Attwater has secrets of his own that he is doing his best to keep from his wife.  The main one being that he was also a spy; and in fact, he was Eve's anonymous boss during their spy days.

This is a very funny book filled with adventure, a bit of spying and a fair amount of misunderstanding between the married couple.  As Eve and Adrian find the clues to answer the mystery surrounding them - they realize just how much they mean to one another.  They also come to understand that full disclosure is probably a necessity for their marriage to continue in a trust-worthy fashion.

I quite enjoyed Ms. Alexander's novel and liked that the couple was married.  My only complaint, and it's a small one, is that all of Victoria Alexander's characters (in this book and previous ones that I've read) 'choose their words with care'.  It's a phrase that she over uses to the point of being farcical; fortunately, it doesn't detract from her story telling.

Platform-Building Campaign - Challenge One

The first challenge for the current campaign is underway.  The challenge this time:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count. 

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:

• end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)

• include the word "orange" in the story

• write in the same genre you normally write

• make your story 200 words exactly!

Here is my take on this challenge; which does indeed meet all of the above criteria:

The First Day

Shadows crept across the wall as Lila blinked her eyes and attempted to recognize her unfamiliar surroundings.  The combined sounds of a crashing wave and deep breathing to her left calmed her and brought everything into mental focus.

She was on the island.  Well, she corrected, as the man beside her shifted and settled again, they were on the island.  They’d flown in late last night and driven straight to the hotel.  They’d gone for a walk on the beach but it had been too dark to properly take in their destination.  Now, too excited to stay in bed, she got up and went out onto the balcony.

“Oh wow,” she whispered reverently.  The early morning sky was filled with dark blue, a bit of purple and the edge of orange as the sun made its ascent onto the horizon.  Lila heard the soft glide of the glass door and turned to smile at the sleepy, black haired man stepping outside with her.  “Good morning.”

“Wife,” he said grumpily even as he smiled at his own use of her new title.

“Husband,” she tossed back with a laugh.  He pulled her in for a tender kiss and everything faded.

Booking Through Thursday - Blogs

Booking Through Thursday is a fun, weekly, bookish question and response event. This week we ponder:

What do you look for when reading a book blog? Does the blogger have to read the same genre? Do you like reviews? Personal posts? Memes? Giveaways? What attracts you to a book blog?

The book blogs I tend to read often are ones that are well-written.  They don't have to include the same genre(s) that I read but they usually do.  I do like reviews and have found some excellent books to read through book bloggers.  In fact, I've read quite a few books since I became active in the blogging world that I probably would never have given a chance otherwise.  As for memes and giveaways; while I have read and participated in both - I can take or leave them.  They're not overly important to me.  Finally, my favorite blogs are in my sidebar and ones that I visit regularly.

Teaser Tuesday's - Crossed by Ally Condie

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:


- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.
My teaser this week is from page 26 of Ally Condie's Matched:

He's open, honest, a story I read again and again and love every time.  But, in this moment, I can't tell what he thinks

.

Musing Monday's - Learning

Musing Monday's is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. This week’s musing asks:

What is the last book that you learned something from? What book was it, and what did it teach you? 

I find that I learn at least a little something from most books that I read.  However, the last book I red that I learned some significant things from is Isabel Wolff's A Vintage Affair.  I leanred a significant amount about vintage clothing and auctioning that I didn't know.  I also leanred a coupe of heart breaking facts about the Nazi concentration camps.  If you haven't read Wolff's book - do so.  it is absolutely amazing! Do be prepared with a box of tissues, though.

The Fourth Writer's (Second for Me) Platform Building Campaign

Rachael Harrie of the wonderful Rach Writes is hosting her Fourth Writer's Platform-Building Campaign.  What exactly is this, you ask? Well, in her own words - here are the details:

Basically, the Campaign is a way to link those of us in the writing community together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. The Campaigners are all bloggers in a similar position, who genuinely want to pay it forward, make connections and friends within the writing community, and help build each others' online platforms while at the same time building theirs.

As the Campaign kicks off, you'll have the names and blog addresses of the Campaigners on my List of Campaigners page (above), so you can keep in touch with the other Campaigners. That way you’ll have a list of bloggers in the same position as you, who genuinely want to help you succeed. And you'll be able to meet those who have the most in common with you. You can visit their blogs and other places they haunt, follow along, leave comments galore, and share your highs and lows as you journey through the blogosphere and build your online platform. And they'll be doing the same for you.


I participated in this event for the first time last fall and absolutely loved it! So obviously, I want to participate again.  This time the even will run until March 17, 2012.  If you want to sign up, there's still time - until 11:59 ET tonight, so hurry.  Just go here for more in depth details and to sign up.  Believe me, you won't regret it!

Teaser Tuesday's - My Wicked Little Lies by Victoria Alexander

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:


- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from Nook page 186 of Victoria Alexander's My Wicked Little Lies:

She married him because she loved him.  She may well think him an idiot, which admittedly he had been of late, and not adventurous and a man who cared about ordinary things, but she loved him and that was all that mattered.

Musing Monday's - Love Story

Musing Monday's is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. This week’s musing:

What is your favorite romantic book –or book that includes a love story? (an adult romance, young adult, kids’ story, anything).




Oh wow - this is a really hard question for me to answer.  I love the romance genre.  I discovered Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series during the summer of 2010 and consider them among my favorites now.  I also absolutely adore the love story between Eve and Roarke in J.D. Robb's In Death series.  I look forward to each new In Death book as much for their continuing love story as for the mystery involved.

Musing Monday's - Football or a Book

Musing Monday's is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. This week’s musing:

Did you do any reading in lieu of watching the football game, yesterday, or were you foregoing reading to watch the game? If you read a book (or books) what did you choose?

I didn't watch the Super Bowl yesterday.  I cant take or leave football.  it's just not important to me.  My husband would normally watch the big game but he was working.  So my daughters and I watched Grease.  I didn't get any reading in until last night after bedtime.

I'm reading Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman.  I really like it but it's taking me a while to get through it as so much is going on right now.