J.R.Ward

Well, I take it all back. The names have really grown on me. I've just finished 'Lover Unbound' and it was great. JR has created a pack of incredible alpha males and each book concentrates on one of them in particular, while maintaining the world they live in. I loved 'Lover Awakened' about Zsadist who had terrible start in life but 'Lover Unbound' was even better. JR really makes you feel for her characters. By the end I was desperate that it all turn out all right. My only niggle is one that applies to all the books, that the females are less interesting and less well drawn but these books are about the men, no two ways about it. They are big, sometimes ugly brutes but with an attraction that's magnetic. Though there is a hint of a female MC coming up soon and I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with her.

Reads for the week.

Ah, payday. You know what that means? A trip to borders and some new books in my pile. I've been watching out for Karen Marie Moning's new book, but haven't seen it. Had my eye out for Jim Butcher's new Dresden Files book, haven't seen it yet either. Jim's books are a must. An addiction of mine. He really needs to hurry. Going into withdrawal.

So I took my time, walked around and found a couple of books that look interesting.
First off, I've got Karen Kelley's book "Double Dating with the Dead." You know how I like comic romance and this one looks like it just might be what I'm looking for.

The next is a book by Kathleen Nance called "Phoenix Unrisen." Love the cover art on this one. It's what got my attention and sold the book. Okay, call me shallow. I made a decision based on the cover art. But if you think other readers don't, you're sadly mistaken.

I haven't read either of these authors, so this should be interesting.

And here's one of Laurie's recommendations. I picked up Linnea Sinclair's book called "Gabriel's Ghost." Her comments had me wanting to dig right in.

Last but not least...
What would a pile be without a little Anne Rice? Going back and reading some of the older favorites. Studying them for what I liked and what I didn't. So, for this weeks pick of Anne, I've got "Servant of the Bones."

Cattle Mutilations

Okay, here's another creepy tale for Halloween time. During the 1970s I grew up on my grandfather's ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska. The community is a tight group of people that have lived together since the west was settled. Ranch handed down from father to son, through the generations. It was a community where nothing odd ever happened.
But something did. One summer my father was out feeding cattle. Granddad and him started work at around 3:00 in the morning. I remember this event clearly. My father came rushing back into the house, a strange look on his face.
Granddad and my father had found something. Something strange.
Out in one of the pastures were several head of cattle. Mutilated. But it wasn't an animal that killed the livestock. It was something much scarier. Bits and pieces of them were missing, removed with lazar precision. One had its eyes removed, another its tongue.
When the authorities arrived, they took pictures and notes, but apparently this was not a singular case. One man found over 100 head of his stock, dead in the same manner.
Is it aliens? Are we being studied? Here's a scarier question... Why?
To this day, nobody knows who did it or why the livestock were mutilated. One thing is known for sure, the precision with which the organs were removed was something that would put a plastic surgeon to shame. According to the medical examiner, it wasn't possible to preform that kind of surgery in the middle of no where. Coyotes don't use scalpels.

Ravens

Here's a fun rhyme that is a harbinger of what's to come depending on the size of the murder of ravens or crows you see:

One for sorrow, two for mirth,
Three for a wedding, four for birth,
Five for silver, six for gold,
Seven for a secret not to be told.
Eight for heaven, nine for hell,
And ten for the devil's own sel'.

Susan Grant "Your Planet or MIne"

Just finished book one, "Your Planet or Mine?" by Susan Grant.

Nine year-old Jana Jasper wants to talk in the worst way, but can't. When she sees a glowing boy hanging from the tree next to her bedroom window, her life changes. Jana learns that magic really does exist. Sadly her visit with the boy from another world ends, but he gives her a gift, her voice, and memories of magic and possibilities.

Twenty-three years later, Jana is a smart, powerful and influential woman. She is also the youngest Senator in California state history. With her eyes focused on the White House, nothing can stop her. Well, almost nothing. When political scandal threatens the family, Jana makes a promise to her Grandfather to stay as pure and clean as virgin snow. Unbeknownst to her, that promise is going to be a little hard to keep. Jana soon finds herself hip deep in an ocean of misery with no sign of the tide pulling out. It doesn't help matters when she becomes stuck in the middle of a shoot-out with an intergalactic hit man and his target. Soon she's driving stolen cars, running from the law and falling in love with a man that looks like he stepped out of her nephew's video game. Everything she'd promised to steer clear of. Trouble.

