Waiting On Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

What I'm Working On: Finding time. It's there. I know it is. I just haven't found it yet.

Marathon Training: Love it. Love it. Love it. Plus, all my clothes are now too big. That's a nice by-product.

Waiting on: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan; March 9th 2010 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

Why:

I have THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH on reserve at the library. I can't wait to read it, but maybe I'll wait until Carrie's new one comes out and have two in a row to read without the maddening wait for a sequel.

Waiting On Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Labor Day by Joyce Maynard and Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

What I'm Working On: Writing. (What writing?)

Half Marathon Training: I did 5 miles on Saturday and it felt great!

Waiting On: Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger.

Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group; September 29, 2009

Synopsis:
Six years after the phenomenal success of The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger has returned with a spectacularly compelling and haunting second novel set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London.

When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt; they only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister. Julia and Valentina are semi-normal American teenagers -- with seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs, or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago, and with an abnormally intense attachment to one another.

The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders Highgate Cemetery. They come to know the building's other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling obsessive-compulsive disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive former lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including -- perhaps -- their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind.

Niffenegger weaves a captivating story in Her Fearful Symmetry: about love and identity, about secrets and sisterhood, and about the tenacity of life -- even after death.

Why:

I loved The Time Traveler's Wife and she got a HUGE advance for this, so why not!

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: I'm trying to get into Joker One by Donovan Campbell. It's billed as a story of courage, leadership, and brotherhood and I thought it might be right for my fav high school, but if it doesn't pep up soon, I won't finish.


What I'm Working On: Hahahahahha


Half Marathon training: Week one of official training (after weeeeeks spent on the eliptical, bike, and treadmill. Day 2 of 5:15 am running went better than expected.

WAITING ON: LEAVING CAROLINA by Tamara Leigh
September 15, 2009 by Random House


SYNOPSIS: Piper Wick left her hometown of Pickwick, North Carolina, twelve years ago, shook the dust off her feet, ditched her drawl and her family name, and made a new life for herself as a high-powered public relations consultant in LA. She’s even “engaged to be engaged” to the picture-perfect U.S. Congressman Grant Spangler.Now all of Piper’s hard-won happiness is threatened by a reclusive uncle’s bout of conscience. In the wake of a health scare, Uncle Obadiah Pickwick has decided to change his will, leaving money to make amends for four generations’ worth of family misdeeds. But that will reveal all the Pickwicks’ secrets, including Piper’s. Though Piper arrives in Pickwick primed for battle, she is unprepared for Uncle Obe’s rugged, blue-eyed gardener. So just who is Axel Smith? Why does he think making amends is more than just making restitution? And why, oh why, can’t she stay on task? With the Lord’s help, Piper is about to discover that although good PR might smooth things over, only the truth will set her free.






WHY:
This sounds like the type of feel good story I've been looking for. (And needing.)

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Just finishing up My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Piccoult

What I'm Working On: Keeping one nostril above water -- not always successfully.

What I'm Waiting on: HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick

October 13th 2009 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Synopsis: For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment. But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Why: Do I really need a reason?

Waiting On Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living by Doug Fine

What I'm Working On: Nothing today. I spent the day with a brave soul from Darfur. I'm taking a break and giving thanks for the life I have and praying for those who see know end to suffering.

Waiting on: STRENGTH IN WHAT REMAINS by Tracy Kidder

August 25th 2009 by Random House

Synopsis:

The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of the modern classics Mountains Beyond Mountains and The Soul of a New Machine returns with the extraordinary true story of a young man and his will to survive.

In this remarkable book, New York Times bestselling author Tracy Kidder once again delivers the masterful story of a hero for these modern times.

Deo grew up in the mountains of Burundi, and survived a civil war and genocide before seeking a new life in America. In New York City he lived homeless in Central Park before finding his way to Columbia University. But Deo’s story really begins with his will to turn his life into something truly remarkable; he returns to his native country to help people there, as well as people in the United States.

An extraordinary writer, Kidder has the remarkable ability to show us what it means to be fully human, and to tell the unadorned story of a life based on hope. Riveting and inspiring, this may be his most magnificent work to date. Strength in What Remains is a testament to the power of will and friendship, and of the endurance of the soul.

