Book Week 22 - in Memoriam

Taps

Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.


Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep,
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.


Love, good night,
Must thou go,
When the day,
And the night
Need thee so?
All is well.
Speedeth all
To their rest.



Fades the light;
And afar
Goeth day,
And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well;
Day has gone,
Night is on.


Thanks and praise,
For our days,
'Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
'Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.

Freedom's Colors

by Roger Hancock

Red is for Bravery;
blood shed in sacrifice.
Freedom came with lives the price.


White is for Liberty;
freedom's purity.
Life be free from God's decree.


Blue is for Justice;
as vast as the sky.
Over freedom's land to occupy.


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Book Week 21 -- U is for ubiquitous ambiguity

For some reason, the first thing that crossed my mind for the letter U was ubiquitous ambiguity.    Ubiquitous - being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time.  Ambiguity - uncertainty of meaning or intention.  Hmmm!  Remind you of anybody?  

U is for universal - present everywhere. U is for unusual - rare or uncommon.  U is for unique - one of a kind.  U is unknown, that is unknown to you or me until we hear or see the name, then we see it everywhere.     What books or authors have universal appeal?    Well known classics writers such as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice or a more contemporary authors such as J.K. Rowling of the Harry Potter series.   How about French Novelist Marcel Proust, or German Essayist Thomas Mann.   Are the books with universal appeal ones that are easy to read and generally appeal to a wide audience such as James Patterson.  Do certain genres such as Mysteries or Urban fantasy or Romance have more universal appeal than Westerns or Horror?   What about utopian or dystopian?

Speaking of dystopian  (like my segue..)  check out The League of Extraordinary Writers - the new blog for 4 debut science fiction and dystopian authors: Beth Revis, Julia Karr, Angie Smibert and and Jeff Hirsch. 

What books or authors do you think have universal appeal?   What comes to mind when you hear ubiquitous ambiguity?  
 

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Book Week 20 - T is for Tolstoy

1828 - 1910

"Faith is the sense of life, that sense by virtue of which man does not destroy himself, but continues to live on. It is the force whereby we live." 

Last year, I read my very first Leo Tolstoy's book - War and Peace.  When I started reading the book, I had never read anything by Leo Tolstoy, nor did I have any preconceived ideas about the story. From the very beginning I was captured and couldn't put the book down.  

Front Flap synopsis: "At a lavish party in St. Petersburg in 1805, amid the glittering crystal and chandeliers, the room buzzes with talk of the prospect of war. Soon battle and terror will engulf the country, and the destinies of its people will be changed forever. War and Peace has as its backdrop Napoleon's invasion of Russia and at its heart three of literature's most memorable characters: Pierre Bezukhov, a quixotic young man in search of life's meaning; Prince Andrey Bolkonsky, a cynical intellectual transformed by suffering in war; and the bewitching Natasha Rostov, whose impulsiveness threatens to destroy her happiness. As they seek fulfillment, fall in love, make mistakes, and become scarred by conflict in different ways, these characters and their stories interweave with those of a huge cast, from aristocrats to peasants, from soldiers to Napoleon himself. Battles, love affairs, births, deaths, changing family fortunes, unforgettable scenes of wolf hunts, Russian dancing, starlit troika rides, the great comet of 1812--the entire spectrum of human life is here in all its grandeur and imperfection."

The Anthony Briggs translation stays faithful to the original Russian but takes out all the thee's, thou's and thy's for easier reading. Also included is a list of characters in the back of the book you can refer to, because there are many, many characters and if you don't pay close attention, it is easy to get them confused.

Tolstoy blends history with fiction to create an interesting, educational, classical story about war, love, family, and power. In the latter part of the story Tolstoy mixes in his analysis of the actions of Napoleon, Alexander and the people surrounding them. The Russian Commander in Chief, Kutozov was one particular person whom Tolstoy felt should have been honored over Napoleon.

"For Russian historians (strange and terrible to relate) Napoleon, the least significant instrument of history, who never once in any place, not even in exile, displayed a trace of human virtue, is an object of admiration and enthusiasm; he is one of their 'great men'.


By contrast, Kutozov, the man who from start to finish during his period of command in 1812, from Borodino to Vilna, never once let himself down by word or deed, an unparalleled example of self sacrifice and the ability to see today's events with tomorrow's significance, this Kutuzov is conceived of by the same historians as a rather pathetic, nondescript character, and any mention of him in relation to the year 1812 always causes a stir of embarrassment.


