Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow – Not ;-)

Here it is, the last day of 2014. The day when Old Lady Time hobbles off the stage as 2014, and Baby Eagerness 2015 bounces on the sidelines waiting for the crystal ball to drop and make her grand entrance.

Will I miss 2014? Not on your sweet bippy! Oh, it was a good year, don't get me wrong, but I'm excited to see what next year will bring. This year saw Marie published, I sold a couple of short stories and a poem, had a couple of radio dramas produced and aired, but hope to do better in 2015 ;-)

I finished my historical novel, Faction as some call it, fact-based fiction about Marie Dorion and her journey west. I read and reviewed 59 books. I read several more books that I did not review as they weren't yet published. Because I spent more time quilting than writing, I indulged in the luxury of reading mostly fiction. Consideration was given to listing the books, in order read, and I decided a long list would be boring, so if you want to go through my book blog to see what I spent my year reading, please feel free to do so. And if you've read any of the books, please leave comments. It's alright if we don't agree ;-) Rainy Day Reads

After going for about 6 months with Netflix Streaming, I realized I wasn't watching any movies at all, so went back to getting discs, and watched and reviewed 25 movies. I put a lot of discs in my player that, after 20 minutes I rejected them. I did not review those. Again, why bore you with a list when you can go to my movie blog to read my reviews. Again, your comments are always appreciated. Rainy Day Reviews

If you've been following this blog at all, you've seen photos of the quilt projects I've worked on, including the many UFOs (unfinished objects) I finished. I have decided not to make any more large (lap size and bigger) quilts, other than the kits I've already purchased and are waiting to be made. Instead, I'm going to focus primarily on small, artsy fartsy quilts. Wall hangings, table toppers, sock drawer liners ;-)

Which brings me to the New Years Resolutions I will make. For years, I have had one standard NYR – to make no new years resolutions! This year, I'm actually making a for real bone fide resolution. Really. I hereby resolve that beginning Monday, 5 January 2015, I will put in a full day in the office – 9-5, with time out for lunch – in which I will work on my writing projects. I will do this 4 days a week, with the other days being devoted to quilting. I also resolve not to feel guilty if the days get swapped around now and then.

I further resolve to work on writing projects already started, and not spend too much time on new ones, other than to get the ideas down. Granny Hitt* has several murders she needs to commit, each requiring its own story. Jiang Li has a queen she needs to find and to guard, and the Forgotten Daughter needs some serious editing. Then there is the book of poems about the Whitman Massacre that needs a lot of work and re-writing.

Further, I resolve to spend no more than 1 hour on FaceBook, and only at night, and ONLY if I've done my writing for the day! (Or quilting)

So there you have it. A quick wrap up of my year and my hopes and dreams for 2015. What about you? What resolutions, if any, are you making that you'd like to share?

*You can read about Granny Hitt in the international anthology, Short & Happy (or not) available from your local bookseller or the publisher, S&H Publishing. 

Happy Holidays

Unless you're a true and bona fide Procrastinator, by now you should at least have most of your gifts, if not wrapped and or mailed, at least ready to wrap and or mail. And, at this late date, the books had better not go Media Mail if you expect them to arrive by this Gift Day.

Some of my friends celebrate the Solstice, which falls on the 21st of December this year. (A couple thousand years ago, in the Mediterranean region, the Winter Solstice fell on the 25th.) Some of my friends celebrate on the 25th, some started early with Hannukah, and some will wait until Kwaanza. It looks like my family will do gifts on or about the 28th, as at least one of them has to work.

My celebration will start this Friday when Favorite Grandson comes to town. He'll be at his mom's for a couple of days and then over here with me until he's ready to go home, sometime after the 1st.

Alas, this blog will probably be somewhat sporadic for a while. I will get back to writing, on a more or less full-time basis as soon as Favorite Grandson goes home. I will be doing some research for a couple of novels, but writing a series of short stories, which I hope to sell, and eventually put together in a collection. My protagonist is an old fartess, called Granny Hitt. The 'Granny' part came when she became a grandmother, the Hitt came earlier, when she married Ruben Hitt. Alas, Ruben is now deceased, and Granny is bored, and she hires on as a 'hit man' for the Mafia. But she has scruples. Sometimes.