"Take me to your leader." Cavin of Far Star has come on a mission. A mission to save a girl and the planet she loves. He just has to get her to convince the rest of the planet that the Earth is in imminent danger of invasion. There's an issue, and it's a big one. He's got one of the most dangerous assassins in the galaxy on his tail, and he's having a bit of a problem shaking him. Not only that, his bio-implants are malfunctioning and the Earth is running out of time. With an invasion force on the doorstep, and flames igniting between himself and Ms. Virgin Snow. Cavin sets a plan in motion that could destroy everything he's come to love, or maybe, just maybe, it will make true magic happen.

What can I say, I really liked this story. It wasn't about falling in love overnight, or even over the course of a month. It was a story that started in childhood with two souls from different worlds that were meant to be together, and could not forget each other. It starts with the sweet sparks of puppy love. From there, the connection only gets hotter as the book progresses.

You've got confusion and chaos, love and explosions, and that lovely little dog that thinks she's a Great Dane. "Yarp, Yarp."

A fun, sexy, read, with a Sci-Fi twist. I'd call this one a Intergalactic Fairy Tale, for big girls.
If you're in the mood for a Cinderella story, check this one out.

Haunted Places: The Queen Mary

Several years ago I went to a training event in Long Beach, California and was housed aboard the former luxury cruise ship The Queen Mary, now a floating hotel. This "Ghost Ship" has a history of hauntings including phantom swimmers and wet footprints beside a long-drained swimming pool, a ghostly woman who roams the ship, the sounds of screams and scraping metal, and sightings of a man who was once crushed by a watertight door. (We had a couple of odd happenings ourselves while on board.)

The Queen Mary is larger than the Titanic. She's so big that when you look down her corridors, you can see the how the deck is curved downward from bow to midship and back up again to the stern. She has several restaurants and bars onboard, and hosts a massive Sunday Brunch in the grand ballroom that I believe is the single largest room ever built inside a ship. There's also an onboard shopping mall, a large museum below decks, and a "Ghost Ship" tour that takes groups to some of the haunted locations and recreates spectral visits with special effects.

http://www.gettysburgghosts.net/queenmary.htm

Every Halloween, The Queen Mary hosts a bash called the Shipwreck Halloween Terror Fest. This year will be the 13th Annual Shipwreck. One of these years, I hope to make it to the party.

http://www.queenmaryshipwreck.com/shipwreck2007.html

The First Vampire

So who was the first vampire, the creature that started the legend? It wasn't Vlad the Impaler. No this creature's story goes back much further and is rooted in Jewish history and the garden of Eden.
I'm talking about Lilith, of course.
If you have heard of lullaby, you've heard of Lilith. She is where the origin, of the songs that are sang by mothers to infants, originate. More on that in a moment.
According to the Talmud, a Hebrew sacred writing on holy matters, Lilith was created to be Adam's first wife. But Lilith had other ideas on the matter. She left Adam and went to dwell with the demons by the Red Sea, the fallen angels. It was said she wanted equality and when she couldn't have it, she became angry and left. This resulted in the first divorce. Lilith became the lover of demons and produced children at the rate of 100 per day.
Legend says that Adam appealed to God, who sent three angels to bring Lilith back to Adam. Lilith cursed the angels, (Talk about a woman scorned) and refused to go. The angels warned Lilith that if she didn't go back and submit to Adam's will, they would take her demon children. She didn't and they took her children, scattering them across the planet and tossing them down into different dimensions.
As the story goes, Lilith was more Succubi than vampire, but she did favor the blood of children. Apparently, by feasting on children, she felt she was getting even for the loss of her own demon babies. Crib death in ancient times was associated with Lilith sucking the souls of newborns. The Lullaby came about as a means to ward off Lilith and her evil appetite.
An interesting fact, Lilith translates into Lilitu, which in ancient Sumer or Babylon, is one and the same.

Jersey Devil

Here it is.

I'm sure this is an advertising mock-up of some sort, but still...pretty creepy critter.

The Jersey Devil

Here's a creature that has been seen by policemen, goverment officals, postmen, businessmen. People who's integrity is beyond question.
So what is it?

As the Legend goes, Mrs. Leeds, being quite cranky to find herself pregnant again, with a thirteenth child, shouts out "I hope it's the Devil."

Be careful what you wish for.

The creature is said upon its delivery, to have had cloven hooves, wings, a horse-like head with horns, and a tail. The creature supposedly escaped up the chimney. It would come back to visit its mother daily. Mrs. Leeds would stand at the door and tell it to leave. Eventually it never came again, at least while Mrs. Leeds was still alive.

It it said that it now nests in the old Leeds home. People have found nests, very large nests there, lined with the feathers of birds that had been ripped from their bodies. Hmmm. A big eagle? Not on the ground.

