.@CarolABrowne shares her favorite book - Precious Bane by Mary Webb #amreading

My Favourite Book
by Carol Browne

I keep few books in my house. I prefer to pass them on to my friends. However, there is one special book I will never part with and that is my 1945 hardback edition of Precious Bane by Mary Webb.

The book features an introduction by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, written at 10 Downing Street in 1928, in which he says of the author, “Her sensibility is so acute and her power over words so sure and swift that one who reads some passage in Whitehall has almost the physical sense of being in Shropshire cornfields.”

First published in 1924, Precious Bane tells the story of flawed heroine, Prudence Sarn, whose ‘hare-shotten lip’ means that as far as her neighbours are concerned she is cursed with ‘the devil’s mark’. It is only weaver Kester Woodseaves who can see beyond this disfigurement to the true beauty of Prue’s soul.

Prue’s goodness and gentle nature are in sharp contrast to her brother Gideon’s ruthless striving for worldly success, and descriptions of the landscape that sustains them are woven into the dramas of their lives to create a rich tapestry. Thanks to the author’s skill with words, it is safe to say that Nature is not merely a background to the story but also seems to be a character in it too. The narrative is, says Prue, “the story of us all at Sarn, of Mother and Gideon and me, and Jancis (that was so beautiful) and Wizard Beguildy, and the two or three other folk that lived in those parts…”

How to describe the style of the book? It depicts a rural England around the time of Waterloo (1815), a place of meres, country lore, dragonflies, looms and spinning-wheels. There is a fair scattering of dialect words (fascinating rather than baffling!) and curious customs such as ‘sin-eating’ and ‘telling the bees’. It is reminiscent of Larkrise to Candleford, had it been penned by a committee of authors that included Thomas Hardy, Dickens and Emily Bronte. It is a book to relax with and savour. The pace was slower in 1924 and they liked their paragraphs LONG! But the story is well paced, the heroine immensely likeable, and there’s plenty of dramatic conflict and jeopardy to keep you hooked throughout.

I have read this book many times and, having just opened it and looked at the first line of Chapter One – “It was at a love-spinning that I saw Kester first”, – I know I am going to read it again very soon! (If you want to try this book, please don’t spoil it for yourself and look at the last page. The ending is perfect!)

Mary Webb née Meredith was born in the village of Leighton on 25th March, 1881. She and her husband worked as market gardeners for a time and had their own stall on Shrewsbury market. She wrote five novels and a volume of essays on nature. Mary died on 8th October, 1927 and was buried in Shrewsbury.

Authors die but they are never forgotten. They live on in the work they leave behind. As Mary Webb said herself in her Foreward to Precious Bane:

“We are to-morrow’s past. Even now we slip away like those pictures painted on the moving dials of antique clocks – a ship, a cottage, sun and moon, a nosegay. The dial turns, the ship rides up and sinks again, the yellow painted sun has set, and we, that were the new thing, gather magic as we go. The whirr of the spinning-wheels has ceased in our parlours, and we hear no more the treadle of the loom, the swift, silken noise of the flung shuttle, the intermittent thud of the batten. But imagination hears them, and theirs is the melody of romance.”

~Carol

Carole Browne writes speculative fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. She is also a ghost blog writer, proofreader, copy editor, and copywriter. Along with a passion for gardening, Carol is an avid animal lover. Stay connected with Carol on Facebook.

Why I Love Reading and Writing Romance #writerslife

1. The Love Story: Obviously, right? I love to read about two people who care about each other so much that they’ll fight for each other. I love that they believe in each other more than anyone ever has before or will again. There is something so satisfying, so heartwarming to watch two characters fall in love, usually against their will, and rise above all the conflict to live out that love they deserve.

2. The Emotions: No other genre does the roller coaster of emotions like romance. One minute I’m laughing at a particularly witty line of dialogue, and the next I’m sobbing as the hero or heroine takes a figurative (and occasionally literal) punch to the gut. Does your life feel stale and blah? For the hours that you’re reading a romance, you’re living the gentleness of the hero caressing your cheek, the frustration of that one person who always has to make life difficult, the thrill of finally giving said person their comeuppance, the sweetness of a first kiss, the stark terror of falling for the person who could cause you to lose everything, and absolute joy of spending forever with the love of your life.

