Books Again

I suppose I've been a bit of a slacker, seeing how I haven't posted for almost two months. It has been a crazy two months. I've been recuperating from this nasty bit of a cold/bronchitis for the last month. I'm finally on the mend and catching up.

In the mean time I have had the chance to read a whole bunch of books. Yay!!! So you know what that means.

First off some advice. I've had the chance to sign up to get deals on books and some of them are free. It's been fun reading, but a word to the wise, read the Amazon reviews on any books before you purchase them and be sure to read lots of reviews. I read some reviews for a couple of books, but I didn't delve deep enough and I ended up getting some books with unsavory junk in them. Luckily, Amazon lets you delete those purchases. (whew)

So onto my suggestions. The first is a delightful mystery set in Victorian San Francisco. I loved the main character and her independent nature as well as her ability to get into and out of scrapes with beautiful finesse. The name of the book is Maids of Misfortune by M. Louisa Locke and for now it is still free for Kindle. I loved this book and am planning on purchasing the rest of the mysteries when I get a few extra dollars.

Locke has created the perfect atmosphere of Victorian San Francisco and stayed true to the time period. I enjoyed her writing style and the fact that her book remained free of the junk that you find in a lot of books like this. I highly suggest you pick this one up.

Next, is a police hostage drama that actually caught my attention and kept it throughout the story. All Fall Down by Julie Coulter Bellon. It is part of a series, but the books are also independent stories. This was an action packed book from beginning to end with lots of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages.

Bellon crafted a great drama with a tiny twist of romance that tied me even closer to the characters and the outcome of the story. Though some events seemed a bit fantastic, I also didn't mind it because it was how the story was laid out and the motives of the characters were totally plausible. I enjoy a good murder mystery, this book brought the action to a whole new level.

The Taming of Lady Kate by G. G. Vandagriff, is a delightful Regency romance. The story was more than a romance but a story of treason, love, and desperate actions led by fate.

Lady Kate Derramore and the Marquis of Northbrooke have one thing in common: In order to receive their inheritances, they must marry. Kate sets her sights on Jack, the Marquis of Northbrooke. Jack, meanwhile has tumbled into love with Kate at their first meeting. Because of Jack's "other life," the mysterious job that calls him out of town at the most inopportune moments, he unwittingly puts Lady Kate's life in danger, and while attempting to rescue her comes up against her "reins-grabbing" nature. Despite Kate’s penchant for disaster, will he be able to save her life and his own?

Lastly, I finally read the Fablehaven series. Yes, I now want to own the books and not just the e-books. I want the physical book on my bookshelves so I can read them again and again. I loved the series and I'm glad I took the time to read them. I highly suggest anyone who has a love of fantasy mixed with the real world to check them out and read them and then read them to your kids or let them read them and thoroughly enjoy them as I have. 

So that's all for now. I'm sure I will have some more suggestions in the near future. Happy Reading!!!

Dear Editor

Dear Fantasy Novel,

I know you are waiting with baited breath for me to finish you, but right now I've got romance on the brain, so you'll have to wait. Sorry,

Sincerely Yours,

Romance Author

Dear Sequel,

Yes, we've got sort of a timeline, but I have research to do, along with all the flying stuff that makes your existence possible. Patience. Be like the characters: anxious and waiting. :)

Thoughtfully yours,

Published Author

Dear Romance,

Why is it when I think one thing is going to happen that you twist me around and make something entirely different happen? Really? Come on, I thought I had you all planned out in my head and you go and change things. Grrr. Don't get me wrong, I know the changes are for the better, but seriously.

Halted in Love and Happy Endings,

Author

Dear Middle Grade Fiction,

You are the hardest one of all to work on. This time of year is especially hard, so as in patience you have begun, so in patience you will continue. Someday we will complete this journey together and you will be amazing and hopefully you will be able to help others cope with the loss that I have dealt with.

Thankfully yours,

Melanie Mason

More Books

So I recently returned from a book signing in CA and because I fly standby I experienced a decent amount of airport appreciation time both in Fresno and in Seattle. During all this airport appreciation time I discovered an author that I quite enjoy. That enjoyment spread through three of her books. Sherwood Smith. Sherwood Smith (born 1951) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer for young adults as well as adults. Smith is a Nebula Award finalist and a longtime writing group organizer and participant.

Now granted, I haven't read any of her other books, so I can't guarantee that they are all clean, but three out of three is a good record so far. :)

Crown Duel: A compilation of two novels both Crown Duel and Court Dual. This was a delightful fantasy with all the fun of kingdoms, wars, magic, and mystery with a thread of romance all rolled into an amazing adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I also enjoyed the fact that it was clean, not overly violent and blood, and no language. For anyone who enjoys a good adventure this is a great read and I highly recommend it.

Second on my list by the same author is A Posse of Princesses. This was also a fun story though deeper in the adventure of young love and romance Smith weaves an adventure that is unexpected and enjoyable with twists and turns that bring the reader happily along. I also recommend this one. Again clean, not violent, and no language. Yay!!!

Enjoy!

Successful Book Signing

Me with Leon, one of the owners of Far West Books.

Well I just returned home late Sunday night from an amazing book signing in Fresno, CA. I had the opportunity to meet the owners of Far West Books. Check out their website here. They were so kind and helpful and inviting. It was wonderful to see so many friends and meet new people. I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent there and I hope to be able to return for another signing.

Thanks to everyone who helped set this up. It was amazing, successful, and fun.

Books

So I've been busy reading and writing and I wanted to post some more books to read. I'm in the middle of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. I highly suggest them. They were suggested to me by my sister and I'm really glad she did. I've read the first two and am anxiously awaiting the third from the library.

