2009 ~Year end wrap up, thankful thoughts

The year 2009 has been an amazing year book wise. So many wonderful debut titles have crossed my path. My goal for the year was to equal or surpass 2008's 213 books read. I've just managed to squeak past that with 219 books read.

Also, 2009 was my first year of blogging and I want to thank every single person who has stopped by to visit. You have truly enriched my life with your opinions, comments, recommendations and most importantly your friendship and shared love of reading. When my dear friend Barbara passed away and I wrote a short tribute to her, I was overwhelmed with the caring thoughts you left. It meant so much to me. You have also helped me expand my reading horizons and led me to places I might have been too timid to venture on my own.

I also want to take this time to thank all the wonderful authors who guest posted here and were so generous in allowing me to do a giveaway. I was truly honored to welcome such fabulous authors as :

Maria Murnane
L. Diane Wolfe
Caroline Hart
Lynda Coker
J. B. Stanley
Linda Weaver Clarke
Joanna Campbell Slan
Rachel Rene Russell
Gayle Trent
Rolf Hitzer
Laura Childs

Big {hugs} to you all! To publicists who sent me review books, I want to thank you all again, especially Anna and Valerie at Hachette Book Group. You are the best!

In 2009 I joined three challenges: WWII challenge which I technically finished. I did read the required 5 books even though I changed my list but did not review The Moon Looks Down. Originally I had wanted to read 6. I just never got around to reading Guernica by Dave Boling . The Cozy Challenge and The Chick Lit Challenge were also completed. Phew. Finally!
Here's the link to my 6 month post with the best and worst from the first half of the year and here is the link to the full year of books read. Some of my favorites from July to December were:

The Best of Times by Penny Vincenzi (set in London, wonderful characters)
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo ( kept me on the edge of my seat)
Night of Flames by Douglas W. Jacobson (WWII challenge)
The Red Scarf by Kate Furnivall (set in Siberian labor camp and Tivil)
Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley (set in D.C. laugh out loud book)

A few of my worst (imho) from the same time frame have been:
Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee (bored me to no end)
Hot and Irresistable by Diane Castell (way too many flaws to even list)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (too melodramatic)
Wisdom Hunter by Randall Arthur (character development flawed)
The title for the worst book of the year for me still goes to Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo. How was your year in reading? Did you accomplish all you wanted and did you find some truly outstanding reads this year? What was your favorite and your least favorite book?

Show Me 5 Saturday: The Wild Sight by Lucinda McGary

Alipet813 at That's a Novel Idea has started a new MEME called Show Me Five Saturday. This meme will give each blogger an opportunity to give a brief description of a book they have read or reviewed during the week. It will work like this: Each Saturday you will post the answer to these questions. The number indicates the number of answers you will provide.

1.Book you read and/or reviewed this week : The Wild Sight by Lucinda McGary

2. Words that describe the book: Romance, intrigue

3. Settings where it took place or characters you met:

• Rylie Powell: an American in Ireland looking for Dermot O'Shea as she believes he is her father who abandoned her and her mother 26 years ago.
• Donovan: Dermot's son who has the "gift" of clairvoyance and for whom Rylie falls in a big way but what if he really is her half brother?
• Inspector Colm Lynch who was a new cop when Donovan's mother disappeared 25 years ago. Is he really who he appears to be?

4. Things you liked and/or disliked about it:

• I loved the setting and the budding sensual romance between the two main characters.
• The mystery of who really is Rylie's father and why he abandoned them.
• Also liked the lesser characters a lot; Donovan's father Dermot and his sister Doreen. They really add to the plot as Donovan suspects they know more than they are saying about the day Donovan's mother disappeared.
• There is an element of the paranormal in this book too that really fit into the story in a big way.