3. The Happily Ever After: Of course, we all know how a romance novel ends. The hero and heroine get together and live happily ever after. Some people scoff at this guarantee, but it is my number one reason why I will always read and write romance novels. Every day you can pick up the newspaper and read about a life that ends in tragedy. In our own lives and in the lives of our friends and neighbors, there are problems that we can’t wave a wand and make everything magically turn out okay. Who needs to read about more pain, suffering and general cynicism? Definitely not me. Instead, sit down for a couple hours and escape to a romance. Vicariously conquer every roadblock thrown at you. Best of all, no one can take away your happily ever after when you reach the end.

Tuesday Toolbox - READ! @kings_falcon delivers her Summer Book Report

SUMMER BOOK REPORT

The summer of “can’t put down” books

by Nancy DiMauro

Back to school is around the corner and I’m helping my two boys, who waited until the last minute (again) to complete their book reports. I decided to lead by example. I’ve already confessed to being a not-so-closeted romance reader and writer. You also know that my favorite time for reading romance novels is at the beach, and we’ve just returned from our family vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. So, I thought I’d share 10 books from my summer reading list. It’s also a bit more eclectic than normal since I’m researching my next novel, Schrodinger Effect, which features Vonna from Paths Less Traveled. In no particular order:

1. Neil Gaiman – The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Fantasy.

Neil Gaiman started out writing a short story, but ended up with this lovely little novella. A suicide releases a supernatural creature into our world. In trying to send the creature back, Lettie Hempstock unwittingly allows it to lodge inside a 7 year old boy. Years later, that boy returns home for a funeral and discovers he’s forgotten about that summer day and the magic at the end of the lane.

This is a great little story. I fell into the narrator’s voice, spellbound. I finished it in one sitting, pausing only grudgingly to get a plate of food before the teenagers at the beach ate it all. The only criticism I have of it is the price-point. At $15.00 it’s expensive for a novella, and at $9.99 it’s a really expensive e-book. Now, I bought my advanced copy through Barnes and Noble because it was a signed copy. Still, I think the price is well worth it.

2. Kevin J. Anderson – Veiled Alliances – Fantasy.

In my opinion, Kevin is one of the greatest world-builders writing today. Veiled Alliances is a prequel to his Saga of the Seven Suns series. One hundred and fifty years after the Earth sent out its generation ships, Earth’s government has given way to a puppet king controlled by the Hanseatic League. The generation ships are found and given safe harbors by an alien race. With the gift of FTL (Faster Than Light) engines, Earth is poise on the brink of becoming a major player in the universe.

I “read” this one on audio book. The 4 plus hour recording got me most of the way to the beach. Unlike some prequels this one wasn’t forced or awkward. A large part of that is likely due to Kevin’s detailed outlining. Before Kevin had written the first word for the series, he would have already known the events set forth in this prequel. Whether you’ve read the other books in the series, or Veiled Alliances is your first journey to the Seven Suns, it’s definitely worth reading.

3. Jeaniene Frost - Halfway to the Grave. – Urban Fantasy with Romance.

Cat, the kick-butt heroine, is half-vampire. She hunts the undead in an effort to find and slay her father for destroying her mother’s life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire and vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership. Cat agrees to help Bones cull the undead population in return for his help finding and exterminating her father. Life and unlife is never that simple though, and Cat finds Bones more tempting than any man with a heartbeat.

I also finished this one in a day. The tone and take no prisoners heroine reminded me a lot of Gini Koch’s Alien Series. One of my friend loaned me this book at the beach when I’d run out of other stories. It was the first time I’d read anything by Ms. Frost. I’m definitely looking up the rest of the series.