And yet it is difficult to think of any historical figure whose activity shows a greater determination to focus continually on a single aim. It is difficult to imagine a more noble aim, or one more closely attuned to the will of an entire nation. And it would be even more difficult to find an example anywhere in history of a historical personage accomplishing his declared aim more completely than Kutuzov did after total commitment to it in 1812." pg 1208

In the Epilogue, Tolstoy analyzes how historians apply the actions of one person and represent it as the action of an entire people. He discusses the actions of Napoleon, the question of power and whether power is taken by one person or given to that person by a select few or the masses.

"How did these individuals compel whole nations to act in accordance with their will? pg 1317

What is the meaning of power and what happens if no one follows that power. What is the meaning of free will and if people are influenced by the actions of those around them or if it is all meant to be. His examination of the events of 1812 is very interesting and gives you much to think about.

Not only did I fall in love with the characters, I was fascinated by the whole story, how events unfolded and one person's actions affected not just one person, but everyone.

I'm looking forward to reading Anna Karenina at some point this year.  Think I'll wait until my nobel literature class is over so I can give it my full attention.  

Leo Tolstoy's works include: 

Fiction:

Albert
Anna Karenina
Boyhood
Childhood
Father Sergius
Hadji Murad
Master and Man
Resurrection
The Cossacks
The Death of Ivan Ilych
The Forged Coupon
The Kreutzer Sonata
War and Peace
Youth

Non-Fiction:

A Confession
The Kingdom of God is Within You

Plays:

Fruits of Culture
Redemption
The Power of Darkness

Short Stories:

A Grain As Big As A Hen's Egg
A Lost Opportunity
A Prisoner in the Caucasus
A Spark Neglected Burns the House
After the Dance
Alyosha the Pot
An Old Acquaintance
Esarhaddon, King of Assyria
Evil Allures, But God Endures
God Sees the Truth, But Waits
How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Ilyás
Ivan the Fool
Little Girls Wiser Than Men
My Dream
Polikushka
The Bear Hunt
The Candle
The Coffee-House of Surat
The Empty Drum
The Godson
The Imp and the Crust
The Repentant Sinner
The Young Tsar
There Are No Guilty People
Three Hermits
Three Questions
Too Dear!
Two Old Men
What Men Live By
Where Love Is, God Is
Work, Death, and Sickness

Essays:

A Letter to A Hindu
On the Significance of Science and Art
On Labour and Luxury
To Women
The Census in Moscow

Several of his works are available to read online at Project Gutenberg and Classic authors.  Pick up and read one of Leo Tolstoy's works this year. You'll be glad you did.

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Link to your reviews:  

Book Week 19 - S is for Sawyer

S is for Sawyer, Robert Sawyer. Robert J. Sawyer is one of the six nominees for the 2010 Hugo Award in the Best Novel category for "Wake."  

Excerpt from Chapter one:  

Not darkness, for that implies an understanding of light.

      Not silence, for that suggests a familiarity with sound.

      Not loneliness, for that requires a knowledge of others

But still, faintly, so tenuous, that if it were any less it wouldn't exist at all: awareness

     Nothing more than that.   Just awareness - a vague, ethereal sense of being.

Being...but not becoming.  No marking of time, no past or future --- only an endless, featureless now, and, just barely there in that boundless moment, inchoate and raw, the dawning of perception...

Makes me want to go out and buy "Wake" right now.  Wake is book one in the WWW trilogy: Wake, Watch, and Wonder.  The first two are available now and you can read first chapter excerpts on the www trilogy web site. 

Sawyer, born April 29, 2010 in Ottawa Canada, sold his first short science fiction story in 1979 to the Strasenburgh Planetarium which they produced as part of a dramatic starshow trilogy called "Futurescapes" in 1980.   While attending Ryerson University and working on his Bachelor of Applied Arts in Radio and Television Arts, he had his first story published in  Ryerson's 1980 Literary Annual - White Wall Review.  

The story "The Contest" was included in the anthology 100 Great Fantasy Short Stories released in 1984.  After graduating from Ryerson, he spent the next six years writing mainly non fiction freelance articles for various American and Canadian magazines.   His true love however was writing science fiction and he decided to concentrate on writing novels full time.   


His debut novel was Golden Fleece published in 1999

The story is unique in that is it told from the viewpoint of the Starcology Argo's ship's computer, Jason. One of the ship's crew is murdered and the finger points straight at the artificially intelligent computer.  



