Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Our neighborhood mascot...




A neighbor took this photo...we have tons of eagles around here...never tire of seeing them!




The Eagle
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.



The Eagle via shmoop

In A Nutshell
Alfred, Lord Tennyson has a reputation among some literary folks for being a polite, cautious Englishman, so it might be a surprise to learn he traveled with a friend to the border of Spain to deliver "money and secret messages" to Spanish political revolutionaries (source). He was 21 years old at the time and he soon became disillusioned with the project, but still enjoyed being in the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees, a scenic mountain range on the border between Spain and France, was Alfred Tennyson's favorite place in the world. He especially loved a valley in the Pyrenees called "Cauteretz."

"The Eagle" was inspired by Tennyson's travels in the Pyrenees, where he frequently saw eagles, raptors, and other birds of prey circling overhead. You'll notice, though, that he sets this poem on an ocean cliff rather than a mountainside, so it's not just a literal description of something he's seen. It's an imagined setting.

"The Eagle" was first published in 1851, around the time Tennyson was on his way to becoming the most famous British poet of his age. The poem is considered a perfect combination of sound and meaning. In a few lines, Tennyson captures a small but majestic event – an eagle diving from a cliff – with total precision. For those of you without much experience in reading poetry, many have found that this short work is a great place to begin.

Why Should I Care?

"The Eagle" allows us to look at the world through poetry-colored glasses. It's like a beginner's guide to the craft of poetry, not because it's simple, but because Tennyson doesn't hide his bag of tricks. He lays it right in front of you and says, "Look, this is what alliteration can do. And see this? It's a perfect example of personification. And then the final line – a metaphor, of course." No wonder English teachers love using this work to introduce poetry to students.

Nor does Tennyson hide the fact that he's distorting reality. You could also compare "The Eagle" to a magic mirror in a carnival – the kind that makes your head look like a watermelon and your hips vanish into nothingness. The poem produces similarly strange visual effects. At one point the eagle seems almost as far away as the sun, and at another the ocean looks like a person crawling on hands and knees. Tennyson recognizes that this is how people think. The way we look at the world is determined as much by the funny sounds we use (ahem, words) and the strange comparisons we make as by the actual nature of things. Tennyson takes the same principle we use when we lie on the grass and gaze at clouds ("That one looks like an elephant standing on top of a house!") and applies it to the scene with the eagle.

Some people will say that "The Eagle" captures the essence or truth of an eagle perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Their belief shows how persuasively Tennyson presents his own quirky view of things. The poem reveals the power of the imagination to create its own truth. When you look at a magic mirror in a carnival, you know that your head isn't really that wide or your hips that narrow, but that doesn't mean you're looking at an illusion. After all, you and the mirror are really there. What you get is a different way of looking at things. People read "The Eagle" for the same reason they read (or watch) Alice in Wonderland: it's the same old world we all recognize, but viewed with fresh and childlike eyes.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Q&A with author Kristina McMorris


I want to start by saying congratulations to Kristina on the release of her newest novel Bridge of Scarlet Leaves, released today!  What a joy it has been to have her here at MMBBR.  Everyone get out and get your copy today!!!




Q.  What inspires your writing?

A.  True historical stories have been my greatest source of inspiration. My debut, Letters from Home, originated from the discovery of my grandparents' wartime courtship letters. My second novel, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves, evolved from knowledge of a family friend who had fought for America while his brother served for Japan. Once I have a nugget of history that I feel other people should know about, it's nearly impossible for me to let that go.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A.  I'm sure it's been said a million times, but after a year or more of drafts and copy edits and page proofs and finger crossing…it's hard to beat the thrill of holding an actual finished book in my hands.

