Book savoring

Captain’s Log, Stardate 06.12.2007

You all know what I mean. There are certain authors, certain books, which you read slowly to make it last longer.

I’m reading one book like that right now. One of my favorite Regency romance authors is Carla Kelly, and when the Signet Regency line closed, I wasn’t sure if she’d continue writing. I was SO happy when I found out she put out a title with Harlequin Historicals called Beau Crusoe.

Carla Kelly always has very interesting aspects of Regency life that she explores. This particular book is no exception—rather than typical lords and ladies, she has a gentleman, a simple “mister,” who was shipwrecked for five years and then rescued less than a year before the story opens. He has been lauded because of a scientific treatise on crabs that he wrote while marooned.

The heroine is a young woman, disgraced when she had eloped with her husband to India, where he died of the cholera. She returned to her uncaring and bitter family with her son.

The story premise is so neat! And the author immerses the reader in the popular Regency era, but in an unusual setting. The characters are sympathetic but flawed, dealing with lots of mysterious backstory that hasn’t been revealed to me yet. Goodie!

I’m reading slowly. I’m reading in small chunks of time, a little each day. I’m only eating my favorite snacks as I read this book!

Comments

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

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Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

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A List of my Free Blog Reads

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...

Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...

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Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7 annotated edition