U is for...The Utah War & Uncle Tom's Cabin (Teaser Tuesday)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teaser is from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

"A quiet scene now rises before us. A large, roomy, neatly-painted kitchen, its yellow floor glossy and smooth, and without a particle of dust; a neat, well-blacked cooking-stove; rows of shining tin, suggestive of unmentionable good things to the appetite; glossy green wood chairs, old and firm; a small flag-bottomed rocking-chair, with a patch-work cushion in it, neatly contrived out of small pieces of different colored woollen goods, and a larger sized one, motherly and old, whose wide arms breathed hospitable invitation, seconded by the solicitation of its feather cushions, - a real comfortable, persuasive old chair, and worth, in the way of honest, homely enjoyment, a dozen of your plush or brochetelle drawing-room gentry; and in the chair, gently swaying back and forward, her eyes bent on some fine sewing, sat our old friend Eliza. Yes, there she is, paler and thinner than in her Kentucky home, with a world of quiet sorrow lying under the shadow of her long eyelashes, and marking the outline of her gentle mouth!" p. 116

tah War.

AKA Buchanan's Blunder.

The Utah War occurred between the Mormon (LDS) settlers in Utah Territory and the federal government in the form of the U.S. Military from May 1857 and July 1858. Before this time, the LDS community had been chased out of many homes, finally settling in the Salt Lake area of Utah Territory in 1847. They felt their only hope of surviving was to get a state run by their own religious leaders, thus keeping the federal government from stepping in. President Millard Fillmore allowed Brigham Young, a leader of the LDS Church, to govern Utah Territory, seeming to make both sides happy.

However, people around the nation were disturbed by some of the principles of the LDS community, such as their support of polygamy. In fact, opposing political parties were incorporating polygamy into their platforms at the time, along with slavery still occurring in the territories. The media sensationalized various differences represented by the LDS community, making people very afraid of this group of people they didn't understand.

In addition to this, Brigham Young (right) was making sure to appoint various church members in positions of power throughout the territory. Rather than using a government legal system to resolve issues, they would deal with it in a religious setting, which was considered obstruction by the new president, James Buchanan. This is not to say that no non-LDS appointees were placed; the president was responsible for certain positions, which caused issues between various leaders in Utah Territory. The LDS community resented the government for their opinions on their lifestyle/practices, and many of the non-LDS appointees were heavily prejudiced against the Mormons.

In 1851, these conflicts reached a head, with many non-LDS federal officers abandoning their posts and fleeing Utah, claiming they were frightened. Their letters of resignation to the federal government told of the law not being followed, fraud and various other abuses of the law. The president felt that a rebellion was on the horizon, and fearing loss of control in Utah Territory, he decided to replace Brigham Young with a non-LDS member, Alfred Cumming. Cumming was sent with a military escort to insure he could be safely appointed and that he would come to no harm. The military was instructed to not use force against the LDS community unless it became necessary to defend themselves.

Unfortunately, president Buchanan (left) acted so hastily, out of fear, that he failed to notify Brigham Young of the change or of the fact that the military was not moving on them to attack. Instead, Young and his followers heard from the press that the military was coming for them. In response, Young recalled all of his people and brought those on the outskirts of the main community in to band together. They were to bring any resources and supplies they had, and to burn their homes in order to leave nothing behind for the incoming military.

When attempts to unite with the Native American population in the area failed, Young restarted the Nauvoo League, a militia who had fought for them in Illinois. He sent them out to harry the U.S. troops in whatever way possible, including burning areas around them, stealing from them, stampeding their animals and burning supply trains. As with the U.S. military, Young's fighters had been told not to draw first blood, and only to harm others to defend themselves.

This set the stage for a bloodless war. There were no battles that led to loss of life. However, there were several massacres perpetrated by LDS militiamen against people traveling through the area, as they believed they must be spies. About 150 people were killed in a series of massacres, including the Mountain Meadows Massacre of September 11, 1857, wherein 120 men, women and children were butchered. It had started out as an attempt to issue several small skirmishes to make it look like local Native Americans were attacking. However, when it got out that the wagon train was aware it was whites attacking them, their complete removal was ordered. Only seventeen children under the age of seven were spared. Those children were adopted by LDS families in the area.