Q.  What is the toughest part of being an author?

A.  The blank page. I absolutely love to revise, but too often writing from scratch is a horrendous chore that makes laundry and dishes look enticingly appealing. This is not a good thing when you work at home. And now, with the distractions of social networking only a click away? It's a wonder that I ever complete a single page, let alone entire books.  J

Q.  If you could not be author, what would you do/be?

A. I would probably return to one of my two favorite former careers, either an event planner or a TV host. I thoroughly enjoyed both, although being an author offers the greatest benefit of setting my own hours so I can be there when the kids come home—which is an incredibly important perk.

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. " The Crasian." A friend once combined Crazy and Asian to describe me and it never fails to make me laugh. I think it pretty well encapsulates the joy I find in life and my tendency to take risks over playing it safe.

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?

A.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Heart-wrenching, beautiful, haunting. It's the only book I've ever wanted to reread the moment I finished. 

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A.  Oh, I wish I had an answer for this! Since I'm not cool enough to think of one, I'll have to opt for a cop-out and say that all of the main characters in my own books represent pieces of me, even the guys. Come to think of it, I'm probably more like them than the female characters in a lot of ways! 

Q.  What character from all of your book(s) are you most like?

A. See what happens when I don't read the next question before answering? I've tried narrowing it down to one, but can't. So I'll have to stick with my response above.

Q.  What is your favorite season?

A. I love winter the most. I'm an indoor girl at heart, so I adore being curled up with a cozy blanket (I'm addicted to buying them!), fuzzy ugly socks, the fireplace going, and a mug of hot cocoa—which, in my firm opinion, is actually just a carrier for whipped cream.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book(s).

A. I was once given the wrong date to call into a radio program for an author interview. After I dialed in, I was put on auto hold for quite some time. I could hear the show begin and the host introducing another author, raising a red flag. But it dawned on me that perhaps the show was covering more than one author. So, I simply waited my turn. But then the host clicked on my line, announcing I was "a caller," and wanted to know if I had a question for the author. I was mortified. Thankfully I had been paying attention to the other author's answers, so I was able to finagle my way through it.

Although the mishap was anything but funny at the time, I can now look back and laugh.

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A.  I'm happy to report I just turned in a novella, The Christmas Collector, which will be published this coming October by Kensington Books in a holiday anthology titled A Winter Wonderland. Given that it's headlined by #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels, you could say I'm a wee bit excited. After that, I'll be working on my next two women's fiction novels under contract with my publisher. So hopefully I'll be sharing stories for a long time to come!


Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A.  Thanks for taking the time to read a little about me. I hope you'll check out Letters from Home and especially my new shiny toy, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves. I'd love to hear what you think! 


Bio:


The recipient of nearly twenty national literary awards, Kristina McMorris is the author of Bridge of Scarlet Leaves, declared a "gripping story [that] hits all the right chords" by Publishers Weekly and a "sweeping yet intimate novel" by Kirkus Reviews. Her critically praised debut novel, Letters from Home, inspired by her grandparents' WWII courtship, achieved additional acclaim as a Reader's Digest Select Editions feature, a Doubleday/Literary Guild selection, and a 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist for Best Historical Fiction. A host of weekly TV shows since age nine, including an Emmy® Award-winning program, Kristina has been named one of Portland's "40 Under 40" by The Business Journal. She lives with her husband and two sons in the Pacific Northwest, where she refuses to own an umbrella.


 Books:

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves

Los Angeles, 1941. Violinist Maddie Kern's life seemed destined to unfold with the predictable elegance of a Bach concerto. Then she fell in love with Lane Moritomo. Her brother's best friend, Lane is the handsome, ambitious son of Japanese immigrants. Maddie was prepared for disapproval from their families, but when Pearl Harbor is bombed the day after she and Lane elope, the full force of their decision becomes apparent. In the eyes of a fearful nation, Lane is no longer just an outsider, but an enemy.

When her husband is interned at a war relocation camp, Maddie follows, sacrificing her Juilliard ambitions. Behind barbed wire, tension simmers and the line between patriot and traitor blurs. As Maddie strives for the hard-won acceptance of her new family, Lane risks everything to prove his allegiance to America, at tremendous cost.

