IWSG Wednesday AND Did You Know Thursday

 

 

The first Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. IWSG was formed by Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.

 

Twitter handle: @TheIWSG  

Hashtag: #IWSG 

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for

June 3 posting of the IWSG are Victoria Marie Lees, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and C. Lee McKenzie!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional

June 3 question - Do most of your story ideas come from one place (the news, dreams, etc.) or do they hit from all over the place?

 

That’s an interesting question.  I’d have to say all over the place. I’ve written books around a particular book title I’d decided on, an unusual topic on the news, and movies and movie stars that inspired me. One of my books was written at the request of my brother. He was fascinated by an 1873 Model Winchester that was found in the Great Basin National Park leaning up against a juniper tree in 2014. How it got there was a mystery. Hence Geller’s Find.😊.

 

May/June Reviews in no particular order.

* Disclaimer. If I run into an occasional typo, I ignore them and don't factor them into my review.

 

GIANT SHREWS FROM OUTER SPACE by Sylvia Kay Rose

SHREWS is another dark comedic, sci fi horror written in Rose’s uniquely audacious style. Teenager Claire Lawford and her mother Linda end up in the dying town of Abundance, Ontario when Linda’s car gives up the ghost. Unfortunately, the town’s residents aren’t particularly friendly to strangers and gouge Linda for everything she has, which isn’t much at this point. But that’s the tip of the iceberg for our heroines’ travails. The people in town are disappearing and being murdered in a particularly gruesome fashion. Now it’s up to Claire and her new friend Andy, that she meets while she and her mother are stranded, to save the town and its people. Throw killer shrews from outer space and ghosts from an abandoned mine into the mix and you have an entertaining read that’s hard to put down.

The characters are well-developed. The conversations are fun and engaging. And the world-building is first rate. I highly recommend it for readers that enjoy humor and sci fi intertwined with their horror or those that just want an entertaining, well told tale by an author who delivers.

Available at Amazon 

 

 

HOMEPORT by Nora Roberts

An art expert—Dr. Miranda Jones—and an art thief—Ryan Boldari—find themselves joining forces when Dr. Jones reputation and life are on the line. This is probably my favorite romantic suspense by Nora. She delivers a strong romance interwoven with chilling suspense that will keep you reading.  A must for Nora fans.

Available at Amazon 

 

 

 

 

 

DIE TRYING by Lee Child

I’m a huge Jack Reacher fan. DIE TRYING is one of Child’s earlier Reacher novels and like the rest of the series, delivers. As usual, Reacher finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When a young female FBI agent gets abducted, he gets caught in the net too. Unfortunately, the FBI thinks Reacher is one of the kidnappers and plans to deal with him according.

If you are a Reacher fan and haven’t read this one yet, I highly recommend it.

Available at Amazon 

 

 

 

LOST SISTER By MK Alexander

In Book 4 of the SEVEN SISTERS Series, Milo and his crew set off for the Lost Colony. A voyage from which no one has ever returned. The journey is filled with peril and unexpected challenges, along with a new birdman friend and a mechanical man, whose handshake dispenses Urchin worms. One obstacle after another is thrown in their path but they persevere until they finally arrive at the Lost Colony where they will face the greatest challenge of all.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read and recommend it to anyone who loves steampunk sci-fi or a well-told tale.

Available at Amazon 

 

 

THE SECRET OF SECRETS by Dan Brown

Dan Brown once again weaves an intricate, suspense-filled puzzle with his latest rendering. As with his other novels, there’re unexpected twists and turns when Katherine Solomon’s—Robert Langdon’s current love interest—manuscript on consciousness is stolen and destroyed, and people they know are being murdered. Once again Professor Langdon’s knowledge of symbols and codes will help him solve the mysteries of the murders and discover who has gone to such lengths to make sure Katherine’s manuscript is never published…and why.

 Available at Amazon

 

AND

Did you know, the phrases: In a pickle, Green-eyed Monster, Dead as a door nail, All of a sudden, Off with his head, Night owl, Wear your heart on your sleeve, and Fair play all originated with Shakespeare?

For more information: 150 Interesting Facts About Our Favorite Authors [Infographic] 

 

 

Boonsboro Inn

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, blessed with family, friends and good food.

Spoiler alert: Long Blog

We spent a lovely Thanksgiving in Philly with my daughter and son-in-law.
On the way up we stayed at Nora Robert’s Boonsboro Inn. Let me just say, it surpassed all expectations. 
The Inn had plenty of spots for relaxing including balconies, a courtyard and a television niche with a loaded refrigerator nearby. My favorite  place to hang out was, of course, the library.  Beside plenty of books to read--yes, lots of Norah and J.D. Robb--there was a fireplace; Keurig with pods that included coffee, cider, hot chocolate or tea; and a decanter of whiskey.  This is the room we had our wine and cheese in. Very cozy and relaxing. 

Breakfast was amazing.   A choice of juice and coffee was served in carafes. The meal began with a baked apple with toppings.  After that the main course was served: pancakes with candied pecans, scrambled eggs cooked to perfection and a meat/nonmeat entree.  When I registered online, I listed vegetarian under special requests. When my plate arrived and I saw the sausage I started to pass it off to the HH before I was assured it was vegetarian sausage.  To the meat eaters out there this may not seem like a big deal but for a vegetarian it was awesome.  Often, the meat item is just left off with no faux  substitutions.
The food was delicious.

The dining room where scones and cookies were available twenty-four seven

There are eight guest rooms at the Inn.  All named for famous romantic couples. We chose the Eve and Roarke room. 

The bedroom was nice but the bathroom was astounding.  The J.D. Robb fans out there will truly appreciate this room since the futuristic shower is frequently mentioned in the series.  The shower in our room had a huge shower head, six or eight inches square, that came straight down…plus a handheld shower head…plus jets that came straight out of the wall.  You could choose one or all. I was playing with the nozzles trying to figure out which was which when I turned the knob for the water that came straight out instead of down.  I let out a screech and hastily moved to the next nozzle. 

The coup de gras was the bidet toilet. The seat went up automatically when you walked anywhere near it.  It had the cleaning applications. But best of all…the seat was heated. If I ever make even a tenth of Nora's earning power I want a heated toilet.

The bathroom also had a heated towel rack and heated floor, but I never figured out how to heat the floor.

It was obvious that much time and thought went into the furnishings and the comfort of its guests. All in all the experience was a delight.  If you are ever near Boonsboro, Maryland I highly recommend it.

I had to have a J.D. Robb/NR mug sold at the gift shop/bookstore across the street.

*While there I did find out the answer to the age old question, which came first the Inn or the Inn at Boonsboro Trilogy. Do you know?



The answer: The inn.