Unexpected guest

I just went out to retrieve my mail when I noticed a visitor resting on my porch.  Haven't seen one of these for ages!

Christmas reading

Merry Christmas to you all!  I hope your day was as fabulous as mine.

This year was the first time I have never received a book for Christmas.  Strange, but true.  Luckily, a pre-ordered title showed up - just in time for some Yuletide cheer. 

"What book was it?" I hear you ask... well, it was the latest story in the seemingly neverending Breeds saga by Lora Leigh.  Lawe's Justice picks up soon after Styx's Storm and we find Rachel's sister, Diane, hunting for the location and names of Breeds or former Council scientists who can help her niece, Amber.  A Huntress, she is wary of her mate, Lawe Justice, as he wants to corral this high-spirited warrior, and keep his mate safe behind Sanctuary's formidable walls.

Adding to the tension between the two is a feral breed, Gideon, who has endured torture that was beyond compare.  He is using Diane to locate 3 former captive Breeds whom he considers betrayed him by keeping him alive (they did it out of love I think?), and is killing every person he considers guilty.

There are appearances by the other alpha's, and this is a continuation of the Bradenmore storyline. 

Braden and Megan are present for a brief moment, this is their first appearance in a looong time, so I savoured it.

Although this is Dianne and Lawe's story, the introduction of Gideon made me want to read his story instead.  He is such a forceful, tortured character that he simply overrides the others.  He's just like Jonas - only, you know, psychotic.

This book was only about 2 1/2 stars, but Gideon pushed it up to 3.

You can read this as a stand alone book, but it is much more potent when you have read all the others.

Great... that's just what I needed

... not.

Frustration is at an all time high as just when I want to print out the final copy of my assignment, my printer dies about 3 pages in. It stopped and told me that I had the incorrect print head.  What the f*#$!

Print Head

 Seriously, just what are the odds of that anyway?

My Canon Pixma MP970 has been an excellent printer, and at only 4 years old I thought that the part I need might still be available.  So I called local office suppliers, and places like Dick Smiths - an electronics chain store for those not in Oz - only to be told that the part would cost around $200!  That's nearly as much as I paid for the printer brand new.  Other places told me that the "print head is the life of the printer.  Lose that and it's cheaper to replace the printer than buy a part"... OMG.

Thankfully, mum came to the rescue.  I called her about sourcing a possible replacement print head, cause she's not out in the sticks, and turns out that it is really cheaper to replace the whole thing.

So after downloading brochures online, I think Santa/Mum will be bringing me a new printer for Christmas.  A new Canon Pixma MG4160. 

Please Santa, let it last.

Salt Dough Ornaments, Part 2

 

Just thought I'd post a pic of my salt dough decorations.  I blogged about making them over a month ago, and they are finally on the tree.

The snowflakes came out the best I think, but they all stayed a nice off white.  Very rustic, and perfect for the basic colour scheme I was going for.  Red and white, with the only read colour coming from the multicoloured lights.  Now all I've got to do is find a fabulous tree topper.

Beautiful Xmas Tree Shadow

No, I'm not kidding.

I just turned on my Christmas tree lights for the very first time and discovered the most amazing byproduct... a trippy, hippy, psychedelic shadow that's being cast on the wall behind!

What do you think of this? Weirdly beautiful isn't it.

Damaged Book Update

You really can get good customer service from internet sellers.  The book I was grouching about last week, Five Odd Honors, was bought online from Book Depository.

I emailed them regarding the quality of the item, they wanted some pictures as proof (I was happy to oblige), and... PRESTO!.... I have a replacement copy being sent out to me.

I wasn't rude, or demanding.  I just stated my case and asked what my options were.

See, there are still some responsible vendors left online :-)

Cooking up a Gingerbread Army

Today was such a tiring day!

I'm editing the final draft of my assignment.  So after staring at the screen for an hour getting nowhere I decide to bake, hoping to relieve my stress...

Yeah, right.

I had bought a packet mix so there I was... I kneaded, and floured, and rolled and cut.  My benches looked like Frosty the Snowman had burst!  Then I had the little darlings in the oven, watching them rise.  Ah, it was all fun and frosting till I saw the washing up... oh boy

Anyhow, next year I'll use my old recipe.  These ones aren't very flavour-some.  A tiny bit of ginger, and no dark brown sugar I suspect.  Next year I'll kick butt with a dark sugar, rich and flavour packed Gingerbread.