Skillfully capturing one of the most controversial episodes in recent American history, Kristina McMorris draws readers into a novel filled with triumphs and heartbreaking loss--an authentic, moving testament to love, forgiveness, and the enduring music of the human spirit


Letters From Home

Letters From Home

Liz Stephen's life changes when she meets infantryman Morgan McClain at a Chicago USO club. Liz has long expected to marry her childhood friend, Dalton, yet her instant attraction to Morgan is mutual. But when she misinterprets Morgan's chivalrous rescue of her friend Betty, she flees without explanation. When Betty begins corresponding with Morgan, she asks for Liz's help. Soon, Morgan and Liz, under Betty's alias, are exchanging soul-baring letters. Betty, serving in the Woman's Army Corps, finds unexpected romance of her own, as does Liz's engaged best friend Julia. But as the war ends, each woman faces the repercussions of her choices. Inspired by the true story of her grandparents' epistolary courtship during World War II, Kristina McMorris captures the heartache and sacrifice of love and war in a story that is timeless, tender, and unforgettably moving.

Contact Kristina:

Monday, February 27, 2012

What I am reading now....Your Eight O'Clock Is Dead by Kat Jorgensen

I am now reading Your Eight O'Clock Is Dead by Kat Jorgensen for an upcoming blog tour. 


Your Eight O'Clock Is Dead (The River City Mysteries)
Your Eight O'Clock Is Dead (The River City Mysteries) by Kat Jorgensen

BOOK SUMMARY: via Amazon

Becca Reynolds is having a bad day. Her grandfather's lecture (#405: Eat a Healthy Diet or Die Not Trying) makes her late for her job at Daley and Palmer, the psychiatrists' office where she works as the office manager--her title, not theirs. Then her sausage and egg breakfast biscuit creates an oil slick that takes out half her desk, along with that day's patient files. But she knows the day has taken a really bad turn when she discovers the firm's eight o'clock patient dead with Dr. Dick Daley's letter opener opening the patient instead of the mail.

With the fledgling firm in danger of an early demise, Becca appoints herself the unofficial investigator since the police seem to be looking in all the wrong places and doing a half-assed job of solving the crime. She begins a journey to find the killer, keep the practice afloat and with it, her job. In the course of her interfere--er, investigation--she finds a virtual cast of characters who could have done it, including the fancy side piece of the murder victim, his wife, his business partner, and even his psychiatrist.

The case takes Becca from the sordid depths of the Russian mob, to the upscale West End of Richmond, Virginia (known locally as River City), and even to her own backyard. In the course of the story she finds herself in hot water, hot danger, and with dreams of hot men.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

giveaways...

I have some super fun giveaways in the works...all you will need to do to join is;

1.  Be a follower of this blog
2.  "Like"  Mrs Mommy Booknerd on facebook
3.  Be sociable and share the giveaway on facebook or twitter...


It is just that easy...


Details to follow...


Also, a very special giveaway will be featured here on March 13th!!!  Hint:  It has something to do with cupcakes....

REVIEWS: Super Hero Squad Flips Out! A Mix and Match Book and Marvel Heroes Mix & Match

If you are looking for something to keep your "little superhero" busy these are the books for you.  I love that the kids can spend hours making up their own stories or we can read the various stories together.  You have the power to change the story, just by moving one of the three flaps...the combinations seem endless.  As a parent, I am always looking for something to encourage reading, spark imagination and maintain interest longer than a few minutes. There are many other mix and match books over on Amazon.  There are Toy Story, Transformers, Princess, How to Train Your Dragon and a few other Superhero and Villian books, among others.  I highly recommend the Mix and Match Books.   


Here are the books we have and love....enjoy!!


