May3

“THE WOLF’S TORMENT”- A Review

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I had the privilege of reading an ARC of The Wolf’s Torment for my friend, the author, Stephanie Burkhart.  This book has a wonderful love story between Mihai and his bride to be.  This book also has a lot of tragic circumstances in it. I laughed and cried as I read this story. Mihai is a prince as well as a witch. He returns home from abroad to wed. With him is his friend, Viktor. Viktor is a very appealing character and is immediately attracted to Mihai’s sister. 

The story progresses along and tragedy strikes Viktor. Over and over. He fights against the awful things that happen to him but he’s ultimately changed by his circumstances. My heart hurt for this character that I was so attracted to. The author does an excellent job of making the reader really care about this man. And then she masterfully makes the reader feel the angst of the character and I was surprised at how very much I wanted things to be different for Viktor.

Once I finished the story, I couldn’t get it out of my head. The title of the book is quite appropriate. Torment is the word to describe what the poor man goes through. Mihai’s bride has her share of torment as well.  I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series but I’m very afraid of what the future has in store for Mihai, his wife and family.

Stephanie Burkhart knows what she’s doing in writing dark scenes. I admire her skill in making the reader feel so strongly about her characters. I also wonder how she could stand to write some of the scenes that were so painful.

I recommend this book highly.  Here’s some pictures: The cover and Viktor:  I’ve also included where to buy this awesome story!

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-163/Stephanie-Burkhart-Moldavian-Moon/Detail.bok

Apr29

Scents that Evoke Memories

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The smell of Gloria Vanderbilt perfume from 1982. It was a relatively new perfume back when I was graduating from law school and taking the bar examination. I wore this fragrance for a couple of years. I spent 10 days in a hotel in Orlando, Florida taking a bar review class before the 2 day exam. This perfume was so strong, it permeated that room. I stopped wearing it shortly thereafter because it reminded me of the bar exam (which I passed!)- but even after all these years, if someone wearing it walks past me and it wafts over me, I’m immediately back in the 1980s in that hotel room, stressing over that dang test!

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Apr27

A Favorite Food from a Restaurant in My Hometown

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cooking two pizzas in our garden oven

The absolute best food in Pensacola is the abondonnza pizza at The Tuscan Oven. It’s a local restaurant and they have a fire powered oven from Tuscany that they cook their food in. It makes a wonderful crust. The abondonnza has like 5 meats on it and it is just sublime. The owners are wonderful people and treat you like family. I go about once a month- I used to go more often when my office was very close. Now, it’s further away so I don’t get over there as much as I like.

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Apr25

“The Killing Edge” A Book Review

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This book was written by Heather Graham. It’s a light paranormal with some ghostly elements.  The heroine survives a blood bath/massacre when she’s a teen. It’s now a decade later and things are heating up again. People are dying and she may be a target again herself. 

This is a great read and I highly recommend it. Ms. Graham is an excellent writer and she really brings her “A” game to this story. I figured it out pretty early on but that’s what I do. I love to try to solve the mystery along with the characters. This story occurs in Miami, the Keys and a snippet in New Orleans.  AND most importantly, the hero is another to die for kinda guy. Luckily for the heroine, that’s might not be necessary!

Apr19

What I Can’t Leave Home Without

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German drivers license – Bain (LOC)

My driver’s license is vital to take with me. My luck, if I didn’t have it, I’d get stopped for some infraction or I’d be in an accident with no way to identify my body. LOL!  Not that I’m paranoid or anything!

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Apr11

The First Time I Started Using a Computer

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my first computer

I first got a computer for my work as a lawyer in the 1980s when MS DOS was the program everyone used. I used it basically for word processing. We also used it for accounting. Little did I imagine that one day a majority of all the court filings in my area would be computerized and the whole world was going to change. I never took typing in school as I always planned to be a lawyer and have a secretary. Poor, naive me. I had no clue of the learning still to be done!

I first got a home computer in late 1996 when prodigy was the main portal to the internet. I dipped my toe in and started emailing and using message boards. I still find myself looking at the keyboard to find letters all the time. I’m able to use more than 2 fingers now but it took a long time to get proficient with it.

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Apr8

The Oldest Thing I Own

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The Kalaloch Cedar

My grandfather was a hobbyist wood worker and I have several pieces of furniture he made. Some of them, he made specifically for me such as my roll top desk when I was about 10, my curio cabinet from my early 20s and the hooded cradle he made when I was pregnant with my first son. The oldest piece I have is a cedar chest he made before I was ever born. I’m not even sure my father was born when this was made. I treasure all the items he made for me as well as thay cedar chest. I also have a couple of small items made by my great grandfather, his father. I’m not sure of the age of those things.

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Apr5

Recent Adventures in Splurging

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DSCN0862-The Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA

I was aboard the Queen Mary docked in Long Beach, California. I’m writing a novel set onboard in 1937 and I purchased several books, post card packets and other items to use in my research. I also treated myself to a beautiful white scarf in the couture shop on board and a lovely brooch in the Scottish store. A productive and fun spree.

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Apr1

My High School Reunion

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peter and alison smithson, school of architecture and building engineering, bath university, 1982-1988

I have been. Once.  I had nothing in common anymore with my class members and I was on the committee to plan the 20th and ended up being the one to sign all the contracts. I got into a tiff with one of the other committee members that didn’t want to pay the DJ as she didn’t get the songs she wanted played. She was the one on the reunion bank account and wanted me to pay the bill myself. I had to force the issue (Never did figure out if she wanted to keep the excess money, if any). So, when it was time to plan the next one, I was asked to help again, I said, not only no, but hell, no. So, short answer, NOPE!!

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Mar28

How to Spend $1000 in an Hour

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Cat and Cannon Bookstore, Lake City, Seattle

If I had a thousand dollars to spend in an hour, I’d go to the nearest book store and stock up on novels, biographies and research books. I love all books and the smell of paper and glue make me happy. I could spend $1000.00 in a book store before Samantha the witch from Bewitched could wriggle her nose.

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