In the meantime, I hope all your gingerbread turns out fabulously this Christmas.

There's a new Horseman in town

I just received a copy of the Larissa Ione book Eternal Rider.  This is the first book in a new series, but continues on from the Demonica world we know and love. 

Meet the Lords of Deliverance.  Ares, Thanatos, Limos and Reseph.  Born of a union between Lilith and Yenrieth (a succubus and an angel), these four siblings have stood for more than 5,000 years as protectors between hell's minions and destuction.

This series begins after the conflict of the previous Demonica books, it is now the Lords of Deliverance's turn to face the evil within.  Eternal Rider is the story of Ares, the one who will become War if he falls.  In the beginning we see Reseph transormation from a Lord of Deliverance into Pestilience, on of the Horsemen of the Apocolypse. 

Now, the only thing stopping Pestilence from turning Ares to the dark side is a plucky, sassy mortal woman whose misfortune it was to heal a badly injured dog... that turned out to be a grateful Hellhound pup she'd named Hal, short for Halitosis (due to his god-awful breath!)

Thanks to Hal, Cara Thornhart is now on not only the Aegis' radar, but a fallen angel's as well.  This dark angel holds the key to Ares salvation or destruction, but knows that Pestilence is after him.  Seeing his chance, he imbues the mortal with Ares' seal.  Isn't that always the way?

Once Ares realises that this scrap of a mortal is his only hope, he not only fights his attraction towards her - Cara keeps telling him No, and challenging him... a first for Ares, and boy does that float his boat :-D - but she has now become the target of Pestilence and his minions who want War to join them.  As the siblings and their allies race to save the now dying Cara, they must keep in mind that if one more of them falls, the others are destined to follow.  And you don't want the Four Horsemen to unite as it would become hell on earth for everyone.

This is a great read.  I couldn't put it down and it took me about 4 hours to finish it.  There is a bit of sex in this book, no more or worse than that in the Demonica series, and the characters that revolve around Ares are just too cute!  Who wouldn't want some Ramreels around the place?  That being said, I did fall in love Hal.  Just wait until you meet Hal's grandfather!  Also Ares' steed was a cutie too.  There is also another betrayal by an Aegis operative, and you meet some familiar faces to boot.

Thanatos, and his sister Limos are believable as Ares siblings.  They fought, made up and carried on like any other siblings I've met - only these guys could have smited you real good :-P  Plus, the tension between Cara and Ares is a nice change of pace from romance books where the heroine jumps into the sack with her 'hero' within hours of meeting him.

Eternal Rider is a reasonable 402 pages long, and that doesn't include the 8 page excerpt from the next installment, Immortal Rider, and it is Limos' turn to avoid falling.  As the promised bride to the Devil himself, it is Runa's brother, Arik, who just happens to be the idiot that kick-start the Devil's jealousy (there are certain conditions that can cause Limos to fall).  Now, all this isn't a spoiler, this is all info you read in Eternal Rider and the excerpt.  Luckily for you, you don't have to wait too long for the next book as it is out now - and I can't wait to get it.

Poor quality paper perhaps?

The other day I was reading my new book, Five Odd Honors, but found many of the pages so covered with ink as to be unreadable!

I know mass market format books are cheap, but that's still no excuse for items like this being produced.
Fingers crosses that I can get them to replace it.



Smokin' Seventeen: the middle of the end?

As an avid reader, I will give anything a go.  However, like Anita Blake, I think Stephanie Plum has definitely seen better days.

Having received a new stack of books from Book Depository I was looking forward to indulging in the new Stephanie Plum. I loved the first 10 books, but I think that the dilemma between Morelli and Ranger has dragged on for way too long - and this book is no different.
Not only is SP still torn between her men, now  instead of her standard nookie fall-back of sleeping with Ranger after temporarily breaking up with Morelli, she goes from one to the other cause she and the cop are supposedly having an open relationship!
What the...?!
The storyline is beyond ridiculous, and I'm finding them to be so formulaic that Ms Evanovich must be phoning them in as the storyline just never seems to change.

With the One for the Money movie due in January, I'm surprised that the last books have been so poor.