 Super Hero Squad Flips Out! A Mix and Match Book (Marvel Super Hero Squad (LB Kids Hardcover))
BUY IT


Book Description via Amazon

September 5, 2011 P and upMarvel Super Hero Squad (LB Kids Hardcover)
Dr. Doom and his band of villains are at it again, doing whatever they can to stir up trouble in Super Hero City. With this amazing book, uncover their plots and find dozens of ways for the Super Hero Squad to save the day! By flipping the panels on each page, you can create and read over 200 different silly stories! In every one, your favorite Super Heroes join together to defeat Dr. Doom and his baddies. Time to Hero Up!



Marvel Heroes Mix & Match   [MARVEL HEROES MIX & MATCH] [Board Books]

BUY IT

Saturday, February 25, 2012

BOOK BLOGGERS AND PUBLISHERS ONLINE CONFERENCE: MARCH 7-11, 2012

I AM ATTENDING AND I AM SUPER EXCITED!!!


The Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference is being held March 7-11.  They have some fabulous publishers involved and will be offering thirty audio panels, numerous forums, and chat rooms. The best part is you can attend from the comfort of your home!   It is a gathering of Bloggers, Reviewers, and Publishers to help organize and educate those working to promote books online. The Online Conference runs from Wed-Sun and features forums, live chats, and audio panels.  


Publishers Participating:

Simon & Schuster
Penguin USA
Bloomsbury
Bell Bridge Books
The Wild Rose Press
Lyrical Press
Eirelander Press
Samhain Publishing
Dreamspinner Press
Astrea Press
and many more.


If you are interested in learning more visit the BBP Blog - http://pacomediagroup.com/  


Registration is $45 for 5 days - Depending on Genre, You will receive more than the price of admittance in free books - Shipping of $7 or under may be added for the shipping on the large print giveaways.  If money is an issue please email us and see about helping with the conference in exchange for attending.

If you have any further questions you can email Terry Kate at romanceinthebackseat@gmail.com or Jessica at jessica@novelreaction.com .



To see more on the conference click HERE


TIMES AND PANELS

WEDNESDAY MARCH 7, 2012


12:00 pm EST  _________ Opening Announcements
12:30 pm EST  _________ Netgalley and Bloggers
01:30 pm EST  _________ Where Review Copies Come From
03:00 pm EST _________  Working with Groups of Self-published Authors
08:00 pm EST _________ Legal Issues Facing Bloggers

THURSDAY MARCH 8, 2012


12:00 pm EST  _________ Opening Announcements
12:30 pm EST  _________ Working with Authors
02:00 pm EST _________ The Creative Process for Authors and Bloggers
03:30 pm EST _________ Category Romance
04:40 pm EST _________ GLBT in Publishing
06:00 pm EST _________ Publishing: The Options Available to Authors
08:00 pm EST _________ What Authors Look for in Reviews
09:00 pm EST _________ Authors as Reviewers

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

10:30 am EST ________ Opening Announcements
11:00 am EST ________ Working with Large Publishers
12:30 pm EST ________ Working with Private PR Companies
02:00 pm EST ________ Publisher Expectations
03:00 pm EST ________ Genre Diversity – Look Outside your Comfort Zone
04:30 pm EST ________ Reviews: Publisher Input
05:30 pm EST ________ Sell yourself to Publishers/PR Companies/Authors as a Professional Blogger
07:30 pm EST ________ Creative Content: Stand Out
09:00 pm EST ________ Closing Discussion

SATURDAY MARCH 10, 2012

11:00 am EST  _______ Morning Announcements
11:30 am EST  _______ Defining your Blog – Make it what you want
01:00 pm EST _______ Keeping Social Media Social – Kristen Lamb
02:30 pm EST _______ Young Adult Feature
05:00 pm EST _______ Content Discussion
06:00 pm EST _______ Review Guidelines
07:00 pm EST _______ To Review of Not to Review Self-Pub
08:30 pm EST _______ Negative Reviews: Fallout and Fears

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Novel Showcase: Chasing China by Kay Bratt

