Category: Reading

Release Day!

Now available from Amazon.

Omega Moon Rising

Omega Moon Rising

Abigail Grant has a secret . . . and a plan to keep her younger sister from suffering the same fate. Her strategy would have worked if she hadn’t been seduced by sweet-talking musician Luke Omega. Suddenly she’s plucked from the life she wanted to escape, but her new circumstances only expose her to a different danger—or is it her salvation?

Luke has a secret, too. He believes he can change his destiny through willpower—and a little blue pill. When he inadvertently gets mixed up in the Grant sisters’ troubles and his pack alpha orders him to marry Abigail, his family insists he tell her he’s a werewolf. But Luke claims Abigail is not his life mate. She doesn’t need to know what happens to him on the full moon.

Until he accidentally stumbles across her secret. Then all bets are off.

Reading By The Season: October

OCTOBER

AMMIE, COME HOME by Barbara Michaels.

I’m on my second or third paperback copy of this book. They keep falling apart on me!

The story actually takes place in November. There is not a hint of Halloween.

The author skillfully weaves the autumn weather into the story, adding to the atmosphere. This is a must-read for fans of haunted houses. Except maybe it wasn’t the house that was haunted . . .

After the Book

Now that the book is in the hands of my publisher (who says she’ll read my submission next week), I am on a writing hiatus.

I did my grocery shopping, picking up loads of fresh produce. Soup season is around the corner, so I started buying pantry staples.

I had my hair cut off. I wear it long in the summer so I can put it in a ponytail or pile it on top of my head.

Next weekend, the county is holding its semi-annual shred-o-rama, so I went through two printer paper boxes of stuff. Most of it goes to the shredder–income tax returns from 1982 forward. Bank statements from the 1990s.  I also found photos of my daughter’s life in Kindergarten, some TV-career related papers, and a folder of humor. I hope to go through other stashes of stuff to see what I can get rid of.

And I’m reading. Oh, how I have missed reading without guilt. Last spring, someone gave me a pile of Susan Krinard werewolf books. I’m delving into those.

September is my month off from writing. I’m off to a great start.

Are FitBits the Next Step Toward Dystopia?

I first read (and re-read multiple times) This Perfect Day by Ira Levin in the mid 1970s.
A few weeks ago, while listening to my co-workers go on and on about their Fit Bits, something pinged in my brain. I came home and dug out my battered paperback copy of the book. Read the opening scene. And was chilled.

  • “Losing is the same as winning.”
  • “What’s important is having fun and getting exercise, right?”
  • “But you can’t take off your bracelet.”

Something in my brain exploded.

The deeper into the story I read, the more the book felt like prophesy instead of fiction.

  • Every moment of our lives planned for us, with one free hour a day.
  • Children not expected to use their imaginations and entertain themselves, but having too many activities and being bored when they’re not scheduled for something.
  • Being medicated into happiness
  • Wearing a bracelet to ID ourselves and so Uni-Comp can track the wearer’s movements 24/7

Are Fit-Bits a step in that direction?

Summer Reading List

People always seem to have a summer reading list. Then I realized I do, too, although it’s not as formalized as some I’ve seen. So here’s what I plan to read this summer, in no particular order:

The Last Time I Saw Her by Karen Robards

If you haven’t read Robards’ Dr. Charlotte Stone series, and you’re a fan of romantic suspense with a touch of paranormal, you don’t know what you’re missing. The fourth installment of the series is due out  August 25.  Okay, maybe there’s more of a touch of paranormal here. The hero? Well, he’s a ghost.

After the Storm: A Kate Burkholder Novel by Linda Castillo

July 14th is the release date on the latest in Castillo’s Amish mystery series. Lifetime made a movie of the first book in the series. If you like a good mystery and an exploration of a different culture, I highly recommend this series.

Devoted in Death by JD Robb (okay, this isn’t out until September, but it’s still on my list)

The continuing saga of Eve Dallas and Rourke. Futuristic police procedural. I’ve been reading the “In Death” series for years.

A Family Come True by Kris Fletcher

I love Kris Fletcher’s stories. They are crafted with such care. The characters are people you know. Always a great read.

A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle

Annual summer re-reads for me. Wine, food, hot summer days & nights. What more can I say?

Superstition by Karen Robards

Another annual summer re-read. Summer on Pawley’s Island. An old murder, ghosts, and a TV reporter with more ambition than common sense. Great twist at the end. One of Robards’ best.

Omega Moon Rising by MJ Compton (hey! that’s me!)

I plan to have the final draft of the book in the Toke Lobo & the Pack werewolf series done and revised this summer. This is Luke’s story. Have to read it to revise it.

What are your reading plans for the summer?