After that he wrote Farseer, book 1 in the  Quintaglio Ascension series which revolved around the world of a group of intelligent dinosaurs.

His next book, End of an Era continued with the dinosaur theme but took us back through time travel to the beginning of the world to find out what really happened to the dinosaurs. 


Sawyer explored many interesting themes in his books including SETI, artificial intelligence, time travel, dinosaurs, psychology, murder and the nature of consciousness to name a few.  


In his Neanderthal Parallax series, he explored the question:  what would have happened if there was another world in which the neanderthals have survived and became the dominant species.   How would their world differ from ours?  He won the 2003 Hugo award for Hominids.

In his next standalone book, he went on to explore in Mindscan what would happen if in order to avoid suffering an inherited  debilitation disease that would turn you into a vegetable, if you could have your mind scanned and assume an android body while your body is shipped off to the moon.   Would the people you know accept you?  If a cure was discovered, could you be scanned back into your body?   


Which brings us to his WWW trilogy.  WWW.Watch was just released on April 6th and continues Caitlin's story from WWW.Wake.    He is currently working on Wonder and I'm not sure when it will be released. 



Sawyer has also written a number of short stories which are available to read online.  He has won many awards and accolades for his work over the years.   According to the Ottawa Citizen he is the "Dean of Science Fiction."   If you'd like to know more about Robert J. Sawyer, check out his autobiography on sfwriter.com


I have a mini challenge for you all - read all six hugo nominees this year.   I'm looking forward to reading WWW.Wake as *gasp* I haven't read any of his books yet.  

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Book Week 18 - R is for Romance

Romance novels come in a wide variety these days: contemporary, historical, paranormal, inspirational and suspense to erotica.  I first started reading Harlequin romances when I was a teenager back in the 70's.   I just happened to come across a few I saved in one of my stored book boxes the other day.   

These are from 1978 to 1986.  The pages are slightly yellowed and it was fun to look back through them. Brought back memories of the time.  Then I was going through the boxes of books we had inherited from my hubby's mom and found this gem.

One of Debbie Macomber's earlier works from 1986.  Yes, the Debbie Macomber of the Cedar Cove and Blossom Street series.  I got out of the habit of reading romance for a long, long time until 2007 when I discovered Nora Roberts. I forget who suggested her to me or how I discovered her but the very first book I read was 

I feel in like instantly, read through the whole Macgregor series and then went on to read her other series and standalones.  Thank goodness for my local used bookstore having a wonderful romance section.  I  have since read almost everything she has written including her In Death series (read it twice)  which she wrote under the pen name of J.D. Robb.   She restored my faith in good romance stories that aren't cheesy. I soon came to find out she is the Diva of Romance novelists.  Her novels range from pure romance to suspense to paranormal to futuristic.   Each trilogy or series is unique and the characters - they grow on you and by the end of each book or series, you're left with a warm cozy feeling and really don't want the story to end.  Which just makes you want to read them again and again.  I just finished reading the 3rd book just released on April 27th (thank you - Amazon)  in her most recent series, the Bride Quartet,  Savor the Moment.  

The fourth book, Happy Ever After will be out in November.  If you've never read a Nora Roberts book, you don't know what you've been missing.   And if you are ever in Boonesboro, Maryland, be sure to drop by her husband's book store Turn the Page Bookstore Cafe or her bed and breakfast Inn Boonsboro

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Week 17 - Q is for Quick and Quills

Romance.   I'll admit it.  I like a good romance, especially when it is mixed with a mystery, a bit of history or futuristic with a touch of magic.   One author I discovered fits all three.

Amanda Quick aka Jayne Ann Krentz aka Jayne Castle

I particularly like her Arcane Society series which revolve around a secret organization involved in paranormal research.   Written under under both Amanda Quick and Jayne Ann Krentz, the stories cross over from historical to modern times.  I've read several of the stories, just finished reading The Third Circle set in late Victoria England and just picked up Running Hot which is set in 21st century Maui.   Each book stands on its own though each one does provide some history on the society that is interesting to know. 

I just discovered Jayne Ann Krentz  last year and am working my way slowly through her books.   I'm looking forward to reading her futuristic paranormal Harmony Series which are set in the late 21st century on the new world Harmony.  Krentz has written many books under 7 different pens names over the years from the 80's to the present.