Why:

I loved Tracy Kidder's biography of Dr. Paul Farmer (Mountains Beyond Mountains). I admire Dr. Paul Farmer immensely, and Tracy's book told a beautiful story. I hope his new book is just as good.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I’m Reading: The Places in Between by Rory Stewart

What I’m Working On: Keeping a nostril above water

WAITING ON: FALLEN by Lauren Kate
December 8, 2009 from Delacorte Books for Young Readers


Synopsis:
Seventeen-Year-Old Luce is a new student at Sword & Cross, an unwelcoming boarding/reform school in Savannah, Georgia. Luce’s boyfriend died under suspicious circumstances, and now she carries the guilt over his death with her as she navigates the unfriendly halls at Sword & Cross, where every student seems to have an unpleasant—even evil—history.It’s only when she sees Daniel, a gorgeous fellow student, that Luce feels there’s a reason to be here—though she doesn’t know what it is. And Daniel’s frosty cold demeanor toward her? It’s really a protective device that he’s used again . . . and again. For Daniel is a fallen angel, doomed to fall in love with the same girl every 17 years . . . and watch her die. And Luce is a fellow immortal, cursed to be reincarnated again and again as a mortal girl who has no idea of who she really is.

Why:
I’m too tired from working and ½ marathon training to do more than list 3 reasons.
1) The cover. Very, very nice. I often buy books just for the cover.
2) Very interesting premise. I like to read books that make me say, “Gee, I wish I’d come up with that idea.”
3) Seriously, could this possibly end happily? I want to read to find out.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I’m Reading: Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey

What I’m Working On: The bill-paying job.

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY:
GOING BOVINE by Libba Bray
September 22nd 2009 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:
Can Cameron find what he’s looking for?

All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.

Why:
A Great and Terrible Beauty and the rest of the Gemma Doyle series are among my favorite books. I love Libba’s voice. Reason enough.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey and The Devil's Company by David Liss

What I'm Working On: Rewriting chapter 2 for the 1000th time.

WAITING ON:

INTERTWINED by Gena Showalter,

Harlequine Teen, August 25th.

Synopsis:

Like most teens, Aden Stone has friends.
They just happen to be the four human souls living inside him. One can time travel; one can raise the dead; one can foretell the future; one can possess another human.

Lately, however, they’ve been causing him all kinds of trouble, playing mind games with our young hero.

Just when Aden thinks peace of mind will never be his, he meets Mary, an outgoing spirit who is his opposite in every way. And, incredibly, she is capable of quieting the voices. Theirs becomes an inexplicable bond of friendship – one to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter and an irresistible vampire princess.

All four of these characters, their fates intertwined, will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger. But not all of them will emerge alive.

Why:

First, I'm really interested in what Harlequin is publishing in their teen line. I love YA and I'd like to write YA (when I get Slayer the hell done). Harlequin Teen is a new market. Let's see what they have. Plus, I'd like to give Gena Showalter another chance. I read one of her romances and liked it less than I'd hoped. I want to like her YA.

M

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: The Devil's Company by David Liss and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

What I'm Working On: Nothing. I'm in Texas visiting family.

Waiting On: FLAT BELLY DIET COOKBOOK BY LIZ VACCARIELLO, by Rodale Press, Pub. Date: August 18, 2009

Synopsis:

Drawing on the latest findings from weight-loss science, Prevention, America’s most trusted healthy living magazine, created the breakthrough Flat Belly Diet! The diet that everyone is talking about, this is the only eating plan that integrates monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) into every meal to help women banish those stubborn—and dangerous—extra pounds in the tummy region. This follow-up cookbook puts the eating plan into action, as readers learn how to cook for better health and a slimmer waist, while losing up to 15 pounds in 32 days.