Book Synopsis:
Mia is beautiful, talented and has the world at her fingertips. But what makes her different than the average college student who juggles a heavy workload and a rat of a boyfriend? Many years ago she was born to an unknown family in China but soon discarded to fend for herself in a busy train station.  Fate stepped in when Mia was taken to the local orphanage and adopted at the age of four by her American family. Life has been good for her, or at least as much as she has allowed it to be while pushing her deep feelings of abandonment to the back of her mind. Finally she has decided that in order to move forward, she must confront her past. Mia takes a journey to the mysterious land of her birth and embarks on a mission to find answers. As she follows the invisible red thread back through her motherland, she is enamored by the history and culture of her heritage–strengthening her resolve to get to the truth, even as Chinese officials struggle to keep it buried. With her unwavering spirit of determination, Mia battles the forces stacked against her and faces mystery, danger, a dash of romance, and finally a conclusion that will change her life.


Book Excerpt:

“What’s her name?” Mia asked the director as she moved closer to the child.
Xinxin. It means heart to heart; she was named this because she has a defective heart.” The director gave the information in a mechanical, unemotional response.
Mia moved around an ayi who was wiping down the bamboo crib mats with a sponge and bucket of strong solution. She went to the baby girl but when she held her arms out to pick up the child, her gesture was met with a confused expression. Mia talked to her in a soft voice that made the small girl raise her eyebrows even higher, causing Mia to chuckle. The expression was adorable but also comical as the eyebrows were raised to heights that seemed impossible for such a tiny face. Mia picked her up and in spite of the child’s inability to mold to Mia’s body as most babies would, she seemed content to be held.
The child gazed silently into Mia’s eyes and everything around them faded away for a moment. All of these months leading up to this trip, Mia was sure she wouldn’t get emotional—she prided herself on her ability to hide what she was feeling, even from her parents who watched her so closely for signs of discontent. But holding the baby girl close to her heart finally opened the door to the room in her mind where she stored all of her hurt feelings of being abandoned. She fought back tears as she rocked the baby back and forth in her arms.
This was me so many years ago! Why? Why didn’t my mother want me? Mia turned her back to hide her face from the others as she struggled to bring her feelings under control. The director and her entourage were concerned but Xiao Jo waved them away to give Mia a moment to compose herself.
How could this tragedy happen to so many children around the world? Mia was overwhelmed with the truth of the situation— that most of these children would go through life without knowing who gave them birth, whether or not they had siblings, what their medical histories were, or even where their hometown was. It just wasn’t fair—everyone should know who and where they came from! As the baby began to fidget, Mia swallowed the lump in her throat and straightened her shoulders. She pulled herself together and replaced her anguish with a stoic expression, just in time to face the director as she beckoned for her to join them in the hall.
Mia kissed the infant on her sweaty forehead and whispered to her, “I’m a witness to your life and you will be loved one day. Don’t lose hope, baby girl.” She lowered the child to her bed and walked away, leaving her with her fascination of her own fingers, the only comfort that couldn’t be taken away.

What I am reading now....Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long

I am now reading Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long for an upcoming blog tour.  I am not very far in, but so far I am really enjoying it.


Chasing Rainbows




Book Description

November 2, 2011


Bernadette Murphy likes her life. Really, she does. What's wrong with carrying around an extra ten pounds from fertility treatments? Or having your dog kicked out of obedience school? Again? What's that saying about the devil you know? For Bernie, it's the devil she never expected that changes everything.

Her father's sudden death leaves a gaping void in her life and is one in a series of events that rock her world. Her husband leaves for another woman, and her best friend announces an unplanned pregnancy at the age of forty-one. Bernie's behavior goes from acting out to out-of-hand, and she finds herself in trouble at home, out of work and banned from the mall after a confrontation at the cosmetic counter.

When her mother discovers her father's book of cryptograms, Bernie realizes his encoded lessons in living might be exactly what she needs to survive. From dealing with her family's grief and bonding with her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter, to dieting, dating and mindless almost-sex with the landscaper, Bernie discovers what her father always knew.