From the pre 1909 era, few documented records of sightings exist. The ones that do are eerily similar, the same in description and nature and seem to confirm the existence of the devil.

In the early 19th century, Commodore Stephen Decatur was testing firing cannon balls when he saw a strange creature flying across the sky. He fired and hit the creature but it kept on across the field.

Joseph Bonaparte, former king of Spain and brother of Napoleon, saw the Jersey Devil in Bordertown, NJ, between 1816 and 1839 while he was hunting.

In 1840-41 several sheep and chickens were killed by a creature with a piercing scream and strange tracks.

In 1859-94, the Jersey Devil was seen several times in Haddonfield, Smithville, Longbranch, Leeds point and a few other towns and villages. It was said to carry off anything that moved.

For the most part, the Jersey Devil is said to inhabit the Barren Pines.

Here are some interesting sightings that started around January 16 1909:

On Thursday, the Jersey Devil was seen by the Black Hawk Social Club and also by a trolley full of people in Clementon.

Hoof prints were also found at the arsenal in Trenton. As the day wore on the Trolleys in Trenton and New Brunswick had armed drivers to ward off attacks.

The West Collingswood Fire Department fired their hose at the devil. The devil retreated at first, but then charged and flew away at the last second.

On Friday, Camden police officer Louis Strehr saw the Jersey Devil drinking from a horses trough.

Hysteria erupted. The school in Mt Ephraim was closed because no students came in. Mills and factories in Gloucester and Hainesport had to close because nobody came to work. Many New Jersey residents wouldn't leave their houses, even in daylight.

In Riverside, NJ, hoof prints were found on roof tops and around a dead puppy.

To this day, the residents of the Barren Pines don't like to venture into the woods after dark.

Since 1909, there have been many reports of people seeing the Jersey Devil. They all have one thing in common, the description. He has been described as having of cloven hooves, wings, a tail and horses head. The sound of the screams the creature makes, and the feeling of being watched when in the Barren Pines all seem to follow the same pattern.

Boo!

Phantom dogs, steeds and the last ride.

I tried to see if I could find phantom sheep. Sorry Flick, but I couldn't find so much as a ghost Shepard and his herd. What's up with that?

In 1006, the Battle of Hastings resulted in a rather interesting haunting. In October every year in Sussex on the anniversary of the battle, a phantom knight on horseback appears. Other figures are said to make their appearance there as well.
One other interesting fact about this haunting - the ground is said to bleed after a storm.
Hey it’s October. Up for a little site-seeing?

Then we have this little peach - the black hound, otherwise known as the phantom hound. Seen mostly in the United Kingdom, but on occasion these little beauties have been spotted in several countries, including the United States. Some say they are harbingers of death, others a warning of a tragic event about to unfold. Sometimes, it is said, they bring good fortune to those that see them. They have been known to chase people from cemeteries, playfully follow hikers and stop people in their tracks on roads with glowing red eyes.
No one is sure of the origins, but the appearances go back to Medieval times, perhaps even earlier, originating with the Germanic tribes of Europe. Which makes perfect sense. They also have a legend of a black phantom horse, that if a farmer found it and hooked it to his plow, the horse would drag him over a cliff and down to hell.

Speaking of last rides...
Here's a couple of beauties that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy.
Professor James had this experience in Provo Utah. As he approached a train crossing, he heard a whistle blow twice. Normally you hear the clack of the tracks and the chugging of the engine, but strangely he did not. His vehicle stalled. He rolled down the windows and still couldn't hear the train, but he could see it the bright light as it roared towards him. As it got closer, the sounds came with it. Then the screeching of metal, noises so horrible he covered his ears to block them out.
Just as the train was about to hit his car, he closed his eyes, sure that he would die. However the shrieking metal and sounds of a derailing train, the light, the phantom image, all passed through him and his car, leaving it in one piece, and the Professor in desperate need of a change of shorts.

In Badby, Northamptonshire woods, a woman is often seen riding along on a horse. Legend says that she was either going to, or coming from a rendezvous with a lover. Somewhere along the way, her cheating caught up with her, as well as her husband and she was murdered for her adultery. She is said to be seen many times a year, reliving her last mortal ride.

Some unusual creatures of legend.

In the spirit of Halloween and things that go bump in the night, I have decided to list a few of my favorite creatures of horror. I'll try to list one a day. Some will be creatures you recognize, and others you may never have heard of...

To kick this party off, I'm starting with one of my personal favorites, the Ilimu.