In the Flat Belly Diet! Cookbook readers will find:
1) more than 200 great-tasting new recipes for foods they'll love—like Rigatoni with Meat Sauce, Walnut-Crusted Chicken Breasts, Mexican Stuffed Peppers, and Ginger Macadamia Nut Cheesecake
2) a 4-day jumpstart phase to keep them motivated with quick, noticeable results—losing up to 7 pounds and up to 5 inches from their waist in just 96 hours—with no exercise required
3) a totally flexible program (with mix-and-match meal plans) that allows readers to pick and choose the foods they like and eat them when they want to

Everyone knows that excess belly fat doesn’t just look bad—it’s bad for you.

This cookbook gives readers fatblasting power to trim their tummies—and food so good they’ll want to eat this way for life.

Why?
Seriously?

M

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: The Devil's Company by David Liss and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

What I'm Working On: Nothing much tonight. A last minute crisis at the bill paying job had be working late -- about 2 hours.

WAITING ON: IN THE PRESIDENT'S SECRET SERVICE: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect

Crown Publishing Group, August 4, 2009

Synopsis:

Never before has a journalist penetrated the wall of secrecy that surrounds the U.S. Secret Service, that elite corps of agents who pledge to take a bullet to protect the president and his family. After conducting exclusive interviews with more than one hundred current and former Secret Service agents, bestselling author and award-winning reporter Ronald Kessler reveals their secrets for the first time.

Secret Service agents, acting as human surveillance cameras, observe everything that goes on behind the scenes in the president’s inner circle. Kessler reveals what they have seen, providing startling, previously untold stories about the presidents, from John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as about their families, Cabinet officers, and White House aides.

Kessler portrays the dangers that agents face and how they carry out their missions–from how they are trained to how they spot and assess potential threats. With fly-on-the-wall perspective, he captures the drama and tension that characterize agents’ lives.

In this headline-grabbing book, Kessler discloses assassination attempts that have never before been revealed. He shares inside accounts of past assaults that have put the Secret Service to the test, including a heroic gun battle that took down the would-be assassins of Harry S. Truman, the devastating day that John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas, and the swift actions that saved Ronald Reagan after he was shot.

While Secret Service agents are brave and dedicated, Kessler exposes how Secret Service management in recent years has betrayed its mission by cutting corners, risking theassassination of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and their families. Given the lax standards, “It’s a miracle we have not had a successful assassination,” a current agent says.

Since an assassination jeopardizes democracy itself, few agencies are as important as the Secret Service–nor is any other subject as tantalizing as the inner sanctum of the White House. Only tight-lipped Secret Service agents know the real story, and Ronald Kessler is the only journalist to have won their trust.

Why:

I might, maybe, but I'm not saying for sure, have a family member who is a secret service agent. Frankly, I want to read this to see how much they've left out. The secret service does alot more than put on neutral suits and run beside the president in parades. I might also buy one for the family member, who may or may not be able to authenticate or expose as a sham, this new novel.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and The Devil's Company by David Liss

What I'm Working On: Threads, plot points, beefing up the story. (Mostly in my head. I know, writers write, so I should get going!)

WAITING ON: DREAMFEVER by Karen Marie Moning, August 18th, 2009 by Delacorte Press

Synopsis:

He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister’s murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac’s every thought—and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V’lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister’s diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac’s greatest enemy delivers a final challenge...It’s an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth—about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons…and about the world she thought she knew. .

Why:

Well, for starters, it comes out in just over a month and other than a few very short excerpts in Moning's newsletters, the above is ALL that has been released. It's been tightly under wraps. Very few teasers (which is a huge teaser). It's the longest of the 4 books in the series (slated for 5 total). The 3rd book ended with...well, you'll have to read it. I won't spoil it for you, but suffice it to say, Mac is screwed. Of course, I'll devour it I'm sure, then I'll have to wait who-knows-how-long for the last installment. Sigh. Oh to feed my book addiction.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and Tap and Gown by Diana Peterfreund

What I'm Working On: Some sort of organization for the plot. A storyboard maybe. Help!

What I'm Waiting on this Week:

Hamlet by John Marsden

August 11, 2009 by Random House/Candlewick

Synopsis:

Hamlet’s father has just died. By the time they’ve filled in the grave his mother has remarried. Hamlet suspects foul play, and it’s troubling his spirit. Or maybe he was always troubled. Ophelia is in love with him. His best friend Horatio can’t work him out. Then, on a cold, still night, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father...