5. Stars or less for your rating?

4****

To see another Show me 5, please visit Jenners at http://www.findyournextbookhere.com/2009/12/show-me-5-saturday-dead-until-dark-by.html

Review: The Body in the Sleigh by Katherine Hall Page

When the Reverend Thomas Fairchild needed a quiet place to recover from surgery, he and his wife Faith and their two children left their home north of Boston and went to their seasonal home in Sanpere Island off the coast of Maine. Normally a laid back, quiet kind of place even in the tourist season, Sanpere has a few surprises in store for the Fairchild family, especially Faith.

Although Faith is the owner of her own catering business, she has gotten the reputation of being an amateur sleuth. So when she took her children to see the Christmas display at the Historical Society, she found a body in a sleigh; a very troubled young woman by the name of Norah whose drug addictions were well known. At first, it appears to have been a routine overdose but Faith is not too sure about that assumption. She takes it on herself to do a little prying into the tragic death.

Meanwhile on another part of the Island, on Christmas eve, Mary Bethany finds a new born baby boy in her goat shed. He appears to be well cared for and tucked in a basket with him is a large bag of cash and a note to take good care of him. Mary, local spinster who raises goats and runs a B&B in the tourist season, is stumped as to who would abandon such a beautiful baby and why. Naturally, she turns to Faith to help her solve the puzzle. Now Faith is faced with two mysteries: one of birth and one of death. As in any good cozy, justice will prevail. The enjoyment of the story is the journey to the end.

One of the things I really like about Page's writing is how she uses a character other than Faith to narrate parts of the story. In this manner Page manages to flesh out her characters a lot more and also gives the reader a little more back story bit by bit.

Another thing I really like is the setting; Maine's rugged, craggy coastline plays a big part in the mystery. I'm a New Englander born and bred and although I no longer live there, the location still draws me in. It's very obvious Page is well acquainted with the area; she has the innate traits of the native New Englanders down to perfection.

This book is the 18th in the Faith Fairchild series. Any of these books can be read as a stand- alone novel. At this point, I think I have read all of them. Although I did enjoy this book, I still think The Body in the Ivy is her best. 3.5***

Disclosure: a review copy of this book was provided by Harper Collins.

Review: Death in the Stocks by Georgette Heyer

As P.C. Dickinson was riding his bicycle across the village green, he sees a man in the stocks. Thinking it is some drunken prank, he investigates only to find it is a dead man. When he calls the police station to report the death, he tells the sergeant he knows the identity of the dead man. It is Arnold Vereker, a man who is not well liked; in fact, some of his family admit to actually hating him.

And what a family Arnold leaves behind. The main suspects include Arnold's half brother Kenneth and his half sister Antonia. With Arnold gone, Kenneth stands to inherit a tidy sum of money and property. Not only members of the family are suspect but there is an embezzling employee who just happens to be engaged to Antonia, a disgruntled employee and possibly one of Arnold's many female conquests or even one of their husbands. All of the suspects have viable motives.

They are all too clever by half; conjuring up possible scenarios as to why any one in the family murdered Arnold and how it was accomplished. Superintendent Hannasyde has his work cut out for him as he tries to determine from all this banter who is the guilty party. The action heats us when a second murder is committed. This definitely throws a new wrinkle into Hannasyde's previous findings.

I love the world of British mysteries created in the thirties. There's just something compelling about all that stiff upper lip kind of understatement and world of red herrings. When Anonia was apprised of how her half brother died by a knife thrust to the back, her respose was a very composed, "Oh, rather beastly." Somehow, I could just picture her saying that quite easily. Heyer certainly manages to capture the imagination in this mystery with her unique murder location, quirky characters, and droll dialogue. Even though I figured out the culprit, it was still an engaging and enjoyable read. 3.5***

From the back cover: Georgette Heyer wrote over fifty books, including Regency romances, mysteries, and historical fiction. Her barrister husband, Ronald Rougier, provided many of the plots for her detective novels, which are classic English country house mysteries reminiscent of Agatha Christie. Heyer was legendary for her research, historical accuracy and her inventive plots and sparkling characterization.

With these reprints of Heyer's novels, Sourcebooks has created some gorgeous new covers that are truly a pleasure to view as if someone painted them in vivid watercolors. The pages feel substantial, not like some flimsy trade paperback book paper.

Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided by Sourcebooks, Inc. Thank you Danielle.

Typically British Challenge for 2010

Honestly, I had no intentions of signing up for any challenges in 2010 but then I saw the challenge to read your own books so I succumbed to that one. Then I didn't finish all the Russian books I wanted to in December and saw the Chunkster challenge. Well, you know what happened. It was inevitable that I succumbed to that challenge also. Now I just saw this one, Typically British Challenge. Since I read so many British mysteries, I just couldn't help myself and so I'm signing up for this one too. But this is it! Honestly, it is. I mean it this time. Don't make me say it again. Seriously, no more challenges, none, zip, nada. I'm done.
Here are the rules for the Typically British Challenge:
Timeline: 1st Jan 2010~ 31st Dec 2010. Only books started on January 1st count towards this challenge.
Details:
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
2. There are four levels:
• "Put The Kettle On" – Read 2 Typically British novels.
• "Gordon Bennett" – Read 4 Typically British novels.
• "Bob's Your Uncle" – Read 6 Typically British novels.
• "Cream Crackered" – Read 8 Typically British novels.
3. Any book format counts.
4. You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront then you can change them, nothing is set in stone!
5. The books you choose can crossover into other challenges.
6. If you decide to participate in this challenge please use the link I have set up below with the button to post on your sidebar, this way others can find their way back to this post and join in the fun.
7. If you decide to join this challenge be sure to create a post telling others, please make sure you add a link back to this post so others can join in.
8. There will be a place for you to link your reviews, but this is optional.
9. Obviously only British authors count!

How could anyone resist with clever levels such as these? It's "Bob's Your Uncle" for me; 6 book commitment. How about you? Does this look like your cuppa? You can sign up at Book Chick City.
Here is a list of my books:

1. They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer 4****
2. Rumor Has It by Jill Mansell 4****
3. Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer 2**
4. The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell 4****
5. Beautiful People by Wendy Holden 4****
6. The Founding by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles 4****
7. Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City by Holly Denham 3***
8. Take a Chance on Me by Jill Mansell 4****

Show Me 5 Saturday: Assassins at Ospreys by R.T Raichev

Alipet813 at That's a Novel Idea has started a new MEME called Show Me Five Saturday. This meme will give each blogger an opportunity to give a brief description of a book they have read or reviewed during the week. It will work like this: Each Saturday you will post the answer to these questions. The number indicates the number of answers you will provide.


1. Book you read and/or reviewed this week Assassins at Ospreys by R.T. Raichev

2. Words that describe the book : Murder Mystery

3. Settings where it took place or characters you met:

• Antonia Darcy: mystery writer who, along with her husband Hugh, becomes too involved with an ardent fan and her live in companion.
• Bee, an invalid who has a flair for the dramatic and a love of mysteries beseeches Antonia to come to her home to see what she thinks about a letter Bee has just received. Is she really what she seems or is she a clever manipulator?
• Ralph Renshawe: owner of Ospreys who has a past with Bee and her companion Ingrid, is dying from cancer and about to change his will in a way that will set off murder and mayhem.
  
  4. Things you liked and/or disliked about it:
• I loved the almost gothic feel of the mystery set in an English country manor far from the beaten path.
• The clever plot with some twists that had me thinking every which way but the right way.
• The many faceted characters and their true actions kept me guessing until the end.
• The fact that this story had a timeless feel to it. It could have been set in present day or a hundred years ago.
  
  5. Stars or less for your rating? 5*****
  

Better late than never.. Thanksgiving pics

This year we decided to make the great annual trek north from Florida to Mass (1340 miles one way) to visit family for Thanksgiving. Although we stay on the Cape, we always manage to visit Plymouth because it's so pretty and we like to eat at a restaurant overlooking the harbor.