Jayne blogs at Running with Quills along with Susan Andersen, Stella Cameron, Kate Douglas, Lori Foster, Elizabeth Lowell, and Carla Neggers.   I've read quite a few of Lori Foster and Elizabeth Lowell's books (love their writing)  and am working my way through reading the other authors works.   The first book I read by Carla Negger's "The Angel" really captured my attention.   Their blog is great and filled with posts about their books, writing, what's happening in their lives and even contests.   Be sure to drop by their blog and check them out for yourselves.  You'll be glad you did. 

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Link to your reviews.

Book Week 16 -- Things that start with P

I had originally planned to highlight just one particular author today - Marcel Proust.  I have heard much about the french novelist and his writings and wanted to learn more about him.  However, we just returned from our county's creek week clean up in which our cub scout pack took part and I'm tired, sore and have a big case of brain fog, that even a nap hasn't cured.  So will save that for another day.  Instead I will leave you with a few interesting links to things that start with P.   Who knows, you may just discover a new to you author and decide to read more of their works.

Project Gutenberg:  30,000 free ebooks you can read online or download to your e-readers.

Poemhunter.com:   In honor of national poetry month, a place to find all kinds of poetry by well known and some not so well known poets.

Marcel Proust:   "As long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think, free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost and science can never regress."

Thomas Paine:  "The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act. A general association takes place, and common interest produces common security."
 
Plutarch:  "Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly"

Edgar Allan Poe:  "I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat."

Penguin Group Publishing online:  Excerpts from their newest books


 

Evening Star by Edgar Allan Poe

'Twas noontide of summer,
And mid-time of night;
And stars, in their orbits,
Shone pale, thro' the light
Of the brighter, cold moon,
'Mid planets her slaves,
Herself in the Heavens,
Her beam on the waves.
I gazed awhile
On her cold smile;
Too cold- too cold for me-
There pass'd, as a shroud,
A fleecy cloud,
And I turned away to thee,
Proud Evening Star,
In thy glory afar,
And dearer thy beam shall be;
For joy to my heart
Is the proud part
Thou bearest in Heaven at night,
And more I admire
Thy distant fire,
Than that colder, lowly light. 

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Book Week 15 - O is for Ozymandias

 Book Week XV

The battle of two poets

Percy Shelley and Horace Smith had a competition and both wrote a poem for the same magazine about the same subject - Egyptian Pharoah Ramesses II 

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
(1792 - 1822)

I MET a Traveler from an antique land,
Who said, "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desart. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is OZYMANDIAS, King of Kings."
Look on my works ye Mighty, and despair!
No thing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that Colossal Wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.




Ozymandias by Horace Smith
(1779 - 1849)

In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone,
Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws
The only shadow that the Desert knows:
"I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone,
"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows
"The wonders of my hand." The City's gone,
Nought but the Leg remaining to disclose
The site of this forgotten Babylon.
We wonder, and some Hunter may express
Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness
Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace,
He meets some fragments huge, and stops to guess
What powerful but unrecorded race
Once dwelt in that annihilated place.

What do you think and which one do you prefer?  

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Book Week Fourteen - N is for Nobility

Nobility -  Nobleness of mind, character or spirit, exalted moral excellence

"Many Moments of his Nobility"

Of All The Moments
In Jesus’ Life
This … Is The One
Draws Me Closer To Christ

… In The Garden of
Gethsemane
When He Prepared
To Face The Dark’s Army

On That Moonlit Night
The Agony He Felt
But What Humility
As He Nobly Knelt

The Holy Breeding
Of His Personality
Even In Such Plight
… He Proved Regally …

GOD’s Own Champion
GOD’s First-Knight
The Noble Warrior
Who Fights Our Fights

But That One, Moment
In Heaven’s Sight
Drops, Like Rubies
Glittered Bright ...


Such Was His Anguish
That His Pure Sweat
Became As Blood
Squeezed For Our Debt

And His Plea
Heart-Torn, As It Was …
Was Still Heart-Set
To His Father’s Cause

… Of All The Moments
In Jesus’ Life
This Is Another Why
I Call Him ‘Christ’ …

When They Nailed
His Feet and Hands
He Was Still, The Noblest One
In All The Land

In Pain, He Fulfilled
Prophecies Grand
Jesus, The Son Of God
Was The Greatest, Son Of Man

… and Of All The Moments
In Jesus’ Life
This One … Rends Me Speechless
‘His Holy Cries! ’ 

(Moonbee Canady) 

Happy Easter!!!!