I also want to work on some quilting projects. Mostly 'small quilts' — no more bed quilts. I've run out of places to store them ;-) Well, there might be a couple that I've already bought the pattern and material for. I'm eager to try my hand at smaller, more artsy fartsy quilts.

Speaking of small quilts, this is my latest. It is a bed scarf for my SOC n BOC (sister/brother of choice). This is just the top, and when quilted, edged, and complete, it will be about 118" long and maybe 27" wide to go over the foot of their king-sized bed.

I hope you have the Happiest of Holidays ever. Whatever holiday you celebrate and observe, whatever day you exchange gifts, may they be given with hugs, filled with love, surrounded by peace, and may joy fill your new year!

Week Two of the Countdown

Last week, as you may recall, I recommended five nonfiction books I thought you might be interested in picking up as gifts for yourself—or others. This week, the list of five is fiction. Believe me, it was not easy to distill the over 60 books I've read so far this year down to five I'd read again. And, again, the titles are linked to my full review. The books are available from your favorite bookseller.

Sisters of the Bruce 1292-1314 – J. M. Harvey

As you, Gentle Reader, know, Rainy Day loves good historical fiction, and a good story, and when they are aptly combined, well, she thinks she's in Book Heaven! I bought this book because it intrigued me on a couple of levels. First, Robert the Bruce is one of my ancestors; second, they story is told, for the most part, through the letters of his sisters. After reading about the tortures his sisters went through, being kept in cages hung over the castle wall, open to all the elements and jeering of the crowds below, I found it amazing those women survived, let alone survived sane. If you're into time travel, I don't recommend Scotland of the 1300s, unless you've got an emergency out, and are pretty darned hardy! But the book is a page burner, and if you time travel through the book, you'll be warm enough turning the pages as fast as you can read them! For the History Lover on your gift list. As a bonus feature, Ms. Harvey maintains a fascinating blog at: http://sistersofthebruce.wordpress.com 

The Last Runaway —Tracy Chevalier

This book was my introduction to Chevalier's writing. As much as I've enjoyed all her others, this one remains my favorite. The story is of a young Quaker girl who accompanies her sister to America to be married. Her sister dies, and she finds herself alone in a strange land, filled with strange people, and an Underground Railroad. She meets, and marries, a young man, also a Quaker, but his family does not believe as she believes, and the laws of the land and her family are harsh as the winters. Had I begun this book in the morning, nothing would have been accomplished by bedtime, except the reading of an absolutely fascinating book! An excellent book of the Underground Railroad and life in early America.

Wizard of Pigeons —Megan Lindholm

This is one of my all-time most favorite books. I have two copies, both autographed by the author, to me! I do not lend them out. I first read this story 25-30 years ago, and have read it at least six times since. This story is relatively modern. It is about a Vietnam Vet who has been abandoned by not only his family, but also the VA, and lives on the streets of Seattle where he is known as the Wizard of Pigeons. They flock to him, and he feeds them from a never quite empty bag of popcorn. It is the story of the street people who help him survive. It is a story of beauty, a celebration of life, a book of hope and joy, and I guarantee once you've read it, you will never look at a street person the same way again. We need more Wizards! For that person in all of us who enjoys a great 'feel good' book.

Like the Moon —Mary Lewis Foote

Humor is not, to my way of thinking, easy to write, and unless one is really, really good at it, it isn't easy to read, either. I read this book and laughed so hard that when I got to The End, I flipped it over and read it straight through again, and laughed even harder because I knew what was coming.  If you've got a comfy rocking chair, that's the place to read this book. The book takes place in a nonexistent town in North Carolina, and if you've never been to that part of the country, it may take you a few pages to get into the dialect, believe me, that dialect is important. It is the story of people who may live a hardscrabble life, but they don't know it. They just know their lives are filled with love and humor, collard greens and ham hocks, corn dogs, and Beethoven. Love and humor are the key words there, but Beethoven is important, too. For the person in your life who needs a good laugh — again, and again, and again ;-)

