There is nothing I love more than finding a new author who blows my socks off and keeps me up reading well past my bedtime.
With Christmas on the way, I'll tempt you with a list of my favorite finds from 2014:
1. Susan Kaye Quinn: Third Daughter, Second Daughter, and First Daughter.
A bollywood steampunk trilogy, how is that for a combination? I enjoyed the world-building, interesting plot lines, and delicious descriptions.
I enjoyed Quinn's other series: The Mindjack Trilogy, a dystopian YA set in Chicago. In a world where everyone can read minds, how do you fight back?
And the Debt Collector serial: Time is a commodity, have you earned yours or is it time to collect?
A second Debt Collector series
will be completed December 15.
http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Kaye-Quinn/e/B003TTJRXU/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1412965562&sr=8-2-ent2. Brenna Yovanoff:
The Replacement, The Space Between, Paper Valentine, and Fiendish. Her stories are modern-day fables reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm. The plots are slight, but her glorious use of language and description makes up for them. Paper Valentine was my least favorite. The other three I could not put down.
http://www.amazon.com/Brenna-Yovanoff/e/B003VKZBT6/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1412965242&sr=8-2-ent3. A. R. Kahler:
The Immortal Circus TrilogyThis circus performer has terrific world-building and delightful wordsmithery. Queen Mab runs a circus and it is a hell of a show. This is a trilogy I will never forget.
He is working on a new series:
The Hunted.
http://www.amazon.com/A.-R.-Kahler/e/B006N8JB12/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1412965992&sr=8-2-entI can't wait to see what 2015 will serve up. More yummies please! If you've discovered an exciting new voice, let me know in the comments (no blantant self-promo please - this is a time to pay forward).
The heat was aggressive today. It knocked the civility out of drivers. It was implicated in the four accidents I saw and drove the bugs into my ears. Soupy, swampy, angry, it would not rest until it had exploded (it was quite the sight, it really was) the bottle of Dr. Pepper I had carried with me to the car. Pssssshhhhh Bang Splat fiiiiizzzzzzzzzzz. Too bad they don't make interior windshield wipers.
Such sweet things happened, nonetheless. They may not seem related, but they are. My friend Heather's baby boy, Ryder, was born at 4:44 PM, a good omen of some sort, I'm sure. Ryder's going to be loved something fierce by all of us who love Heather, and by Heather herself, so full of love. Heather's been asking Ryder to come out and play for some time now, and forever now, he will.
All across the country, meanwhile, another mother, this one named Danielle, was tending to her two—taking care, listening, watching them tangle and grow. Danielle, too, is a very special woman, a person whose priorities in life (and gentleness, and dreams) have so much to teach. Danielle gives everything—to her family, to this book world, to people like me—and the next day she gets up, and somehow does it all again.
Today I was a recipient of Danielle's exceptional gifts. I was, and I don't know what to say.
When I say that I don't know what to say, I really mean that. I don't. Kindnesses like hers cannot be answered.
Simply, then, with gratitude, I share her words
here, which I found at just the right time of this tumultuous and yet still beautiful day.
I am sending my love to these two mothers right now. In a world this hot, in a summer this thick with heat, they teach us how to carry on with dignity and grace.
For those who have days when accessing a particular fact in your brain is like chasing marbles across a high-gloss floor, here is a fun little ditty for word lovers. I have called this my one-and-only bar trick, but it was actually taught to me by my 5th grade teacher, Sister Mary Dolorita, in St. Mary's parish school in Bordentown, NJ. I have never forgotten it and I'm happy to sing it upon request. I would love to hear about others who may have learned something this way.
The prepositions in alphabetical order sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle.
About, above, across, after,
Against, among, around, at.
Before, behind, beside, between,
Beyond, by, down, during, except.
For, from, into, near,
Of, off, on, over, past,
Through, throughout, to, toward, under,
Until, up, with.
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Again Beth, you are so incredible. I'm not sure that mid-day I would have qualified my behavior with my two very rambunctious kiddos as dignified or graceful, but I gave it my best shot for sure.
Thank you so very much for these wonderful words. For everything you teach me and for your friendship. You're an inspiration, even with the Dr. Pepper all over the car and maybe even more so because of it. ;o)
xo
Congratulations to your friend. And I so enjoyed Danielle's review. I got really excited because Tyler and Ryder share a birthday! A few years apart ;)
That was such a great review! I was so pleased to read it.
I'm off to read Danielle's post right now, but just had to comment that I also know a Heather who has a little boy named Ryder--same idea, three years and 3000 miles apart!
Congratulations to your friend and to you on the review!
Reading this wonderful review was all gift in this hot afternoon. Because my own copy of Small Damages will be here tomorrow-- hooray!