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Book Week Thirteen -- M is for Mars

M is for Mars - Red Mars, Blue Mars, Green Mars which are all the brain child of Kim Stanley Robinson.

Today I'm spotlighting Hugo award winner Kim Stanley Robinson.  He was born March 23, 1952 in Waukegan, Illinois, however he considers himself a California native since he has lived in California since he was two years old.    He discovered science fiction, much like I did in the 70's. During his college years, while working on his bachelor's degree,  developed an idea for a series set in Orange county, California taking one character through 3 different futures.  The very first book published in 1984  The Wild Shore (post apocalyptic), in 1988 The Gold Coast (dystopian) and in 1990 Pacific Edge (utopian)
                                                       

After earning his Master's Degree in English at Boston University in 1975, he returned to California to complete his PhD.   In 1982 he completed his thesis on the works of Philip K. Dick titled:  The Novels of Philip K Dick - Studies in Speculative Fiction.

In 1982, he also married Lisa Howland Nowell, a environmental chemist whose work eventually took them to Switzerland where Kim was able to start writing full time, which results in the futuristic Mars Trilogy (Red  Mars - 1992, Green Mars - 1993 and Blue Mars in 1996) all about exploring  and establishing  a settlement on Mars.

                                    

After writing the Mars trilogy, Robinson decided to explore what would have happened in Europe if the black plague had wiped out 99% of the population and  Islamic and Buddhist societies emerged as the world's dominant religious and political forces which resulted in his alternative history novel:

He went on to explore how science and politics interact in Washington DC in the near future with the Science in the Capital trilogy exploring events leading up to and during a worldwide environmental collapse brought about by global warming.

Which brings us to his latest book, Galileo's Dream, a mixture of historical fiction, time travel and alternative history.  In Suduvu, Kim talks about Galileo's Dream - 400 years later.

Kim has won numerous awards and been nominated many times for his creative imagination

1984, World Fantasy Award for Best Novella, for "Black Air" 

1985, Locus Award for Best First Novel, for The Wild Shore 

1987, Nebula Award for Best Novella, for "The Blind Geometer" 

1991, John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, for Pacific Edge 

1991, Locus Award for Best Novella, for "A Short, Sharp Shock" 

1992, British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel, for Red Mars

1993, Nebula Award for Best Novel, for Red Mars 

1994, Hugo Award for Best Novel, for Green Mars

1994, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, for Green Mars

1997, Hugo Award for Best Novel, for Blue Mars

1997, Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel, for Red Mars 

1997, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, for Blue Mars 

1998, Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel, for Green Mars 

1999, Seiun Award for Best Foreign Novel, for Red Mars 

2000, Locus Award for Best Collection, for The Martians 

2003, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, for The Years Of Rice And Salt

In 2007,  an autobiographical story - Kistenpass - was published in the webzine, Flurb about his time in Switzerland.

What's next from the imaginative mind of Kim Stanley Robinson?   In 2009, Orbit Publishing agreed to a three book deal with him and his first book, tentatively titled 2312 will be released in 2012.

"Tim Holman, Orbit VP and Publisher, says: “Kim Stanley Robinson is a writer who can make the future credible, no matter how incredible it might seem. 2312 will be set in our solar system three hundred years from now; a solar system in which mankind has left Earth and found new habitats. This will be a novel for anyone curious to see what our future looks like – a grand science-fictional adventure in every sense – and I’m thrilled that Orbit will be publishing it in both the US and the UK.”

Today, Kim is a stay at home dad, devoting his time to his kids and writing, while his wife continues her work as a full time chemist.  

I challenge you to read at least one of his books this year.  I'm coveting Galileo's Dream right now.

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What have you been reading?   Post to your reviews and include the name of the book in parentheses after your name.   

Book Week Twelve - L is for linkage love

It's interesting.  I'm currently taking a class in Nobel Literature and the question came up, do you consider the politics of the person when reading the book.  Many of the Nobel prize winners for literature seemed to have been picked due to the politics.   I haven't come across too many books in which the author's politic bothered me one way or the other. Oh what as sheltered life I lead!   Well, the post I had planned for today all geared around a certain book, went south when I discovered some information about the author's politics that totally turned me off.  Suffix it to say I won't be reading any of his books nor will I be supporting the author by highlighting his books here.