So, one cold, raw and misty afternoon on the way to Scituate, we stopped and got a few shots. Not only was it misting, down by the harbor it was very windy. Four school buses were there with a lot of elementary kids seeing the sights, running around making a lot of noise so we took the photo of the Mayflower II from the edge of the harbor as we could not get close up to it. Can you imagine being on this ship for months? We've toured the ship before and I can't imagine more than 20 people living there but there were 102 pilgrims bravely making their way to the new land. The first winter 51 died. Luckily for me being a direct descendant, John and Priscilla Alden made it. But conditions were very, very harsh.
Plymouth rock itself is somewhat small; I think people envision this massive rock some where out in the harbor but not so. A structure was erected quite a while ago and you have to look down to see the rock. I took a few pics for those of you who may never have seen it before. When we first took our youngest daughter's hubby to see the sights, he had the same exclamation that all first time viewers have. "That's it?" Ayuh, that's it!

Our camera battery was starting to weaken so we just got a couple of shots of two monuments, one to a pilgrim and the other to Massasoit, the great Sachem of the Wampanoags, protector of the pilgims. If it weren't for Massasoit, I don't know if any of the pilgrims would have survived.



So there you have it! If you have never been to Plymouth before and do make the trip, I would suggest early fall. The foliage is beautiful and there is a lot to see just in Plymouth alone. Plymouth Plantation is definitely worth your trip. It's a replica of the first settlement with actors in period dress. When you see how they had to live, you will definitely be thankful for basic modern conveniences; like grocery stores, heat and electricity. There are also some very interesting old cemeteries in the area. Call me weird, but I like to visit old cemeteries and read the headstones. The neighboring town of Duxbury has a great old cemetery to roam around in. The Alden house is also in Duxbury.

Teaser Tuesday: Dead Pan by Gayle Trent

It's Tuesday, Where are you ? is hosted Raider girl3
I am in bed peacefully snoozing when a shrill noise wakes me up. Is it the oven timer? No! Who the heck is calling at this miserable hour? It 's my friend Ben telling me to turn on the t.v. to channel 2 right away. It's coming up after the break, he says.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to :
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page 3
. Share 2 "teaser"sentences also citing the title of the book and the author and in that way people can have great recommendations if they like the "teaser.
4. Please avoid spoilers!

"I have no idea what "it"is; but unless a meteorite fell on the Save-A-Buck during the middle of the night or confectioner's sugar has been deemed an illegal substance, I'm not sure I care. I could suddenly see myself in a black trench coat meeting a seedy-looking character in a dark alley to buy a ten-pound bag of confectioner's sugar, dampening my ring finger and tasting the sugar to make sure it was "pure" before handing over the money."

Mental note: Lay off the cop shows.

Today's teaser is from Dead Pan by Gayle Trent. To read a Q&A with Gayle and enter the contest for this fun cozy, see here. Deadline is December 22nd and is open internationally.* See rules.

Chunkster Challenge 2010

For the coming year I decided to join 2010 Chunkster Challenge. This challenge runs from February 1st, 2010 to January 31st, 2011. Here are the details from the challenge page:

Definition of a Chunkster: A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction) ... A chunkster should be a challenge.
* If you read large type books your book will need to be 525 pages or more ... The average large type book is 10-15% longer or more so I think that was a fair estimate.

The Rules:

• No Audio books in the chunkster. It just doesn't seem right. Words on paper for this one folks.* No e-Books allowed - we are reading traditional, fat books for this challenge.
• Short Stories and Essay collections will not be counted.
• Books may crossover with other challenges
• Anyone may join. If you don't have a blog, just leave me a comment on this post with your progress (and to let me know you are playing)
• You don't need to list your books ahead of time.
• Once you pick a level, that's it...you're committed to that level!

You must pick a level of participation:

• The Chubby Chunkster - this option is for the reader who has a couple of large tomes on their TBR list, but really doesn't want to commit to much more than that. 3 books is all you need to finish this challenge
• Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 4 Chunksters over the next twelve months.
• Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to 6 or more chunksters OR three tomes of 750 pages or more. Now doesn't this sound like fun!

After reading the rules for this challenge, I decided to sign up for the Mor-book-ly Obese level. I've got this one covered by the remaining three books from my Russian list. War and Peace alone is 1,455 pages.