Ultimately, Buchanan declared that the LDS members would be pardoned if they would meet with representatives of the U.S. government and agree to mediation. Upon agreement, Thomas Kane, who was respected by both sides and had helped Young and his people in the past, traveled to Utah Territory via ship through the Panama Canal (due to winter weather in the center of the U.S.) to arrive in Utah Territory. He and Young met and had what was considered a peaceful negotiation. The problem was that Young was perfectly willing to accept Cummings as the new leader, feeling God was behind said appointment, but he feared the military moving in and persecuting his people. President Buchanan finally convinced them that the military would serve only to protect from the Native population and to help travelers get through the territory to the west coast. The military made a point of setting up their base somewhat removed from the LDS population in the valley.

This war, though basically non-violent, caused Buchanan embarrassment, and left the area in poverty for quite some time. On the other hand, it seems an almost positive statement on the human condition, as both sides desperately wanted to avoid true bloodshed. Both thought they were defending against a larger threat than truly existed. Miscommunication was the true cause of this war, and the Pony Express was created after the war settled, aiding communication for a short time.

What are you reading? Ever heard of the Utah War? How about the Mountain Meadows Massacre?

May you find your Muse.

*Letter U courtesy of Mohamed Ibrahim of clker.com
**Photograph of Brigham Young (1 June 1801 – 29 August 1877); Wikimedia Commons
***James Buchanan; photographed between 1850 and 1870, printed later; Library of Congress; From Brady daguerreotype (Mathew Brady) (1822-1896); Wikimedia Commons

O is for...The Odyssey (Teaser Tuesday) & Oklahoma Land Runs

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teaser is from Homer's The Odyssey.

"'And I anointed therewith the ears of all my men in their order, and in the ship they bound me hand and foot upright in the mast-stead, and from the mast they fastened rope-ends and themselves sat down, and smote the grey sea water with their oars. But when the ship was within the sound of a man's shout from the land, we fleeing swiftly on our way, the Sirens espied the swift ship speeding toward them, and they raised their clear-toned song.'" p. 703

klahoma Land Rush/Run

On April 22, 1889, about 50,000 people lined up, prepared to risk life and limb to race those around them to claim two million acres worth of land available in Oklahoma. This would be the first of several land runs to occur in Oklahoma, or Indian Territory, as it was then.

Decades before, Abraham Lincoln had passed the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed settlers to claim a piece of land up to 160 acres, settle it and improve it. If they did this, they would eventually get the title to that land without having paid for the land, itself.

Of course, it should also be mentioned that it was the Indian Appropriations Bill of 1889 that opened this land, formerly belonging to various Native tribes, that really made this all possible. Previous to this government-sponsored land grab, the Boomer Movement had been occurring, wherein groups of people were led into Indian Territory in the attempt to snatch up the most valuable lands they could find and settle them, stealing yet more land from the Native population, which had been forcibly moved to this land and promised that it would be theirs in perpetuity.

Initially, these Boomers were arrested when they made their treks in. They were led by David Payne. William Couch took over when he died. This went on from 1879 to 1884, only to have the Santa Fe Railroad invade Indian Territory a year after Couch stopped leading his expeditions. The Springer Amendment clenched the deal, and Indian Territory became open to settlement.

The government went through and separated the land into allotments, taking first one area, then another. After that initial Land Run, more occurred on the following dates:

September 22, 1891
April 19, 1892
September 16, 1893
May 3, 1895
August 1, 1901, though this was done as a lottery

The folks who lost their homes belonged to the following tribes:

Apache
Arapaho
Cherokee
Cheyenne
Comanche
Iowa
Kickapoo
Kiowa
Pottawattomie
Sac and Fox
Shawnee
Wichita-Caddo

The Great Oklahoma Land Rush of 1893 was the biggest, with over 100,000 people hoping to grab 6 million acres. This land was split into 42,000 parcels of land, meaning fewer than half those rushing to grab land were going to get anything.

To up their odds in these land rushes, some would sneak out ahead of time and hide on the parcel they intended to grab. They'd wait until notice was given, then jump up, staking their land. These people were referred to as Sooners. They weren't the only ones who obtained illegally. Many were taken off land they had reached first by force. Others discovered that about fifty U.S. Marshals had come out ahead of everyone else and snatched up choice pieces of land, despite the fact that no government employee was legally allowed to do so. This incident occurred in the 1893 Land Run.

No Indians were allowed to participate, only white folks. The hopeful participants gathered on the Kansas border in whatever form of transit they had, whether that was horse, wagon, foot or bicycle. When the shots were fired, they took off, racing madly for the piece of land they most wanted. Most wouldn't get it.

