A blog to discuss books and writing. There will be lots of other discussions, too, so enjoy!
Who Am I?
LuAnn Morgan
I am a freelance writer living in Washington state. I am married to a wonderful man who is very supportive of my work. I have three children and four stepchildren and five marvelous grandchildren!
1. No, we will NOT stay up and wait for Santa or he won't come. 2. We will leave milk and cookies for Santaat the old kitchen table. 3. I watched the steam rising from the hot cup of or tea and thought why did I buy this brand instead of my regular kind? 4. No, we don't have a chimney but it's going to be okay. 5. I'll take the day off and go Christmas shopping. 6. Santa really does exist, at least from my point of view. 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to wrapping Christmas presents, tomorrow my plans include delivering Christmas baskets to the needy and Sunday, I want to finish up a lot of writing I have waiting to get done!
"Lilly and Val are lifelong friends, united as much by their differences as by the similarities. Lilly, dramatic and confident, lives in the shadows of her beautiful, wayward mother and craves the attention of her distant, disapproving father. Val, shy and idealistic -- and surprisingly ambitious -- struggles with her desire to break free from her demanding housebound mother and a father whose dreams never seem to come true."
Lilly and Val were born friends. While in grade school, they form a secret club just between the two of them in which they share their deepest feelings, hopes and dreams through a series of letters to each other. They attach a recipe to their letters, hence the name of the club.
The reader watches as they mature into young women plagued by the very emotions that threaten to permanently destroy themselves and each other.
I enjoy reading books about relationships between individuals and this book doesn't disappoint. As I watched Lilly and Val grow up, I rooted for each one and anxiously waited to find out what was going to happen to them when they became adults. The authors did an excellent job of making the characters in the book believable for the reader and you can't help but hope they can fulfill their goals in life.
There's even a twist at the end that makes you think, "Well, that certainly explains a lot!"
Plus, the recipes have wonderful names that add to the story line and make the book even more interesting.
Now that I've finished reading this book, I have to decide whether to put it on my bookshelf or with my other cookbooks because I'm really anxious to try some of the recipes!
I'm so excited! I received a wonderful Christmas package from my Secret Santa. Items include the book "Austenland" by Shannon Hale (Yay!), a chocolate bar (Yum!), a bar of Christmas bath soap (Ahh!) and a pretty card in which my Santa introduced herself!
And (drum roll here!) my wonderful and very special Secret Santa is ....
Charlotte! From charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com! You just have to stop by and check out her blog! It's great fun. She reviews fantasy and science fiction books for children and teens.
Thanks so much, Charlotte. You picked the perfect gifts for me!
“The body of a young Hmong woman is found on Harriet Island near the Mississippi River. It appears to be a simple case of murder and revenge. But what begins as a routine investigation soon morphs into something far more sinister.”
Christopher Valen returns with his second book featuring John Santana, a St. Paul police officer and detective. Santana has what I found to be an endearing personality and Valen did an excellent job of bringing his cast to life.
However, I found some of his descriptions a little drawn out. For example, I don’t need to know the exact details of what a person was wearing – unless it’s a key point for the story – or what they ate for breakfast. For me, it was a distraction from the story line and I found myself skimming over some parts to get back to the action.
And I did enjoy the story line, so I wouldn’t hesitate to read other books by this author. I liked his characters and his short, punchy chapters.
Valen is an excellent writer and since this is only his second book, I’ll be waiting to see if he becomes more polished in subsequent novels.
“It’s the week before Christmas, and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to garnish her shop for the Savannah historical district decorating contest, which she intends to win. Weezie is ready to shoot herself with her glue gun by the time she’s done, but the results are stunning. She’s certainly one-upped the owners of the trendy shop around the corner, but suddenly things start to go missing from her display, and there seems to be a mysterious midnight visitor to her shop.”
When I want to relax and laugh with a quick read, I can always count on Mary Kay Andrews. “Blue Christmas” was no exception.
I just love how Mary Kay brings her characters to life with such endearing and charming personalities. You can’t help but fall in love with her stories. They are so fun!
I found this book at a second-hand store not too long ago and thought it would be a good addition to my Christmas collection – and for the Holiday Reading Challenge! I was right.
It was odd, though. Whoever had this copy before I bought it must have been offended by any form of cuss words, including such innocuous terms as “hell” and “damn” because they crossed them out within the text.
They weren’t, however, offended by the gay relationship of the main character’s neighbors because they left those words intact.
Go figure!
Anyway, this is a marvelous little holiday book and I’m glad I decided to take a day off and spend my time reading this.
Whenever holidays or birthdays roll around, my family asks, “What do you want us to get you?”
I don’t always have a quick answer and they jump in with, “We could get you a book … well, no, you already have more than you can read now.”
So, I did a little brainstorming and came up with some ideas for gifts readers would enjoy. These are items that could definitely add to the reading experience.
Here they are, presented in alphabetical order:
World atlas:
These are great for finding locations within the story you are reading.
Book light:
Wonderful for reading in bed or in the car without disturbing those around you.
Bookmark:
It goes without saying that you need these for keeping your place.
Candles:
Great for adding a little ambiance, especially if you’re reading a romance novel.
Dictionary:
I often refer to a dictionary for new words I find in books I’m reading.
Lap blanket:
For curling up on cold winter evenings with your book.
Post it notes:
I use these a lot when I’m reading. They are really handy for marking pages you want to refer
back to for a quote or phrase. I often put one in the front of the book for keeping lists of new words.
Spiral notebook:
If you like to keep track of the books you’ve read or key sentences
you find in a story, these are very handy.
Tea:
A warm cup of tea is a very pleasant drink when reading.
Tea set:
Well … to drink the tea, of course!
Tote bag:
The perfect item for taking all of the above with you on a weekend away.
Other items that can come in handy are a nice journal, a special pen to write with,
highlighters, memo pads, paper clips and a thesaurus.
That’s my list! Some of these items make super stocking stuffers, too. I’m definitely going to share this with my family. Feel free to copy it and add your own special wants so your family will get you presents they know you will enjoy. I know there are other presents I’d love to have! But when I mention those to my family, they just roll their eyes and say, "Uh, huh!"
Xerox is offering again this year to send a holiday postcard in your name to a soldier serving overseas. The cards are wonderful and the program is simple. These postcards are created by children around the U.S. You pick a design you like and then you pick a message to be printed on the other side. Enter your name and where you're from and your card is created for you. You can send as many cards as you like. All they ask is you pick a different design each time so the troops receive a variety. The card above is the design I chose. I loved the collage idea this 9-year-old girl from Washington, D.C., used for her drawing. Check it out!