In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow, or you don't.

For Bernie, the singing is about to begin.




My tour dates and info:

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Q&A with author Katrina Kittle


Katrina was born in Illinois but has lived in the Dayton area since first grade, (except for her Year as a Gypsy). She attended Ohio University and was Outstanding Graduating Senior for both the English and Education departments. She taught high school English and theatre at Centerville High School for five years, and she taught middle school English and theatre at the Miami Valley School for six. She has also worked as a house cleaner, a veterinary assistant, a children’s theatre director, a costumer, and as case management support for the AIDS Resource Center (formerly AIDS Foundation Miami Valley).

Katrina is the author of Traveling Light, Two Truths and a Lie, and The Kindness of Strangers, and The Blessings of the Animals, all with HarperPerennial. The Kindness of Strangers was a BookSense pick and the winner of the 2006 Great Lakes Book Award for Fiction. Early chapters from that novel earned her grants from both the Ohio Arts Council and Culture Works. The Blessings of the Animals was an Indie Next pick (August 2010), a Midwest Connections pick (September 2010), and chosen by the Women’s National Book Association as one of ten Great Group Reads for National Book Group Month (October 2010).

She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University in Louisville. Katrina is thrilled to announce that her first tween novel, Reasons to Be Happy, was published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in October 2011.

When not writing, Katrina enjoys gardening, cooking, traveling, acting, and time spent in the presence of animals (especially horses and a particular goat named Humphrey). She is at work on another novel and very excited to be a part of the Puddingstone Project—collaborating with other artists on a children’s play. She is the proud aunt of Amy and Nathan, and lives with her cat and a kickass, overflowing garden. She loves teaching creative writing classes and has a new Craft of Fiction class starting March 21, 2012 for Word’s Worth Writing Connections—registration now open!





Q.  What inspires your writing?

A.  All my books start with a social issue I care deeply about. When I realize I'm obsessing over something, I try to channel that energy and emotional investment into a book. The first step is figuring out the cast of characters who would inhabit the world of whatever issue I've chosen.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A.  Thing singular? There are so many! I guess I love most that every single thing I learn, hear, see, experience is all story material. Writers get to use everything that happens to them. It makes the world the most fascinating, endlessly interesting place.

Q.  What is the toughest part of being an author?

A.  Rejection is part of the game, and even if you know that and have a thick skin, it can sometimes be so discouraging. For that reason, it's important to remember why we do this—because we love words, because we love stories.

Q.  If you could not be author, what would you do/be?

A. I can't pick just one! Maybe that's what I should've said was my favorite thing about being an author—that I get to experience, in a secondhand sort of way, all the different, varied careers and lives I give my characters. I'd love to be a reporter...or a costume designer...or a veterinarian...or a guide dog trainer...or a park ranger...or...you get the idea!

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

A.  Hmm...Work in Progress. Hopefully I get to keep revising my life and making it better and better.

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?

A.  Impossible to pick just one! But I absolutely adore Barbara Kingsolver. Her Prodigal Summer is a book I reread often and every time I do I learn something new about the craft of fiction...as well as get lost in a beautiful, moving story.

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A.  Well, perhaps I'm flattering myself, but since I just mentioned Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, I can say that I really related to Deeana in that book. I thrive on long periods of solitude, love to be outside, can be stubborn and get in my own way, just like her.

Q.  What character from all of your book(s) are you most like?

A. There's part of me in all of them—it's hard to avoid that. Cami in The Blessings of the Animals is probably the closest to me in attitudes, beliefs, and life experiences.

Q.  What is your favorite season?

A. I adore all four seasons but autumn is hands down my favorite. Not too hot, crisp clean air with no bugs, perfect horse riding weather. That bright blue sky of a sunny autumn day showing off all the foliage—that's divine.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book(s).