In the 1893 Land Run, the government had pre-designated Guthrie as the capital of this new territory. By that evening, there were shops and restaurants, set up hastily. Children sold water, as it turned out that water sources were scarce in this land. Food prices were sky-high in those first days, but people were hungry and thirsty, and they would pay whatever it took. Folks worked hard, laying out streets and talking about a tentative government.

Those first rough days saw many people giving up plots of land they had claimed when they found that the soil was mostly sand for quite a ways down. Eventually, though, wells were dug, and the people settled on their land, uncaring that it had belonged to another group of people before they came in and took it.

In 1907, this territory became the state of Oklahoma.

What are you reading? Setting aside who the land belonged to, is this something you would have enjoyed? Could you have nabbed yourself a piece of land?

May you find your Muse.

*Wagon Wheel used as letter O, courtesy of Midnight7 at clker.com
**Caption: Oklahoma Land Rush. en:John Sherwood is on the white horse. en:Elias McClenny is ahead of John. en:Fred McClenny is just behind John., Source: McClenny Family Picture Album], By Chris 73 at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons
***"The Oklahoma Land Rush, April 22, 1889." John Steuart Curry, artist. Commissioned 1937, installed 1939.[1] FWA:PBA:Paintings and Sculptures for Public Buildings. Painting depicting race involving people in wagons, on horseback, and a bike to stake claims on land plots. One of the wagon canvas's says "Oklahoma or Bust." Building and city not identified., Record creator: Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945, ca. 1937, Current location: National Archives and Records AdministrationLink back to Institution infobox template, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (NLFDR), 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY, 12538-1999., Wikimedia Commons

C is for Agatha Christie (Teaser Tuesday) & Colorado Territory

We've made it to Day 3! Keep it up! I may be running a day behind in responding to comments, but I WILL visit everyone!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teaser is from Crooked House, by Agatha Christie.

"'But I don't suppose,' I said, 'that she'd murder anyone just because she didn't approve of their aims and mode of life. Perhaps if she really hated the old man - but are any murders committed just out of pure hate?'" p. 57.






C is also for...

olorado Territory!

Yay! Look at that, I managed to get Colorado history in here, anyway. Colorado is the epitome of the west with its rugged setting, semi-arid climate and homesteads and gold mines still standing. When I'm out exploring and sight seeing, I often try to put myself into the mindset of the pioneers and gold miners that made their way out here.

On these tours, one idea stands out, one slogan: Pikes Peak or Bust. You can still see old wagons decorated with those words, such as the one at Rock Ledge Ranch, or the one outside the Wild West Ghost Town Museum. The Colorado Gold Rush started in 1859, pulling people in from both the east and the west. Those who were busted in California sped back to Colorado, hoping to make it big with this second chance.

Prospectors flooded Colorado, mining towns springing up left and right. Cripple Creek (1890's), Denver City & Boulder City. In Leadville, copious amounts of silver were discovered in the gold mines, creating another rush.

All these prospectors (and those who wished to capitalize and open stores, hotels, etc.) caused this area to be named Colorado Territory in 1861. However, prospectors weren't the only ones who came this way. Outlaws like Clay Allison ventured through parts of Colorado, as did Bat Masterson, Buffalo Bill Cody, Kit Carson, Doc Holliday, and more. Nikola Tesla had a lab here in Colorado Springs, having arrived here from New York in 1899.

The Unsinkable Molly Brown lived in Denver, the wife of a man who struck gold. What does that tell you? Coloradans are hardy enough to survive the Titanic!

Before all of these people began flooding in, though, the Ute, Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians made their homes here. Unfortunately, they were removed to other states, but their impact is seen all around, including places like Manitou Springs, where the healing springs they utilized are still appreciated by visitors.

Beyond those mentioned, Colorado Territory was famous for mountain men and fur trappers, as well. There were also farmers/ranchers and gamblers, and anyone else who yearned for the free and rugged life that Colorado Territory offered. In short, Colorado Territory drew just about anyone with a sense of adventure and determination to succeed.

What are you reading? Ever visited Colorado?

May you find your Muse.

*Letter C courtesy of Mohamed Ibrahim at clker.com
**Pikes Peak wagon image courtesy of Pikes Peak History
***Chief Ouray and Chipeta image courtesy of Cynthia Becker

Teaser Tuesday:

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teaser is from The Best of Raven and the Writing Desk, authored by Aubrie Dionne, Lisa Rusczyk, and Cherie Reich. I chose to do a teaser from a short story by Cherie Reich called A Killer Rose Garden. 74% of the way through the Kindle version.