This wonderful book, by one of Australia’s most-loved writers, takes Shakespeare’s famous play and makes it into a moving and full-blooded novel. John Marsden powerfully re-imagines the original characters and story. Hamlet, A Novel will be adored by readers young and old.

(I'm not posting a longer synopsis. It's Hamlet. We know the story.)

Why:

It's Hamlet for modern times. So many people have said "why" better than I ever could and I agree with them so I'll let them tell you why.

1) M/C Reviews: http://reviews.media-culture.org.au/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2944

2) Quote by author Chris Crutcher: "John Marsden has done what a legion of educators, my parents, a great number of my more literate friends and my read-anything-you-can-get-your-hands-on grandmother failed to do. He has made me, for one glorious moment, love Shakespeare. Marsden's version of HAMLET is smart, tough, lyrical, thoroughly readable and uncompromisingly engaging. Back off, Mrs. Phelps (my high school English teacher). I now get HAMLET.”

3) Marsden as a great YA writer. He’s Australian and writes the “Tomorrow” series about Australian friends who return from a camping trip in the outback to discover that enemy forces have invaded the country and imprisoned everyone in town. All of his books are engaging.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Under the Rose by Diana Peterfreund

What I'm Working On: Slayer. Always Slayer.

Waiting On: RAMPANT by Diana Peterfreund
August 25th 2009 by HarperTeen, 416 pages

Synopsis:

Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns...

The sparkly, innocent creatures of lore are a myth. Real unicorns are venmous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. And they can only be killed by virgin descendants of Alexander the Great.

Fortunately, unicorns have been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.

Or not.

Astrid Llewelyn has always scoffed at her eccentric monther's stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend in the woods — thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to prom — Astrid learns that unicorns are real and dangerous, and she has a family legacy to uphold. Her mother packs her off to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries.

However, at the cloisters, all is not what it seems. Outside, the unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from crumbling, bone-covered walls that vibrate with a terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to — perhaps most dangerously of all — her growing attraction to a handsome art student... and a relationship that could jeopardize everything.

Why:
I love Diana Peterfreund's voice and that's reason enough.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I’m Reading: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult and Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel by Diana Peterfreund

What I’m Working On: Another draft of Slayer. Seriously – I have to finish this book soon. Or else.

Waiting On Wednesday: THE DEVIL’S COMPANY by David Liss
July 7th 2009 by Ballantine Books

Synopsis:
From the acclaimed author of The Whiskey Rebels and A Conspiracy of Paper comes a superb new historical thriller set in the splendor and squalor of eighteenth-century London. In Benjamin Weaver, David Liss has created one of fiction’s most enthralling characters.

The year is 1722. Thief-taker, ex-boxer, “ruffian for hire,” and master of disguise, Weaver finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, pitted against Jerome Cobb, a wealthy and mysterious schemer who needs Weaver’s strength and guile for his own dark purposes.

Weaver is blackmailed into stealing documents from England’s most heavily guarded estate, the headquarters of the ruthless British East India Company, but the theft of corporate secrets is only the first move in a daring conspiracy within the 18th century’s most powerful corporation. To save his friends and family from Cobb’s reach, Weaver must infiltrate the Company, navigate its warring factions, and uncover a secret plot of corporate rivals, foreign spies and government operatives. With millions of pounds and the security of the nation in the balance, Weaver will find himself in a labyrinth of hidden agendas, daring enemies and unexpected allies.

With the explosive action and scrupulous period research that are David Liss’s trademarks, The Devil’s Company depicts the birth of the modern corporation, and is the most impressive achievement yet from an author who continues to set ever higher standards for historical suspense.

Why:
Well, first and foremost because I won an ARC from Goodreads.com. I’m excited to get to read and write a review for this book. It’s not my normal fair. Neither (I thought) was THE HELP, which I also won from Goodreads and which I voraciously devoured and which I’m certain might be my “book of the year”. I love finding new authors and new types of stories to love. This one looks, oh so promising.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

What I'm Working On: Writing everyday.