A Cup of Light —Nicole Mones

This is a deliberately woven story, one thread at a time. It takes place in modern Beijing, where Lia Frank, an American who reads Chinese, but speaks it poorly because she is deaf, is sent to appraise several antique porcelains. Mones did her research on porcelains, and the book is filled with it, which I found as fascinating as Lia's 'memory bank.' Lia has trained herself to remember everything, and she has a system where each memory is stored for later retrieval. Some of the porcelains are the genuine articles, some are forgeries, but even those are so good, so beautiful, they arouse the same emotion.  There are many threads in this silk tapestry, and each one is brought in, and woven into place, at just the right time. By the time the book is finished, the tapestry is beautiful and worty to grace A Cup of Light.

OK, I know I said five books, and yes, I can count that high. But I would be sorely remiss if I didn't mention these two books, again, and remind you they, too are available at your local bookseller, or directly through the publisher, S & H Publishing http://sandhpublishing.com/index.html  Besides, I can't review them, I wrote them, or at least some of them, so of course you know they are really, really good books!

Madame Dorion: Her Journey to the Oregon Country —Lenora Rain-Lee Good

Heavily fact based historical novel about Marie Dorion, the first pioneer woman to come to the Oregon Country overland with a group of men, her husband, and two young boys.

Short & Happy (or not) An International Anthology of Short Stories —ed by Richard Bunning & Dixiane Hallaj

A collection of 36 short stories by 25 authors from both sides of the equator and around the globe. Perfect for reading while waiting for someone, riding the bus to work, etc.

The Countdown Has Begun - Happy December

I won't count the days, because not all of us celebrate the same holiday, but most take part this month, with some next. So, you'll have to do your own counting. Besides, I'm not a numbers person ;-)

First Annual Winter Gift Suggestion List:

For those of you who are wondering about what to get the person who has everything for their Winter Gift, may I suggest a vial of penicillin? Or, if that is a tad too drastic, a book. Perhaps several books. Following is a list of some of the nonfiction books I've read this year, that may be well worth your investment in both time and money. And, besides, I've read them, and reviewed them, so you don't have to buy them for me. The titles are linked to my reviews, the books are available from all standard sources.

Sex with the Queen: Nine Hundred Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers and Passionate Politics — by Eleanor Herman

History would have been oh-so-much-more-fun in school, if we'd had this for a textbook instead of whatever we had. Queens were rarely, if ever, mentioned, it was all about the Kings. It was, truly, a man's world. Well, let me, or better, Ms. Herman, tell you, those gals had quite the lives. This book is about scandal on a royal scale. It is history that you've never read. It is funny. Well, sometimes a bit sad. Is it all true? I don't know, but it was a fun read and I heartily recommend it. 

A Month in Mongolia —by Barbara A. B. Seiders

Dr. Seiders made a few trips (work related) to Mongolia, and this little book tells of her adventures while there. It is also chock full of her photographs. I bought an electronic copy, with hot links to maps, etc., but enjoyed it so much, I bought a hard copy. A perfect gift for the traveler, or wannabe traveler, on your list. 

The Farthest Home is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy —by John Phillip Santos This memoir tells history from an up close and personal perspective. It is memoir. It is told in past, present, and future. It is totally engaging. It is a book no one should miss. A perfect gift for the lover of history and or genealogy on your winter gift list.

Old Books, Rare Friends—Two Literary Sleuths and Their Shared Passion —by Leona Rostenberg & Madeleine Stern

This is a delightful book by and about two women who shared a love of old books, and how they worked together to find them and bring them to the light of the modern world. It is a delightful read about Life lived to the fullest. This book belongs in every bibliophile's library. 

Amazing Animal Kingdom Series by Emma Child

These are books for young readers, but chock full of facts and great photography. She writes about everything from Bears to Crocodiles to Dolphins to Dinosaurs. Her books are well researched, her approach is fun and accessible. For the budding scientist on your list. Buy them one, buy them all—you won't make a mistrake. 

Next Week, I'll give some suggestions for fiction.