"The hand clasped around my mouth. I smelled something sweet, luring. It left a bitter taste on my tongue as my eyes closed."

You can find Cherie Reich at her blog.

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Interview With Author J.A. Kazimer; Teaser Tuesday - Code: Cutter

Author j.a. kazimer has taken fairy tales and forced them to grow up, twisting them into something darker, funnier and more modern. Her versions are closer to your great-great-great grandmother’s fairy tales, yet laced with j.a.’s wonderful humor. In CURSES! A F***ed-up Fairy Tale, You’ll find a fairy-noir tale of a villain gone good, quite against his will, drawn into a murder investigation by the victim, Cinderella’s, not-so-ugly step-sister. Action, hilarity and mayhem ensue in this f***ed up story you won’t want to miss!

Today, the fantastic j.a. has agreed to answer a few questions for The Warrior Muse. Having published in several different formats, she has a unique perspective that few other authors can rival. Her sparkling wit and friendly support make her someone I’m proud to have gotten to know, and I’m delighted to introduce Colorado author, j.a. kazimer:

Where did the inspiration for CURSES! come from?

The idea for CURSES! started with the question: What does a villain do at the end of the day? Does he go to the grocery store and buy a TV dinner? Does he go to yoga class? Sharpen his knife for the next day? Eat all the candy he pilfered from a baby? I wondered if a fairytale villain was evil outside his job, and that brought me to the idea of my protagonist being a famous villain (you'll have to guess his name) who is forced to be nice.

Ooo, a mystery! Do we find out in the book who the villain is? Are there hints (I know he gives initials in the beginning of the book...)?
Yep, a villain. You'll have to guess his name. But I'll give you a hint...he's a lot taller in person.

I find your background very interesting (degree in Forensic Psychology and experience as a P.I.); did these help in the writing of this book?
My experience as a PI and my work while in school have both helped my writing, in that, I 'know' things, like...running a princess over with a bus isn't the best way to kill someone. Not to mention how I learned all about how to lie and when to tell if someone else is doing so.

I will definitely have to make sure not to lie to you! Combine your background knowledge and all the great hiding places for bodies around here and you could be a mastermind criminal.

See that you don't!

You have both self-published and been traditionally published. Do you have a preference for one or the other, or do you find they both have benefits and drawbacks?


I love being traditionally published, just as an ego thing. But, surprisingly in the long haul, I will make more money with self-e-publishing unless CURSES! sells a lot of books. Not enough money to make a living, mind you.

There are plenty of things about a traditional publisher that I love, namely wide distribution and my very own editor, who helped me so much by kicking the manuscript into shape and even thinking of the CURSES! part of the title (which I adore). On the other hand, I've had a book published with a smaller traditional press that was a mess of typos and sold only a handful of copies. So I'm on the fence about indie versus traditional. I don't think a writer has to go either one way, but pick from the options available. Both have positives and negatives.

Now that you've been traditionally published, would you ever self-publish again?

Heck yes. My self-publishing wasn't due to not having or being able to sell a project to a traditional publisher, but rather, a choice about content, which made the decision that much easier. The Junkie Tales is a short story collection, which big publishers often disregard as a form because, for them, the monies just not in it unless the writer is famous. Therefore, when I decided to do the collection, I chose to go the indie route. I also wanted control over the content since the collection is...um...a wee bit dark. Indie publishing has opened up a new world of possibilities of what can now see the light of readers’ eyes.

Indeed, it has!

Had your short stories been published before you gathered them into your collections, Junkie Tales and Stolen Kidneys, Dead Hookers & Other Nursery Crimes?
Yes. I'm a firm believer in journal and magazine publishing. Short stories are where you earn your pub credits. It's where you learn to query, cut your teeth on craft. In so many ways, writing a novel is easier than pulling off a really good short.

That is actually really good to hear, because I’ve put my editing on the back burner to focus more on short stories right now in order to [hopefully] build up a bit of a portfolio. It’s hard to know whether that’s the right decision.

It totally is the right choice. It helps you understand rejection. With novels all you hear is “NO” until someone says “Yes.” That can be years of “NO.” With shorts, you learn that it's not about you or your story (most often) but the subjectivity of the editor and the needs of the journal. Plus you hear “Yes” a heck of a lot more.

What was your very first paid submission?

December 31, 2008. I sold one of The Junkie Tales (Slut. Bitch. Whore.) to Savage Kick Literary Magazine in the UK. They paid me 35 pounds, which was 50 or so bucks. That day I became a 'professional' writer, as in I got paid for it!