Waiting On: FIRE by Kristin Cashore
October 6th 2009 by Gollancz

Synopsis:
Fire, Graceling's prequel-ish companion book, takes place across the mountains to the east of the seven kingdoms, in a rocky, war-torn land called the Dells.

Beautiful creatures called monsters live in the Dells. Monsters have the shape of normal animals: mountain lions, dragonflies, horses, fish. But the hair or scales or feathers of monsters are gorgeously colored-- fuchsia, turquoise, sparkly bronze, iridescent green-- and their minds have the power to control the minds of humans.

Seventeen-year-old Fire is the last remaining human-shaped monster in the Dells. Gorgeously monstrous in body and mind but with a human appreciation of right and wrong, she is hated and mistrusted by just about everyone, and this book is her story.

Wondering what makes it a companion book/prequel? Fire takes place 30-some years before Graceling and has one cross-over character with Graceling, a small boy with strange two-colored eyes who comes from no-one-knows-where, and who has a peculiar ability that Graceling readers will find familiar and disturbing...

Why:
I just finished Graceling, and absolutely loved it so of course I want to read more by this very talented author. Her character development is stellar and her imagination is one of the best I've seen in a long time.

I've got FIRE on my "buy right away" list, but October is so far away.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I’m Reading: Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Tithe by Holly Black, and Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

What I’m Working On: Writing every day. So far, so good.

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY

What: Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon

When: June 16, 2009. Harper Collins

Synopsis:
Dismantlement = Freedom
Henry, Tess, Winnie, and Suz banded together in college to form a group they called the Compassionate Dismantlers. Following the first rule of their manifesto—"To understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart"—these daring misfits spend the summer after graduation in a remote cabin in the Vermont woods committing acts of meaningful vandalism and plotting elaborate, often dangerous, pranks. But everything changes when one particularly twisted experiment ends in Suz's death and the others decide to cover it up.
Nearly a decade later, Henry and Tess are living just an hour's drive from the old cabin. Each is desperate to move on from the summer of the Dismantlers, but their guilt isn't ready to let them go. When a victim of their past pranks commits suicide—apparently triggered by a mysterious Dismantler-style postcard—it sets off a chain of eerie events that threatens to engulf Henry, Tess, and their inquisitive nine-year-old daughter, Emma.
Is there someone who wants to reveal their secrets? Is it possible that Suz did not really die—or has she somehow found a way back to seek revenge?
Full of white-knuckle tension with deeply human characters caught in circumstances beyond their control, Jennifer McMahon's gripping story and spine-tingling plot prove that she is a master at weaving the fear of the supernatural with the stark realities of life.


Why:

I like the clever idea behind this book. I want to know what happens when things go too far. I hope the characters grow and learn from their action. And, the words spine-tingling and supernatural have me hooked.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I’m Reading: Graceling by Kristin Cashore and Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

What I’m Working On: A new time line – so to speak.

WAITING ON:
Soulless (Parasol Protectorate Series, Book 1)
By Gail Carriger
October 1st 2009 by Orbit

Synopsis:
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she is being rudely attacked by a vampire to whom she has not been properly introduced!

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire, and the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate. With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible.

Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? And who is the real enemy . . . and do they have treacle tart?

“Soulless” is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking…

Why:
Clever, clever, clever concept. I love the alternative Victorian London. And I can’t wait to find out what a soulless heroine will do.

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Graceling by Kristin Cashore and Many Stones by Carolyn Comen


What I'm Working On: I like distinct landmarks for "starting things". I'm getting new direction on my writing, and hitting it hard on May 1st.





Waiting On: The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Hogan

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: June 02, 2009

Synopsis:
A heart-stopping thriller-the first in a trilogy-about an invasion of vampires by one of Hollywood's most popular and imaginative storytellers, the creator of the Oscar-winning Pan's Labyrinth.

A Boeing 777 lands at JFK after a flight from Berlin and is on its way to the gate-when it suddenly goes dark. Just stops dead. The control tower loses contact with the pilot and all electrical activity shuts down. No movement or communication from inside. Nada. An emergency crew gathers, everyone watching the silent plane now bathed in floodlights. Then a sliver of black quietly appears on the fuselage. It's a door opening from within.

Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of the CDC's New York team, enters and finds a cabin looking like a winged graveyard where everyone appears to be dead. As he begins to remove bodies for transport to the morgue, four victims are discovered miraculously alive-and relatively unscathed apart from complaints of disorientation and a strange soreness.
But this is just the beginning

At the same time, Eldrich Palmer, director of the global Stoneheart Group, monitors the JFK scene on TV from his sickbed in Virginia. Pleased with what he sees, he sends for a helicopter for immediate transport to a Manhattan penthouse. In Queens, Eph's ex-wife Kelley and their 11-year-old son ready themselves with the rest of the Eastern United States for the first total lunar eclipse in more than four hundred years. In a pawn shop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Nazi concentration camps named Abraham Setrakian takes it all in. He knows that his time has come, that a war is about to begin, and that the Master is Here.

So begins anescalating battle of epic proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected the four survivors begins to ravage the city. Eph-guided by Setrakian, and joined by Vassily, a exterminator, Nora, Eph's CDC colleague, and Gus, a Harlem gangbanger-fights his way through the next horrifying days, determined to save his wife and son before the Master succeeds in his unholy mission.

Why:
I haven't read a vampire novel like this in a long time -- if ever. It seems a refreshing take on an over-written theme. WooHoo!

Waiting on Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

What I'm Working On: Whew, last day of book fair.

Waiting On: FUNNY HOW THINGS CHANGE by Melissa Wyatt

Farrar, Straus & Giroux; 27 Apr 2009

Synopsis:

Remy Walker has it all: he found the love of his life at home in crumbling little Dwyer, West Virginia, deep in his beloved Appalachian Mountains where his family settled more than one hundred and sixty years ago. But at seventeen, you’re not supposed to already be where you want to be, right? You’ve got a whole world to make your way through, and you start by leaving your dead-end town. Like his girlfriend, Lisa. Lisa’s going away to college. If Remy goes with her, it would be the start of everything they ever dreamed of. So when a fascinating young artist from out of state shows Remy his home through new eyes, why is he suddenly questioning his future?

The author vividly depicts a rich and beautiful place in this powerful novel about a young man who, over the course of a summer, learns how much he has to give up for a girl, and how much he needs to give up for a mountain.

Why?

I think life always throws you curves. When you think you know what you want, something happens to confuse you. I like stories about figuring out your path.

Waiting On Wednesday

What I'm Reading: Graceling by Kristin Cashore and The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts

What I'm Working On: After a severe headache Monday, I'm hoping to write a bit extra today to make up for it. Plus, I'd like to make time after that to read some pages for a friend, and then there's that bill paying project.




Waiting on Wednesday

What: FIRETHORN by Sarah Micklem

From Random House on April 29, 2009



Synopsis: Introducing a mesmerizing debut in the rich tradition of Marion Zimmer Bradley and the powerful narratives of Jacqueline Carey—a passionate tale of love and war in which the gods grant a common girl uncommon gifts…

Before she was Firethorn, she was Luck, named for her red hair and favored by the goddess of Chance. A lowborn orphan, Luck is destined to a life of servitude. But when her mistress dies, Luck flees to the forest, where she discovers the sacred firethorn tree, whose berries bring her fevered dreams, a new name…and strange gifts. When she emerges from the woods, Firethorn is a new woman, with mysterious powers.

And soon, in the chaos of the UpsideDown Days, when the highborn and the low trade places, Firethorn couples with the warrior Sire Galan, whom she follows to camp with the king’s army. There she learns that in her new role as a sheath, a warrior’s bedservant, she is but one step above a whore. By day she uses her gifts as a healer to earn a place among the camp’s women, and by night she shares Sire Galan’s bed, her desire equal to his. But the passion they feel for each other has no place in a world ruled by caste and violence. When her lover makes an ill-considered wager that chances her heart, the consequences are disastrous—and Firethorn will learn how hard it can be to tell honor from dishonor, justice from vengeance.



Why: Gods granting gifts, common girl with uncommon gifts, mysterious powers, honor, vengeance... what's not to love. It sounds epic and dark and seductive and intriguing. Random House is a favorite publisher of mine, so I'll definitely be giving Firethorn a try.