Instead I'm going to shower you with linkage love.   Links to book bloggers and book sites that are interesting and informative and all start with "L"

Jackie of Literary Escapism:   Highlights Fantasy and Paranormal authors, plus is hosting  the New Author Challenge 2010.   She has great author guests and interesting giveaways.

She highlights many of the authors from the League of Reluctant Adults.

A huge group of fantasy and paranormal authors including Mario Acevedo, Michele Bardsley, Dakota Cassidy, Carolyn Crane, Molly Harper, Mark Henry, Stacia Kane, Jackie Kessler, Caitlin Kittredge, J.F. Lewis, Richelle Mead, Kelly Meding, Nicole Peeler, Cherie Priest, Kat Richardson, Michelle Rowen, Diana Rowland, Jeanne C. Stein, Anton Strout, and Jaye Wells

Linus's Blanket:   Nicole not only discusses all kinds of books, but she hosts a weekly blog radio shows called "That's How I Blog."   Every Tuesday she interviews a different blogger and discusses a different book called the Twenty Minute Book Club.   Fascinating conversations you don't want to miss.

Staci of Life in the Thumb:  A fellow book addict with eclectic taste and every Saturday posts her Six Sentence Saturday in which she reviews books using only 6 sentences.

Lipstick Chronicles:   Group author blog with Nancy Martin, Hank Phillipi Ryan, Elaine Viets, Sarah Strohmeyer, Kathy Sweeney, Harley Jane Kozak and Me Margie.  You'll be entertained, amused and enlightened by these group of mystery writers.

Stieg Larson:  Author of "the Girl with The Dragon Tattoo" and more.

and Happy Birthday to Lois Lowry:  Author of the Dystopian trilogy "The Giver," "Gathering Blue," and "Messenger."  

Link to your reviews:  

Book Week Eleven -- K is for K.M. Weiland

K.M Weiland

(isn't she adorable!!!)

Where would we be without writers. Well, we wouldn't have any books to read and that would be a shame.  I would be remiss in not highlighting the authors who provide us with the books we read.   Over the years I have discovered some amazing authors.  In my quest to write the 'great American novel' I have discovered many author blogs.  Authors who write not only interesting and intriguing books, but also share their writing journeys and experiences in order to help and inspire aspiring writers.   From the group blogs such as Murderati, Running with Quills, The Deadline Dames, to a wide range of author blogs such as K.M. Weiland, Michelle Moran, Neil Gaiman, Elana Johnson, to Frederik Pohl, Charlie Stross and Jeff Vandermeer to name a few .  Thanks to the blogospere I have found many "new to me authors."  There are many authors I follow and have linked in my sidebars of both My Two Blessing and Mind Voyages.  I'll be spotlighting more of these authors over the coming year from whom we can learn and be entertained from their experiences.

Just like reading is as necessary to breathing to me, stories are like breathing to K.M. Weiland.   I'm working on getting to that place where writing is equal up there with books in the breathing department. 

Why she writes:

From her website:   "Stories are like breathing. Life without a story in my head is one-dimensional, stagnant, vapid. I love the life God has given me, but I think I love it better because I’m able to live out so many other lives on the page. I’m more content to be who I am because I’m not trapped in that identity. When I sit down at my computer and put my fingers on the keys, I can be anyone or anything, at any time in history. I write because it’s freedom."

                        Western Fiction  - First Chapter       Historical Fiction - First Chapter

Have you ever read the first line or paragraph of a book and been hooked by the writing?  That is how I chose whether to read a book or not.  If the description of the book interests me, then I'll open it to the first page and read it.  If that sparks my interest, I choose random pages to peruse.   Weiland's books both sparked with me and I look forward to reading them.  She has also written an e-book which is available free from her site "Crafting Unforgettable Characters" which I am in the process of reading.  It includes some interesting advice such as chapters on "interviewing your characters," "It's what your characters DO that defines them," and "What Dickens can teach us about complex characters."   I just know I'm going to end up printing the whole thing out (thank you for back to back printers) to read again and again. 

Advice:

"Writing is both a gift and an art. As a gift, it must be approached with humility: the writer is only the vessel through which inspiration flows. As an art, it must be approached with passion and discipline: a gift that’s never developed wasn’t worth the giving."

K.M also blogs at Author Culture with authors Lynette Bonner and Linda Yezak.  Be sure to check them out.  

What new authors have you discovered lately?  

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Link to your current reads and reviews in this post , no matter where you are in the challenge. Please link to your specific review post and include the name of the book in parentheses after your name so everyone will know which book you have read.