And, finally, what piece of advice do you think each writer should know?
Write. That's really it. All the 'rules' have exceptions. Write what you love. Read that genre. And submit. That's where too many writers fall apart. If you want to be a professional writer, you have to submit your work. Don't live in fear of rejection. Yeah, it sucks, but you'll survive.

Excellent advice, j.a.! Thanks for agreeing to this interview, and for the great information.

In the dark spaces of author j.a.kazimer's bookcase, hidden behind literary classic and the occasional book of poetry (unread, of course), is a well-loved collection of mysteries, urban fantasies, suspense, thrillers, romance, and humorous novels. 

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, j.a. left at a young age, and now lives and writes in Denver, Colorado. 

Books include, The Junkie Tales (Obscure Publishing, 2010), Stolen Kidneys, Dead Hookers & Other Nursery Crimes (Obscure Publishing, 2010), The Body Dwellers (Solstice Publishing, 2011), CURSES! A F***ed Up Fairy Tale (Kensington, March 2012) & Holy Socks and Dirtier Demons (Champagne Books, April 2012). 

j.a. kazimer holds a master's degree in forensic psychology, and has worked as a PI, bartender, and most recently at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics.

You can find your copy of CURSES! A F***ed-up Fairy Tale at:
Amazon in Paperback or Kindle
And
Barnes & Noble in Paperback or Nook
 
You can also find j.a. at her…
Website: www.jakazimer.com
And her blog: The New Never News, where you can find twisted fairy tale news shorts!



*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teaser is from Night Rituals, by Gary Paulsen. I'm posting 2 teasers, from 2 characters' POV's.

"He liked his homicides to be predictable - no mysteries. Family conflict, suicide, anger flashing up and somebody getting killed. He hated the weird ones. They always complicated things." p. 10

"He knew exactly who 'they' were - they were the spectators. The people who had nothing to do with life as it counted but merely went along with it, moved with the flow the way fish moved with a river, never understanding why they moved or where they were going to be next." p. 61

Thursday, we'll have a guest post from author Stephen Tremp!

Have you picked up your copy of CURSES! yet? What are you reading?

Teaser Tuesday: Here, Kitty, Kitty

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teaser is from Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn. I pulled this one off the shelf to read again because Carrie Vaughn will be at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference this April. So exciting! I always get a kick out of reading a book set in Colorado (or somewhere I'm very familiar with, like parts of Oregon), and since Vaughn currently lives in Boulder, CO there is plenty of the Front Range featured in the Kitty books.

From p. 89:

"I shut my eyes. My voice was hushed. 'Is change all bad?'

'You're going to get yourself killed. And not because of people like that assassin.'

'I'm an adult. I can take care of myself.'

'No, you can't.'

And that's what this was all about, wasn't it? Which one of us was right?"

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday: An Oldie, Yet to See if it's a Goodie

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teaser is from The Night Crew by John Sandford, p. 33

"The two-faced man hurried down the darkened pier, saw the light in the side window, in the back. He carried an eighteen-inch Craftsman box-end wrench, the kind used in changing trailer-hitch balls. The heft was right: just the thing. No noise."

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday: Skinwalker Versus Vampires

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm reading Blood Cross: A Jane Yellowrock Novel, by Faith Hunter.

"I had a feeling that this formal visit might be only marginally better than Leo's kerosene and fire visit of the night before, and that brought out a belligerance I usually controlled better. I narrowed my eyes at him. 'No shit.'" p. 43

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday: Not the Internet!!

Wow! The A-to-Z Challenge is certainly filling up. It was so exciting signing in yesterday to see so many blogs already participating.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'd like to share a bit from The Missing Link, by Bryan Pedas and Brandon Meyers. *Note: These guys have a blog, which you can visit here: A Beer for the Shower.

"Now, Brent Porter was not a brave man. Were this a yeti or a zombie destroying his network, he would have merely hid behind his desk and called security, but this...this was some kind of child-sized mutant, twenty pounds at most. Brent, who had never been in a fight in his life, was pretty sure he could take the little bastard." Kindle, 2% in.

Obviously, I'm not very far in yet, but their humor is a kick and the premise is fascinating. You can get an idea of how you feel about their writing by visiting their blog, linked above.