Next I recently read Wicked Jealous by Robin Palmer. What a delightful modern day spin on Snow White. I loved it and it was clean. Yay!!!

Also The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry. An exciting fantasy that kept my attention from beginning to end.

These are the stories I've been reading beside starting a few more of my own. Enjoy!!!

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

As you know I tend to struggle with mother's day with being single and all and of course it's not my favorite holiday since you've been gone, but after thinking about things for a while I decided to write you a letter.

I miss you! I just have to say that up front because of all the things on Mother's Day that hurt, this one is the most. I miss being able to visit and surprise you. I miss getting your hugs and smiles and seeing your face light up when you are around your family. I even miss your lectures on all the things that might help me in my life. I think I especially miss those. I miss your laugh and the times that we would both laugh so hard that we would cry and you would almost have an asthma attack. I miss talking with you about things that are important to me and getting your insight.

I'm sad that you will never read my books here on earth, though I know you would enjoy most of them and I know you are probably reading over my shoulder. I'm sad that I will never be able to talk to you about boys, and dating, and planning my wedding, and about having kids, and that you will never see my children born. (Though I know you are probably hanging out with them.)

I'm sad that you won't get the chance to visit me here in the Northwest and see all the amazing flowers that I know you would absolutely love and the waterfalls and the river and all the beauty I get to see every day, though I hope you are watching from above.

I suppose that my little rantings here are enough, since there are many people in the world that miss their mothers every minute of every hour of every day and I was lucky enough to have you a part of my life for 33 years. I hope I have lived up to your expectations of me as an adult and the things that I need to improve on I will improve on.

I guess as I write this the whole reason is to let you know how much I miss you and wish you were still here. I miss having my mom and it hurts me inside. I've been so lucky and I guess that is why it hurts so much. This Mother's Day seems harder than the others, I don't know why and I'm sort of glad it's over. I don't want you to worry about me though because I have wonderful family and friends that have been so kind and loving since you left us. Mothers, siblings, and friends whom I have come to depend on. I'm so grateful.

I hope where ever you are you are looking down on me from time to time because I'm sure you are very busy up there. Know that I love you so much and though I'm glad you are no longer suffering down here, I do wish you were still with us. I love you so much and miss you even more!

Love,

Melanie

Review!!!

Another great review! Thank you all so much for reading The Line That Divides. Thank you Shauna Wheelwright for reading and reviewing. You are awesome!!!

: http://ilovetoreadandreviewbooks.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-line-that-divides.html

Just a few more books

So I finally had the chance, upon recommendation by a close friend, to read The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. If you haven't had a chance to read them and you like fantasy, I highly suggest them.

I also had the chance to read a few stand alone novels, some that are sequels, but can be read on their own as well. The Season by Sarah MacLean








and Princess Academy: The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale. I highly recommend these to read.

Dear Editor

Dear New Characters,

Maybe you haven't gotten the memo yet, but I'm the author. You really should do what I tell you, except for the fact that what you end up doing is probably so much better than what I would have told you in the first place. So, I guess you just go on doing what you're doing and I'll deal with it.

Okay, I guess you can ignore the memo. Apparently I'm not the author, I'm just the crazy writer who reads books in her head and happens to write down what goes on in there. In fact, maybe, I'm just crazy. Well, not really crazy, everything has a purpose and of course eventually I will find out what that purpose is, but of course it will be by the end of the book and by that time I really will be going crazy and then I'll reach the end of your story and think this is the end. That's the point when you laugh your evil (well I guess you're the protagonist so your laugh isn't evil) laugh and kindly inform me that this is only book one of three.

It might as well be book one of 100 because now I have to go through the pain and frustration of writing all the rest of your story before I can find out what FINALLY happens and through it all you'll be put through pain and suffering both mental and physical because of course your story would be really boring without all the pain and suffering stuff.

And of course the pain and suffering I put you through is payback for the fact that you aren't a stand alone book and there are at least two more books I have to write. Really, that's just mean. Why can't you just resolve your issues in 80,000 words? Oh, because there are two of you and you both have to make sure you have equal protagonist rights. Got it. So not only do I have to give you equal rights and attention you both have to have your own book and your own sets of troubles, trials, and suffering.

Then to make things worse you go and complicate matters in the entire Seven Realms, so OF COURSE, now I have to write a whole third book just to resolve the problems you really started by being who you are. To top all that off I had to go and create a whole world with crazy cities and towns with weird names and naming characters that have gifts and issues. It's not easy you know. I do have a full time job that I have to work and a life beyond my writing. How do you expect me to function when you are constantly there in the back of my mind taunting me with your story and the excitement of something new and wondrous.

Why can't we all just get along really? I could resolve you in 10,000 more words, but of course you would the most boring story ever and we can't have that. Ugh. I knew when I had that dream to get you started that I should have just stuck with the 50,000 word romance. What was I thinking? Apparently I wasn't. (sigh)

Grudgingly yours,

Melanie Mason, Author

Sunday

What a wonderful day! I've actually had a great week this week. I was able to work on some new stories, work, go to the temple, get my car cleaned, help some friends, have a mini party, and relax (just a little).

Then today I get to start a new week with an amazing Sunday. Church was beautiful. In Sunday school we had an awesome lesson on Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. The thoughts and comments shared filled my soul. In Relief Society meeting my best friend stepped up to the plate and gave an awesome impromptu lesson on Joseph Smith. 

I'm just so grateful for the blessings I have. Even the trials I go through in life have blessed me in some way. Hopefully I can live my life in a way that will show my Heavenly Father how grateful I am for what he gives me and I will always be in his debt.