4. Sloane Taylor – French Tart (Naughty Ladies of Nice) – Erotic Romance.

Donatienne Dubois pins her hope for a “normal” life on an exclusive cooking school in Nice, France. But one by one her expectations are shattered. Donni’s lifesaver is a bad boy too hot not to handle. For his part, Mark Anderson, is incognito, hating every moment. To pose as a student while keeping tabs on a rich wild child is his version of hell, until he partners with the dish of Crème Brulée good enough to eat.

I love Sloane’s writing and her ability to transport a reader to the exotic locations she sets her stories and her characters. French Tart, a novella, lived up to all my expectations for Sloane’s work. I especially loved the foul-mouthed parrot that develops a crush on Donni.

5. John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker – The Cases that Haunt Us – Nonfiction.

Certain homicide cases maintain an undeniable, almost mystical hold on the public imagination. This analysis of seven of the most notorious murder cases in the history of crime -- from the Whitechapel murders to JonBenet Ramsey -- often contradicts conventional wisdom and legal decisions. Using modern profiling techniques, the book reexamines cases we all know, and sometimes reaches fascinating and haunting results.

This is one of the many resource books I’m using for Schrodinger Effect. The writers take you through the criminal investigative process for each of the cases, noting how preconceptions or just investigative mismanagement affected the ultimate outcomes. A great resource and well-handled and sensitive narrative given the topics.

6. Brenda Novak - Whiskey Creek series – Romance

Brenda Novak’s romances are great examples of the genre. One of the things I like about this series is that the first book, When Lightning Strikes, introduces us to a group of high school friends approximately 10 years after graduation, and each book in the series (so far) has focused on one character’s happily ever after. The world Brenda Novak builds has a high degree of continuity and characters from the other books continue to interact as they really would have in any small community.

7. Lee Child – Jack Reacher series, Books 1-5 – Thrillers.

Jack Reacher is a retired Military Police officer with a monster case of wanderlust. His travels seem to leave him in the right places at the right time to become enmeshed in kidnapping, murder and mayhem. Given his military background and specialized MP training, Reacher’s highly competent in many areas, and more than holds his own against FBI and Secret Service experts. I’ve listened to these books on audiotape. Dick Hill is a fabulous narrator.

8. David Farland – Drawing on the Power of Resonance in Writing – Nonfiction.

A must read for every writer. Dave has long spoken about by drawing power from stories that came before; resonating with their readers' experiences, and by resonating within their own works. Frankly, Dave could sell this book for LOTS more and it would still be worth every penny. He teaches you exactly what resonance is and how to use it to make your stories more powerful with examples of how it is used in literature and other art forms, and how one writer, J. R. R. Tolkien, mastered it in his work.

9. John Scalzi, Editor - METAtropolis – anthology – Post-apocalyptic fantasy

Audible was running one of its book specials, and out of the audiobooks I could get for $4.95 was this anthology. I have to admit I picked this one because it had one of the longer run times (I drive about 3 hours a day), and the high quality writers who contributed to the work.

METAtropolis is a shared-world anthology, where all the stories take place in the same created urban fantasy world, but it’s more than that. A typical anthology has a common theme – ex. Humorous horror stories – and the writers have little direction beyond that. A braided anthology has a through line and character. This is another step up in continuity. The five writers collaborated on the world. They all had the same blue print when they set their characters free and let them interact with this world.

10. Harlan Cobin – Six Years – Thriller/ Suspense

Grammar Girl, Mignon Fogarty, recommended Six Years on her podcast. I met Mignon several years ago at Superstars Writing Seminar, and have often liked the books she’s recommended. She didn’t let me down. Again, this was an audiobook for me.

Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd. Then Jake comes across Todd’s obituary. At the funeral, Jake gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife…but she’s not Natalie. As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. His search for the woman who broke his heart, who lied to him, soon puts his life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on a carefully constructed fiction.

This is another “can’t put down story.” It’s not a romance since the love story plays second fiddle to the mystery Jake’s trying to unravel. Cobin handles both the romance and the mystery with a deft touch. The characters are believable and I was rooting for Jake to solve the mystery, find the girl and live happily ever after. But you’ll have to read it to find out if he did.