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday: My First Steampunk!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Thanks to this book making the blog circuit, I was introduced to Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, part of the Infernal Devices series, which is what my teaser is today:

"'Such a fuss over a few mundanes.' Mrs. Dark chuckled and moved to stand beside her sister, so that Will, with his blazing sword, was between Tessa and both ladies. 'We have no quarrel with you, Shadowhunter, unless you choose to pick one.'" p. 46

Interesting book, and the pace is fairly lively. I like the writing; it flows. From the back of the book:

"Magic is dangerous - but love is more dangerous still.

When Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother in Victorian England, something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld. Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, who are members of a secret organization called the Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she has the power to transform into another person. The Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. She soon finds herself fascinated by - and torn between - two best friends: James and Will. As Tessa is drawn deep into a plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, she realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all."

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday: Mini Witches and Warlocks

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's book, read on a friend's Nook, is Witch and Wizard: The Gift, by James Patterson and Ned Rust.

"Would you think I was completely mad if I told you that what saved us in that signal hut was a portal that sucked me and Wisty through several dimensions and hurled us back into our current hellish reality at a completely different location?

A year ago, I would have checked myself into a psych ward for that, but crazy is the new sane in a society defined by New Order nutjobs." p. 25

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday: The Maze Runner

Before I do my teaser, I have two announcements to make:

1. There will be a guest post from the fantastic Ian T. Healy, a prolific writer, and one both self-published and traditionally published. On Friday, he talks about how it shouldn't be one against the other, but that dual publication can be beneficial, too.

2. There will be an exciting project announcement on the A to Z blog on Wednesday. I will link to it once it's up, both Wednesday and Thursday. It's not just a writing project, folks!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

"My name is Thomas, he thought.

That...that was the only thing he could remember about his life."

This book is intense, fast-paced and intriguing. It keeps you turning the pages, desperate to know what's going on, what the big mystery is.

From the back cover:

Everything is going to change...

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. He has no recollection of his parents, his home, or how he got where he is. His memory is empty.

But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade, a large expanse enclosed by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning, for as long as anyone can remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, for just as long, they've closed tight. Every thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift. And no one wants to be stuck in the Maze after dark.

The Gladers were expecting Thomas's arrival. But the next day, a girl is sent up - the first girl ever to arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the Maze that surrounds the Glade, they might find their way home...wherever that may be. But it's looking more and more as if the Maze is unsolvable.

And something about the girl's arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different. Something is telling him that he just might have some answers - if he can only find a way to retrieve the dark secrets locked within his own mind.

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday: A Visit to the Land of Oz

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Still reading the same Kindle book. Only because that's what I read when out of the house and I've gotten a break the last two weeks on being out of the house. Woo-hoo! Not because the book is lacking.

This week I'm reading Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire. I loved his first couple books, but have not read another of his books in a long while. I saw this on the new releases at the library and snatched it up.

"So upon her return, Dorothy had been greeted not as a ghost or an angel, neither blessed by the Lord nor saved by a secret pact she must have made with the Evil One. Just tetched, concluded the good folks of the district. Tetched in the big fat head." p. 4.

That is from the Dorothy portions of the book. Glinda is the other POV character.

"Puggles saw her struggling with the front door and rescued her. 'Let e help, Mum,' he said, relieving her of the umbrella. It had a handle carved to look like a flying monkey; she hadn't noticed that. Probably Cherrystone would decide that the umbrella was grounds for her execution. Well, stuff him with a rippled rutabaga." p. 24. (Ow.)

This is billed as "The Final Volume int he Wicked Years." I had no idea it had progressed into a series. I'm actually going to return this one and read from the second novel forward, though I think this book probably stands on its own. Reading from the beginning is just a quirk of mine. For all I know, it will be better if I do it that way, but I don't feel like I'm fumbling around, unaware of what's going on, either. The book is good enough to make me want to go back and read the others, though, if that tells you anything.

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday: An Old Favorite-Grafton

I hope everyone had a great weekend and wonderful holidays!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I am still reading the same Kindle book as last week, but have a new physical book; it's a series I started reading as a teen. The current book is V is for Vengeance, by Sue Grafton:

"A black Mercedes sedan accelerated out of the slot, swung sharply, and careened backward in my direction. The younger woman had an arm over the front seat, zeroing in on me, the car zigzagging as she corrected her aim." p. 32

This series by Sue Grafton follows a female private investigator, an ex-cop. She was one of the first major female protagonists I remember reading. Even now, she's a stronger female character, who doesn't do the stupid things some of the current female protagonists do.

