Captain’s Log, Stardate 12.01.2011 Protection for Hire officially releases today! Here's the back cover blurb: Tessa Lancaster's skills first earned her a position as an enforcer in her Uncle Teruo's Japanese Mafia gang. Then they landed her in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Now, three months after her release, Tessa's abilities have gained her a job as bodyguard for wealthy socialite Elizabeth St. Amant and her three-year-old son. But there's a problem or two ... or three .... There's Elizabeth's abusive husband whose relentless pursuit goes deeper than mere vengeance. There's Uncle Teruo, who doesn't understand why Tessa's new faith as a Christian prevents her from returning to the yakuza. And then there's Elizabeth's lawyer, Charles Britton, who Tessa doesn't know is the one who ensured that she did maximum time behind bars. Now Tessa and Charles must work together in order to protect their client, while new truth...

(I also posted this over at Goodreads.com in case you wanted to join the discussion there.) So here's a random question that occurred to me, so I thought I'd put it out there for you guys: When you read, do you have "comfort food" you go for? Especially when you have a really good read? I was thinking about this and realized that I have definite habits when it comes to my eating and reading. I love enjoying tea with my reading, usually English style tea with milk and honey, but sometimes Japanese green tea (genmaicha, specifically). I also love eating Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Straws while I read. In fact, I have a bag open right now! I get them from Costco and they're slightly lower in fat than potato chips, plus they're light and crispy. I used to like eating potato chips, but they tend to be too greasy after a while, whereas Veggie Straws are a bit lighter. I also love reading while eating ramen or any type of soup, really. I set my book ...

Captain's Log, Stardate 11.14.2011 I made collard chips yesterday, but it was because of the French fries. I seriously love French fries. I go into withdrawal if I don’t have them once every two to three weeks or so. Captain Caffeine will actually go out and buy them for me when I start climbing up the walls. (Incidentally, our favorites are from Yiassoo’s Greek restaurant, which for some reason has an awesome fryer and great fries, and also Kirk’s Steakburgers because their steak fries ROCK!) We’ve gotten a lot of potatoes lately in our organic co-op, so I decided to make French fries. I got out my Fry Daddy and whipped up several batches a few times this past week. I got so fry happy that I decided to try deep fried kale chips, which turned out absolutely completely AWESOME!!! Unfortunately I didn’t take pictures. So then I thought I’d try collard greens and see how that tasted, and they turned out great too! They’re a bit more “green” tasting than the kale--the kale ...

Captain's Log, Stardate 11.10.2011 This is a post by Maureen Lang and it's hilarious but also totally true! http://christiansread.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/what-kind-of-reader-are-you-posted-by-maureen-lang/ Over the years I’ve belonged to or visited a number of book clubs, which taught me there are many different reader styles. After posing this topic to my voracious-reader daughter, I decided to define the ones we’ve either been or encountered and list them here in no particular order. See if you can identify with any . . . or some . . . Camy here: I think I'm several different types of readers, but I can relate to almost all of them. What type(s) are you?

Captain’s Log, Stardate 11.09.2011 I’m over at the ChristiansRead blog with a question about Kindle/ebooks and used books and lending books! http://christiansread.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/giving-kindle-books/ Join in the discussion!

Lakeside Reunion by Lisa Jordan Bed-and-breakfast owner Lindsey Porter prays she won't run into Stephen Chase when she returns to Shelby Lake. Five years ago, the cop jilted her to marry another woman, and Lindsey fled town. But no sooner does she hit city limits than Stephen pulls her over for a broken taillight. Despite the past, he's still able to stir up Lindsey's old feelings for him. Now a widower and single dad, Stephen recognizes a second chance when he sees one. And he'll do anything to make Lindsey trust in God and take a risk for love—again. Excerpt of chapter one: Any moment now, Lindsey could put the car in Drive, touch the gas pedal, drive past the green-etched Welcome to Shelby Lake sign and return to her past. Another hundred feet and she would be back. Visitors traveled to the northwestern Pennsylvania lake-front community to get away. She escaped to put her life back together. Center Street unfurled like black satin ribbon under a canopy of...