Here is a record of my selections:

1. The Founding by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles 4**** 539 pp
2. Russka by Edward Rutherford 4**** 945 pp
3. Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer 2** 534 pp
4. The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall 5***** 517 pp
5. A Cottage by the Sea by Ciji Ware 5***** 528 pp
6. The Girl from Junchow by Kate Furnivall 5 ***** 500 pp

December trip to Russia: Midpoint

For my magic carpet ride to Russia, I had the overly ambitious plan to read books from my shelves set in Russia during the month of December. It's not even the middle of the month and I can see already that this will take me much longer. It should probably be a year long challenge as I keep finding more books that look interesting. Maybe one on Siberia, Catherine The Great or Rasputin. Since The Russian Concubine is actually set in China, I took that one off the list. Who knows, maybe I'll steer the magic carpet towards Asia one of these days.

I didn't plan on doing a full review on each book separately but just give you my overall impressions and recommendations. The first book I started with was:

Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie. This book definitely put me in the mood with it's gorgeous descriptions of Imperial Russia and depictions of Russian life starting in the year 1894. Massie portrays Russia as a dichotomous society in which peasants would take the thatch off their roofs to feed the livestock during the famine while others were decked out in furs and jewels attending opera, lavish balls and numerous other cultural events.

When Nicholas's father, the autocrat Alexander III, passes away at 49 years of age, 26 year old Nicholas becomes Tsar of all the Russias; a role he is not prepared for nor does he really want. A week after the funeral, Nicholas marries Queen Victoria's granddaughter; Alexandra, Princess of Hesse Darmstadt. Theirs is a true love match instead of a political alliance marriage that were common at the time among royalty.

The story takes us through the reign of Nicholas II witnessing the ever changing face of Russia. Massie gives us a complete picture of the evolving political scene as the fabric of Russia unravels, the country hurtles toward revolution and a tragic ending to the Romanov dynasty. Behind the scenes we see the internal thoughts of the characters as simply human beings in a family not just as mighty rulers. I felt like the proverbial fly on the wall seeing this all happen in such fascinating and intricate detail, heart wrenching though it was. I absolutely loved this book! Highly recommended reading .

My second choice was:

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Translated by Jessie Coulson and with an intro and notes by Richard Peace.

From the back cover: Crime and Punishment (1866) is the story of a murder committed on principle, of a killer who wishes by his action to set himself outside and above society. A novel of great physical and psychological tension, pervaded by Dostoevsky's sinister evocation of St. Petersburg. It also has moments of wild humor.

Dostoevsky's own harrowing experiences mark the novel. He had himself undergone interrogation and trial, and was condemned to death, a sentence commuted at the last moment to penal servitude. In prison he was particularly impressed by one hardened murderer who seemed tohave attained a spiritual equilibrium beyond good and evil: yet witnessing the misery of other convicts also engendered in Dostoevsky a belief in the Christian idea of salvation through suffering.

After Raskolnikov commit the murder he considered his punishment to have started immediately; the fear that he would be found out. He's convinced the police know the whole story but are toying with him to drive him insane; a psychological game of cat and mouse between murderer and the police. Several times he is so tempted to just turn himself in and "get it over with".

I guess I must have missed the wild humor part because I didn't find any in this story. It was an okay read but if I hadn't read it, I wouldn't feel that I had missed anything special. I know, I know ; it IS one of the world's classics, but still it dragged a little too much for me. Melodramatic overkill would be two words I would choose. I also have The Karamazov Brothers by Dostoevsky on my list. I hope it's a lot better than this one.

One of the more interesting parts of the book, though, was in the introduction about Dostoevsky himself. Like his character, Raskolnikov, he was an abjectly poor student who fled abroad to escape his creditors. While in Wiesbaden, he turned to gambling and lost what little he still had. This is when he conceived the idea for Crime and Punishment.