One interesting thing about this author is that she sets her books sequentially, setting the entire series in order and fairly close in time. This means that the book I picked up this month, though published this year, is still set in the 80's. She keeps her details accurate for the time (so no cell phones!). I haven't run into anyone else who does this (not to say no one else does, just that I'm not aware of them), and I think it's quite interesting. It's fun to get lost in the scenery of the 80's. The end of the series is drawing near, and I'll be sad to see it go.

What are you reading? Have you read a series that stays true to a different time? Would you ever consider writing one in this fashion?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday: Fantasy and Horror Make Good Bedfellows

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

On my Kindle this week: Woman of Honor: Kingdom of Arnhem, Book 1 by Nicole Zoltack. (Cover image from her website.

"Aislinn raised her chin and faced the knight. Although sitting, she knew Sir Variek was a tall man with broad shoulders. He had a white goatee and piercing gray eyes that roamed over Aislinn's form. 'You're the girl who wants to be a knight.' 'Aye,' Aislinn breathed the word." p. 27, or 16% of the way through.






In hard copy, I'm reading The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror #21, edited by Stephen Jones.

"She had the sweet smell of faded roses that I associate with polite mortality in decay. I would have preferred talking to someone else at the Selwoods' lunch party - after all, buffets are designed to shuffle sheep and goats - but she held me with deep-set eyes that might almost have been blind, or perhaps they were focused upon something beyond me or the house." p. 274, taken from John Gaskin's Party Talk.

And for another small taste from the anthology:

"They rode west from the slaughter, through the painted desert, and did not stop until they were a hundred miles away.", p. 108, taken from Throttle, by Joe Hill and Stephen King.

What are you reading?

Happy Birthday, Miz B!

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday: Would You Like Some Terror With Your Romance?

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

For the first teaser, I've got Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich.

"New Jersey was 40,000 feet below me, obscured by cloud cover. Heaven was above me, beyond the thin skin of the plane. And hell was sitting four rows back." p.3

The book I'm reading on e-reader this week is fellow blogger Aric Mitchell's The Congregation.

"At first Marco thought he would have to kill it. But upon closer examination, he could see that it was, in fact, a woman, and that at one time she had been very beautiful." 31% progress in Kindle.






These are two incredibly different books. One is comedy and romance, while the other is pure horror. Both, as it turns out, are quite good.

Come back Wednesday for [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday, Thursday for some helpful links (contests and a blog hop), and Friday for an interview with James Hutchings.

What are you reading this week?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday 10/25/11

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm doing two teasers today since I'm reading two different books (okay, three, but I haven't picked the third one up this week, so it doesn't count).

First, on my Kindle, this is Blood on the Ice by Ian T. Healy. I want to preface this by saying that if you like this teaser, you can download this book for free from Smashwords, Kindle or Barnes and Noble until Halloween (I think that's the date).

"If this was ten thousand years ago, he'd be a barefoot caveman hunting wooly mammoths on a grassy plain with nothing more than a spear and balls the size of coconuts. Our story, though, takes place in a more modern time, and instead of a spear, he's wielding a hooked stick of graphite with a wicked hundred and thirty-five degree curve at the lower end."

The blurb from his website:

When a talented new player joins the perennially-losing sub-minor-league hockey team, the Fighting Aardvarks, it marks the beginning of a winning tradition. But things aren’t as they seem, and players begin to change. First line center Hammie learns the truth: the Aardvarks are becoming vampires, and it’s up to him to stop them before the infestation spreads beyond just the team.

The second teaser is from Skinwalker, a Jane Yellowrock Novel, by Faith Hunter, p. 24:

"I took up the snake that rests in the depths of all beasts. And I dropped within."

From the back:

Last year Jane nearly lost her life taking down a deadly family of vampires who preyed on the helpless local populace. Now, after months of recuperation, she's back and ready to fight again. Except this time, she's been hired by those she's trained to kill - vampires.

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind - a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires - and hunts the undead for a living. But now she's been hired by Katherine Fonteneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie's Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who's killing other vamps.

Amidst a bordello full of real 'ladies of the night,' a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission...or else the next skin she'll need to save may be her own.

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday 10/11/11

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The following teaser is from Heather McCorkle's The Secret of Spruce Knoll. (Note: Heather is a fellow blogger. Check out her blog by clicking her name above.) From page 48:

"Maybe there was hope that she could remain normal a bit longer - or at least pretend that she was. She'd lost so much."