A. For The Blessings of the Animals, a lot of my signings were fundraisers for local animal shelters for whatever city I was in. Often, the shelter volunteers would bring some animals with them, which I loved. But once, a beagle puppy wanted to “participate” in my reading and discussion. She had the uncanny ability to bark or whine at the perfect moments—when the dog in the story barked, she barked, as if to illustrate. And when Cami was sad, she whined. When I made a strong point in an answer to someone's question, she barked as if to say, “Amen, sister!” It was so funny, and so perfect it was like she was being prompted. The audience loved it and we all got such a fun laugh out of it.

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A.  Always, always. I usually have more than one project going on, in very different stages. I'm looking for a publishing home for a young adult novel called Strange Katy about a girl whose unwanted psychic ability to receive visual images from nonhuman animals causes her to be the principal suspect in the murder of her best friend. And I'm in the baby stages/research immersion stage of the next adult novel, tentatively titled The Shelter of Each Other, which deals with the changing face of homelessness in this economy.

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A.  Huge thanks and deepest gratitude for caring about books and supporting others who do, as well! And if you love to write, be tenacious and stubborn and don't let anything stop you! Happy reading!



BOOKS:

Want autographed copies of any of Katrina's books? Saturn Booksellers is THE place to get any title any time! It is her very favorite indie bookstore on the planet! They make it easy, no matter where you live—check them out!


The Blessings of the Animals

Contact

katrinakittle@gmail.com

http://katrinakittle.com/

Please check out the following sites:




Tuesday, February 21, 2012

REVIEW: LONE WOLF by Jodi Picoult

Fans of Picoult will be blown away by her most recent book LONE WOLF.   I would have to say that this is by far my favorite of her books to date.  It combines two very interesting topics wolves and traumatic brain injury / organ donation.  What would you do for a loved one if they suffered a serious brain injury?  Would you be able to make the right choices when your heart seems to want something different?  What if there was another person wanting the very opposite result you want?  LONE WOLF is a very emotional read.  It discusses trauma, forgiveness, and hope all mixed together.  It is Picoult at her best, pushing the reader to think about what they would do in the same situation.  I am not sure where Picoult comes up with her ideas, but I am so glad she does.  


 Lone Wolf: A Novel


Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2012

A life hanging in the balance . . . a family torn apart. The #1 internationally bestselling author Jodi Picoult tells an unforgettable story about family secrets, love, and letting go.


In the wild, when a wolf knows its time is over, when it knows it is of no more use to its pack, it may sometimes choose to slip away. Dying apart from its family, it stays proud and true to its nature. Humans aren’t so lucky.

Luke Warren has spent his life researching wolves. He has written about them, studied their habits intensively, and even lived with them for extended periods of time. In many ways, Luke understands wolf dynamics better than those of his own family. His wife, Georgie, has left him, finally giving up on their lonely marriage. His son, Edward, twenty-four, fled six years ago, leaving behind a shattered relationship with his father. Edward understands that some things cannot be fixed, though memories of his domineering father still inflict pain. Then comes a frantic phone call: Luke has been gravely injured in a car accident with Edward’s younger sister, Cara.

Suddenly everything changes: Edward must return home to face the father he walked out on at age eighteen. He and Cara have to decide their father’s fate together. Though there’s no easy answer, questions abound: What secrets have Edward and his sister kept from each other? What hidden motives inform their need to let their father die . . . or to try to keep him alive? What would Luke himself want? How can any family member make such a decision in the face of guilt, pain, or both? And most importantly, to what extent have they all forgotten what a wolf never forgets: that each member of a pack needs the others, and that sometimes survival means sacrifice?

Another tour de force by Picoult, Lone Wolf brilliantly describes the nature of a family: the love, protection, and strength it can offer—and the price we might have to pay for those gifts. What happens when the hope that should sustain a family is the very thing tearing it apart?


NOTE:  This is book 9 for my CLP Reading Challenge

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