Needing a break from reading about the Russians, I managed to read a few other books in between but then watched two travelogues on Russia. One of them was Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg and Murmansk. The close ups of St. Basil's cathedral, Red Square and the Kremlin were particularly beautiful but the rest of the video was amateurish and could have had a lot more depth to it.

The second video was A Russian Journey. This one was much more professionally done, had some beautiful photography and was very interesting. Did you know the trans-Siberian railway crosses through 8 time zones or that there are 129 different ethnicities in all of Russia? Or the fact that the onion domes actually have a purpose other than just being aesthetically pleasing? The shape of the roofs deters snow from collecting on them and possibly causing roof damage. I really enjoyed this one.

Since I just came across the Chunkster challenge for 2010 I decided to save the other books on the list for that challenge. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is 1,455 pages long. That's three chunksters in itself! That's okay because I really like Tolstoy. After all, he wrote my favorite book, Anna Karnenina. The Karamazov Brothers is up in the air as to whether I am going to read it or donate it somewhere.

Disclosure: All of these books are from my personal library and have been purchased by me.

Show Me 5 Saturday: Sail by James Patterson & Howard Roughan

That's A Novel Idea has started a new MEME called Show Me Five Saturday. This meme will give each blogger an opportunity to give a brief description of a book they have read or reviewed during the week. It will work like this: Each Saturday you will post the answer to these questions. The number indicates the number of answers you will provide.

1. Book you read and/or reviewed this week

Sail by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

2. Words that describe the book

Mystery, thriller

3. Settings where it took place or characters you met:

Dr. Katherine Dunne: heart surgeon, mother of three whose new husband is okay with her taking two months off to go on a sailing trip with her late husband's brother James and her three kids, hoping to assuage her guilt at almost never being home for them. Peter Carlyle: a very successful, persuasive attorney and Katherine's second husband who has a side to him that Katherine has never seen. The Dunne children: Mike, a teen with a drug and motivational problem. Carrie: a bulimic who is nearly suicidal. Ernie: a loveable precocious ten year old whose idea would be their salvation.

4. Things you liked and/or disliked about it:

The premise of reconnecting with her kids before it is too late was admirable. The kids' transformation when hardships occurred during the trip and the ensuing appreciation of family was very well portrayed. Although parts of it were a little predictable, the story really held my attention and I did like the surprising twist at the end.

5. Stars or less for your rating?

4****

Interview & Giveaway: Gayle Trent, author of Dead Pan

Today I am thrilled to welcome Gayle Trent to Pudgy Penguin Perusals. She was kind enough to answer a few questions before we get to the giveaway. I have to say I read the first book in this series, Murder Takes the Cake and it was a riot! Here's a link to the review. I've already read Dead Pan and I can tell you right now, the winner is in for such a treat. It's just a delightful series. And the included recipes are really the icing on the cake. *Groan*, I couldn't resist that one! But first here is a little bit about Gayle.

Bio: Gayle Trent writes the Daphne Martin Cake Decorating Mystery series for Bell Bridge Books. The second book in that series is Dead Pan. Thorndike has released the first book in that series, Murder Takes the Cake, in large-print, hardcover format. An audiobook version of Gayle's book Between A Clutch and A Hard Place is due out from new publisher AlwaysKeepers Press in February of 2010. Gayle also writes an embroidery series under the pseudonym Amanda Lee for NAL/Penguin. The first book in that series, The Quick and The Thread, is due to be released in August of 2010.

Kaye: Tell us about Dead Pan.

Gayle: Dead Pan is the second book in the Daphne Martin Cake Decorating Mystery Series. When the book opens, a police officer is questioning Daphne about a cake she took to the Brea Ridge Pharmaceutical Company Christmas party. Many people at the party got sick, but most recovered after being treated with a vaccine manufactured by the company. Only one, Fred Duncan, went into a coma and died. Coincidence? Or did somebody have it in for Fred?

Kaye: What would you like to overhear people saying about your book?