From the back:

"It's hard enough being a teenager under normal circumstances; imagine being orphaned, sent to live with an unfamiliar aunt - and learning that there really is magic in the world. Following the tragic death of her parents, Eren Donovan moves to Spruce Knoll to live with her aunt. Little does Eren know the entire town of Spruce Knoll is filled with so-called 'channelers' - a magical group of people who immigrated to the small Colorado town when they were driven out of their own lands.

Channelers are tied to the fate of the world. As the world slowly dies, so do they - and they alone have the power to stop the destruction of Earth. Now, Eren learns she not only lives among them, but she is one. When she meets local boy Aiden, his charming tricks show her being a channeler isn't all bad; in fact, it's kind of cool. But is it Aiden's abilities or Aiden's looks that Eren finds so fascinating?

As Eren and Aiden's relationship blooms, so too does a mystery in Spruce knoll. The town holds many secrets - and many enemies. It soon becomes apparent that the untimely death of Eren's parents was no accident and that her life might be in danger, too. Only time will tell if young, inexperienced Eren has the power to protect the people she has come to love."

What are you reading?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday 10/4/11

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The following teaser is from Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I've had the urge to reread this oldie, but goodie, for awhile now, so I finally pulled it out. Maybe it's because I've been loosely planning a trip back home to visit family in Oregon, where this was set. I have no idea, but I love the way he words things. From page 16:

"Nobody can tell exactly why he laughs; there's nothing funny going on. But it's not the way that Public Relation laughs, it's free and loud and it comes out of his wide grinning mouth and spreads in rings bigger and bigger until it's lapping against the walls all over the ward."

From the back:

In this classic novel of the 1960's, Ken Kesey's hero is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a boisterous, brawling, fun-loving rebel who swaggers into the world of a mental hospital and takes over. A lusty, life-affirming fighter, McMurphy rallies the other patients around him by challenging the dictatorship of Big Nurse. He promotes gambling in the ward, smuggles in wine and women, and openly defies the rules at every turn. But this defiance, which starts as a sport, soon develops into a grim struggle, an all-out war between two relentless opponents: Big Nurse, backed by the full power of authority...McMurphy, who has only his own indomitable will. What happens when Big Nurse uses her ultimate weapon against McMurphy provides the story's shocking climax.

If you haven't read this book yet, I highly recommend you do. Kesey's writing is phenomenal, and the story is powerful. Don't assume that if you've seen the movie you know all about it. His writing makes this an easy read, though the subject matter can make it a rough one.

However, for those of you who have seen the movie, I used to live in Salem, Oregon and pass that duck crossing sign on a regular basis. I fully intend to get a pic of it this time through, if I can make it out to Oregon for vacation next summer. Of course, when I lived there I was far too young to know the sign was famous. Thus, the lack of a photo up to this point.

Do you have a book or books that you return to again and again? What brings you back to it? Anyone read any of Kesey's other works? Would you recommend them?

May you find your Muse.

Teaser Tuesday 9/27/11

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This teaser is from The Spirit Lens, by Carol Berg, another Colorado author (Fort Collins, I believe), p.48:

Dante hoisted himself up with his stick and strode back toward the path and the house. Before I could decide whether to chase him down, he halted, spun in place, and jabbed a finger toward Ilario. "Dress me like this strutting cock, and I still could not get near them. Do I walk up to the gate and apply for the position of queen's assassin?"

As you can maybe see, I am back to working my way through books I got from this past spring's writer's conference.

From the back cover:

In a kingdom on the verge of a grand renaissance, where natural science has supplanted failing sorcery, someone aims to revive a savage rivalry...

For Portier de Savin-Duplais, failed student of magic, sorcery's decline into ambiguity and cheap illusion is but a culmination of life's bitter disappointments. Reduced to tending the library at Sabria's last collegia magica, he fights off despaire with scholarship. But when the King of Sabria charges him to investigate an attempted murder that has disturbing magical resonances, Portier believes his dreams of a greater destiny might at last be fulfilled.

As the king's new agente confide, Portier--much to his dismay--is partnered with the popinjay Ilario de Sylvae, the laughingstock of Sabria's court. Then the need to infiltrate a magical cabal leads Portier to Dante, a brooding, brilliant young sorcerer whose heretical ideas and penchant for violence threaten to expose the investigation beford it's even begun. But in an ever-shifting landscape of murders, betrayals, old secrets, and unholy sorcery, the three agentes will be forced to test the boundaries of magic, nature, and the divine.

What are you reading? Any writers local to you that you'd recommend?