From now on I'll borrow them from the library.  No more Stephanie Plum books for me until she makes her choice...

Babe or Cupcake

Colonel Potter departs

Today I was greeted with the sad news of the death of Harry Morgan, aged 96.  A great character actor, he is best known to most as the delightful grouch with a soft heart, Col. Potter, on M*A*S*H.

Goodbye Colonel Potter.

Harry Morgan
1915 - 2011

Farewell and amen.

And then there was three

Five Odd Honors is the final, but hopefully not last, book in Lindskold's new series.

Brenda has saved the day - again - much to her father's chagrin, but has now been ousted by Gaheris (her father) and sent off to university for her troubles.  It's here that Brenda gets hit with another whammy... now her mothers heritage has surfaced to bite her in the butt.

The Orphans are still fighting to make their way into the Lands Born of Sadie's an Sacrifice, and now they have the help of some of the ghosts of the first Horse, Ram, Monkey, Ox and the Snake.  Standing in their way is the ghost of Pearl's father, Thundering Heavens, who is still pissed off that his heir, the Tiger, was his daughter.  Now, possessing a powerful sword, he has teamed up with the enemy to take back his title.

Meanwhile, Brenda is being drawn into the world of the sidhe and will once again hold the balance of power in her hands.
This book goes off in a slightly different direction, but is still a great book.  The only let down is that there is no definitive answer regarding whether or not this is the final of a trilogy, or not.  Either way, you're still left hanging, wondering if Brenda and Flying Claw will ever get together.

Fingers crossed that a new book will be out soon.

Nine Gates a winner

Well after devouring Thirteen Orphans I had to get my hands on the other books on the series.  Thanks to Book Depository I had books 2 and 3 in a matter of weeks.

Nine Gates is the second book in this series, and is a worthy installment of what promises to be a great new series... at least I hope it is, some have been calling it a trilogy.  Anyhow, I digress.  Nine Gates picks up no more than a day or two after the conclusion of 13 Orphans.  Brenda is now a novelty amongst the Orphans - a rat, but not a rat - her position in the group has been altered due to her father recovering his memories. 

Pushed to the edge, Brenda has to deal with not only her infatuation with Flying Claw, but the fall out from his memory loss (and the subsequent regaining of memory) caused with his former lover Honey Dream - a snake with attitude.

Trying to avoid the pitfalls of life, Brenda's conflict with her father is just about the last straw. He constantly dismisses her and pushes her out.  Unfortunately for her father, Brenda is vital to the success of the Orphans plan travel to the Land Born of Smoke and Sacrifice.

If you loved Brenda's first foray into the mystical arts, then you'll enjoy this book.  Look out for the 3rd book Five Odd Honors.

Lindskold does it again!

Hi there.  I've been a tad remiss lately in regards to adding great reads to this blog, but I hope to fix that today.

I found this first book, Thirteen Orphans, at my new local library.  Like Kylie Chan, Jane Lindskold has mixed Eastern mythology with Western contemporary and come up with a winning combination.

Set in America, you follow the story of 19 year old Brenda Morris, who has just discovered her supernatural heritage.  Unlike Chan's series, Lindskold sets her story around the Chinese zodiac.  The descendants of the banished Earthly Branches are being picked off one by one by someone who knows their secrets.

Without getting into the details, Brenda and some other new initiates have to help stop the bad guys (well, a hot girl, her father and her lover) from stealing the power and memories of the other members of the zodiac.

Now, I can't really tell you about the next two books here as it'll give away what happens in this book, but rest assured, the next book, Nine Gates, starts soon after the climax of 13 Orphans.

If you love Kylie Chan, or the Firekeeper series then you'll love these books too.

Post M.I.A

I've been blogging from my phone recently {yeah me!} and noticed a most annoying quirk.  I'd finished making the cushions I'd been talking about in an earlier blog, New Xmas Project, Nov 18, and when I published it, it failed of course - it always does on the first try if I'm uploading an image as well.  When I published it again, it sort of got stuck in 'publishing' mode.  And it hasn't changed since!

Now it isn't accessible from either mobile phone, or on the blog page.  It's been over a week and I'm getting very frustrated since I can't remember quite what I'd put in the post.  Grrrrrr!

Does anyone know how to retrieve it?  Has it happened to you?