Gayle: "I laughed so hard when--" A local book club selected Murder Takes the Cake as one of their books; and when I attended the meeting, I was delighted to hear that they thought this or that part was funny. I also love it when people say, "I never guessed ______ was the villain." Also, there was a review where a woman said she loved the main character's relationships with various members of her family--that they were beautifully or realistically drawn. I felt like, "Oooh, she got it!" Actually, I'll take anything that's not negative. :-)

Kaye: Well, you know how much I loved Murder Takes the Cake but what inspired you to write Dead Pan?

Gayle : I was reading an article in Wired magazine about clinical drug tests. I did some further investigation, and I came across some fascinating stuff.

Kaye: What do you advise new writers to do?

Gayle: Read the genre they're interested in writing. For instance, when my agent pitched my first three chapters of the embroidery mystery to the editor, the editor said she liked it but didn't love it. I needed to revise it to make her love it in order for her to buy the book. I asked my agent who the editor had published recently. With two names in hand, I went to the bookstore and bought two books. I read them and found they were more descriptive than my own books. I went back, added more description and gave the heroine a bit more spunk, and the book sold. Sometimes you have to be flexible. Also, check out my coaching page (http://www.gayletrent.com/coaching/) to sign up for my monthly writing newsletter.

Kaye: How do you hold readers' interest between books?

Gayle: I try to hold readers' interest through my blog. Both series' heroines have their own bi-weekly newsletters on my blog. Daphne Martin's newsletter is called Killer Cakes and publishes every other Monday. Marcy Singer's newsletter is called Sew Deadly and publishes every other Wednesday. And, I hope readers of one series will check out the other!

Kaye: Thank you so much for visiting with us, Gayle. Also, thank you for being so generous is allowing me to host the give-away.

Just leave me a comment that you would like to win. Please read instructions at the end of the post. Bonus entries can be earned by:

+2 Becoming a new google friends connect follower
+2 Already being a follower ( remind me, please)
+ 2 Post about contest and leave me a link
+1 Put contest in sidebar or tweet and leave me a link

****Giveaway is open internationally. However, only residents of the US & Canada will be eligible to win a hard copy of the book. The international winner will be eligible for a PDF copy. Isn't that clever of Gayle to include our international friends! Must have active e-mail address. No P.O. Boxes.

Deadline to enter is December 22nd at 5 P.M. Please put all info in ONE box and be sure to include an e mail address. No e-mail, no entry. Good Luck!

Reading from My Shelves Project 2010

I had vowed not to do any challenges in 2010 and instead concentrate on reading the books I already own.
But, Diane from Bibliophile by the Sea has come up with the perfect challenge: Read from your shelves project for 2010. I am committing myself to 24. I should certainly be able to read 2 books a month for the challenge but I certainly hope to get many more off the shelves and out of here than 24. Most of them will not be reviewed.
Does this sound like something you'd like to do as well? If so, feel free to join in:

• grab the button
• decide how many books you want to read from your shelves (minimum of 20 - no maximum)
• find a new home for the books once you read them
• post the titles and the authors of books you've read and passed on
• project runs from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010
• crossover challenge books are allowed

Here's my list:

1. Midnight Fugue by Reginald Hill
2. If There be Dragons by Kay Hooper
3. Evenings at the Argentine Club by Julia Amonte
4. The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell
5. Tell Me Something True by Leila Cobo
6. Stirring up Strife by J.B. Stanley
7. Death in a Cold Hard Light by Francine Mathews
8. Other People's Skeletons by Julie Smith
9. The Art of French Kissing by Kristin Harmel
10. Who Rides a Tiger by Doris Miles Disney
11. Miss Julia Renews her Vows by Ann B. Ross
12. This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart
13. The Father's Day Murder by Lee Harris
14. Dead Water by Ngaio Marsh
15. The Sexiest Man Alive by Diana Holquist
16. Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh
17. Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh
18. Saving CeeCeeHoneycutt
19. Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer
20. Stand-In for Murder by Lynn Bradley
21. No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer
22. The Last Curve by Margaret Allison
23. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
24. Murder Fantastical by Patricia Moyes
25. The Medium is Murder by Molly McKettereck
26. High Marks for Murder by Rebecca Kent
27. Remains of the Dead by Wendy Roberts
28. Angel by Carla Neggers
29. The Dead Room by Heather Graham
30. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
31. War on the Margins by Libby Cone
32. Rough Justice by Lisa Scottoline
33. The Fourth Perimeter by Tim Green
34. The Target by Catherine Coulter
35. Welcome to Harmony by Jodi Thomas
36. Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle
37. Buried Evidence by Nancy Rosenberg
38. Peppermint Twisted by Sammi Carter
39. The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch
40. The Mournful Teddy by John J. Lamb
41. Southern Fried by Cathy Pickens
42. Death by Inferior Design by Leslie Caine
43. Cooked Goose by G.A. McKevett
44. The Last Will of Moira Leahy by Therese Walsh
45. The Homecoming by Jillian Hart
46. TradeWind by M.M. Kaye
47. Saffron Skies by Lesley Lokko
48. Saffron Dreams by Shailah Abdullah
49. Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri
50. A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal
51. Lethal Justice by Fern Michaels
52. Silent Killer by Beverly Barton
53. Too Hot to Handle by Robin Kaye
54. Run for your Life by Andrea Kane
55. What the Dead Know by Laura Lippmann
56. Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase
57. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa
58. Spiced to Death by Peter King
59. Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst
60. Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (DNF so awful)
61. Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
62. Traitor to Memory by Elizabeth George
63. Death on the Lizard by Robin Paige
64. Killed by Clutter by Leslie Caine
65. Sleep No More by Susan Crandall
66. The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman
67. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
68. Call Me Mrs.Miracle by Debbie Macomber
69. The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber

Show Me 5 Saturday: Malice by Lisa Jackson

That's A Novel Idea has started a new MEME called Show Me Five Saturday. This meme will give each blogger an opportunity to give a brief description of a book they have read or reviewed during the week. It will work like this: Each Saturday you will post the answer to these questions. The number indicates the number of answers you will provide.

1. Book you read and/or reviewed this week

Malice by Lisa Jackson

2. Words that describe the book

Thriller, police procedural

3. Settings where it took place or characters you met:

New Orleans and Los Angeles. Rick Bentz: ex LA cop now living in LA with his second wife Olivia and working on the local police force is convinced he has seen his late first wife Jennifer. When he gets a death certificate in the mail with a question mark on it, he begins to wonder if she is really dead and follows a trail that will lead him back to LA to find out the truth. Olivia: Rick's second wife who eventually follows Rick to LA to find out what Rick is up to and gets much more than she bargained for.

4. Things you liked and/or disliked about it:

A wonderful wealth of characters; some good and some bad which makes for a nice balance to the plot. A well crafted thriller that kept my attention to the end even though I did figure out who the perpetrator was. The relationship between Rick and Olivia felt very believable. Character development of the late Jennifer.

5. Stars or less for your rating?

4****

Note: although this is a series, it is a stand alone novel but I liked it so much I want to go back and start at the beginning.

Giveaway: The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee

Last year I received an arc of The Piano Teacher and loved the story. This was Janice Y.K. Lee's debut novel and I sure hope she has a lot more in store for us. Such a talented writer!

To celebrate the paperback release of The Piano Teacher, (11/17/09) Gabrielle at the Penguin Group is generously allowing me to give away 2 copies of the book. If you haven't read it yet and would like to see my thoughts, here is the link to my review. Now that you've read that and realized that you need this book, you want this book, here's the scoop on the giveaway. Just leave me a comment that you would like to win. Please read instructions at the end of the post.

Bonus entries can be earned by:

+2 Becoming a new google friends connect follower

+2 Already being a follower ( remind me, please)

+ 2 Post about contest and leave me a link

+1 Put contest in sidebar or tweet and leave me a link

****Giveaway is open to residents of the USA only. No P.O. Boxes. Deadline to enter is December 20th at 5 P.M. Please put all info in one box and be sure to include an e mail address. No e-mail, no entry. Good Luck!