Here's another book that will stand the test of time.

To restore Daphne to her nymph form, Apollo must bargain with treacherous Hades, but Death may demand too high a price.

Shot by a golden arrow, Apollo has only truly loved Daphne. He visits her each eclipse, and longs for reunion. He seeks the Fates’s advice and learns he may finally restore Daphne to her true water nymph form by enlisting other gods’ assistance.

If Apollo fails Daphne will be lost to him forever. To regain Daphne’s soul, Apollo must deal with the devil, King of the Underworld. Love-torn and treacherous, Hades would slay the pantheon to remain with his wife for the full year. Apollo’s quest might just give Hades the leverage he needs to do so.

Will Pheobus Apollo surrender the sun to try to reclaim love? Can he break Daphne’s curse or will his attempts destroy her forever? Will she still love him after millennia as a soulless tree? With the end of the quest see Apollo rising, or in sunset?

To read an excerpt from Apollo Rising please click HERE.

To read excerpts from Nancy DiMauro's other Musa Publishing books, please click HERE.

Learn more about Nancy DiMauro and her impressive work on her website Falcons Fables and blog. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

Friday Friends - Eleni Konstantine

Reading Feeds the Soul
by Eleni Konstantine

For the last year, I had been part of conference committee and I also began studying. So much of my spare time was tied up with those activities that I noticed that my reading had gone downhill. My current reads are at 25 for 2012 whereas in 2011 I had read 74 books. That’s quite a difference. Please check out my reading list at Eleni’s Library.

The other thing I noticed was I felt down that I couldn’t get more reading done. Gone were the days when I used to read all night. With chronic fatigue syndrome, if I’m tired, I can’t read past a few pages.

That is very sad. Don’t you think?

I’m of the belief that reading feeds the soul, especially the writer’s soul. Nothing is like escaping into a book, reading about events and characters as if it were happening right in front of you. And when that isn’t happening - it’s like losing a piece of yourself.

I was finding that my own writing and creativity suffered because of this. I couldn’t really get settled into my work. Editing was fine (thank goodness because I had releases to work on), but writing something new felt stifled. No new idea grabbed hold or felt right.

However for the first time in months, I wrote something new the other day. It’s different, and still forming, but I like the basic idea.

Why the change?

Conference is over for 2012, I dropped a couple of subjects at school and I’ve started reading more again. In the last month, I have read six stories. Not all of them were novel length, but it’s still more reading than I’ve done for ages. I feel so much better for it.

My muse is rubbing her hands together and saying, “Yes, we can work on this and this, and that. Oh, and this one as well.”

It’s a good feeling to have choices for writing after a year where it really didn’t seem to.

How about you - does reading feed your soul?

~Eleni

Zeta will protect the one she loves, even if it means living in Hell.

Mastering a unique power was much safer for Zeta Kosmos with a mentor to help her along. Now that he’s disappeared, Zeta must continue alone with her calling—closing Gateways to Hell.

Daniel Richards is in the family business—Warding supernatural evil from causing havoc on humans. As such, he’s only interested in the safety of one-night stands. Until Zeta. This bad boy now wants a long, lasting relationship.

But Zeta can’t let go of her past, nor can she ignore the secret demonic threats against Daniel’s life. She’d rather fight demonic spawn and be dragged into Hell than allow anything happen to him. Can Daniel convince her to stay? Will she have to pay the ultimate price?

To read an excerpt from Gateway to Hell, please click HERE.

Eleni Konstantine is Fantasy and Paranormal fiction writer, with a number of shorts published. Her stories range from flash fiction to novels. She blames her mother for her writing bug because as a child she was given many books, including illustrated fairytales. That and a love of Greek mythology, and Eleni was destined to become a writer.

Eleni lives in Adelaide, Australia, with her family and feisty American Staffy.

Learn more about Eleni Konstantine on her website and blog.