In 1996 Hollywood came out with a movie called "The Ghost And The Darkness." What you may not know about this movie, is that the story is deeply rooted in truth,and the lions in question suspected Ilimu.

In 1898, two lions in Uganda killed, or were suspected of killing over 130 people who were involved in building a bridge across the river Tsavo.

The lions seemed to possess an inhuman intelligence. They used deceit and tactics that were more human than lion, to hunt and stalk their prey. This nature had never been witnessed in lions before. When tracked back to their cave, it was discovered they had been killing longer than thought, that the bridge workers were just the tip of the iceberg. Even more creepy, they did it for sport. For the pleasure of the kill, not for food to fill their bellies.

The people of Africa have a legend, a creature that appears in many nations, Ghana and Uganda included. This creature adopts human form, insinuates itself into a village as a helpless child, or perhaps a beggar. It will deceive those around, and gain an invitation into their victim's homes. Then, once inside the dwelling, the creature slaughters the entire family. Only a village medicine man can uncover the identity of these creatures in a community. Upon discovery, the creature will revert back to its original form and flee. Since it is a demon, it will keep the abilities and nature of the animal it possesses. Often hunting in this form alone.

In the case of the movie "The Ghost And The Darkness." They were lions, never adopting human form.

Just some thoughts.

I've been working on a story called "An Alien's Guide to Abducting a Bride." From the start, I wanted a Science Fictionish, steamy romance. But this story, much like Dr. Frankenstein's monster, has taken on a life of its own. It seems to have gone Urban Fantasy, well not completely and it's more comic than romance. I've got amore, but not as intense as I wanted.
Recently, when I had vacation, I hit a wall. Chapter 18, to be specific.
I couldn't go forward. I tried. I wrote two chapters ahead. That didn't work. A nice chapter, but it still didn't get me anywhere with 18. I tweaked prior chapters, played video games, read books, chatted with friends, even worked on a story I'd buried under the bed. I tortured and twisted, and put the juice to it, but it just wouldn't get off the lab table. No matter what I tried, I couldn't write the next chapter, or even come up with the first sentence.
Then the other day, now that vacation is over, I scrapped a good chunk of the chapter before it and took it in a different direction. "It's Alive!"
What amazes me is that I'm supposed to be the one in control of this thing...
It has other ideas on the matter.
So, I have to ask. How many Dr. Frankensteins have we got out there?

For MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND Fans

Lisa Shearin now has the first two sample chapters up for the next book in her Raine Benares series, ARMED AND MAGICAL. This is the sequel to MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND.

These chapters are a lot of fun to read. Raine manages to get right in the middle of the action in no time at all.

Here's the link to here site: http://www.lisashearin.com/chapters.cfm

Enjoy!

Getting the Words Right

Every writer knows that the most time consuming, difficult process in writing is the rewrite. "Getting the Words Right" by Theodore A. Rees Cheney is by far the best book I have found on the subject. He breaks it down, making it easy and effective to murder those little babies. This is a book I find indispensable. Great for those small tweaks or whole chapter cuts.
If you don't own a copy, I suggest you get one. I keep mine between the "Strunk and White" and "The First Five Pages."

A Book That Has Stuck With Me

While doing searches on Amazon the other day, this one popped up What a blast from the past. :)

I was a member of the Science Fiction Book Club when I was young and this was one of the selections. The story is riveting, and it's stuck with me for decades. In reading the reviews, many other readers have the same comment. It's haunting.

THE ICE PEOPLE by Rene Barjavel (and Charles Lam Markmann) is a Sci-Fi/Alternative History novel about an expedition to Antarctica that discovers a sphere buried in the ice. Buried in the ice...below the soil of the continent. They have to take a look at this! What they discover are two perfectly preserved humans--a male and a female--from a 900,000 year old civilization. The reader is taken back through time for a glimpse of this beautiful and exotic world through the stories of the female survivor.

This was a #1 Best-seller in France. I do have one warning. It has an ending that will shake you up. One you may never forget.

Linnea Sinclair

"Gabriel's Ghost"
Okay this is one Laurie recommended. I had to wait for an order to come in at borders to get it, but now I'm holding it in my hands. Success! Looks like she's popular. They were sold out of all her books, but one, "Games of Command." I've read that one.
So it's going into the stack with Susan's. Should get to it next week, if all goes as planned. Got some catching up to do for my Black Belt recommend that will be on the 20th. The pneumonia put me a bit behind there, so I have to play catch-up with the classes. Okay, enough rambling. This book looks interesting, and might prove to have quite a unique twist from what I'm reading on the back.