My Reading List (and some Book Reviews)

I enjoyed and recommend the books reviewed below. This is not a paid review and no one affiliated with any of these books, or Amazon has ever heard of me, as far as I know. I link to Amazon.com, but I am not endorsing Amazon in any way.

Boneman’s Daughters by Ted Dekker. A thriller about a serial killer who abducts young women and kills them by breaking their bones but not their skin. The protagonist, Ryan, must rescue his daughter from the serial killer before it’s too late. Creepy, compelling, and not too graphic. (I don’t do graphic).

Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series. My mother introduced me to these cozy mysteries* and I was hooked. Especially appealing, the hero, Annie (nearly Anna) who is short and feisty like you know who.

I’ve read the following titles (crossed off) in the past four months. (List copied from Carolyn Hart’s website.) I highly recommend these books. Ms. Hart is an excellent writer, her stories keep the reader entertained and guessing right up to the end. Her characters are three-dimensional and believable.

• Death on Demand, 1987
• Design for Murder, 1988
• Something Wicked, 1988
• Honeymoon With Murder, 1989
• A Little Class on Murder, 1989
• Deadly Valentine, 1990
• The Christie Caper, 1991
• Southern Ghost, 1992
• Mint Julep Murder, 1995
• Yankee Doodle Dead, 1998
• White Elephant Dead, 1999
• Sugarplum Dead, 2000
• April Fool Dead, 2002
• Engaged to Die, 2003
• Murder Walks the Plank, 2004
• Death of the Party, 2005
• Dead Days of Summer, 2006
• Death Walked In, March 25, 2008
• Dare to Die, 2009

* Cozy mystery:a subgenre of crime fiction whereby sex and violence are downplayed or treated humourously. (Wikipedia)

I interrupted my reading of the Death on Demand series to read some books that were recommended by literary blogs I read.

The Widow’s Season by Laura Brodie. A captivating story about a new widow who sees her (dead) husband three weeks after he died and must decide whether he is a ghost or not. It’s a mystery, and the author does an excellent job of keeping the suspense while the widow puzzles out whether her husband is alive or not.

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. A factual account of the early Mormon church intertwined with a murder mystery in a FLDS compound.

The history was interesting and didn’t paint the early Mormon settlers in a poor light. The history portion of the book drew from Anne Eliza Young’s (one of Brigham Young’s later wives) book titled Wife No. 19, biographies about early Mormon church members, including Brigham Young, and letters to or from the same people.

The present-day mystery introduces readers to the lurid practices of the FLDS church, including child brides and lost boys. Lost boys are boys who are excommunicated from the FLDS church. The author keeps the reader from guessing what really happened right through the end.

The author also has resources on his website that support his story and give the readers more information about the FLDS community.

What books have you read lately? What books would you recommend? (No paid advertisements, please.)

NaNoWriMo Writing Schedule

NaNoWriMo

A young woman is found near death in a shopping mall after hours. Drug overdose is suspected, but looks can be deceiving. Can the investigator solve the mystery surrounding the woman before something catastrophic happens?

I am participating in NaNoWriMo again this year. My username is AKCotton, if you want to add me as a buddy on NaNoWriMo.  My goal is to write 2500 words a day for 20 days in November.

I am not able to begin writing until November 3, at the earliest, and there are holidays, like Thanksgiving, and a planned trip to visit my Grandfather, which will interfere with my writing schedule.

Again, I will share the rough drafts as I write. It is subscription based. An email will go out with copy protected PDFs of the current chapter. You will not be able to print out the writing or copy it in any way. I will also require agreement to Terms and Conditions before adding readers to the subscription list. Click the subscribe link in the sidebar if you want to follow along.

Feedback and encouragement is appreciated.

The Muse is Back

Maybe all this fairy costuming for Midsummer’s Night Dream is helping, but the writing muse is back. I have two new ideas for a brand new story.

No, I didn’t finish the last story I started for NaNoWriMo. I have about three-six months of inspiration on a story, and if I don’t hammer it out then, the story loses its magic for a while.

Of course, due to the overwhelming pressure from all the costumes and sewing I have to finish before Halloween, blog entries will continue to be few and far between.

Narnia Movies

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (“Dawn Treader”) is filming according to Walden Media on July 27, 2009. There is a new director, Michael Apted, and the former  director, Andrew Adamson will be one of the three producers. It is set to release in December 2010.

Disney does not appear to be supporting this film. I cannot find an official statement from Walden Media or Disney about this, or I would reference it.

Prince Caspian (“Caspian”) did not fare as well as The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  According to Box Office Mojo, the opening weekend earnings for Caspian were $55,034,805 compared to $65,556,312 for The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Personally, I was disappointed by Caspian because it was not as magical as the first movie and it veered from the book by adding the first failed battle scene, friction between Caspian and Peter, and a love interest between Caspian and Susan.  I did not purchase Caspian when it came out on DVD. 

Are you looking forward to movie The Voyage of the Dawn Treader? Have you read the book? What is your favorite part?

Purple Renaissance Bride's Maid

Front View

Back View

Front Detail

Price: SOLD

Pattern: Simplicity 5582

Materials:

The bodice: royal purple broadcloth with white double fold bias tape binding.  Laced through silver toned  eyelets with a braided purple, white and silver gross grain ribbon tie. Boned along the eyelets for support.

The over skirt: royal purple broadcloth, elastic waistband.

The skirt: lightweight bleached muslin. 

 The chemise: lightweight bleached muslin, trimmed in delicate daisy pattern lace along the neck and 3/4 length sleeves.

Sunflower Apron

  

Button Detail

 

Front View

Back View

 Retro style sunflower half apron.

Price: SOLD

Pattern: Simplicity 3544

Materials: calico print, yellow rick rack, and buttons

Simplicity 3544

Renaissance Gown

Renaissance Gown, Front View

 

Renaissance Gown, Back View

 

Renaissance Gown, Side View

 

Renaissance Gown, Detail

Wine and Black Renaissance Gown.

Price: SOLD

Pattern: Simplicity 4488

Materials: wine cotton sateen, matching taffeta with black flocked pattern, black satin ribbon; shown over purchased crinoline.

Setting up a Small Business

Below is some information about the agencies I dealt with to set up my small business.

Nevada Secretary of State: to set up a Limited Liability Company. Fees are $75 to file the Articles of Incorporation and $125 for the annual list of managers and members; or $200 initially and $125 a year to maintain the LLC.

State of Nevada: to apply for a State Business License and Sales Tax Permit. Fees are $200 annually for the business license, $15 annually for the sales tax permit. A sales tax deposit based on sales is required initially, a minimum of $100. This is at least $315 initially, and $215 annually to maintain the license.

City of Henderson: to apply for a Henderson Business License. The application fee is $25. The biannual license fee based on sales, a minimum of $25. Additionally, small businesses based out of the home must apply for a home occupation permit; the application fee is $15. This is at least $65 initially, and at least $50 annually to maintain the license.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. My contact information is on the sidebar, or you may add a comment to this post and I will respond to the comment.

Sweet Surprise

From my husband who lets me know he appreciates me.

Roses and a Card

The story:

I came home, did the dishes, and after dinner, went into my sewing room. Sometime toward the end of the evening, PC asked me whether I’d been in “my bathroom” that evening. Naturally, that was code for “I left something in your bathroom for you, did you find it yet?”

This is what I found, the roses and a nice card letting me know that he appreciates me.

I was hoping that the picture on the front of the card meant he was getting me a dog, but no, not this time. Yes, I want a dog, but I know that I do not have time for a dog right now, unless I could take it to work with me.